Bear (Running Bear versions) Cub lengths?

[SlowBowke]

Ok, Im not an old Bear expert but...."Bear Cub Grizzly"??   But the running Bear and the patent pending stickers and being a longbow pretty much has it dated.

Did these come in more than one length? I asked the seller but not getting a reply yet and adding a string to my order.

SELLERS QUOTE:

"Vintage Bear Cub Grizzly recurve

46# has the running bear decal

also cub decal

and Serial # C-9749

Very Nice shape for the age

also has pat. pending decal"

Assuming it is the normal 52 Cub but the "Grizzly" was a new one on me and assume it's just wishful thinking on the sellers part.

I do believe, and dont tell me NOW that I'm wrong......that I have found my "birth year" bow to take a deer or two with. Just gotta ya know. It's part of our heritage or something....maybe a traditional commandment.              

Just hoping it dont rattle my old bones apart!

So again, String length? Does it say bow length on the bow?  I asked the seller and hoping it does.

Ok, fine.......so I'm a little excited.              

God Bless, for the help, once again and always.

"Slow"

[Larry m]

The 1952 Cub I own is 62". At 60# it is a stout shooting longbow!

[SlowBowke]

I seemed to be finding two lengths some say they have. Thanks, Larry....yep, too stout for me these years lol.

46 is just about perfect for me!

I hope to take a deer or two then donate it to a buddy's private "Bear Museum".  He's a Bear fan like most of us that cant afford the real wiz bang ones but.....have a taste for those old and "still working" after all these decades.

Now all I have to do is decide if Im using the same era heads and arrows (yeah I GOT SOME) or not.....or maybe both.......

LEFT to find (aka afford) is a decent back quiver of the 50s.

God Bless and hoping for 64 inches on this one!!! lol  Ive got 60, 61 (honest)and 68 inch (and maybe another in the works.bowaholic?)but would love this one to be 64 inch.

I need to learn how to make flemish strings!!

God Bless

P.S.
A bit of unhappy news and asking for prayers.

 http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=23;t=001689

[oldbohntr]

I'm too lazy to get out the catalogs, but I'm just positive every cub I ever saw was 62". Never saw one marked grizzly.  And they are almost universally fine shooters for the price you have to pay.  Bombproof is a good description. I remember one that I had when I first started collecting about 30 years ago. I needed a bow my wife could pull and needed it in a few days, so I simply sanded this 40#+ yellow glass cub('52 or '53, my favorite years)down until it was 26# @ 28"!!!  It's not such a sacrilege if you remember that in the late 70's the finest used recurve ever made brought maybe $25....there was no such thing as a "traditional archer", just someone who was too backward to get one of those new bows with wheels!

Anyway, I took the glass down until the yellow was go what you saw were silver fibers, kind of translucent with a darker background(maple lam, I suspect.)  Couldn't do any more with the thickness so started narrowing the limbs until it got to 26#.  Then I sprayed finish on it and it looked and shot great.  The wife used it, we loaned to other families, and finally I gave it away. Later more guys got into collecting Bear bows and several remarked they'd never seen a cub with that color glass on it!  I'll bet that bow is still shooting for someone!

Backquivers are still around but ones that old usually seem to have rotted shoulder straps.  Those can be replaced.  King's top of the line quivers were maybe the best ever made. Hint: even if you think the strap is good, don't count on it.  I carried my best King around most of a 3D shoot because of the same assumption.

If you were closer, I'd be happy to show you how to make flemish strings.  Give me your address, and I'll send you a photocopy of the entire chapter of a 50s book -it's the best written description of flemish string-making I've ever seen. Follow it to the letter and your first string will work fine....ok, you may screw up and have to use it on a different length bow than you planned, but it will work on some bow!!!  I will ask that you pay the postage if you want this article.

[SlowBowke]

You should have an email and much appreciate it!

God Bless

[Larry m]

Ditto on the old King quivers! You can still find them out there in good useable condition but beware of dry rot. I have one I use occasionally and just like the looks and over all vintage functional design.

[SlowBowke]

Lots of time on the quiver (less than three months!!!) arghh

Did find in my "saved pages" where the 52-54 Cub longbows were "62 inches". 62.5 nock to nock and 64 tip to tip, actual.

Cub came........oh my heavens. What is that limb design called on the Cub longbows? "PIA to string" design?     :D    

and how does a bow hang together that weighs about the same as a fistfull of my arrows???!!

