Hey Everybody--I think that I am of the same opinion as most everybody else on here and that is that all these old bows need shooting!!Of the Vintage Bear Bows which ones do ya'll think are the best "Shooters"
thanks, Rick
My experience is limmited to Kodiaks and Grizzlies of the mid 50s to early 60s era but my favorites are the 57 Kodiak and the 62 Kodiak with the nod going to the 62K.
I recently acquired a 62" 59 Kodiak Special that shoots right there with them.
Trap
My favorite is the 57 Kodiak, followed by the 64 Kodiak.
1964 Kodiak's are very fast and smooooooth! Someday I will find my left hand 43#er
I have not shot that 57 Kodiak, but believe with all the praise it gets, I would like to.
Since we are making lists, here's mine...
1. 62 Kodiak
2. 63 Kodiak
3. 59 Kodiak special
4. 59 Kodiak
I know that 60 is also supposed to be a winner, but have not had the chance to see how good.
Hi Lon, Did you ever get that article published for the Wa Bowhunters?
the "most collectible" one ?
Trap
Daryl,
pm sent.
I love the '59s: Grizzly, 64" Kodiak Special and 64" Kodiak (all close, but in that order) however...
the 64" '57 Kodiak does 'it' for me.
To be completely fair though, I haven't shot a '64... anyone want to loan me one? :biglaugh: :jumper:
Meant to add that though the '59s aren't screamers, they sure are sweet.
Lon
I always heard the the consensus isthe the '64 and '59 Kodiaks arethe best shooting hunting bows that Beaer ever made.
I can't speak to the '59 because I have never rshot one.
I have the '63, '64, '65, & '66 models.
I favor the '63 Dogleg and the '64. Now a lot of it is personal preference and how a particular mode lfitrs a particular individual. Also, there will be some variation in individual bows of the same model year.
Mike Shaw.
You have dropped your weight requirement for the LH '64 Kodiak to 43# as you stated bove.. You had previously stated that you wanted a 45#.
If you will drop your requirements by just 1# more, I still have the 42# Leftie hanging on my wall that you turned down.
Jack..Its that old age stuff you know :confused: Jack..any stress lines or holes? send me a pm with a price you have in mind. Oh man here we go Sue is going to shoot me!
I must be a cheapskate. I have a tigercat that shoots as well for me as any of my other Bear bows.
I really like the 64" 57 Kodiak I recently picked up. Like my 60 Grizz too. Both are 50#.The 57 Kodiak has better cast. The Grizz is quieter.
Maybe you can "Jump the string" Mike....How fast is her bow?
Trap
I like the long risers found on the 1962 Kodiaks....
1960 Grizzly and from what I remember many years ago the 1962 Grizzly and 1962 Kodiak, I can vouch for the 60 griz cause I have one, smooth and quiet bow, quietest curve I own, and I own some high end bows,LOL. I will let you know about the two 62's as I have one of each coming.
That is my experience with the Bear bows except for a late 80's early 90's Custom td which I owned for a while, nice smoothe bow also.
I did have a 56 or 57 Kodiak Special for a while but it had a bunch of hand shock and donated it to a good cause.
Danny
:pray:
Yeah you better not risk it ;) That "hits what she is shooting at" part would kinda scare me.
Trap
I've been reading along..and I would like to add one of the best shooting bows ever built....one of the smoothest to draw..but not one of the fastest bows ever manufactured...but again it's one of the most forgiving of all bows ever...(little slower arrow speed makes a good shooting bow..more forgiving) .OK I'll get to my point,it's the one the only often copied but never duplacated the real deal all meat and no filler...shot and loved by 1,000 to this day.The mighty Bear Super Kodiak........bowdoc
too be honest after thinking about this.... my 62" 45# 1959 Kodiak Special is about the sweetest shooting bow I have ever shot... hands down.
It is remarkable what a difference going from 64" or 66" to 62" makes on those 59 KS-whole different bow!
It was made to be 62"; and you can hardly ever find them! I wonder how many were produced compared to the 64 and 66 and 68 inchers.
So now all you guys have done is given me a whole list of bows that I have to get now. Like I haven't spent enough on my collection already. And to add to the probem, when you get a new model in your colledtio, you can't just top at one. If one is worht having, then it is worth having two or three of them. That philosophy is what got me in trouble with the Jack Howard JETS.
I don't know,, I still like my Magnesium TD's They are so totally versatile to set up.. Not as pretty as most of the woodies, but shoot as good or better than most. My present setup is a set of 61# #1 white tips on a B riser. Number 2 grip and off the shelf.. Drawn to my 29 1/2" draw those old 2020's are smoking.. Smooth draw and no kick.. I can't ask for more.(For off the shelf I do like to remove the rubber shelf pad, and put on a patch of "Bear Hair")
I do not like the 2B Gainesville limbs and have yet to decide on the new limbs, some how they just don't feel right, maybe just none of Fred's mojo.
I recently acquired a '63 Kodiak from ckruse and after several weeks of shooting this bow... I'm hooked on this one. It's no slouch and it's a much quieter-shooting bow than many of the newer-designed recurves I've had (it isn't just the dacron string thing either).
I hunted with a Dogleg 15 years ago, but didn't have it all that long as I traded it for an Asbell Colorado Bighorn. I had forgotten how long the riser is (about 23" from fadeout to fadeout), that's a lot of riser real estate for a mere 60" bow.
I'm curious about the '64 Kodiak, based on many of the opinions I've seen here. How does it differ from the '63? Obviously it doesn't have the Dogleg riser design, but what else?
Interesting discussion. I have just begun spending some time shooting the 18 or so Bear recurves I bought over the last year. I have among them, 2 Kodiak Hunters - one a 43# and the other a 50#. They seem to be the best shooters of the bunch, at this point.
Love collecting and shooting old Bears and other vintage bows. Have extensively shot these Bear Kodiaks (57,59,62,64,65)all between 42 & 50 lbs. Personally I like the '64.
A couple (OK 3) unmentioned darkhorses: 1962 Grizzly (I-beam, 62", white glass); 1966 Alaskan (66", target style); and 1968 Kodiak Hunter(58", deep grip, one of my favorite bows for ground blinds & still hunting).
Yule
I have a '63 Kodiak, a '64 Kodiak, and a new RER recurve that are all about the same draw weight. The '63 is the quietest, then the '64, then the RER. I haven't chrono'd them, but the RER is slightly faster than the '64, and the '64 is slightly faster than the '63.
Dave
Dave,
Did you get my PM about the '64 Kodiak?
Thanks,
Terry
On Saturday afternoon, I had another shootout with my 62, 63, 64, and 65 Kodiaks. :help: