Age & value of Kodiak Special?

[Dave Bulla]

Hi all. Posted this in the pow wow also but they suggested I put it here so the below is a copy & paste.

Been a long time since I've been on here and I need some help.

The widow of my best friend and archery mentor Bob Grauberger recently asked me to help her sell a couple of his bows. I bought his main hunting bow which is an old Wilson brothers Black Widow and it's something I'll never sell. One of the others though is a Fred Bear Kodiak Special. I want to say he told me it was from 1964 but honestly can't remember for sure. This bow belonged to Bobs dad who was a very avid archer himself. I actually hunted with this bow one year just because Bob thought I'd like it due to my long draw. At the tone I was pulling an honest 31 inches. It's a 64" long, 62 pound bow and yes, it was smooth all the way to my draw.

The story Bob told me about this bow is that his Dad had bought a new Bear Kodiak and hunted with it and I believe also shot a fair bit of tournaments. Something happened though and the bow failed. He contacted Bear archery about it and they ended up replacing it with the fancier Kodiak Special. It's a beautiful bow and I love the curved accent line in the grip/riser. Also love the white and black riser and tip overlays. Just looks classy to me. Shoots a heavy arrow well and hard.

Condition wise, its awfully good. Just a few very tiny dings in the left side. I tried to take pictures of them but may not be able to show them here as I'm having trouble with photobucket not letting me upload normally. I can load one or two, then I can't do any. Try later and I get one or two then more "upload failed". I'll post the couple I do have below.

Oh, it's also missing the medallion. I'm pretty sure it was there ten or twelve years ago when I hunted with it but it must have fallen out since then.

What I'd like to know is this:

Year of manufacture.
Correct medallion color.
Source for replacement medallions
Approximatel value.

The little searching I did was not a lot of help so I didn't find but a couple Kodiak specials and most of those were fairy low draw weight. It's been my experience that a nice solid hunting weight usually ads value to older bows since so many are rated down in the 30's and 40's

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This is probably the biggest mark on the bow I can find. I'm sure it could be steamed out. I have another pic showing another area.

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I also took pics of the tip overlays, limb logo, looking down the limbs etc. Will try to add more later.

Any help is appreciated.

I thought years ago when Bobs wife mentioned possibly selling some of his things I would buy this bow myself because it was understood that the family would never part with his Widow which was his real personal hunting bow. The Kodiak was the only bow of Bobs I thought I'd be able to get. Things changed though and his daughters recently decided that since none of them could handle the weight of Bobs bows they wood be OK with their Mom selling them. They seem to be happy I bought the widow because they know how much it means to me. I'd buy the Bear also if I had the extra money but at the moment I need tires on a car and an SUV plus our water heater is starting to leak. Kathy asked me to try to sell two bows for her since she knows nothing about them. In all honesty, I'm not as into them as I used to be (shoulders going bad) so I have not stayed current on values thus the need for some help. I'd like to treat her as fair as possible and get as much for her as I can. Pretty sure she needs it if you know what I mean. When I do all them, she'll get 100% of the money.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Dave Bulla]

Looks like the pictures did copy along with the rest.
   

   

   

This is about the worst damage on the bow. In sure it would steam out. There is another spot with two more tiny marks.

   

[Dave Bulla]

 

[TRAP]

Responded in Pow Wow forum.

[warpedarrow]

1960. Could be a brass or nickle silver medallion.
Nice bow.  It is worth what someone is willing to pay for it.
I do not see many 1960s on the auction site but I do see many 1959s.  I have bought the majority of my 59 and 60 KS bows for under $200 but none of mine are above the mid forty pound range.

Genuine medallions show up on the auction site every now and then.  I do not know of any retail outlet that has either of the proper coins for that bow. Perhaps someone on here has a spare.

[Wade Phillips]

Dave -

The Kodiak Special Identification Guide thread was posted on this site specifically to answer questions like yours regarding the date of manufacture...

That guide was posted in 2009 and was only 9 posts down from yours when you created this thread.

          http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=14;t=002059          

In looking at your posted images of the 1960 Kodiak Special, I don't see anything unusual or spectacular about the bow. The bow is in nice condition, the wood in the sight window is nice, although not exceptional, the bubinga is very plain both on the coin side and the handle and serial number area. Seldom does one ever see exceptional wood on both sides and all areas of this model bow. Exceptional wood can bring a premium price.  

The 64" length is the second most common length of the five lengths produced for this year bow. The length 66" is the most common. For the serious collector/shooter/hunter, length is the determining factor as to value.

Heavier weights don't always bring a premium anymore, like they often did in the old days. As you note in you first post, at 61# the bow is too heavy for the parties mentioned.

A missing coin often is not a big deal to many collectors as they usually have some extra coins lying around or a few extra bows from which the needed coin can be robbed.

Buying a coin to put in the bow might not add enough additional value to pay for the price of the coin.

[Dave Bulla]

Thanks Wade.

If you had to put a number on this bow "as is" about what would you suspect for a low and a high?

Also, do you think I could do better selling on a classifieds like here or sites like fleabay?

Like I said, this is not mine and I'll not make any money on it but I'm trying to do right for my friends wife. I told her I would research as much as I could and she's been texting me asking if I've found out anything or if anyone has shown any interest in it. I have not officially put it up for sale anywhere because I wanted to be able to give an accurate description and also wanted to know if it would be worth putting a new coin in it. Sounds like that might be a wash so likely will be her choice if we order a coin and replace it or sell it add is.

[PAPALAPIN]

Put it on E8AY and let the buyers determine what it is worth.

[Wade Phillips]

To get the best price for an item, it is generally a good idea to give it the most exposure possible. As Jack suggests, e8ay permits the entire world of buyers to determine value.

There is no substitute for quality photographs and an accurate description of physical condition and shootability regardless of where you list the bow.

Generally a bow like this in good condition brings $150 to $200 which is consistent with Brad's earlier reference of less then $200 that he paid for his mid 40s# 1959 & 1960 Kodiak Specials. Obviously in an auction format, some prices are higher and some lower than the average.

A premium can often times be added for exceptional wood grain, rare length (62" in the case of this bow), originally attached factory original strike plate, rest & string, or extras such as the original warranty card, original box, historical significance of owner, etc.

Keep in mind that the 1960 Kodiak Special is not only a great shooting bow, but also a very collectible bow. Many of us who shot these late 1950s and early 1960s Bear bows when they were introduced, are still among their biggest fans today. Unfortunately the heavier weight bows have a very limited audience among us now near-elderly Vintage Bear hunters/shooters simply because many of us are unable to still make a habit of regularly shooting heavier weights.

If you are fortunate enough to expose the bow to two or more strong young bowmen who are interested in owning and shooting a bow of this weight, and they like to bid in auctions, you might be fortunate enough to get more than the average price.

[mangonboat]

I recently sold a 1962 KS on the auction site that had a nice solid one-piece  rosewood riser , 60#. It had been afield quite a bit so the finish was 7/10 , had the bushing and indentations in the riser from the single screw Bear bow quiver of that era  and it was a lefty to boot. I loved shooting it but my left shoulder doesn't like that much draw weight over and over. I got $151. I would guess a 1960  in better condition would being in a bit more.

[Dave Bulla]

Wow, I think she's going to be disappointed. She was told by another friend of her husband $300 to $400. She's hoping for $325.

[damascusdave]

The friend of her husband is simply a bit behind the times on prices for old Bears...we all have old Bears that will sell for 300 to 400 dollars that we paid twice that for a few years ago