Trad Gang

What bows were you hunting with before '75?

this should be good. Im not sure what these pilgrims carried of the boat at Plymouth Rock.

Sean,
You better duck they are getting out of their rocking chair and grabbing their cane's..   :rolleyes:  HECK YOU MIGHT EVEN HAVE TO ASK A LITTLE LOUDER SEAN...I DON'T THINK THEY CAN HEAR YA...  :biglaugh:

Ha, good you guys...I coulda phrased it "Mature Hunters", but that just didn't sound right!

I think,,but not sure,,that my first real bow was a Ben Pearson cougar.It may have been a bear grizzly, my old timers disease is kinda hittin me.I have racked my brain trying to remember where i bought it at as where i lived there wasnt a lot of stoes that carried bows that i can remember.I do remember as a kids i always drooled over pics in magazines of a bear kodiak magnum, man i wanted one of those!A friend of mine that i always hung out with had a bear grizzly i know for sure.Our bows were 45 pounders i do remeber.We both had beagle dogs and we spent many an hour running rabbits and shooting them with our bows.

I've noticed that no one seems willing to "own up" to being an "old timer"!!!
 :knothead:

In 1957 I had a Indian archery lemon wood straight end longbow, 35 lbs. I was after rabbits in those young days. Then in 1964 I bought a Ben Pearson Pinto, 55 lbs. In 1972 I bought a Bear Super K.
In those days I was a "two season" hunter, or the area I was to hunt was what made up my mind on the weapon.

I own several Oldtimers, both fixed and folding...

1st bow, in 72 I think, was a Browning Wasp @ 50#.
Still have it.

Followed by a Browning Backpacker in 65#, I think. ..had dreams of moose & bear hunting. They were scarce here in Piedmont NC, so I sold it. Beautiful bow, wish I still had it.

I thought I heard a moose just yesterday...

In 1964 I started hunting with a York Thunderbolt 40# @ 28" Micro flite #7 shafts.

I was hunting with a Bear Kodiak hunter my junior year in high school and that was 74. Guess Im an "old timer"

First bow other than solid fiberglass was a Kodiak Mag, 1968 or 69, do not remember for sure. Hunted ground hogs and killed several.

How old is old ?   48# Damon Howatt Coronado I acquired around '72.  That was my first real bow.    Other fiberglass bows before that.

NC bowbender. .  excuse me,  dang burritos

ChuckC

If I could remember back that far.............!

Had a Browning Wasp and a Herter's... don't remember the Herter's model (probably because of how OLD I am)... but it was 52" and 50@28.

Age is only a mumber, for all you "pups" out there.

    I had a few of what are now called Vintage Bows.
 
    52" Indian Archery Recurve 55# @ 28" probably 68 or 69 vintage, thats 1968 or 69...  :biglaugh:  

    First new bow was a Bear "Kodiak Hunter" 60" and 45# @ 28" 1971

I had an indian from K-Mart as my first real bow. Then I got a Bear Custom Kodiak take down. Still a great bow by todays standards.

First hunting bow was a brand new 68 Kodiak Hunter given to me by my dad when I got home from the Marines in 69.  Still have and hunt with that bow once in awhile.

Damon Howatt Hunter and a Damon Howatt Cavalier.

I had a Bear Grizzly about then. As I recall, the deer were safe but the varmints took some heat. I was big into Fred Bear's "two season hunter" concept at that time, and muzzleloaders (plains rifle style, not the 'modern' concept of front stuffers) were my main big game killer in the 70's.

Indian and a Browning.  Still have the Browning from 50 years ago

started in 1968 with a '68 Bear Grizzly 56 incher, 43#@28, didn't kill anything with it until 2006,(long story)

then in '72 I bought a Browning Nomad II and bagged my first 2 bowkills in 72 and 73. Sold it to my brother, I gotta ask his widow if she still has it one of these days.

For Christmas in 1968 I received a 53# Bear Grizzly, which I used for two years, then got into Wing bows.  I had several different models, but my "go to" hunting bow was a 1972 Red Wing Hunter.  

This is the bow I called my "40th anniversary bow".  Having shot a big Minnesota buck in November, 1972 with it, I used it again this fall to shoot a nine point Iowa buck.  I pretty much shot Wing bows until my first custom, a Bighorn in 1983.

Bernie Bjorklund

NC Iowa/SW Wisconsin

Started bowhunting in 1974 killed my first deer in 1976 at 26 with a K-mag a 50 at 28" went up to 60lbs. but now back to 50 plus or minus a couple lbs, with diff. limbs at 62 years old.Still having fun.Kip
my first
(http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p191/Kip_album/DSCN1164.jpg)

About 1965 40# York Cadet, looked like a Bear Grizz.
Then about 1972 50# Bear K- Hunter.

Got a Browning Nomad Stalker brand new in 1967, hunted with it till about 74' or 75'.....Paid $37 for it and I really wanted a Bear Grizzly, but they were a lot more money....$52, Back then I was washing dishes and 15 bucks was a lot of cash!!!   :biglaugh:

Damon Howatt Hunter, #45 60" recurve. Bought in mid 70's from Northwest archery, Glenn St Charles shop. His son Jay recomended it to me and it was a good choice.

