# Old Fred Bear Compound Bow



## WaterboyUT

I'm pretty sure the Whitetail Hunter was a popular bear bow of it's time but I don't know if it is worth anything from a collectors stand.


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## beretta16

Irish66 said:


> I picked up an old Fred Bear compound bow from a customer that was going to throw it away. I am wondering if it is worth anything? the markings on the bow say "Whitetail Hunter" 44" AMO. It does have the patent # on it if that makes a difference. anybody have any ideas?????


If you don't want it send it over here and I can have a bowfishin bow lol :darkbeer:


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## KyBoy33

*Vintage Fred Bear compound*

I have the same question running through my mind, I have a Bear Alaskan compound which I bought new in 1975 and loved it from that moment on. I am curious as to what value it may have though I can't imagine letting it go. I remember the Whitetail Hunter but don't know when it first came out, only that it seemed like it was very popular. Wish I had the knowledge so many here do. :darkbeer:


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## Dave2

Whitetail Hunter, got my very first deer with one of those, along time ago!!!


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## archerm3

Old whitetail hunters are worth about 10 bucks, if they are shootable. Too many of them around, like huffy ten speeds. The Alaskan, maybe a tad more, that might have some collectiveness too it.


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## Irish66

Dave2 said:


> Whitetail Hunter, got my very first deer with one of those, along time ago!!!


do you have a rough idea of the age? 20-30-40 years old?
i think i will clean it up and hang it on my wall for aconversation piece!!
happy huntin'


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## Templar1305

They are very sturdy bows. 
As a matter of fact, there is one here at work in the corner. Our tech guy just left it here.
I know for a fact its been dryfired by every idiot that comes through our office and yet, its still in shootable condition, no cracks on the limbs!

The oldest book I have with compounds in it (one of those digests) is from the 80s, and the Whitetailer is a lot older than that. They actually look like an evolutionary step between the original HW Allen compound and the Jennings Arrowstar, so I am guessing it's a 1970s era product. 

They may not have blistering IBO speeds, but they took (and still take) many a deer, and they seem to be more able to withstand being mishandled by idiots (dry fires) than the modern stuff. 
I think they are decent bows, myself.
The darn things last forever...


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## WAID

That was my first compound. Not a bad shooter especially for fingers. It's been setup for bowfishing and I just set it up so my brother could shoot it in the yard.


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## ronhunter

Ron Wittwer says that this bow was a low end bow back in the 70's. Does it have brown fiberglass limbs?


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## neo71665

4 wheeler, I have one out in my shop. Even have a whitetail 2


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## mttc08

just bought a whitetail hunter on e bay for $25 the alaskan goes for a little more.......bout $75 and up depending on condition......best deal is to get one at a pawn shop IF you can find one.....just started my collection.....so far I have whitetail hunter, polar ltd, polar 2 and an alaskan.
The whitetail hunter was my first compound bow back in 78. My dad gave $50 for it and I missed a lot of deer with that bow....lol.....sure had lots of fun trying tho!!


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## ManHunterUSMC

Well I'm sure this thread hasn't had anything said on it recently but I just found a Whitetail Hunter hanging up in my Father inlaw's garage. I bought him a Martin Bow about 9 months ago. I really like the look of it but I don't think he ever killed anything with it... but I'll ask him in the morning. I was still in great condition and it was really easy to pull back. I don't think you could really kill anything with that... I can't imagine it would launch an arrow past 2 yards... so paper tuning is out of the question. lol

Oh my mother in law just told me he won it in a raffle back in 1974 so it must have been new then I'm sure.


