# Bear Formula Gold, and other bygone Oly bows



## Jim C (Oct 15, 2002)

When I was a kid there were 3-4 hot target recurves

There was the first magnesium Hoyt TD-like Darrell used.

There was the bear C handle (which I still have) that Vic Berger, Mel Stanislawski and others used

There was that funky A-Frame Wilson Black Widow that I believe one of our US Ladies (I am drawing a blank on her name) won a worlds with in the Hardy Ward or Ray Rogers era.

And then there was that Wing that looked like the Hoyt that 72 champion John Williams endorsed after he got his gold with the Hoyt. In the late 70s and early 80's I was shooting skeet and not paying much attention to target recurve but I remember seeing a picture of Doug Brothers in our local paper with a Yamaha and of course Darrell and Rick used them too at some point.

I also remember that Diablo-I think it was a damon-Howatt with the Stewart Bowman style handle and long time Ohio Great Steve Robinson (PAA champion several times and 50+ National Target Champion) pulls out some ancient stuff at our state indoor shoots every once in a while


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## archeryal (Apr 16, 2005)

*historic Oly recurves*

The woman who won the World's with a Black Widow (baby blue, if I recall) was Linda Myers. I had a short conversation with her at a shoot in PA years ago, but didn't know it was her until one of my students pointed her out as the lady who sold her bow to one of his young friends (I hope it wasn't her World's bow) and mentioned her name. Then it clicked. 

I think most manufacturers found competition recurves were a distraction from their main business of selling compounds (both hunting and tournament). Some tried using a compound riser and attaching recurve limbs. The successor to the Wing Comp II (as modified by Williams - with a high wrist) was an example. You tended to get a pretty hefty, heavy bow and ended up as the stepchild of their compound line and not too profitable. 

Modern short compounds wouldn't be very satifactory as a riser on an Oly recurve. Ironically, a friend of mine shot one of these Wings, abruptly walked off the line at a shoot. When I asked him why, he showed me a diagonal crack across the top of the handgrip area and through the bottom of the sight window, which made him pretty nervous. There should have been plenty of beef there and plenty strong - maybe a faulty casting. 

I shot 1200 and 1300 skeleton Widow TDs, Wing Slimline Master (like a Presentation I on diet) and Comp I, a Carroll's (remember that one? nice thin handgrip area and I heard the limbs interchanged with the Wing PII), then a Hoyt TD/2, GM and Radian and now an Aerotec. 

Browning had an Oly TD for a few years to get an Olympic silver or bronze a few years back. Eliason used a Darton in the '72 Oly, if I recall. Also popular at that time ('70s?) was the Golden Eagle (not sure if it's the same company as now) and Dickie Roberts. Offshore, there was the Nishzawa.


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## Jim C (Oct 15, 2002)

archeryal said:


> The woman who won the World's with a Black Widow (baby blue, if I recall) was Linda Myers. I had a short conversation with her at a shoot in PA years ago, but didn't know it was her until one of my students pointed her out as the lady who sold her bow to one of his young friends (I hope it wasn't her World's bow) and mentioned her name. Then it clicked.
> 
> I think most manufacturers found competition recurves were a distraction from their main business of selling compounds (both hunting and tournament). Some tried using a compound riser and attaching recurve limbs. The successor to the Wing Comp II (as modified by Williams - with a high wrist) was an example. You tended to get a pretty hefty, heavy bow and ended up as the stepchild of their compound line and not too profitable.
> 
> ...


Yeah it was Linda Myers-maybe with an old Reynolds sight on it. I had (still have) that old Omni-Jeffrey that you could move up and down on that half-moon mount. I think Steve Robinson had a darton-it had some glittery paint job-one archer said it looked like the color on some 60's era "Go Go boots". The carroll had a neat riser as did the ASTROS. The bear Tamerlane target compound sure looked alot like My C handle!

Magnus Peterson took a world indoor and a 96 Olympic Silver with that Browning and a tox "athenian" sight. Didn't use ILF Limbs which killed it. A similar bow was sold in Europe in the mid 1990s under a different name though. Harry Drake was involved in the limb design IIRC. 

Golden Eagle was out of Oregon-I remember an ad in the early 80s touting YEW WOOD in their limbs-some big dude that looked like he should have been pulling a long bow with Robin Hood was holding it-red beard I think. I think they moved to NY latter.


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## pilotmill (Dec 10, 2008)

*nishizawa and wing*

I remember the drooling over the nishizawa advertisement on the back of the old Archery magazine. I was in high school and saw my first Wing, Presentation I , I think it made us all think about takedowns from that time on. Amazing how far its come, the hoyts of course were top dogs at the range with Pace and McKinney battling it out, brings back many good memories. We had a guy in the club that had a yamaha with ceramic? in the limbs. It is alot of fun for me to hear from you all on this one thanks.. Gar.