My first real hunting bow was a new,'64 Grizzly.In 1970 I got a Super Kodiak and in '72,a 56" A Mag takedown,which I still have.

I had a Bear Super Mag....48"...the first year they were on the market. Worst bow I ever shot.

Then a Red Wing Hunter....thought I died and went to Heaven until I found Groves Spitfires.

Started in '69...Browning Nomad then a Kittredge Signature Hunter. The Kittredge was basically a Howatt/Martin, built to Kittredge specs. Similar to the lower priced one piece Jack Howard offered.

Red Wing Hunter

Aside from all the ones we made growing up(which accounted for quite a few tree rats btw) my first store-bought was a 45# Bear Kodiak Magnum in '71. I've got it's twin hanging on my rack right now.

Bear Grizzly

'60s Ben Recurves, early '70s, Bear takedowns, target bows, an 89 pound reverse Hill Tembo and a 72 pound Schulz.

bear grizzly 1973

1975, Kittredge hunter 62" 65#  http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x132/recurvehunter_2007/1975Bear.jpg

I can't contribute much to this thread... I am not old enough!  But my late father was big on the trad bowhunting scene 50 years ago, so I can tell you what he shot....

Dad ran a good-sized archery shop in southern CA in the late 60's/early 70's, and he was a big user and proponent of Jack Howard's Gamemaster.

A 58" 50# @ 28 Bear Grizzly fall of 1972 when i came home from army

1964 joined an archery 4-H club and learned to make arrows and since this was in the Flint Mi. area, we went to Darton Archery and purchased ready to finish bows.  Around 1966 I graduated to a Redwing Hunter that I got for Xmas.  I used that bow until college graduation in 1972, then bought a Super K after that.  I have been through a lot of bows between then and now.

First real bow in 1954 was a solid glass Paul Bunyon. In 1956 my Dad got me a 46# Eddings. Great bow. Wish I hadn't sold that bow!

First one was a Shakespeare Necedah, the a Red Wing pro after that about '74.

I used and still have a 56", solid fiberglass, Colt Captain, 35# @ 28''. My next bow that I also still have and use is a 50#  1967 1/2 Bear SK that I paid $25 for.

Not sure why I ever bought anything else, other than I fell victim to the disease.

A Black Widow metal risered take-down with 48# limbs(IIRC the model was HF1225). It was a great feeling/shooting bow. - John

Love the profile of the recurve Sergio, nice Bear too!

Wing ...

1957 Paul Bunyan solid green fiberglass.  That bow saved my mom's lilac bushes - source of my bows and arrows before that.  First real store bought, 1960/61 Ben Pearson "Pony" 42#@ 28".  Still have it.

Arne

Hoyt pro hunter, then a Herters perfection sitka.

First real, big game hunting bow was in 1964 an American Archery Cheetah Supreme 48lb recurve. Then I got a Black Widow recurve new $250.00.

First hunting bow was a Shakespeare Yukon in '67.  In '69 I took my first deer with a bow - a 58in 50# Shakespeare Necedah.  I still have that bow.

First year hunting very early 50's with an early Bear longbow.   1955/6 with a Gelco 800 recurve, 49 pounds; through the late 50's and 60's Wilson Brothers' Black Widows, Bob Lee Thunderbird and Jack Howard Gamemaster.

After several years of hunting small game, I started deer hunting in 1963 with a Ben Pearson Conqueror. Finally killed my first deer in Colorado in 1969 with a brand new Bear Takedown. I used Easton 24srtx arrow shafts. Still have both bows and a few of the shafts!

Used a fiberglass Paul Bunyon while in high school.  Bought a '68 Wing Gull when I came back from Over seas.  Then used a '70 Super Kodiak 64" 45#.  Would buy a Super K just like that one now.  Like Bill 24srtx was the shaft along with the OD swifts/ then game getters.
Shick

My bow in 75 was a Ben Pearson. I can't recall the model but it was a 45# recurve. I also had a recurve called a Super Bee which was also 45# a little later on. I took my first bow killed deer in 76. I do remember I took it with the Pearson, a wooden shaft with Bear heads and it was a 6 point.

Bought a Shakespeare X18 in 1973. Paid $24 brand-spankin' new at the local farm/hardware store. Got some cedar arrows with Hilbre broadheads and snapped them into a hoodless Kwikee quiver. Yikes!
How did we not get impaled using a hoodless quiver and stringing the bow without a stringer? I recall gluing razorblades onto my broadheads after seeing how Jack Howard did it in a magazine article. Double yikes!

Jerry Hill longbows. I didn't know anybody else made them. That was before the internet and I was a country bumkin. Heck I still am. Now I shoot Hills and Northern Mist.

QuoteOriginally posted by Sean B:
What bows were you hunting with before '75?

I didn't start hunting until after I was married (1980) but the bows I'm hunting with now were in play at that time.  ;-)

1966 Browning Explorer
1968 Red Wing Hunter
1971 Brownning Cobra II

57-58 kids wooden recurve shot pigeons and squirrels. Early 60's shot rats with a fiberglass bow. 1973 Bear Magnum 48" and a Ben Person, deer hunting.

Black Widows by Wilson brothers. Both 57#@31" with a 66" and a 68". I shot them because of accuracy and there limbs would not twist? Ken

Browning Nomad recurve.

Allan

Had solid fiberglass bows from 1966 to 1975, then bought my first real bow, a new Martin x150 or x200 I don't remember exactly.You may call me an old timer but I don't feel old, I don't shoot old, and I don't hunt old.        :archer2:

I hunted with a Pearson Renegade and a Bear Kodiak hunter. Made the circle of newer bows and now I'm back shooting 60's bows and mainly Pearsons and Wings.

Bought my first "Bear" in 1969.  #45 recurve but don't remember the model.

Had some cheap fiberglass stuff before that.

First one was a Wing Falcon 42# and I was in 5th grade. Later owned a Wing Vantage Pro. Really a nice bow and the one I first took a deer with. That would have been about '73. Now shooting a PSAX but the Bob Lee Ultimate might be my next bow. Still have my mom's St. Charles Thunderbird from the 1950's or 60's. She won a shoebox full of ribbons with it.

In 1964 I was shooting a 45# Ben pearson Cougar( still have it )Shot my first deer in 1973 with a 58# Lewis Carrol TD recurve( Wish I still had it!LOL)Many many bows have come and gone since then.

First bow was a yellow solid fiberglass Indian bow with red leather grip. I could actually hit frogs out in the middle of the ponds with it and killed a lot of cottontails including bunnies on the run and one double that clearly stands out in my mind today. That was a 45 lb bow and I was 10. 55 years ago.1957. I don't know what happened to that bow. It kind of disappeared along the way. Next bow was a Super Neceda zebrawood. Pretty nice bow. I don't remember when I bought it but it was the new bow at the time. Next was the roughest bow I ever owned. A pearson low price cheapy. I do remember it hurt to shoot. LOL. After that Hundreds gone by the way. Loved most of them.

God bless and Merry Christmas, Steve

The same bow I started hunting with.....1962 Bear Kodiak......although I really don't feel like I'm an "old timer"!

Browning recurve 60#
<><
<---------------<<<<<<

In the late 50's, I made bows to play with out of green bamboo, very common in Florida.  About 1960, my grandfather gave me a lemonwood longbow. After about a year, it became a 3 piece one day while shooting.  He then gave me a recurve he'd had made when he lived in Grayling in the late 40's.  While I was stationed in Denver in 1971, I bought a Browning Safari ll at the BX-my first store bought bow.

In 1964 I joined our local archery club, Bigfoot Archers, went on a "Organized Hunt" by Bear Archery in Mecer Wi. for bear and whitetails There were 30 archers, and I shot the only deer with a Bear Kodiak Magnum 55#, this was the first time that I was ever in the woods deer hunting, and a yearling ran by a 15 yards and I "skillfully"  spine shot him! ( I think that I was as suprised as the deer was!) This hunt consisted of sitting in the AM. and doing drives the rest of the day, with the BEAR rep and his friends getting the best spots to sit while the rest of us peons did the drives.

1970- Ben Pearson Cougar
1971- Bear Grizzly (56")
1972-1975 Bear B Mag

In the 60's I had a Ben Pearson for sure, can't remember when I was only about 8 but when I was 15 I got a 54# Wing Thunderbird. It was solid black and I hunted with it for several years until I got a Bear Kodiak Magnum.

Wing Redwing Hunter Micro-Flite arrows MA-3 broadhead,

1957 Bear Polar. Red glass, 64" and 46# @ 28". I still have the warranty card but I think it's expired. Ben Pearson cedar shafts and Bear razorheads. Graduated to Microflights later in the 60's.

I still have the bow and take it out occasionally for "old times sake."

Snufer. . . was that hunt out of Art LaHa's camp ?  Sounds a bit like his plan of attack.
ChuckC

Pretty cool stuff guys.  I've always Ben drawn to old recurves since I was a kid,  reading old "Bowhunter" magazines from the early '70s, and when I'd se them in my dads friends basements.
Also watching the Wensels DVD Sirit of the Bow, seeing Gene &Barry in some of the old footage, makes me wonder what everyone was using back in the day.

Bought a new 1967 Bear Grizzly in '67, traded in on a '68 Root Game Master, traded in for a '71 Damon Howatt Super Diablo.

I bought a Bear black bear 45# from a local discount dept. store in upstate NY. Killed a butten buck my first day hunting. Been hooked ever since. In 1972 I bought a 52" Bear K Mag.

Tried to resize the photo of my old Kittredge, 62" 55#. The quiver was my Shulz...note the honey color before I started the Pitch Blend. Also a few squirrels hanging around. Another bow I should have kept....   :mad:  

(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a281/sf1oak/scan-2.jpg)

A used Ben Pearson Hunter model at 45# made in the mid 60's...and then a brand new 1971 Kodiak Hunter at 50#.

1973 Bear Kodiak Mag I was a rich 2 Lt stationed at Mather AFB Ca in the Air Force, got at Sears on sale.

Darton Magnum, Microflite arrows, Bear Razorheads and let's not forget the clamp-on Kwikee "suicide" Kwiver.

I was a shotgun/bird hunter back then as there wasn't a deer season in OHIO...no deer to be seen.  I never shot a recurve...went straight to a longbow in 1980.  Tim Meigs longbow 65# kicked like a mule but I didn't know any better.  Probably why my teeth are falling out now  :)   tippit

Hey Tippit, still have that bow???

Sean,
No...but several years ago I found the longbow that I first saw at deer camp in 1979.  So I have the bow that started my journey  ;)

Yes i remember those snap on quickie quivers.In the 70's a properly outfited recurve had to have a quickie quiver, a set of those three prong rubber quickie silencers,brush buttons and some of those rubber no glove finger thingies.We usuasally had one of those stick on bear rests too.The broadsheads i remember useing were bear razor heads,those hilbri's with the plastic ferrule,pearson deadheads and a few three blade bodkins.Dont remember seeing many other broadhead types back then.I cant remember ever paying attention to arrow spine,,we just bought whatever arrows they had at the hardware.Most bows back then were around #45 or #50 so most likely thats what most arrows were too.We knew nothing about arrow weight, broadhead weight or things like that.I also never remember any of the deer i or my friends shot that we got pass throughs like we do today. Most likely because our arrows were never tuned right.

1978 was my first year of hunting. I started then with a used 45# Shakespear recurve and mismatched aluminum arrows.

I shot my first buck with a Red Wing Hunter. Then in 1967 I made the big jump in poundage because I liked the way a heavier bow shot flat tradjectory. I got a 77 lb. Wilson Brothers Blackwidow that was used. Supposedly the previous owner, some guy from PA, shot a 10 point buck with it. So I figured it might carry some good luck. I immediately painted the beautiful 60" bow with a can of flat finish NAPA #7844 olive drab. I also glued a piece of non-skid chamois leather on the handle/grip. I probably should not fess up to my immaturity but I also used to notch the riser whenever I killed a big game animal with it. You know... those four little vertical lines then a horizontal fifth line. Seems like I got that brainstorm after watching an old WWII movie involving fighter planes. Or maybe it was a cowboy movie about some gunfighters pistol handle being notched. Fighter pilots and gunfighters were cool. I remember the old bow had seventeen notches on it when I retired it. I also remember when Paul Schafer saw it in my shed for the first time. He picked it up, looked at the notches, looked at me and said "What the Hell"? Ha! We had a really good laugh about it. BW

Started with a Paul Bunyan, 60" longbow, 40# @ 28", then in 1970 inherited a 67 kodiak Hunter, 58", 45# @ 28.

when i was 13 i had a supple jack vine for a bow and hay bale twine and arrows were made out of hedge row sticks scared a lot of rabbits and  magpies. LOL!!!!

I still have my old clamp-on Kwikee "suicide" Kwiver. (And, no, I haven't used it in 30 years.) It scares me to look at it and think about those three Bear Razorheads staring at me as I climbed up into trees and sat in a home-made tree crotch stand with no safety belt. Heck, I didn't even use tree steps or a ladder, just shimmied up the tree, usually hanging my bow from branches above me as I climbed. I can remember falling asleep sitting on branches and waking up when deer came near my tree. It's a wonder any of us survived our youthful foolishness! My old Browning Nomad did not have reinforced limb tips, and the top tip delaminated when I was at full draw and sprayed my face with fiberglass and cut my arm with the string when the explosion took place. Although I loved that bow before it failed, I never wanted another Browning. Besides, I was dirt poor then and couldn't afford to replace the bow for a long time. Browning gave me no warranty assistance, either. I think it is a much better company today than it was then, at least as far as customer service is concerned, even though their firearms are no longer made in Belgium.

Allan

Was self-taught and killt bunch of small critters as a kid with a fiberglass kids bow, but (if I remember correctly) 1974-75 as a teenager was my first season bowhunting deer and bought a 45# Ben Pearson Cougar along with cedar arrows tipped with Bear Razorheads at Western Auto with my lawn mowing moneys.

Hunted with the Pearson for a year or two before advancing to a compound, Fred Bear Whitetail Hunter...8^)
Although had killed a few deer with firearms prior, looking back, hadn't killed a deer with bow until the Bear compound (I think 1976, maybe 77, when they were brand new on the market and first out) and it was a big deal in my area back then. Had flinged dozens of arrows at deer with the Pearson, but not until that high speed Whitetail Hunter did I connect...8^) and it was a running shot directly away from a long, long ways...8^) Looking back, probably the best (luckiest) shot I ever made. I believe the head was a Savora Sweptwing, but don't remember if it was the 3-blade or 4-blade version. The shafts were Easton aluminum but can't remember if GameGetters or XX75 Autumn Orange but think the Autumn Orange. I have a picture somewhere.

Sure would like to fine some 2018 Autumn Oranges now for the nostalgia...

I shot my first big game animal in 1964, a Louisiana Hog, with an old Wing, dont remember which one. It was a used bow. I got my first new bow in 1972, right after i got back from Viet Nam. Bought one of those new Bear Takedowns, got the Mag Riser, couldn't afford the Wooden one.  Still have the Riser, limbs busted several years ago. RW

Herter's Model Perfection 50# recurve. I think it was 56". My eldest son has it now, so I can't look at the bow rack and check. I think I bought it in 1973 or '74. Paid $37.50 at the original Herter's store in Waseca, MN.

