# First Compound Bow 1967



## bear-of-grayling

This is the first advertisement with a full page drawing of this new bow. Full page ad. July 1967 "Archery World". Holless Wilbur Allen and Tom Jennings combined efforts (Allens invention and Jennings bowyer skills) to produce a new concept in the archery world. Tom Jennings was a writer for ”The Archers Magazine” which later became Archery World and owned Jennings Archery where he built recurve bows. The bow in the ad was advertised as an Allen as it should have been as he invented the compound. The bow however came out of Jennings Archery and had many improvements by Tom. Very quickly after this advertisement (months) Holless Allen redesigned his version and Tom Jennings did the same. Both Allen and Jennings offered wooden limb compounds only until Allen came out with his 6806 model (06-1968). The picture below is of 3 of the earliest Allen Compound Bow models. All “Patents Pending“.


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## TWO SWITCHBACKS

dan you hit the nail on the head didnt we!!, we now have the proof and its in the pudding!! ok everyone step up and post the pictures of your allens ,not those storys about your dad or buddy or grandad has one of the first allen bows as this is the real Mc coy.


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## TWO SWITCHBACKS

dan have i told you the story about hollis allen while when living in california, where he was buying the bear grizzly bows for the limbs from the archery dealer,for his yet to be invention, and one day came back into his shop wraped up in a paper bag showing it to him,and having him shooting it and wanting $$(5,000 )to start his bussiness, and then the next year receiving those two first allen & jennings bows from allen, a right hand and a left hand version. (our pictures of the lefty) also i have his social security # and found his place of rest not to be the right hollis allen.its still a mystery as to where, also sherwood schoch (archery world mag editor) who received the yet to be called compound bow by tom jennings,opened the box from allen and sent it to tom archery worly technical writter, to test,but cant remember just what it looked like.but tom jennings tested it in the stratocaster and there are pictures of it.yes this is how it happened!.


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## bear-of-grayling

*"Archery World" May 1967*

This is the May 1967 article of the all new "Compound Bow". The bow in the “Stratocaster” is the first photograph of the Allen Compound Bow. This bow being tested was made by Tom Jennings. The first pics are the bows that Holless Allen built. The “Original” Allen bows were made entirely of wood. Eccentrics and all. Jennings saw the potential of this bow (second picture) and made a revised version for the Stratocaster. Three months later the full page advertisement appeared. Look at all the refinements in just a few months. These are the roots of the Compound Bow. Thank you. Dan


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## TWO SWITCHBACKS

i have one of allens first compounds and you have one of tom jennings first compounds ,i know of some others also! so why does archerytalk history of the compound bow start of with the compound in the year 1970? do they not yet believe that it was out there in 1967.i have sent them pictures of proof years ago!.i also have talked to some old time archery dealers, that sold the jennings compounds and they have never seen the allen & jennings first ones.maybe they will up-date the history of the compound bow.


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## redboyd7

Some of your facts could be wrong. When Allen won his lawsuit against all the bow companies that were producing a compound Jennings was the only company that was not allowed to make a compound anymore. He did have several patents also but all of them were after allens patent and so everyone had to pay him for every bow that they had sold up to that time. I am not sure what year this was but I believe it was in the early 1970's. Allen died from a car accident on his way home from the last court appearance contesting his patent rights. Mrs Allen blamed Jennings and refused him the right to produce compound bows. Several other bow companies had to stop production because they could not come up with the money on the bows they already had produced. I do know that Earl Hoyt had been putting money aside for every compound his company made because he assumed that he would have to pay once the law suit was settled. I heard the figure of 3.00 a bow, but I am not sure about that. I personally credit Tom Jennings with getting the compound on the marvelous road that it is on today. As a side note I met Mr. Allen in Dearborn Michingan is 1966 when he was on his way to see Fred Bear to see if he had any interest in investing in his company.


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## bear-of-grayling

Thank you for your response. The law suit you are speaking of was late 1970's and Jennings did not quit producing until 1982. Never filed bankrupcy because Bear Archery bought all Jennings assets from the bank. All this was after Allens patent ran out. The back payment was a tremendous burdon on most archery companies. All this had nothing to do with the roots of archery as laid out above although. thanks Dan


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## kelownamusicsce

Wow, thanks for posting this. I love this kind of stuff!

