# 60's and 70's Made Bows



## ChefMatt (Nov 7, 2014)

I'm looking around eBay and noticing that I can purchase a major, name brand bow for far less than the original price. I'm seeing lots of Bear, a few Browning, etc that were made in the 50's, 60's, and 70's. Are these bows at an age where they are super delicate, or prone to breaking? Has the stress of being used made them structurally weaker over time? 

Obviously a major consideration would be the condition that the bow is in from its previous owner. If the bow is abused it wouldn't matter which brand it is. But all things being equal, are there certain brands that you can reasonably assert have stood the test of time and will continue to do so?

Thanks so much!


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## Jeb-D. (Sep 21, 2011)

As long as there isn't any problems with the bow (twisted limbs, cracks, start of delamination), it should be good to go. The first bow I purchased about 4 years back was a 1960's hoyt pro medalist. I put thousands of arrows through it and it held up fine. It did finally give a couple months back, but that is because I had an arrow nock explode on release which caused the bow to dry fire and fly out of my hand. If that hadn't happened, I have no doubt I could have got several more years out of it.

Be sure to use a dacron string, not the low-stretch strings. Also, keep the arrow weight to at least 8 grains per pound of draw weight.


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## JINKSTER (Mar 19, 2011)

Bear, Pearson, Herters, Browning, Wing...while you might encounter the occasional bit of "Limb Twist" (that's easily and quickly remedied with hot tap water and hand pressure) imho?...unless any of them have been grossly abused?...you're safe...and some very fine shooting bows made from old wood can be had, shot and enjoyed...

here's my '65 Bear Polar (I shot VAP's off of regularly..until I sold it about 6 months back)










and here's my '75 Herters Perfection Magnum that will flat out blaze an arrow and is still in my top three bows and pretty much my #1 go too snap shooter...










and imnsho?....you can't just run out and buy bows like these today...and if you could?....you're looking at Thou$and$.


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## JParanee (Oct 13, 2009)

Bill aren't ya glad ya kept that beauty


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## Captainkirk (Sep 18, 2014)

I recently purchased a '71-72 Bear Grizzly and have put a boatload of arrows through it with no trouble. Ask honest questions and ask to see a lot of pictures, but don't be afraid of "used". There are some great deals out there!


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## Nekekal (Dec 25, 2012)

Almost all of my bows came from eBay. One came from a garage sale. I have bought 5 total. And about a year after I got one of them and had shot thousands of arrows through it, the handle part failed. It looked like a crack in the original wood and over the years, it was built in 1958, it seems to have dried out and just broke one day. Upon reflection, it was also a design defect. The back of the bow was cut too far through towards the belly and made a weak spot. 

But I think that the majority of old bows work perfectly fine. I have an American Archery bow that was made in the seventies and looks almost new. I have a Damon Hewett bow made in the early fifties that still is excellent and I have no problem shooting it. 

In general, there are a lot of Bear bow collectors and they keep the price higher on Bear bows than on some of the others. Pearson made millions of them and I picked up a colt that works well for about $50, including shipping. Garage sales are great because you can see and handle them before you buy. My FASCO garage sale bow cost me $20, including bow case. This is currently my primary bow. It looks like it was made in the 60s but I have no data on that.

good luck


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## JINKSTER (Mar 19, 2011)

JParanee said:


> Bill aren't ya glad ya kept that beauty


Yep...have no clue what I was thinking having ever put a price on it...sugar must've been off! :laugh:

Every time I shoot this bow it blows me away at how naturally it comes up for me and how on point it is when I get there....the other thing that blows me away is how much hook is in the limbs of this 40 year old bow...with more curves than Dolly Parton....










Hey!...I think I just came up with a dead on name for this bow! :laugh:

Folks?....may I introduce too you?....

*"Jolene"* 






There...now my one day off is off to a great start! Thanks Joe!


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## gnome (Oct 22, 2006)

Totally agree with captainkirk and nekekal. I have bought alot (30 +) of old bows off of e-Bay. Condition is everything. Ask questions,(are the limbs straight, no twist. Are there any holes, cracks, ect.) if the seller does not respond, something is wrong, move on to another bow.
But if it looks like Bill's Herters, it almost always is like new when it comes. Bottom line is don't be afraid of older bows. There are some really good shooters, like the Grizzly to be had for a fraction of the price of a new bow. They are currently the best bargain in archery right now. I like to collect them because they are part of history, from the golden age of archery. I believe that in another 10 years or so, these 60's and 70's bows are going to be highly collectable, and much harder to come by.