I guess I'd have to say this was my first store-bought hunting bow. I did make a glass and maple laminated recurve, 45# @ 28", with a black walnut riser when I was a freshman in high school for shop class back in 1967. It looked like a bow built by a freshman in high school, but I did slay some bunnies with it. And I still have it. I believe mine is the sole survivor of 12-15 bows made in class. One managed only one arrow before delaminating, LOL! I have since cleaned up the riser and tips a bit. It shoots pretty well for it's age and maker.   ;)

Bear kodiak hunter, actually killed a deer with it, my first bow kill.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v181/ekrewson/Firstbowkill.jpg)

My first hunting bow was a used Browning Safari II. I bought it in 73 i think. My first new bow was a Hoyt Hunt Master TD.

Ben Pearson Gamester 45# about 1970 or so. I still have it.

Started bow hunting big game (deer) in 1970 using a Ben Pearson recurve bought from local Hecks department store. Don't remember the model but remember it was black and extremely short. I only knew two other bow hunters back then and neither were family members so it was a huge learning curve! Looking back it was a horrible bow! I always dreamt of a new Bear Kodiak bow but it was out of my league mowing grass. I was graduating high school in 1976. My mom and dad said they'd either buy me a class ring or that new bow I was wanting! Lets just say I NEVER was into jewelry! Still have that Kodiak bow!

In around 1968 or  1969 I bought an Indian "Deerslayer" 45 #  @ 28" and 60 " long . It may have been one but I sure wasn't . Took several seasons to bag my first deer . And even then I should have changed the name to "Doeslayer"  How you been Sean ? Well I hope , Fred

This is great guys!!  I love thses old bows, and thinking of all of you heading out with them the first time is pretty cool!  Hey Fred, Things are good, Its good to see you on here.  Almost all the "Old Timers" from bear camp chimed in, well, except Larry and Bow Doc!I'll be there again first week this year!

Found the pic and a correction to my story - it was a Jennings I bowkilled my first deer that traded my Bear compound in on.

The arrows were Autumn Oranges.

The first bow I hunted with was a 68 Kodiak Hunter
          mike

Bear Grizzly

Kodiak mag 39 bucks at K mark 1969 killed a 8 point with it in 1970.

73 got my 52' 50@28 Ben Pearson recurve, still have it..In 75 had a wing redwing hunter 58" 70@28.  Got my Howwitt bandito 55@28 a year later still have it.79 got my wing slimline 60@28 58". Its still killing yotes

1972 Bear Kodiak Hunter 60" amo 47#@28" I was a junior in HSchool. Cost me $58.00. Carried that bow to college with me and every where I went. Killed rabbits, squirrels and the first deer I ever shot at.  It broke after 13 years.

My first bow kill was a cottontail my dad found sitting tight and I made the 5' head shot with a 20# solid fiberglass (vintage unknown) recurve and one of those dime store wooden target arrows.  Not long after I bought (paid time payments with my newspaper route money) a 40# Browning recurve.  In 1967 I moved on up to a 48# Bear Super Kodiak.  Wish I still had that one.

My first store bought bow was a Ben Pearson javalina of about 40# pull back in 1962, I had to chop cotton for nearly a week to pay the $35 that it cost, But I felt like I was rich carrying that new bow around my buddies.  I still have it hanging on my wall today.  I still grin every time I look at it.  Buck

I had a Bear (can't remember the model), a Hoyt pro hunter, A Wing, and a Browning Safari which accounted for my first deer kill in 1972. The Browning was my favorite. I don't have the original, but I do have the mate to it hanging on my bow rack today.

It's cool to read about some of these old bows as I've owned a few older than myself. Makes ya wonder...

Shot my first deer in '74 with a Ben Pearson Rogue, 50#. Used cedar arrow with the MA3 broadhead.

Shakespeare.....  :archer2:

1959 - 15# fiberglass recurve (brand unknown) terrorized the local small game population

Late 60(s) shot my fathers 55# paul bunyan Longbow

Early 70(s) bought 2 Bear Grizzly(s)

Then went to wheels for 30 years....

><>>
Glenn

Another reason I brought this topic up was that I recently acquired a 58" 60# Red Wing Hunter.  I love the classic look go the early Wings & the Kodak hunters.  I just wonder what stories it could tell.   :archer2:

QuoteOriginally posted by wooddamon1:
It's cool to read about some of these old bows as I've owned a few older than myself. Makes ya wonder...

Not me.  In the 60's we were orbiting and landing on the moon.  Economy was robust.  The fastest and highest flying aircraft in the world (SR-71) was operational in 1964; has not been surpassed even yet.

No surprise to me the bows were superior as well.    :biglaugh:

Ben Pearson hunter 50# 1966-1970                Bear Kodiak hunter 50#  1970-1990                Martin Hunter  65#  1990-2000                    Martin Hunter 55#  2000-2008                     Assemhiemer 54#  2008-forever

Red Wing Hunter and a Hoyt Pro Hunter. With pin sights yet! Bear Mag arrows and Bear Razorheads. Worked pretty good too.

Hate to think that I'm gettin' old but my first was a Ben Pearson mercury hunter with the mercury in the handle; sweet bow.

Arkansas, The Mecury hunter and Mercury Marauder TD are two of my favorite bows I own. My 64# Marauder is my go to bow now. They are smooth.

Spring 1964.  A couple college buddies and I needed some "airing out," so we headed to Deer Creek near where it empties into the Scioto River south of Columbus, Ohio for early smallmouth and ground hogs.  The bow leaning against me is a a straight end Ben Pearson if I remember correct.

(http://i544.photobucket.com/albums/hh338/spikeknife/spike65.jpg)

My first recurve was a Cavotta Bros. Black Hawk Hornet, but I took my first deer with a Bear Kodiak Magnum.

Fall 1972.  A hunting buddy killed this doe with his Bear TD during a morning hunt.  The camo clothing is mine though.   :)

(http://i544.photobucket.com/albums/hh338/spikeknife/1971.jpg)

Nearly all the ones I used before '75 are the ones I still use today!  78# Howatt Hunter, 80# Shelby Longbow, 76# Bear T.D.  I just can't come up with a single reason to change.  By the way, hunting in '75 doesn't make you an old timer!

40# Indian Archery Cochise
43# Ben Pearson Gamester
50# Ben Pearson Rogue
55# Bear Kodiak Magnum

Colt recurve 47# early 70's.

Smile when you say that, young'un

1965 my parents gave me a 37# Bear Cub for my graduation which was to be May 66'. Think they thought if they waited I would be in Vietnam the next fall and not get to use it to hunt. Gosh I got good with that bow. Shot every evening just walking through the hay fields shooting bales. Wish I could still shoot that good. Cedar arrows out of the nail keg from B&W sporting good store. Bear razor heads. Killed two bunnies running that fall and shot my first deer with it. Turns out the next fall I went to college to play football. Should have gone to study would have made the whole process much quicker and easier. 68' or 69' graduated to a Kodiak and have never shot as good since the Cub.

I just came up with '75 at ramdom. Thinking back to all my old bow hunting mags that influenced me were around '74.  To me that was the "golden age"

Ben Pearson Colt was my first bow after my solid fiberglass bear.Built in 1968, it was at the low end of the line but a great bow. 62" 45@28"  Then I got a 52" Herters (still have it) 45XX@28" Both great bows and really great memories of hunting with those bows and my uncle and grandfather.

This has been a fun trip down memory lane!  I started bowhunting in 1970 and took my first deer in '73.  My bow was a Bear Kodak Mag #45 with a pin sight that I drilled and mounted myself.  It may have been a Merrel Heart Shot, if I remember correctly.  The arrow I took the deer was a full length 2018 with 3, 5.5 inch par. feathers.  We didn't know 'nutting about tuning and/or cutting down an arrow.  That's the way it came so that's the way we used it! The shaft was a Swift 2018.  These were the "shiny" ones, natural aluminum color.  My broadhead was a Bear Razorhead.  I still have the arrow and broadhead.  The bow has long been gone.
I wish I knew how to post pictures here.  I still have the picture of that buck.  It ought to be a rule here that if you post a picture on this thread from your early years that you MUST post a more recent picture also!    :eek:   Our equipment isn't the only thing that has changed!   :laughing:

I never pick up a bow before about 1986 so I guess that means I am NOT an "Old Timer"!

Bisch

When I was in jr high I bought my first "real" hunting bow that I still have today, a 50 @ 28 Bear K Mag. I believe it was 1966 or so. I had to save up for the $65 that it cost new. I've spent ALOT of time carrying that bow in the woods. It has been retired to serve as a mantle piece now.
Fred Bear  was, and still is, my hero.   :notworthy:

My first bow...let's see.  It was a birthday present for I'm going to guess my 9th birthday, that would be 1970.  It was one of those dual shelf orange and white fiberglass models.  By 1975/76 I had my first recurve, and Indian archery 35@28" deal and was it was the ticket at the time.  At least to me. I still have it.

bear kodiak 45lbs. mid 60's

1964

Ben Pearson Ole Ben longbow and a Ben Pearson Cougar recurve.

1968 Red Wing Hunter 58"AMO 45# (Larry's Sport Shop) bought it with my grass cuttin' money...been thru 2 nephews and still shoots like a dream.

God bless,  Pierre

1970 Bear Grizzly my grandma helped me buy. 58" 42@28. Micro Flite arrows, I don't recall the number ( I think they were 7's). MA3 small broadheads.

Living on a farm in the 50's I made my bows out of hickory and would get feathers from the chicken coop for my arrows. I guess I was making self bows before I knew what I was doing. In 1956 my dad let me mail order a 22 rifle from the Sears & Roebuck catalog, I laid down the bow. Sorry guns kick ass! Nine years later out of active duty from the navy the urge to hunt with a bow was back. In 1966 I bought a Ben Pearson and in October I went to Vermont for 3 days by my self to hunt deer, I didn't get it done in 3 days. The following October I took a week off and went back to Vermont and shot a deer with that bow. I was using Micro Flite shafts and Super Hilbre broadheads .That bow broke, and either 1968 or    1969 I bought a 52" Red Wing Hunter 50 lbs amo. I'm using it again this year love how quiet Dacron string is, or, am I reliving my youth.

In the mid 70's I was using a 30# Wing Falcon bow with Microflite 4 arrows.  Helped a guy dig a basement by shovel and wheelbarrow for the money.  Great setup for small game.
Still have the bow and most of the arrows...was it really that long ago?

Joe

A Shakespeare Necedah and then a green Bear Kodiak Hunter.