If anyone out there has any more historical gems like this, please keep posting them!

Cheers.


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## bear-of-grayling

refresh!


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## bear-of-grayling

We must not state a fact on hearsay. The old archery magazines are the best way to assemble what happened and when. We all want the same thing: to find out how it all began. Lets share concrete information with evidence. Happy New Year To All You Archery History Lovers!!!!!!!! Dan


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## Carbon Jack

Great post with good photos. I can clearly remember a friend's dad buying a compound in the late 60s. I was 11 or 12 and thought the bow so very cool. I didn't actually draw a compound until about 1975 and thought it horrible. By then I'd been so immersed in conventional archery (we didn't call it traditional then) that the compound offended me. LOL

Have never owned a compound but do find the tech changes over the years very interesting. I love to watch good compound shooters make 100 yard balloon and novelty shots..

Jack


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## redboyd7

If what I have learned about patents is true (Google) patents have a life of 20 years from the day applied for, This would make the Allen Patent #3 486 495 good from June 1966 to June 1986. That would put the jennings lawsuit in 1983 that he lost in this time frame. The corp that bought Jennings also owned Fred Bear. Could this also be the reason that the first Bear-Jennings I can find is 1987 amd 1988. After the patent ran out. The five patents that Jennings held for the compound bow were still in force. He also held a patent on the compound arrow rest. His first article in Archery World on the Allen Patent was titled Bow With Compound Interest. It was called the Compound Bow from then on. Jennings then signed a licencing agrreement with Allen and stopped his production on his regular bows and concentrated solely on producing compounds. He was first in gettting authorization to allow the Compound in a Nationally recognized tournament. He was allowed to compete in the flight competition in the 65 lb. class in the 1967 Nationals (Bowhunter) Flight Shoot. In 1970 the NFAA ruled it to be legal for National Fiele Archery competitions and bowhunting awards.


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## bear-of-grayling

Everything you state is exactly correct. Patents after 1995 are good for 20 years and before 1995 were good for 17 years or 20 from the application time which ever was the longest. Allen applied in 1967 and was issued December 31 1969. It would have expired in 1989. (being the longest of the two). I am no authority on the 1980's compound bow history as I have been focusing on the 1960's and early 70's. You stated the compound was made legal in 1970 which is correct. It was also made illegal in 1971 and sent many new compound owners through the roof. It was soon again legalized once again. That May 1967 issue of Archery World is a true treasure and a great read. It did for Archery what Sam Colt did for the Gun!


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## bear-of-grayling

Correction. Allen patent was applied for in June of 1966. Which would still have kept the patent alive until December 31, 1986.


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## redboyd7

The National Archery Association during all of the conflict about allowing the compound stayed neutral. I have all of the books (2) written by Robert Rhode on the History of the naa from 1879 to 1978. There is one book covering the early years 1879 to 1945 and one from 1946 to 1978. All records shot are listed in these books for the N.A.A. There is no mention of the compound bow. I am really sorry that no one hase taken the time to do one as complete on the N.F.A.A For you Olympic and Fita fans he also did a history of the Federation Internationale De Tir A L'arc in two editions. One covered the records from 1931 to 1961 and from1962 to 1983. The Olympics were also covered for these times, after they were reinstated in 1972.


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## bear-of-grayling

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## bear-of-grayling

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## bear-of-grayling

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## bear-of-grayling

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## bear-of-grayling

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## bear-of-grayling

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## bear-of-grayling

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## bear-of-grayling

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## bear-of-grayling

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## Cold Weather

I recall very vividly the early 80s. Jennings closed the fall of 82 as a result of the Allen lawsuit. Bear Archery acquired the line, and they became known as Jennings by Bear in 1983. I have a collection of Jennings catalogs and infact, have a copy of the 82 catalog.

I met Tom Jennings the summer of 82 and I recall he planned to introduce a 2 cam bow the year of 1983 based on the Forked Lightening design.

I have a small archery museum in my house, and have samples of the Jennings Mod T, TStar, and Arrowstar.


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## scott bomar

Hello, Ihave been shooting since 1971, started with the jennings epoxy impregnated riser which I still have. It has the original (s hooks for string). If you would like to have this bow its yours just for the shipping. Thought you might like to have for your museum.
Contact me thru e-mail [email protected]


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## Flintlock1776

Very cool!