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## Joe Hohmann (Oct 24, 2013)

ChefMatt said:


> I'm looking around eBay and noticing that I can purchase a major, name brand bow for far less than the original price.
> 
> Thanks so much!


I think you may have meant "cheaper than today's NEW bows"? New bows in the 1960s were priced at $30.-$150., for the most part. All 3 of my bows are "old", and all 3 are in exellent or "near new" condition (no stress lines, near perfect finish, a few minor dings on one). They are a 1966 Shakespeare Trident (new price $45.,I paid $115.) from a antique shop, a 1970 Hoyt PM5 (new price $160., I paid $351.) , and a 1995 Martin X100. (new?, I paid $100.)...both from eBay. The 2 eBay purchases were after many months of searching daily for "recurve bows". My Hoyt is recent, so I have only launched a few hundred arrows from it, the Shakespeare over 8,000., and the Martin is only 20# and is used by kids and others best off with a light draw weight. If you want a new bow, a nice Samick can be had for under $170.


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## Bill 2311 (Jun 24, 2005)

Even a twisted limb can be fixed. Several threads on here on how to do so. If you like these bows, then you should buy one. Not as fast as the newer stuff, but that doesn't affect the shooting.


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## Bowferd (Dec 15, 2007)

There are a multitude of quality bows from the 50's, 60's, 70's, from different manufacturers still out there today. The majority will perform comparably with what is currently being produced today. Bear, Browning, Shakespeare, Pearson, Wing, Groves, and many more with each company producing different models. I've owned hundreds over the years and though I currently shoot mostly selfbows that I've made my bow rack contains a couple of the pre HeadSki era Red Wing Hunters. 

Some of the recurves I've had, ( Quillian Canebrake and Patriot, Tice and Watts Spartan Hunter, Sovereign Ballistic, to name a few are as fast as today's supposedly superior designed bows. These older bows if cared for properly are an exceptional value compared to the price of new production and custom offerings available today.


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## ChefMatt (Nov 7, 2014)

Thanks guys, I am excited to find out that this new option is viable. I much prefer the idea of purchasing a used bear than a new samick sage or something for the same price.


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## gnome (Oct 22, 2006)

Do you have an idea of what length and weight bow you would like to have ?


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## gnome (Oct 22, 2006)

something like this ?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Damon-Howat...982?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c4a2f4086


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## Bowferd (Dec 15, 2007)

The Coronado is a very nice bow. You can't go wrong with any of the old Damon Howatt models.


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## JimPic (Apr 8, 2003)

Most of my regular shooters are from the 60's & 70's


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## rb61 (Sep 11, 2014)

Take a look at Raptor Archery online. He has used bows from $125. The owner was very helpful when I purchased my 1961 Bear.
http://www.raptorarchery.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=158


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## reddogge (Jul 21, 2009)

Just remember these old bows may last a week or another 50 years and sometimes you can't tell. I've had three failures, a '56 Bear Kodiak limb broke in half, a '65 Bear Kodiak limb delaminated, early 70s Hoyt Pro Hunter limb broke in half. 

Just a warning to not get too attached to them and be aware they can fail.


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## jakeemt (Oct 25, 2012)

Herters cv17 match hunter. Shoots sweet man. I got it from an older woman whose husband bought it new in the early 70's decided archery wasn't for him and it sat in it's case till a few months ago when I bought it for 80 bucks. Great deal!
View attachment 2103373


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## ChefMatt (Nov 7, 2014)

Thanks for all the tips guys. @Gnome that was exactly the specs I am after but I'm holding off until post-holidays to pull the trigger on getting something.


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## Joe Hohmann (Oct 24, 2013)

I think Raptor Archery should be on your list, as they have a reputation to uphold, and their prices seem reasonable. I have bought 2 bows on eBay, but I have been very, very lucky (not sure that is the norm).


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## _JR_ (Mar 30, 2014)

I'm yet another satisfied owner of an eBay bow. In this case a 1973 or 1974 Bear Kodiak, 50#. I've shot it a lot (>1000 times) and I've been happy with it.


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## Roger Savor Sr (Feb 16, 2014)

All bows can fail and there is nothing more to it. That said, I've owned bunches of vintage bows and have shot thousands of arrows collectively through them with ZERO failures. All of my bows wear low strand count/"skinny" strings made from modern materials. Old bows are simply great and there were too many manufacturers to start a list. We simply don't know what the shelf life is for a glass backed recurve or longbow. What we do know is that Fred Bear kicked off that era in 1953(patented) and 60+ years later the bows of the day are still going strong........very strong. Additionally, some archery records are many decades old, so obviously modern 'technology' hasn't really added all that much. And all that means to me is that old bows are plenty accurate too.


