Old bears.... who's with me!!

[kopfjaeger]

My favorite is my 1984 factory camouflage Bear Kodiak Takedown, 60#@28".

[Petrichor]

http://www.vintagearchery.org/catalogs-by-year.html

Enjoy.

Was just looking at the bear 1970 catalog for my tiger cat and I found something interesting. It says the draw weight was at 28 inches from front of the shelf. I draw 26 from back of shelf good info to know for arrow ordering.

The-Crow

Thanks for sharing that site!!! Now I know the Bear Kodiak Magnum that I picked up Friday is very likely a ‘72 model!
Also interesting that they are scaled from the front of the shelf! Am I wrong in saying my 27.5” draw make this 45lbs bow scale more like a 47-48 pound bow from the back of the grip?

 Technically I would say yes it would likely be the heavier weight however theae bears are old and they may not have as much pull as they used to. It would be impossible to tell what you're actually pulling without putting it on a bowscale. But yes since they were originally measured from the front of shelf at 28 and you draw 27.5 from the rear technically you'd be drawing a couple more pounds. Though how much I dont know.

[Petrichor]

My favorite is my 1984 factory camouflage Bear Kodiak Takedown, 60#@28".

That's amazing. Loving this thread.

[The-Crow]

This is a great thread, I will get a couple more pics this week. My ‘66 grizzly and my new to me Kodiak Magnum..

[Homey88]

67 1/2 kodiak hunter 58 inch model.

[Homey88]

A dog leg grizzly that I wish I never got rid of.

[Petrichor]

A dog leg grizzly that I wish I never got rid of.

That's a beauty

[Doublegun]

Looking at the catalogues, I was surprised by how they used different wood every year for the Kodiak model.

[McDave]

Ive had some bad luck with old bows, mostly from moving around and drying them out. Im pretty good with wood and old guitars, as far as storage and even repair. Whats the ideal moisture and temperature to store bows at? Do you store them in a special hydrated closet or something in a dry climate

I’m not an expert in this, by any means, but I have had good luck keeping my ’59 Kodiak indoors in my house in a room where I keep all my bows for many years.  It never gets above about 80* in the summer, or cooler than maybe 58* in the winter.  This thread made me want to take her out, dust her off, and fire a few arrows.  Not a scratch or a crack in the finish on her.  In the nearby garage, it gets up to 130* in the summer and is very dry, not Mojave desert dry, but dry.  I’m sure it wouldn’t last a summer in there.  The only thing I had to do was to replace the feather rest, which was falling apart.

[Homey88]

Thanks Petrichor!

[Captain*Kirk]

Kirk;

Thank you for posting a link to the old catalogues. It was exactly what I was looking for.

Best,

Jay

That was Dave (Petrichor) who provided the link. Big round of applause for it, too!

[TIM B]

[TIM B]

Had the ol’59 our last night!
Tim B

[kopfjaeger]

The oldest bow I have is a 1956 Bear Polar. I haven't shot it for a long time.

[tippit]

Gotta a few...but most are getting too heavy for me now.  I've resisted taking weight off my Bears but have no problem with my Hoyts and Wings...tippit

[Petrichor]

Wow that signed take down is special. Quite the collection!

[The-Crow]

Beautiful collection for sure!!! I love the bear Super Kodiak’s it’s my dream bow, my wife and I took a trip to Maine last fall there was one at the Kittery Trading Post shot it, loved it, really wanted it in a 50# not a 45# left without it... really not sure why.

[Huntschool]

The Crow:

Should have bought it. Not that much difference between 45 and 50.  At our shooting distances with good arrows and broadheads a pass through is easy.  I have gone down in weight because of conditions and have not found the lower poundage to be restrictive.

Just sayin....

[reddogge]

This 1967 Grizzly was special because I took my first deer with it in 1969. I bought it new. The Bear Microflights were the second set of arrows I had for it, the first set was POC and all were lost or broken by 1969. I remember waiting at home during the time leading up to my first child's birth (Dr.s did that back then, sent you home to wait} and sharpening the 6 Bear Razorheads.

[Petrichor]

This 1967 Grizzly was special because I took my first deer with it in 1969. I bought it new. The Bear Microflights were the second set of arrows I had for it, the first set was POC and all were lost or broken by 1969. I remember waiting at home during the time leading up to my first child's birth (Dr.s did that back then, sent you home to wait} and sharpening the 6 Bear Razorheads.

That's special you still hunt with it?