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## bear-of-grayling

refrsh


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## wildturkey1958

I was just talking about this on another thread. I was at Busch wildlife outside of St. Louis when I was 11 or 12 when I saw A guy that had a bow with pulleys and wheels and after talking with him he claimed it was his invention.I'm 55 now.


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## love fingers

*model t*

The unstrung hero of my youth. Given to me by my uncle who won the idaho barbow field championship with it. Shot the strings off of this thing learning to shoot.


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## gfm1960

love fingers said:


> The unstrung hero of my youth. Given to me by my uncle who won the idaho barbow field championship with it. Shot the strings off of this thing learning to shoot.


I had one of these model t's in the mid 70's.there was also a bow called kam act that was radical looking at that time.i saw 2 of them.a guy and his little brother had them


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## Xero

Interesting that the profile in the riser emulates the "bat wing" design popular in recurve bows of the day. The cover photo with the scouts shows this bat wing pattern in the recurve being leaned against. I remember the lines in these risers, very sculptural, lots of complex lamination integrated into the design. 

I vaguely remember the introduction of the first compound designs . . . "What the hell is that all about ???" *LMAO* I didn't think it was a "fad" but more an indication of where technology was headed generally. And I expected technology would produce automobiles that look like space ships -- fins, grills that look like jet engine intakes -- and that eventually cars would fly. Hanna-Barbara was displacing The Flintstones with The Jetsons on TV. Robots were going to do all our work for us. 

The illustrations here look like a hybrid of Boy's Life (Boy Scouts of America official monthly mag.) and Norman Rockwell. 

-- But then I remember the release of "2001 A Space Odyessy" (1968) and fully expected we'd have a research colony on Mars by 2013. 

In that vein, I suppose my take down, ILF recurve, foam carbon limbs, carbon composite arrows, cams, sights, D loop releases *ARE* pretty futuristic when looking back . . .


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## Pete53

at age 60 now and been in archery since i was 10 maybe sooner lived next to a small bow shop ,hunted with recurves,got my first compound a allen in 1972, boy i thought i had the world by the butt ! seen it all it was great ! really liked my jennings bows,tried many brand bows over the years,hoyt has always made great bows,but now i really have come to like barnsdale bows not many of you may know but Dave Barnsdale has a lot of history himself in archery.have really enjoyed reading the history of the compound bow ,my dear friend who past away a few years ago Wayne Miller,from little falls,mn. a pro archer in the old days ,was very good friend`s with Tom Jennings who used to give Wayne a few custom target bows they were called model I target bows ,man were they nice looking !Wanye kinda wanted me to take one sure wished i would have now.


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## bear-of-grayling

Well, I've got nothing better to do.


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## rtbolyard

I've got one identical to the one in your pictures.But I believe mine was the first left handed.


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## SonnyThomas

gfm1960 said:


> I had one of these model t's in the mid 70's.there was also a bow called kam act that was radical looking at that time.i saw 2 of them.a guy and his little brother had them


Here's 2 Kam Acts. The black, green speckled is the camo of the day back then. The stabilizer is not a stabilizer. It's storage tube, factory, not home made. The target bow was found in a garage, totally covered with spray paint and bird droppings....


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## field14

So far on this thread, there hasn't been a single mention of the OLYMPUS compound bow that came about right in the middle of the Allen vs. Jennings era of the later 1960's to early 1970's. I find this rather surprising, what with the number of archers so far on this thread that have been around the block more than once...hahahaha.
I'm thinking that Terry Ragsdale was shooting an Olympus Compound bow and won several shoots in Texas and the southwest Section in the very early 1970's with his Olympus?


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## Pete53

yes i remember the Olmypus Compound bow watch Terry Ragsdale in Minnesota win the men`s pro release free style division with a 300,wayne miller won the pro finger free style division with his target model S-handle jennings with a 295 "first arrow he missed the target", i believe the year was 1977 in march.back in those years the pro finger division was fun to watch and was the one everyone wanted to win but now days its all pro release division , not many finger shooters left. here in Minnesota the star tribune back in the late sixties front page had the famous Jim Poen`s picture with caption saying worlds greatest archer holding his wing recurve and target he shot a perfect 300 and that was with fingers.i have been very lucky to have got to meet with these great archers, all were perfect gentlemen also. seems these years are just are moving to fast and i am getting slower !