First bow that i hunted with and put the desire in me was a red cedar bow that my father made me with a axe but it was the greatest bow in the world . it but fear in a lot of rabbits and birds but i dont remember it ever bringing blood that was 1959. from there it was a borrowed solid glass bow that i shot my first deer tho it wasnt the one i was shooting at . Then in 1967 it was a browning nonad stalker. Still a good bow havnt taken it hunting in a long time maybe soon.

My first hunting bow was a 1969 Grizzly but that was in 1992.

My first hunting bow was a Ben Pearson solid fiberglass bow that I chased rabbits with in the fields around Loveland Co.  The yrar was 1964.

Awesome bows and stories!  There's gotta be more " mature" now hunters out there   :campfire:

Great thread Sean B, brings back lots of good memories!

My first bow was a 1972 45# Bear Kodiak Magnum bow with Log fiberglass arrows and Bear razorheads. I shot a spike with that combo in 2008 and two weeks later the bow was stolen.

Shakespeare Wonderbow 40@28 and a Bear Supermag 48 45@28 , wise guys.  And I still have them if I can remember where I put them.

I would love to see any pics of the old bows that guys still have.

What a fun thread to read through. I don't remember the model but I do remember my mom taking me to the local hardware store and getting me a Shakespeare bow and eventually I got my hands on a Bear "Black Bear". At least I think it was the Black Bear model??? Eventually I moved into Black Widow recurves and that's where I stayed until just recently when I purchased an A&H ACS. I guess after several decades I needed a little change. U    :)

Here you go Longrifle. The Shakespeare Wonderbow is the third from the top, birthday present from my folks in 1965 IIRC.
The bottom bow was my dad's last recurve. It is a 60's bow as well. I tried to get his first bow back- I think it was made in the 1950's, but my nephew doesn't want to give it up.
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd43/MnFn/P1010378.jpg)

This was a fun thread.  I'm going to TTT 1 more time then I'll let it die

Damon Howatt Super Diablo and Red Wing Hunter. Still have the Super Diablo, don't know what happened to the Wing. Killed a bunch of NFAA field targets, very little game!

My first hunting bow in the mid '06s  was a Bear Kodiak Hunter 48lb @ 28. Boy I wish I still had that one.
Frank

My first was a grizzly takeoff made in korea.

I think the K-mag wins,Kip

Bear Kodiak Magnum...40# at 28" with those funky camo limb sleeves. Bear wooden arrows, painted gray full length with one yellow and two blue feather fletches. I still have a Razorhead from that set-up. I used to climb trees and sit on limbs till something happened along. 1972, wow.

My first hunting bow was a 45 lbs Ben Pearson that I got at Wards in 1973.

A solid glass recurve - don't remember the brand - that I picked out of a sporting magazine. Got it for Christmas around 1955 or '56. Didn't kill any deer with it. We really didn't have many (any?) deer in Michigan's lower peninsula back then, and when you went to the UP, you took a rifle. My neighbor buddy and I got a few rabbits bow hunting and shot every day after school at some ridiculous distances at a mounted deer wired onto some hay bales. Shot a WHOLE lot better back then than I do now, but again, we did it every day. Probably had lousy form and made all kinds of dumb  mistakes, but we were pretty good in spite of all that. Yep, those were the good old days. Now, my groups are twice the size, the distance less than half as far and the old bones hurt more. Still having fun, though   :)

First hunting bow was a Bear Cub and the next bow was a K Mag . Still have them both .

Does 52 yrs count as a old timer? I feel like it most days. If so, a Ben Pearson and a Fred Bear Alaskan Recurves.

Hunted with a Ben Pearson recurve from my first year hunting, 1972, until the end of 1976 when I bought my first wheel bow. BTW, my first two wheel bows were probably slower than my recurve.    :biglaugh:

Browning Cobra 11, Browning Explorer, Browning Fury, Kittredge Hunter.

Lets see.  I started with an Indian 35# fiberglass bow in 1966.  In 1968 I bought a Bear Bearcat @45# and killed my first deer with it.  Then on to a 50# Browning Nomad II in 1969 which I shot my 2nd deer with and up to a Bear Kodiak Magnum 55@ in 1970 which I killed my 3rd deer with.  A Bear T.D. @ 55# in 1972 and killed 2 more with it.  After that they just kept on coming!

Now that I'm old and gray I use a Bear T.D. @ 73# for all of my hunting.  It's tuff being an "Old timer".

For all you young whipper snappers that were still in diapers and others that were not even a gleam in their daddy's eye, here is a little something I posted here on Trad Gang on January 15, 2004 09:25 AM
   
I finally received my issue of TBM in the mail yesterday. About 9:30pm I was bored with the Mavericks and 76ers game and began thumbing through the magazine. I came across the article "The Return of the Little Delta Bow" by John Schneider.

As I read the article my thoughts turned to my own 1957 Kodiak Special. While its history is not as illustrious as the Little Delta bow, it nonetheless has served me well. I purchased this bow from one of my dad's co-workers in fall of 1959. I had just turned 16 at the time and had developed an avid interest in archery through my cousins.
Dad's friend had transferred from Michigan to the GM Plant in Arlington, TX and brought the bow with him. He had just bought a new Kodiak and was willing to sell me his "old" one for $25. For the next two years, I hunted rabbits and squirrels in the Trinity River bottoms with this bow. This area is now occupied by AMR Corp. and is a business district adjacent to DFW Airport. Anyway, I digress. In 1962 the bow wound up in the top of my closet. I moved away from my parents and 20 years passed by....college, a marriage, a divorce, work all kept me away from archery and my Kodiak Special.
In 1983 I retrieved it from its resting place, still there after all those years. It has been at my home since then, hanging on the wall unstrung and not shot since my senior year in high school.

