Had a friend from high school drop a couple of boxes off at my house this evening. Don't see him very often and was sad to hear his father had passed away. He stopped by to leave me some things his father wanted me to have. A box of a couple of dozen old Bear arrows with various broadheads installed including several Deadheads of both sizes. An original Herters compound bow that belongs in a museum somewhere(he bought one at the very beginning and it convinced him to stick with Trad). The topper is a very old 57# Bear Cub. It is storming hard here so pics will need to wait until tomorrow, but they will be coming. It was a bittersweet afternoon.
Very cool treasures Dave. I would imagine you might be hanging on to those for awhile. Things with a personal history mean so much more than if you had found them at a garage sale.
It was nice of him to pass these on to you. Obviously his father and you had a connection earlier in life.
Truth is I never met his father. He only knew of me through his son and my being the only kid who hunted with recurves and longbows that actually killed stuff.
Bittersweet is exactly the word. I am sure that you will find a way to bring joy out of a sad event. This reminds me of the day that a long parcel arrived at my door. It was a bow from a friend I had never met, and now could never meet. There is always that shadow on my heart when I take the bow for walks in the woods. Eventually, I am sure, the outings will turn into conversational jaunts, but it still feels like I borrowed the bow without asking her permission.
Killdeer
Spent some time going over the bow. It had been set up to shoot left handed. An old piece of plexiglass was under the leather grip for a shelf. The leather was dry rotted so I took it off and spent some time cleaning up the riser and going over the various beauty marks on the bow. Pondering where and how they happened. The string is pretty shot so I strung it up with one I had here just to string it and see if all was solid. She held together, now I just need to get a proper B-50 string on her to see how she shoots.
Can't wait to see how she looks. :thumbsup:
:campfire:
She's a 60" bow.
Ended up being a dozen arrows in the box. 5 look new with Hill Hornets on them but only 28" long so are way too short for me, the rest are 29" long, 5 with Deadheads, 1 I don't know what it is and one Hildebrandt with bleeder.
The Deadhead arrows are in rough shape, but the heads are in good shape, so I'll pull those off and mount them up for this fall. The other two arrows are rough so I'll just put them up on the wall.
Cool treasures Dave. Can''t wait to see pics.
Neat!! Cant wait for the pics....Enjoy her Dave, its an honor thing :thumbsup:
Sounds to me like you are going to have a special hunting partner by your side this fall. I always think there is a special connection with loved ones who have passed on when I am out in the woods. Even better when using their gear to hunt with. Cool story can't wait for pics.
Here is what came.
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f311/vermonster13/Arrows022w.jpg)
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f311/vermonster13/Arrows023w.jpg)
(http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f311/vermonster13/Arrows024w.jpg)
Very cool, in a decent weight too!
David, congrats on a very special treasure!
F-Manny
nice dave!!!
i heard its been raining in vermont.....lol
very nice, David
Have to agree with Henry above. This past hunting season I took a nice buck and a feral hog with a old Bear Razorhead that a friend(Fred) sent me to hunt with. He introduced me to traditional archery in 1969 and hunted with stick and string until his health faltered in the early 90's. It was like having Fred by my side when I took those animals. Fred is still alive and well in VA. He was over joyed when I called him with the news. To top that off I skinned out the hog with my deceased fathers WWII Marine issue combat knife. That was a double whammy for me. What a thrill. The moral to this story is take advantage of the gifts and share your experience with the son. It will mean a lot to him as well. :thumbsup:
QuoteOriginally posted by joe vt:
i heard its been raining in vermont.....lol
I'm amazed he had a clear 5 seconds to go outside and take the pics.... :help:
Can't wait to see the bow Dave. :thumbsup:
Sounds like some karma to me
Very nice Dave. Congrats on a nice acquisition. :thumbsup:
Dave you will have to put one of those heads to work this fall,to honor the man who gave them to you.
Bill
That's the plan Bill. The Deadheads are going to be walking the woods with me this fall. My friends Mother also died this year and he's in a bad way. I think I'll be listing the Bear and other arrows soon to raise a little cash to help him out. I think it's the right thing to do.
QuoteOriginally posted by vermonster13:
That's the plan Bill. The Deadheads are going to be walking the woods with me this fall. My friends Mother also died this year and he's in a bad way. I think I'll be listing the Bear and other arrows soon to raise a little cash to help him out. I think it's the right thing to do.
:clapper: :clapper:
Treasures indeed
:thumbsup: :clapper: :clapper:
There's something to be said about sentimental value! It is more priceless than one can sum up.
Josh
Way cool! Enjoy. :clapper:
:thumbsup: :clapper: :clapper:
A little tough to tell from the pic, but it looks like a '53 Cub. Running Bear decal?
The decal is missing Jeremy. It has most of the Cub Decal and Patent Pending Decal.
That sounds like a good plan,buddy.
I love the old Bear arrows.
i would NOT use the original deadheads...collector items now...
I have a few dozen of them already Don. They were made for hunting and that's what I do with them.
Nice Dave....real nice.
Had a friends widow give me some of his old Deadheads and a Package of Bear Razorheads still in the box. The bears are staying put but I thought I might try the Deadheads, are they really that collectable? I got several of both sizes and thought it would give the old guy a smile if he knew they were going to be used again.
if memory serves correctly, the early/original deadheads were made with a 4 degree ferrule causing some mounting problems that's why they were discontinued/changed/improved (?)...the deadheads i had back in the 80's i, foolishly, traded...
a company later produced a similar broadhead called the 'butterfield brute' of which i still have a few.
nevertheless, a very good 'treasure'...
I'm not an avid collector but I have a few deadheads in a drawer.
These blades look so weird.
dave that sure is a real nice thing to receve from a freind. :clapper: :clapper: