Post by: TBinMN on June 30, 2012, 05:42:00 PM
This has been my personal 'Holy Grail' bow and I finally just dug deep in my pockets and also will be selling several bows to do it.
Now I need to track down some suitable limbs. I think I'll be looking for some white tips - any advice on how to determine the age of the limbs? Did they have matching serial numbers with the handles?
I pull 28" so I am hoping to find some right around 50Lbs. With my other bows 58" to 62" seems to work well - if I remember correctly are the #3 limbs 60" on an A Riser?
Here is the picture Abear (Chris) had of it:
__________________________________________________
(http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm3/longbow007/Archery/AHandle.jpg)
Post by: 69RECURVE on June 30, 2012, 05:53:00 PM
Good for you & congratulations.
Post by: OldSkoolArcher on June 30, 2012, 06:00:00 PM
Yes, #3 limbs will make a 60" bow.
Post by: vintage-bears on June 30, 2012, 06:02:00 PM
That's a beauty right there. And yes #3 limbs will make a 60" bow length. To stay in line with 1970 vintage, look for white tip limbs with gold lettering. Real early production will have "dimples" in the limb wedges.
1970 limbs are abundant and easily found.
Good Luck and Enjoy!
......Philip
Post by: Blackhawk on June 30, 2012, 06:12:00 PM
Congratulations! Now I bet you're not going to sleep until you get your hands on it.
!["[dntthnk]"]("graemlins/dntthnk.gif" "\"\"")
Post by: TBinMN on June 30, 2012, 06:30:00 PM
This was a tough decision for me for one reason only - the financial part.
This bow definitely straped me out as far as cash goes - and I will be selling some bows to help cover it - but how often does one of these show up in mint condition - and being sold by someone you have zero concerns about buying from?
Now that it's settled there is definitely a big feeling of relief.
Like you said Lon - now the wait begins!
Thanks for the info Nick & Philip - one thing I never worried about was having a place to go for good info! - Or a bunch of guys who would understand me needing to show her off!
Terry
Post by: shick on June 30, 2012, 06:43:00 PM
Shick
Post by: Bjorn on June 30, 2012, 06:47:00 PM
Post by: Ron Roehrick on June 30, 2012, 06:49:00 PM
Post by: TBinMN on June 30, 2012, 07:19:00 PM
Hey Ron - how are you doing? One of the hardest decision bows I'll be selling to help finance this A Handle is a sweet 55lb 64 Kodiak that I think I bought from you a while back?
I'm definitely hanging on to the 50lb'er I got from you not to long ago - that bow has the prettiest wood (Bubinga?) in the riser that I have ever seen in a 64 Kodiak - not to mention hopw sweet she is to shoot!
How is your hunt going for the Hill style bows or have you found some that fill the need?
Post by: SAM E. STEPHENS on June 30, 2012, 11:20:00 PM
,,,,,,Sam,,,,,,,
Post by: yellow bow on July 01, 2012, 07:43:00 AM
Post by: johnnyrazorhead on July 01, 2012, 08:01:00 AM
Post by: Abear on July 01, 2012, 08:27:00 AM
Post by: Danny Rowan on July 01, 2012, 09:13:00 AM
Post by: Larry m on July 01, 2012, 11:03:00 AM
Post by: vintage-bears on July 01, 2012, 12:49:00 PM
Do what you want ofcoarse but ONLY use Grayling limbs in Grayling handles........PERIOD.
They will fit like they should and not put any stress on the lip of the socket.
Modern limbs are shorter "limb butts" and do not seat deep enough into the socket. If you enlarge the locator hole, yes it will allow the limb to seat but not properly and socket failure "broken"
will render your riser to be a wall hanger!
I also disagree that the modern limbs are better than Grayling limbs. PapaBear did quite well with vintage limbs :)
Use Grayling limbs and Enjoy.
...........Philip
Post by: dabprice on July 01, 2012, 03:02:00 PM
I appreciate your comments on my response concerning modern Bear limbs. My experience has been this:
I have a Type 1 "A" riser that I shoot frequently. I have a set of Keith Chastain Wapiti limbs that were made for it, but before I had those made, I shot it with new, Gainesville limbs from another bow which I just slightly modified by enlarging the locating hole on the limbs.