Yumping Yehosephat! 46lbs feels about like 60. UGLY? oh my word. LOL!

I LOVE IT!!!

"Follow through" might be a bit of a learning curve with this lightweight. I've HAD longbows but my heavens. I gotta weigh this somehow. What? A lb? MAYBE?

Sorry......( I get "gone" talking about old bows too Larry).

"Fred? Ben.......Ben? Fred.  Oh,that's right. YOU TWO may have met before." (ha)

     

     

Simplicity in all but the most strict of any form...for sure.  But can I SHOOT IT? (well) More than likely an early 53 version but....close enough for who it's for. I was almost a 53 version (late 52).

I SAID it was ugly. Whew. I do know my old bones wont notice carrying it though.....and the deer don't notice anyway.    :p  

God Bless!

[oldbohntr]

I think you're gonna find that ugly old bow shoots a lot better than it looks!  Get some of Bowdocs magic elixer and polish it all over....it's amazing what gunk will come off of that old bow.  Clean and treat the leather too.  

Those old "honey glass" Cubs will shoot with most any longbow pound for pound up until the reflex deflex came along(ok, I'll make an exception for the best of the Hill/Schulz style bows.  But, I'm not so sure these wouldn't hold their own with some of those too.)  Kind of harsh shooting though...little mass and lots of setback.

[SlowBowke]

It was pretty amazing what "gunk will come off it" with dish soap.

I "customized" a strike plate after I cleaned it a bit. Less wear and tear on it than one would expect. Still has more gunk on it yet to get off.

Treat the leather?? With? Seems like I read what most use.....forgot.

Couple pics even though YOU all have seen tons.

God Bless

 

 

 

 

 

[Larry m]

Steve
These bows are solid shooters. Just put your palm into em. They have a feel of their own. Nice looking set up. Wish mine was 46#, I would still be shooting it. Oh Yeah, a little dampner on your string might help a bit. Take some of the thump out......

[59Alaskan]

Montana Pitch Blend is what was recommended to me for leather and I like it quite a bit.

Nice bow Steve.  Congrats!  Always good to see an old bow get in to the hands of someone who is going to give it another shot (and hopefully more!)

[SlowBowke]

I just shot this beastie outside and plan to shoot it more (I have FOUR nights off work? Whatever will I DO? ROFL)between thunderstorms.

Shooting some HEAVY tonkin and equally heavy Ramin arrows, very close in weight to the few Sweetland shafts in process.......DANG.

Uh yeah.....there is a little of  " Kind of harsh shooting though...little mass and lots of setback." but all in all?

PRETTY IMPRESSIVE for being an oldie but goodie..my age. LOL New string on the way instead of this hand me down from another bow.
Something to take the "twang" out, more than silencing, too. Anti-vibration gizmos? lol

My buddy in WA saw the photos and said

"NOW I WANT ONE!! DANGIT!"

***Sometime or another Id like to find its brothers in the same year of Grizzly and Kodiak fame***......but which one would I hunt with THEN?

Good thing I got a lifetime license here (no tags to buy) and a HUGE number of deer allowed (10 in my county, 8 more next county, etc etc). I'd get to hunt and hopefully take a deer or two annually with each. ( uh huh, right)

On the way later to show this to a lifetime trad buddy. It will be his first "running bear" decal bow to shoot too.

Thanks, and God Bless, to one and all providing info and support for those of us "less informed" to say it politely.

I'll check into that Pitch Blend.

God Bless (less than 3 months till SEASON!)
Steve

[oldbohntr]

Saddle soap will clean the leather, and Tandy Leather(now I think it's called American Leather)sold some stuff called Hide Rejuvenator that works real well on old dried out leather. Pitch Blend is good to treat leather. Lately I've used good brands of leather upholstery cleaner and treatment for car seats on both grips and quivers(Macguiers is a good one).  Frankly it seems to work as well as anything I've tried.

[Buckskin57]

I have a Cub 47#/62".Does anybody know what brace height to start with? I've been shooting it and it seems to shoot left alot.THANKS.

[SlowBowke]

I did find that my Cub takes a little lighter spine than I first thought. Probably due to less centershot compared to newer bows?

I can really load up the front of a 50lb spine arrow and have good flight.

Still playing with my brace height but more for sound than anything.

Just info

God Bless
Slow