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## bigfish1977

you will have to take the wt. up by moving cables to the weels that come of the riser there were many deer killed with one and they can be made to shoot much better as mine is all fast flite cabled and is quiet and nice as i shoot fingers and off the shelf with it


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## recurveboy

My dad has his old Alaskan (the one with recurved laminated wood limbs and small plastic wheels) and i want to use it for deer season next year. only problem is im 17years old 5'6'' and my actual tabbed recurve draw is about 25" while the alaskan draws at about 32". so i was wondering if there is a way to adjust the draw length? maybe put a literally shorter string on it? it still shoots straight and quiet so its still got some use. we have a bow press and experience adjusting compounds but none with the mess of steel cables and pulleys like the ALASKAN


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## Beginner-bear

*For any Fred bear collectors*

I came across a Fred bear compound bow at a garage sale. It's marked as a polar II and has a couple identifying markers on it, but I'm haveing a hard tone finding out anything about it, including value and age. If there's anyone that can help me with this beautiful vintage bow, I'd be more than appreciative. 
-Val


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## s.a.w.

Fred bear Alaskan compounds were the top of the line bows for bear archery.


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## s.a.w.

And their limbs were the top of the line no matter what bow you bought. you can't say that about any other bow but Darton and Martin!!!!!!!!!!


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## s.a.w.

Now a days you do not know if you are buying a pc of junk or not. Limbs blowing up, stuff just coming off. The true artist were out there making archery what it is today. Now it's about price. This is one of the reasons I have stuck with Darton. They are always innovating new product to better archery, not for the sale! Fred Bear used be like that until he passed a way and the company was bought out. This why old bear archery recurves sell at such a high price.
So does the top of the line compounds in the 80's. So if you have a Alaskan II or Other II's, these compounds are going up in price because Fred was still around and he had Bill Stewart back to help make these wood riser compounds that shot as fast as anything else and tech to make the long fiber resin limbs that would not break down even if the limbs had many nics in them. Fred used the top companies when it came to building his materials.


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## s.a.w.

I am 51 years old and I remember when there was no compounds and you had choice to buy Bear or to buy the others.


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## Nockhuntin88

I wish I could find my old Whitetail II that I had. I think my dad threw it in the dumpster when he cleaned out the house. I loved that bow...


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## Brad Lehmann

I picked up a Whitetail Hunter for $25 on Ebay not too long ago. When it arrived I was surprised to see that the cables, paint, wheels, string all looked new! Somebody really took care of the bow.
I grabbed an arrow and my release and stepped out to my range. Upon release I think my bow hand went numb from the vibration and two fillings fell out of my teeth. Talk about hand shock. I quickly found a spot for it on the rack and forgot about it. A couple of months later I was messing around and decided to give it another go. Same reaction. After shooting that bow it surprises me that compounds ever came out of their infancy. They were crude and not pleasant to shoot. I know now why the bow looks like new. The guy that had it before me wasn't tough enough to shoot it either!


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## uphunter

came out in 1976


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## skip5515

Say Recurve bow to drop the Dl from 32 to 25 You would need different wheels and I don't think tyhat bear had any thing that short as the Ata was so long that you would need a real small wheel to get that short, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 Dia.


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## WillAdams

Nifty photo of Fred Bear shooting a compound bow:

http://books.google.com/books?id=8O...3&ved=0CEkQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=archery&f=false


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## Sid13

bought a whitetail in 1976 for a whopping $75 bucks of my hard earned lawn mowing money (2 bucks an hour), didnt even have threaded holes for a sight or berger button, took care of that in metal shop in high school, even made my own berger button, sold it in '78 and bought a Darton sl50, no more brackets. wheels mounted in the limbs instead of hanging in brackets, was a major improvement in compound evolution.


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## ahunter55

I was a Archery Pro shop/lanes owner starting in 1964 & for nearly 20 years. Compounds started taking over in mid 1970s & the Bear Whitetail was a very popular mid, lower end. Lots were sold because of their price.
Few compounds (old) are worth much except to an idividual that may be into collecting them. Resale is very low & IF something happens to break your almost alaways unable to repair unless you happen upon another.
Now, old recurves are a different story depending on company & model.
Photo of my 1st full time shop/lanes in mid 60s.


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## deere4320

I picked up a bear Alaskan today that was signed by fred bear himself,dont know if it adds any value to it but it is cool and not something you see every day.Im sure to the collector it would add some value


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