I did, however, first measure the the new limbs against the older set of Grayling limbs that came with the riser; there was, in this case, absolutely NO difference in any of the dimensions involving the pocket fit. Certainly, if there were differences, I would have not used the newer limbs on it.
Perhaps this was just an anomaly in the limb construction, but I had no problems at all.
I do, though, think that the newer T/D limbs are better than the old ones!
Post by: 450 marlin on July 01, 2012, 05:40:00 PM
Very nice.. great to get some chatter on some rare vintage archery items on this forum. It keeps you bringing the page up when the neat stuff is the hot topic..the items we all dream of but many will never own, your in a elite group, enjoy the bow..Roy
Post by: jcar315 on July 01, 2012, 06:47:00 PM
Congrats!!
Post by: kuch on July 01, 2012, 08:20:00 PM
Post by: kuch on July 01, 2012, 08:47:00 PM
Post by: vintage-bears on July 01, 2012, 09:16:00 PM
Quote
Originally posted by dabprice:I'm glad it works out for you and wish you continued success with your setup.
Philip-
I appreciate your comments on my response concerning modern Bear limbs. My experience has been this:
I have a Type 1 "A" riser that I shoot frequently. I have a set of Keith Chastain Wapiti limbs that were made for it, but before I had those made, I shot it with new, Gainesville limbs from another bow which I just slightly modified by enlarging the locating hole on the limbs.
I did, however, first measure the the new limbs against the older set of Grayling limbs that came with the riser; there was, in this case, absolutely NO difference in any of the dimensions involving the pocket fit. Certainly, if there were differences, I would have not used the newer limbs on it.
Perhaps this was just an anomaly in the limb construction, but I had no problems at all.
I do, though, think that the newer T/D limbs are better than the old ones!
......Philip
Post by: kuch on July 01, 2012, 10:09:00 PM
Post by: SAM E. STEPHENS on July 02, 2012, 03:32:00 AM
,,,,Sam,,,,,,
Post by: WRV on July 17, 2012, 12:58:00 PM
Post by: Shane Reed on July 26, 2012, 07:19:00 PM
Post by: vintage-bears on July 26, 2012, 08:14:00 PM
That was a pretty signed handle and I also congratulate the new owner.
The good news is there are many signed handles out there.
Fred Bear was very gracious and would sign anything you asked him to.
Lines and lines of people had their bows signed when he was at an archery / outdoor event. A good friend of mine has an amazing photo of Fred signing his handle "green stripe" with 6 or 7 other handles on the table waiting to be signed. This he did on many occasions not to mention His signing countless others from the plant by customer request and as gifts which he often gave to friends.
Keep your eyes open because they always show up!
Good luck
......Philip
Post by: don kauss on July 27, 2012, 10:30:00 AM
Post by: TBinMN on July 27, 2012, 05:30:00 PM
My A-handle (the one that started this thread) should be showing up some time next week!
This is by far the most excited I've been about getting a new (to me) bow in over 30 years!
My next post will be of the bow in its new home :bigsmyl:
Post by: vintage-bears on July 27, 2012, 10:30:00 PM
.......Philip
Post by: TBinMN on August 05, 2012, 05:11:00 PM
This bow was quite the financial trick for me and involved selling 3 - 60's Bear Kodiaks and a really sweet Blacktail recurve to make ends meet - but I gotta say - it was well worth it!
As I mentioned when I started this thread - it has been a long time coming!
I bought the bow from Chris Ashbey (Abear) who was great to deal with - including being patient as I came up with the money.
Here are some pictures - as you will see I'm not the best photographer...
The box arrived last week -
(http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm3/longbow007/Archery/BearType1ARiserBox.jpg)
the box looked a bit big considering it was just supposed to have a riser in it - I soon found out why -
(http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm3/longbow007/Archery/BearType1ARiserCase.jpg)
Chris had sent along something extra - this sweet takedown case! - but that was not the only extra - when I opened the case I found my new riser and an unopened pack of a dozen Bear Razorhead bleeder blades and a slot cleaning tool - I'm not sure how he knew that I needed these!
