Question for all you "Old Timers"

[snufer]

Great thread Sean B, brings back lots of good memories!

[fisherick]

My first bow was a 1972 45# Bear Kodiak Magnum bow with Log fiberglass arrows and Bear razorheads. I shot a spike with that combo in 2008 and two weeks later the bow was stolen.

[MnFn]

Shakespeare Wonderbow 40@28 and a Bear Supermag 48 45@28 , wise guys.  And I still have them if I can remember where I put them.

[longrifle]

I would love to see any pics of the old bows that guys still have.

[Ibow]

What a fun thread to read through. I don't remember the model but I do remember my mom taking me to the local hardware store and getting me a Shakespeare bow and eventually I got my hands on a Bear "Black Bear". At least I think it was the Black Bear model??? Eventually I moved into Black Widow recurves and that's where I stayed until just recently when I purchased an A&H ACS. I guess after several decades I needed a little change. U    

[MnFn]

Here you go Longrifle. The Shakespeare Wonderbow is the third from the top, birthday present from my folks in 1965 IIRC.
The bottom bow was my dad's last recurve. It is a 60's bow as well. I tried to get his first bow back- I think it was made in the 1950's, but my nephew doesn't want to give it up.
 

[Sean B]

This was a fun thread.  I'm going to TTT 1 more time then I'll let it die

[Cedar&Flint]

Damon Howatt Super Diablo and Red Wing Hunter. Still have the Super Diablo, don't know what happened to the Wing. Killed a bunch of NFAA field targets, very little game!

[Frank V]

My first hunting bow in the mid '06s  was a Bear Kodiak Hunter 48lb @ 28. Boy I wish I still had that one.
Frank

[stickandstring]

My first was a grizzly takeoff made in korea.

[Kip]

I think the K-mag wins,Kip

[will_hunt]

Bear Kodiak Magnum...40# at 28" with those funky camo limb sleeves. Bear wooden arrows, painted gray full length with one yellow and two blue feather fletches. I still have a Razorhead from that set-up. I used to climb trees and sit on limbs till something happened along. 1972, wow.

[RainyDayBows]

My first hunting bow was a 45 lbs Ben Pearson that I got at Wards in 1973.

[Bladepeek]

A solid glass recurve - don't remember the brand - that I picked out of a sporting magazine. Got it for Christmas around 1955 or '56. Didn't kill any deer with it. We really didn't have many (any?) deer in Michigan's lower peninsula back then, and when you went to the UP, you took a rifle. My neighbor buddy and I got a few rabbits bow hunting and shot every day after school at some ridiculous distances at a mounted deer wired onto some hay bales. Shot a WHOLE lot better back then than I do now, but again, we did it every day. Probably had lousy form and made all kinds of dumb  mistakes, but we were pretty good in spite of all that. Yep, those were the good old days. Now, my groups are twice the size, the distance less than half as far and the old bones hurt more. Still having fun, though  

[Bruinbow]

First hunting bow was a Bear Cub and the next bow was a K Mag . Still have them both .

[Mr.Vic]

Does 52 yrs count as a old timer? I feel like it most days. If so, a Ben Pearson and a Fred Bear Alaskan Recurves.

[Mitch H]

Hunted with a Ben Pearson recurve from my first year hunting, 1972, until the end of 1976 when I bought my first wheel bow. BTW, my first two wheel bows were probably slower than my recurve.    

[SERGIO VENNERI]

Browning Cobra 11, Browning Explorer, Browning Fury, Kittredge Hunter.

[longbowman]

Lets see.  I started with an Indian 35# fiberglass bow in 1966.  In 1968 I bought a Bear Bearcat @45# and killed my first deer with it.  Then on to a 50# Browning Nomad II in 1969 which I shot my 2nd deer with and up to a Bear Kodiak Magnum 55@ in 1970 which I killed my 3rd deer with.  A Bear T.D. @ 55# in 1972 and killed 2 more with it.  After that they just kept on coming!

Now that I'm old and gray I use a Bear T.D. @ 73# for all of my hunting.  It's tuff being an "Old timer".

[Ric O'Shay]

For all you young whipper snappers that were still in diapers and others that were not even a gleam in their daddy's eye, here is a little something I posted here on Trad Gang on January 15, 2004 09:25 AM
     
I finally received my issue of TBM in the mail yesterday. About 9:30pm I was bored with the Mavericks and 76ers game and began thumbing through the magazine. I came across the article "The Return of the Little Delta Bow" by John Schneider.

As I read the article my thoughts turned to my own 1957 Kodiak Special. While its history is not as illustrious as the Little Delta bow, it nonetheless has served me well. I purchased this bow from one of my dad's co-workers in fall of 1959. I had just turned 16 at the time and had developed an avid interest in archery through my cousins.
Dad's friend had transferred from Michigan to the GM Plant in Arlington, TX and brought the bow with him. He had just bought a new Kodiak and was willing to sell me his "old" one for $25. For the next two years, I hunted rabbits and squirrels in the Trinity River bottoms with this bow. This area is now occupied by AMR Corp. and is a business district adjacent to DFW Airport. Anyway, I digress. In 1962 the bow wound up in the top of my closet. I moved away from my parents and 20 years passed by....college, a marriage, a divorce, work all kept me away from archery and my Kodiak Special.
In 1983 I retrieved it from its resting place, still there after all those years. It has been at my home since then, hanging on the wall unstrung and not shot since my senior year in high school.

After reading the Little Delta Bow article I decided this bow needs to be shot. After all that's what Fred Bear made them for. Right? I still had a Bear Archery string new in the package that I had put away with the bow. I dug it out, opened the package (white dacron endless string with brown serving) and placed it on the bow. I got my Selway stringer out and very carefully strung the bow. So, here I am out in my back yard with the flood lights on at 10:00pm last night contemplating on whether or not to shoot this 47 year old bow. It had to be done! I partially drew it several times testing and listening for any cracks or creaks. None. So I stood close to the target, knocked an arrow, 3/4 drew and released. The arrow smacked the target and all seemed well with the bow. Three more arrows at 3/4 draw and we are feeling confident. Full draw at 20 yards and stacking arrows. I shot for 30 minutes enjoying each and every arrow as they gracefully flew to the target.

Thank you John Schneider and TBM for the article and inspiring me to once again renew a relationship with my Kodiak Special.

Danny