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## bear-of-grayling

You goin to pull those pistols or whistle dixie?


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## brtesite

Pete53 said:


> yes i remember the Olmypus Compound bow watch Terry Ragsdale in Minnesota win the men`s pro release free style division with a 300,wayne miller won the pro finger free style division with his target model S-handle jennings with a 295 "first arrow he missed the target", i believe the year was 1977 in march.back in those years the pro finger division was fun to watch and was the one everyone wanted to win but now days its all pro release division , not many finger shooters left. here in Minnesota the star tribune back in the late sixties front page had the famous Jim Poen`s picture with caption saying worlds greatest archer holding his wing recurve and target he shot a perfect 300 and that was with fingers.i have been very lucky to have got to meet with these great archers, all were perfect gentlemen also. seems these years are just are moving to fast and i am getting slower !




I think Bobby Hunt won the NFAA nationals with an olympus . The first 300 I saw was Jim Ploen shooting a Herters recurve Off of a Finishing nail for an arrow rest
. It was at hall's archery in cT.


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## thudpucker

It was about 1967 that I bought a Jennings 4-wheeler from Glenn St Charles in South Seattle. People laughed at me for toting all that machinery around.


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## Bonaro123

Anyone ever hear of the Dynabo?
I have a couple in my closet, wonder if they have any significance


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## wa-prez

Bonaro123 said:


> Anyone ever hear of the Dynabo?
> I have a couple in my closet, wonder if they have any significance


Yes, the Dynabo was pretty special. Predecessor of the modern cam bow. See the "Morrett" thread for some more info.

I also have a Morrett Dynabo around here. There were a few other people who made them, Martin Archery was one such company.


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## Pete53

i always wondered why dynabo never got any money for copy rights on the single cam bow like darton did with the cam and half ?


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## wa-prez

Pete53 said:


> i always wondered why dynabo never got any money for copy rights on the single cam bow like darton did with the cam and half ?


I think the guy who invented and had the patent on the Dynabo died (in the 1980's?) and his family wasn't interested in it.

That's the history by my memory.


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## kballer1

1969 Waukesha,WI. Jim Ploen, Bob Berry, West & Less Hegameyer were shooting on the Herters team all shooting 75" recurves & Jim was still shooting that finishing nail & shot a 300, His arrows flew terrible & asked him why he would tune them & he said as long as they all go in the middle he didn't care how they flew. He is still shooting fingers & recurve shot the MN. Senior Olympics Qualifier in Aug. & he won the 85+ division. Just a super guy.


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## Lazarus

Tag. Bear in Grayling........we need to visit.


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## RealDakota

Pete53 said:


> i always wondered why dynabo never got any money for copy rights on the single cam bow like darton did with the cam and half ?


Although the Dynabo design had just one cam, it was not functionally similar to the design of modern single-cam bows.


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## tjb50cal

Cold Weather said:


> I recall very vividly the early 80s. Jennings closed the fall of 82 as a result of the Allen lawsuit. Bear Archery acquired the line, and they became known as Jennings by Bear in 1983. I have a collection of Jennings catalogs and infact, have a copy of the 82 catalog.
> 
> I met Tom Jennings the summer of 82 and I recall he planned to introduce a 2 cam bow the year of 1983 based on the Forked Lightening design.
> 
> I have a small archery museum in my house, and have samples of the Jennings Mod T, TStar, and Arrowstar.


forked lightening? a friend of my brothers wanted my help to identify/advise him on his old bow, but i was not able to find any info on it,http://s133.photobucket.com/user/TigerSharkman/library/old%20jennings%20bow?sort=3&page=1&postlogin=true

was the forked version anything like this one? any info would be appreciated please


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## Cold Weather

That bow is very likely a bow called SIDEKICK. If it has non wooden limbs about definite it is. There was another bow like that with wooden laminate limbs but I can't recall the name. I have a number of Jennings catalogs at home, but since I am away on business as I write this I don't have access. My catalog collection includes 1982 which was the last year Jennings in business before the judgement in his lawsuit with Allen. The bow features try draw eccentrics which allows for draw length adjustment.


