Old Fred Bear bows as a way to start in stick archery

[Steve]

What do you all think about starting out with one of the old Fred Bear recurves that are available on Ebay as a way to get into stick bow archery. Besides being a weapon they have some antique value to them, but I don't know if today's newer recurves would be far superior or not.

[woodencanoe]

I think most those old Bear Recurve's on Ebay are 45#',or less. The one's over 50# are big bucks.Most of them old Grayling bows shoot great, but yes todays custom bows are much better bows. The new bows can use the fast flight strings, seems the arrow just cast alittle flatter with that type of string. Less hand shock on the new bows too.
Yes they are capable hunting bows thou, and most are beautiful antique's. If old bows could talk, I'll bet most would have some good story's, hey.
"When bows shoot faster than 300F.P.S. it ain't called Bowhunting no more. FRED BEAR"
woodencanoe

[bishs]

Steve, that is how I started in Traditional Archery. I shot an old Martin bow. I shot it often until I became consistant with the basics.

After shooting it for a summer you will have a better idea how serious you are. These bows are fine to hunt with, but you will probably want to step up to a more recent bow.

My brother has bought 2 bows on E-bay, he has bought a Bear tigercat, and a Kodiak, both bows were bought for 100 or less and are in great shape.

When you want a new bow, you may want to look at Martin bows. They make great "production bows", that shoot great and are affordable.

Later on you may want to spend more money and get a custom bow. They are fast and beautiful but will run from $400 to $950.

[flatsman]

I picked up a Kodiak Mag at a garage sale a couple years ago for $30.00 bucks and it shoot great. Also you can pick up a new martin recurve for about $200.00. Good Luck>

[Recurve]

Steve, I bought my recurve, a Howatt Hunter, used, but never hunted with, from a friend and have taken 3 deer with it. That same friend found a old 45# Fred Bear recurve, not sure the model, in mint condition for his son at an archery shop in Royal Oak. Look around locally, you may get lucky. The only disadvantage is the older bows can't use fast flight strings and may have more hand shock. That won't keep you from killing a deer!

[john warren]

go garage saleing,,,and fleamarkets, the ones on ebay get way over priced.

[lumpy]

I got into this with a Bear Bearcat @ 45lbs. Cost $0.00 nothing found it from a buddys father who was never gonna use it. gave it to me put a new string on it and away I went. Still shoots great.

Check around with people in your area you might be surprised who has an old bear for your use cheap.

what is that ???? 45 lbs is light. well you are right I can easily pull 60-65 lbs but with the 45 pounder You don't develop bad habits when starting out.

I still use this bow out in the woods even for deer. Shooting carbons tipped with a 125 grain muzzy, it will do the job very effectively. Great on bunnies.

[Ibow]

Lots of good advice here for you Steve. Bottom line is, like everyone says, don't go out and buy a real expensive bow to start out with. Find just about any used bow that is in reasonably good shape (doesn't necessarily have to be a Bear) at a low poundage (45-50), make sure you have arrows that are spined to your draw length and the poundage you are shooting and start out shooting at 10 yards or less. Get yourself comfortable with a particular way and style of shooting. Find out for sure if you want to make the plunge (which you no doubt will) and then someday get yourself into a nice custom made recurve or longbow.

Here are a couple of other sites where you can probably find something that would suit your needs.

http://*************/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum;f=5

http://65-242-99-131.hagenhosting.com/cgi-bin/classifieds.cgi

If you find what you think might be a deal, post it here and see what people have to say about it. There are a lot of experienced people here who drop in on this site and most would be more than happy to make sure you're getting a good deal on something and that you are getting set up right.

Hope this works out for you Steve. I bet that soon I'll be getting a new MTB membership slip from you.:lol:

Chuck

[Burksee]

go garage saleing,,,and fleamarkets, the ones on ebay get way over priced. :yeahthat: I saw an "old" Bear "Kodiak" at a garage sale last summer, brought back a lot of memories.....

It was going for $20 at the time, the lady saw me eyeing it and said "make me an offer!" I had no intentions of shooting a recurve again so I passed, told her about the "memory" part of it.

If you want I'll keep my eye's open, but like most things you'll trip over them at every turn until you need/want one then they can't be found!

[trout]

Find a newer bow and let the romance of Fred Bear hang on a shelf, where it can remain admired in one piece forever.
Those older bows are reaching their twilight years and some may not be safe to shoot.
Find a good deal on a new stick bow, it'll last longer.

[lumpy]

trout,

I will have to disagreewith you on this one. My old bear bow begs to be shot. These bows are meant to be used. I really think those who collect them are allowing the spirt within the bow to die. Can't explain it but the feeling I get shooting an old bow is magical.

Not taking the bear out is like going hunting without my old lab. My dog would be pissed and I am sure my bow would be too.

[trout]

Lumpy,
I said what I did because most people wouldn't have a clue as to what to look for as far as a safe shooter.
What if the tips are damaged or the glass in delaminated slightly?
What does a bad bow really look like? What models are more prone to blowing up so to speak.
Are you ready to place that type of bow in an archers hand? I doubt that and I also believe some bows can be shot safely.
The average person doesn't have a clue however.
Buy buying a modern bow or newer used bow your relatively safe in assuming the safety of said bow.
I understand the desire to shoot your older bow and that's your choice.
Fred is smiling on you every hunt.
I would not recommend that for a beginner into the realm of stick bows however.

[Ibow]

I have to agree with you Trout. While a lot of these old Bears and Pearsons and so on have a lot of nostalgia associated with them, I'm not sure it's a good idea to pick one up for a first trad bow for a couple of reasons.

They may have been standing on end in some corner of a garage or basement for years and years and years. It's just not real safe to be shooting something like that. And two, even if the bow is "safe" to shoot as far as it's condition, chances are pretty good that it's going to have a warped limb and it's going to be tough to get that bow to perform and a new person (or REALLY experienced trad shooter) will never be able to shoot it well consistently. Instead of looking at the condition of the bow and recognizing the thing is shot (no pun intended :p ), a new trad shooter is going to keep shooting it and shooting it and more than likely grow discouraged and just quit because it isn't working for him or her.:bash:

You're better off to pick up a 2,3 or 4 year old custom made recurve or longbow and get started on the right foot. If you keep your eyes open, you can pick up a really nice custom made bow for a pretty reasonable price. If you find after a year or two you really like it (which almost certainly you will), then go out and order yourself a nice new custom made bow.

JMO, Chuck