(http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm3/longbow007/Archery/BearType1ARiserOpened.jpg)
Here is my best attempt at trying to show this near mint riser -
(http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm3/longbow007/Archery/BearType1ARiser4ViewsTG.jpg)
Of course I had to put the #3 50lb limbs on it that I recently got - and string her up! The arrows pictured with it are some beautiful 60's repro Bear arrows that Trap built for me a while back.
(http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm3/longbow007/Archery/BearType1ARiserStrungwTrapArrows1.jpg)
After stringing her up - I just could not help but shoot a few arrows - could I?
(http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm3/longbow007/Archery/BearType1ARiser3DDeerTrapArrowsTG.jpg)
I have to say that shooting this bow is an experience that is hard to describe - but I'm sure you guys who have done it know what I mean.
This riser, more than any other I've had over the years, feels alot like holding onto an exceptionally balanced high end shotgun stock. I know they are quite different - but there is something about the quality of design that you can just feel.
This bow shoots right where I'm looking from the first arrows I put through it at 18 yards. - And it is extremely quiet too!
That last thing I wanted to do was to be sure to thank Chris Ashbey for giving me the opportunity to buy this bow from him. These don't seem to come up very often - especially in this condition and his willingness to wait almost a month for me to get the funds together was greatly appreciated!
- And to send along a very nice case and the bleeder blades was just icing on the cake - Thanks Chris!
And thanks to you guys for filling up this post and several others about these bows - it made the wait better - and more difficult seeing and hearing about your experiences with them!
My next post about it will hopefully be with the whitetail I take with it this fall :bigsmyl: .
Terry
Post by: OBXarcher on August 05, 2012, 07:42:00 PM
Post by: 450 marlin on August 05, 2012, 07:46:00 PM
Post by: shick on August 05, 2012, 09:00:00 PM
Shick
Post by: OldSkoolArcher on August 05, 2012, 09:09:00 PM
Post by: johnnyrazorhead on August 05, 2012, 09:39:00 PM
Post by: alaskabowhunter on August 06, 2012, 10:45:00 PM
Post by: TBinMN on November 17, 2012, 08:26:00 PM
Taking a deer with traditional equipment has always been special to me - but last years with a 62 Kodiak and this years with this Type 1 A - well, there was an extra feeling that is hard to describe.
The arrows were some old footed ones that Matt (Magnus) was kind enough to refinish for me - worked like a charm!
________________________________________________
(http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm3/longbow007/DoeNovember142012AHandleMagnusArrowTG.jpg)
Post by: shick on November 17, 2012, 08:30:00 PM
Shick
Post by: Redtail2 on November 17, 2012, 09:23:00 PM
Post by: johnnyrazorhead on November 17, 2012, 11:26:00 PM
Great job!! No feeling in the world like taking a nice animal with a vintage Bear bow,especially one of Fred's favorite bows.Congratulations!!! :clapper:
Post by: Shane Reed on November 18, 2012, 01:14:00 AM
Post by: Marc B. on November 18, 2012, 06:32:00 AM
Post by: yellow bow on November 18, 2012, 07:55:00 AM
:cool:
Post by: TBinMN on November 18, 2012, 02:06:00 PM
___________________________________________________
(http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm3/longbow007/DoeNovember142012ThanksTG.jpg)
Post by: vintage-bears on November 18, 2012, 02:13:00 PM
Post by: TBinMN on November 18, 2012, 02:18:00 PM
I recently talked Sam out of one of his Type 1 B Risers - So its got ahold of me good now :bigsmyl:
From what I've seen and read in your posts - I'm guessing you understand if anyone does!
I'll post pictures of the B when I get a chance - I'll be hunting with it for the rest of the season here in MN.
Terry
Post by: vintage-bears on November 18, 2012, 08:30:00 PM
Interesting enough, I sold Sam his first Bear take down.
He's a great person and a very passionate bowhunter as we have all seen.
Enjoy your new acquisitions!
It's all downhill from here my friend.
I have not heard of a cure yet for Bear collectors.
BTW,
If interested, I listed some awesome signed pics in the traditional books, media classifieds.
......Philip
Post by: highlife on November 20, 2012, 02:18:00 AM
Post by: kuch on November 20, 2012, 06:22:00 PM