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## Dusty Lee (Jan 11, 2015)

Another Herters fan here. I recently purchased a Herters Perfection Sitka from eBay and even though it was made in the early 70's it looks brand new. *Jinkster*, I named mine as well, not as interesting a name as yours, I named mine Sitka.


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## Attack (Oct 25, 2011)

My most fun bow to shoot is my little Shakespeare Super Necedah. Shoots unbelievably good and fast for such a short old bow.


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## Hank D Thoreau (Dec 9, 2008)

There are a lot of great old bows on ebay, as long as you are not left handed and draw over 32 inches. Bummer. Wish I could play with everyone else.


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## Stone Bridge (May 20, 2013)

Isn't it fun to run into a great old wood/glass bow you like from the 60s in some yard sale or pawn shop? Better yet, some neighbor cleaning out a garage and knows you shoot bows gives you some dead relatives old bow? That happened to me once. A nice Hoyt target bow of 34 pounds and 69 inches. Very nice shape with only one slightly twisted lower limb. Easy to fix. I still have this bow. You shoot the thing and the arrow seems to travel in slow motion down range but groups very well. A quiet bow great for form work and just plain fun. I shoot it with aluminum arrows like in the old days.


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## Bytesback (Apr 8, 2013)

Chef- Also keep in mind to check out pawn shops in your area. Just a few days ago, I picked up a beautiful, near new condition 68" 36lb Ben Pearson Contender for $30. Now, this was an unusually phenomenal find, as they aren't usually THAT cheap, but still, great deals can be found out there for those with their eyes open and a bit of patience.
Here is the bow I picked up:


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## Classic Ranger (Jun 2, 2011)

ChefMatt said:


> Thanks guys, I am excited to find out that this new option is viable. I much prefer the idea of purchasing a used bear than a new samick sage or something for the same price.


When I was looking to buy my first recurve a couple years ago I looked at the Bear's, PSE's, ILF, and even the Samick Sage. The Sage really appealed to me because it was the least expensive option and I've heard quite a bit of good reviews about it. Then I came across an ad in CL for a '70 Bear Super Kodiak (middle bow in picture) for about the same price of the Sage. The other two are recent ebay finds: '66 Bear Kodiak (top) and '67 Bear Tamerlane (bottom). They may be old, but I shoot them every day and so far they have all been good shooters. The best part... I've been lucky enough that none of these three cost me any more than the cost of a new Samick Sage.


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## anotherwade (Dec 16, 2014)

The Tamerlane is a beautiful bow. Been looking for one myself, in left hand and around 30-35#. Lighter would be better, or course. But yours, Classic Ranger, looks nice on the wall. I bet she is dead in the hand too.

Wade


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## Bowjack (Mar 28, 2007)

Over the last few years I've owned in excess of 400 vintage bows of various makes and models. I still have over 200 mostly Bear brand bows made before 1977. In all honesty buying any vintage bow especially from someone that knows nothing about them is a gamble. Unless the seller has recently checked for defects, strung or shot them how are you to know that they won't delaminate the first time you try to string them. I have had that happen on more than one occasion and had others come apart after a few shots. Unless you are willing to take that chance I recommend buying a new bow with a warranty. 

Best regards


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## Classic Ranger (Jun 2, 2011)

anotherwade said:


> The Tamerlane is a beautiful bow. Been looking for one myself, in left hand and around 30-35#. Lighter would be better, or course. But yours, Classic Ranger, looks nice on the wall. I bet she is dead in the hand too.
> 
> Wade


The weight of the phenolic riser makes it a heavy bow in hand, but it sucks up all the vibration at the shot.


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## Bustoff (Sep 3, 2014)

Attack said:


> My most fun bow to shoot is my little Shakespeare Super Necedah. Shoots unbelievably good and fast for such a short old bow.


That's a 54" bow, isn't it? I have a #40 58" Shakespeare Wonderbow that shoots great. Are longer bows really that much of an advantage?


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## Attack (Oct 25, 2011)

Yes it is 54" and shoots wonderfully. There are advantages to longer bows but this little bow seems to not have the disadvantages of a short bow, no finger pinch, it's very stable and doesn't stack at all passed 30".


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## Bowferd (Dec 15, 2007)

The only fg bows I have remaining are from the 60's and I just picked up a jewel that was probably made somewhere between 1942-56.
It's an all wood, hickory I believe, Pearson Bow with recurve tips, 56" 50#@28. I removed the original leather handle wrap and glued the riser that was coming off. I'm going to sand and get the finish started this weekend. I fully intend to hunt some wit






h this bow maybe as early as Spring turkey here in Nebraska.


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