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## Jim C (Oct 15, 2002)

pilotmill said:


> I remember the drooling over the nishizawa advertisement on the back of the old Archery magazine. I was in high school and saw my first Wing, Presentation I , I think it made us all think about takedowns from that time on. Amazing how far its come, the hoyts of course were top dogs at the range with Pace and McKinney battling it out, brings back many good memories. We had a guy in the club that had a yamaha with ceramic? in the limbs. It is alot of fun for me to hear from you all on this one thanks.. Gar.


Doug Brothers had one of those jobs IIRC. I remember going into Larell and Barb Dick's PRIMITIVE WEAPONS ARENA during the summer of 81 or 82 or later-I was away at college or law school but I'd go out there in the summer and shoot my Bear or a horton xbow and Doug was there with that Yamaha. I cannot remember if he was even shooting or just was hanging out. 

PWA was the other big hotbed of SW Ohio archery-Charlie and E Bud Pierson's place in Sharonville shut down around 76 and while they moved it I never went to it. When I came home from college PWA was all that was in the phone book. Doug was world field champ in 74, the 1972 ladies champ also shot there. Maureen Becholdt.


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## midwayarcherywi (Sep 24, 2006)

It took me a while to reacquire a Bear Victor Patriot. The one with the blue futurewood. I shot some really good scores with that bow. I had a red anodized stabilizer and an Omni sight. Where I grew up in Wi there were no FITA opportunities. We were NFAA members and then USAC members. Remember USAC?
I was 16 years old and as full of piss and vinegar as our young friend who called recurve shooters idiots.


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## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

I've owned several older Hoyt Pro Medalist T/D-1's and 3's. Great shooting bows, and I even modified some T/D-3 risers to accept newer ILF limbs. I shot several deer with one of those modified rigs in '04.

I just picked up this sweet shooting classic Hoyt recurve. 66" Hoyt Pro Olympian (predates the '72 return of archery in the Olympics by probably 20 years though) that's 41#@28" and I shoot it at 48# at my draw. 

It still performs right there with my SKY limbs, amazingly enough. Chronograph proved that today...

Bow on the right is my DAS Kinetics Hunter 17" riser with SKY Conquest limbs. It's one of my hunting bows... 

These two bows represent 40 years worth of Earl Hoyt Jr's work on recurve archery equipment. 

John.


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## Dave T (Mar 24, 2004)

My memories of great target bows go back about a decade before what you folks are discussing. King of the hill then was the early Hoyt Pro Medalist. Beautiful rosewood risers with those space-age chromed stabilizers sticking out top and bottom. Chasing the Hoyt, the Wing Presentation and the Bear Tamerlane were beautiful wood bows. Pearson had their Lord Mercury, which I've been told was a great shooter but I don't remember anyone winning anything big with it. In '65 or '66 the Barebow NFAA Champion was a guy shooting a beautiful 66" Black Widow. Don't remember the model but it had a series of laminations forming a band running vertically (l-r) through the other wise solid wood riser. The following year the barebow title was taken by a guy shooting a Hoyt, three fingers under.

Dave


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## pilotmill (Dec 10, 2008)

*Howatt*

Back about 79 a few of us started shooting Olympic recurve at the local field shoots, our local archery shop had a few Damon Howatt Del Ray and one other that I cant remember, used bows that he sold us. It started a buzz around the range, it was fun. I went from a Martin Compound back to the old Del Ray at 35 pounds, what fun it was. We all shot togather and joined the NAA and all, unfortunately I lost the Del Ray in a move. I have managed so far to put a little collection together of my old bows...bear grizzly, bear kodiak, bear tamerlane, all wall hangers but a nice collection for my den. 
We all used Check-it sights and worked on adding stab sets and such, had to drill the bows for pressure buttons, sight mounts and used those old plastic rests by Hoyt, which worked great and were really cheap. Thanks for the pics.
A guy put up a 90M target and the fun really got going, it was quite addicting, oh yea, still am.


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## Collins (Feb 18, 2005)

Unfortunately I didn't shoot enough to justify the pretty rosewood bows of yesteryear,but remember the fancy FIBERGLASS bows LOL I still have a few Herters models around and they are still fun to shoot, I had the opportunity to spend some time at Bruce Barrie's shop (Rocky Mountain Broadheads) before he got out of the business, and he had one of about everyone of the bows his Dad Bob Barrie had a hand in building and designing at Herters way back when and there where defiantly some beauties, it sure is a shame that that we don't build wood risers and limbs like that anymore.
SC


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## Gelderblom (Jan 14, 2009)

*Formula silver / Bear*

I'm new at this , i just got my first long bow a hour ago , it is a huge 5 foot formula silver /Bear bow . What do you think is it enny good. it is like new . And i got it for R1000 South African rand. What do you think?


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## Eolla (Jan 19, 2005)

I (obviously) am a fan of Yamaha bows, I had a Hoyt TD2 in the early 80's a Wing John Williams, but I loved the look of the old Hoyt Pro Medalist 1 piece bows. I tripped across a 66" 6PM 44# with its carry bag and rods, it still shoots really well, I just dont have the strength to shoot an entire round with it


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## Chako (Mar 11, 2009)

Here are some photos of my Bear Formula Silver. Starting to show its age somewhat, but still shoots like I remember it.


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