After reading the Little Delta Bow article I decided this bow needs to be shot. After all that's what Fred Bear made them for. Right? I still had a Bear Archery string new in the package that I had put away with the bow. I dug it out, opened the package (white dacron endless string with brown serving) and placed it on the bow. I got my Selway stringer out and very carefully strung the bow. So, here I am out in my back yard with the flood lights on at 10:00pm last night contemplating on whether or not to shoot this 47 year old bow. It had to be done! I partially drew it several times testing and listening for any cracks or creaks. None. So I stood close to the target, knocked an arrow, 3/4 drew and released. The arrow smacked the target and all seemed well with the bow. Three more arrows at 3/4 draw and we are feeling confident. Full draw at 20 yards and stacking arrows. I shot for 30 minutes enjoying each and every arrow as they gracefully flew to the target.

Thank you John Schneider and TBM for the article and inspiring me to once again renew a relationship with my Kodiak Special.

Danny

#45 pound Bear.

That was a great one Rick!!  I'm one of those whipper snappers....I'm a '68 model!!

First bow? Can't remember that far back.Second bow a bear cub,Third bow and the one that I wish I still owned Was a wing thunderbird brought down many a deer with that bow including the one in my avatar.

47# Staghorn Recurve made in Merrill, Wisconsin.

LD

In 1959 or 60 my parents gave me a 66" Bear bow that was marked 40#.. I shot it for some time until about 1966 when I got a Wing "Red Wing" hunter, two of them in fact.. They were 58", one was 43 and the other was 46 at 28".  

More than I can remember right off since then..

I thought I'd contribute to the thread even though I'm not an "old timer"....

1963,Bear red fox handed to me by Mr Fred his self was my first. Still have it, been through two kids and two grandkids shoot it now. First real huntin bow though was a wonder bow in 1968 paid for with hay bailin money. Seems like alot of years ago in some ways...like yesterday in others.

It seems that many are still shooting the same bows now that they did way back then. I imagine, Fred Bear, Ben Pearson, or Howard Hill could stroll into many of our camps today and find equipment that they were very familiar with.

In 1965 got a Ben Pearson 45# Cougar for my 12th birthday,I've still got it.In 1972 got a New Browning Cobra 50"-58#, still wish I had that one.

My first real store bought bow was a Bear Alaskan.  I think it was 1958.  I had that bow for years and it was sold in a yard sale by accident while I was in military. I sure miss that old bow 46#@28".

Not sure how I missed this thread before now but I had to read through it from the begining. Great stories!

For me, I had others before but the first bow that I can remember the brand was a solid fiberglass Ben Pearson Jet 35# that I acquired second hand about mid sixties. Could be shot left or right and I chose left as that is the way Fred Bear shot. I'm right handed but no one told me why I should shoot one way or the other and I just figured it was a matter of choice. My first new bow was a AMF Red Wing Hunter 45# also left hand that I purchased in the late sixties or early seventies at the Hunter's Shack in Flint Michigan for $34.I wanted a Bear Super Magnum but they were twice as much. After my stint in the army 1972-74 a friend lent me a right handed Bear Grizzly which I used for a few seasons. I gave my other two bows to my young nephews and they were promptly taken away by their mother after they used the back of the garage for target practice. They should be able to get them back this year when the youngest turns 40 and I then will be able to give them some proper instruction on using them.

My first real bow was a Bear Tamerlane. At 32# it was a nice target bow. My first hunting bow I believe was also a Bear. I don't remember the name but it was 48# and all black....Dave

About 1962, my grandfather gave me his old lemonwood longbow.  Within a year, it became a 3 piece.  He then gave me his custom recurve built in 1946 or 47.  I played with it hunting small game-rabbits, armadillo, etc, until I went into the Air Force in 1971.  While stationed in Denver, I bought a new Browning Safari ll at the BX.  I never shot that bow until I was assigned to Dover in 1975, after 2 years in Thailand.

WOW!  What a great thread. Ric O'Shay, your post just touched a note in my spirit.  Lots of modern gear guys would never understand the emotions evoked by these posts.  

My first "real" bow was a lemon wood longbow by Indian Archery out of Evansville, Indiana.  Way too strong (50#) for a 12 year old kid but for some reason it's what I wanted and dad and the sales clerk at Beards Sporting Goods in Evansville let me choose that one over the much better suited 35#er.   :)  I never hunted with that one....my first hunting bow came about 1974 and was a Cravotta Bros. Black Hawk recurve, 50@28" and 58" long with the absolutely necessary brush buttons, three pronged silencers and clamp-on Kwikee quiver and slide on camo limb covers that must have slowed the bow down by a ton!  My arrows were POC with Bodkin heads.

I think that while we know so much more these days about setting up equipment, the biology of deer, understand the rut, etc, etc, I'm not sure we have more fun.  There was something magical in those days.