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## kballer1

Nope the pics are of a Model T with draw adjustments & might have also had weight adjustments. The side kick had glass limbs. The forked Lighting was also a glass limb bow that had metal brackets on the limb tips for holding the wheels.


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## Cold Weather

kballer1 said:


> Nope the pics are of a Model T with draw adjustments & might have also had weight adjustments. The side kick had glass limbs. The forked Lighting was also a glass limb bow that had metal brackets on the limb tips for holding the wheels.


I respectfully disagree...

Check the photos. It says Lightening which was a glass limb bow.

I have samples of the Model T, Arrowstar, Forked Lightening and TStar .

I am fairly confident I can date this bow 1978. I have the catalogs 77 to 82. When I get back from this business trip I will check


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## kballer1

I don't see any where it says lighting on that bow & if you look at the butt end of the limb it is way to thick to be a glass limb, that is a wood laminated limb.


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## Cold Weather

tjb50cal said:


> forked lightening? a friend of my brothers wanted my help to identify/advise him on his old bow, but i was not able to find any info on it,http://s133.photobucket.com/user/TigerSharkman/library/old%20jennings%20bow?sort=3&page=1&postlogin=true
> 
> was the forked version anything like this one? any info would be appreciated please


3rd pic. Says Lightening. Blow it up a bit. The Mod T had a laminated limb. I had wondered if it was a bow called Starlite which had laminated limb. But no.


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## Zach C.

Hello! I am new to the scene, and come here seeking knowledge. I have recently purchased a Jennings Arrowstar 2 off of e-bay that is exactly like the one I had when I was 15-16 years old back in '79-'80. It has a green riser, and white limbs. I just happened to see it on e-bay, and luckily won the auction! Man, holding it brings back memories. My late father and I used to go to an archery shop/ range in Bartlett, Tenn. , a suburb of Memphis. We were in an archery league for a little while there. Great people, and great times. I am seeking info and history, and hopefully photos, brochures, production numbers,etc. on these old Jennings bows. I have been away from the archery scene for most of the past 35 years, and man have things changed! I love the old bows, and have had an old Shakespeare take-down re-curve for many years, although I haven't shot it since the late seventies. Jennings was my dad's favorite bow, and became mine once he bought me that Arrowstar 2 back in the day. I always liked target shooting over hunting, so my dad got me the target bow, where his was camo for hunting. Any info would be appreciated! Thanks!


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## Cold Weather

The Jennings Arrowstar was introduced 1976 as the Jennings Master Hunter. For 1977 it was renamed Arrowstar. It was far and away the top bow at the time. I wanted one but c


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## backwashrat

My dad bought one of the first jennings compounds in 1966 ( I beleive that was the year ) He gave it to me in new condition. In 1980 I meet Ron Morrett of Morrett archery he was making the Dynabo at that time He told me to contact Tom at his shop in Castaic Ca. I did and he invieted me to come to the shop so he could see the bow
I did and he very very excited to see it ( he showed me the S/N 26 ) and then showed it to everyone in the shop. during the tour that he gave me he had me pick out any bow there and then gave it to me for the one I had. (wish that I had kept it, the old one not the new one )
Tom was a friend I I saw him at many tournaments I even had a call from him when He was with Bars Archery, asking how I was doing in archery.
Harold


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## Tabasco

Could anyone tell me about this peace of history my grandfather gave me, and where I can turn to fix it?


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## Cold Weather

I don't think you can fix it. That bow is an early 70s Jennings. I'm afraid I'm not that knowledgeable on bows that era. I saw my first compound the spring of 75


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## rustycase

Great thread. Tnx! I enjoyed reading it...

Someone can make a new pair of limbs for that old Jennings compound... but a fix would only be cosmetic, for a static display.
...Thinking just a little more... there's already been mention in this thread of buying bows to cut the limbs down to make compounds...
It'll work.

IMO
rc


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## ArchAnon

I enjoyed reading this little piece of history.

So I bumped it. Hope y'all don't mind.


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## leoncrandall74

Very cool history lesson. 

Sent from my SM-S920L using Tapatalk


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## csalodge

I was thinking $195 seems like a lot of money in 1967... $195 in 1967 adjusted for inflation to 2018 is $1,461. About the same as today's flagship compounds. Interesting.


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## Icenberg

Wow really shows you how far we have come but how little really changed.


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