Okay, deals like this were fairly common in Bozeman in the early nineties. In 1992 I went to a garage sale and the guy holding it was moving to Alaska and wanted to thin his bow collection down to two or three bows. As all the bows were right-handed and at that time I was shooting left-handed, I passed on several Robertson longbows and half a dozen Schaffer recurves for the whopping price of $100-$200 each. I realized my error and went back an hour later and met the new owner of nine bows as he loaded them into his car; he paid $1,000 for all of them. :knothead: s
Anyway, this morning I decided not to go hunting and was kicking around calling myself a bum, while trying to get enough motivation to start working on some bows out in the shop when I decided to see how my new phone worked on Craigslist. The new phone worked good and listed near the top among the missile launchers the name Schafer caught my attention; one of the "Trading Posts" had several bows for sale. Seeing as how the motivation to clean the shop wasn't there I jumped in the truck and made the fifteen minute drive to Belgrade. Well, hanging on the wall there wasn't one Schafer but four of them with a metal handled Bear takedown (I think it is a B handle) hanging next to them. To make a long story short, $500 later I walked out with an original Schafer one piece recurve made by Paul, a Schafer three piece takedown with Bocate limbs and sheep horn overlays made by Dave, two Schafer kids bows also by Dave, and the Bear takedown. I am not a bear expert by any stretch of the word, but think the limbs on the Bear are a set of the ones Paul made for a while. Three of the Schafer's need refinished and the camo spray paint removed from the Bear and one piece Schafer.
Anyway, I suddenly got some motivation, the wife is headed home, I am headed for a treestand before I have to explain what I spent the money on. :goldtooth:
Catch you later.
WOW Merry Christmas to you my friend!!!!!
HOLY CRAP!! CONGRATS!! Lets see some pics.
Great deal, Xmass came early
Cheers Dan
Thats amazing, X2 on those pics!
Worst case scenario is you sell everything and make a handsome profit...very important for the male ego to make up for past blunders...explain to your wife you were simply correcting a 21 year old mistake
DDave
:clapper: :clapper: Lucky you.....
What else are ya gonna do with $500 at Christmas time? Right?
;-)
Wow!Sounds like you got a good deal, I wish I could stumble on to a deal like that.
what about a shafer T/D with the Bear metal riser and shafer limbs, it was made by Paul, one of the first few he made. anybody got any Idea what this might be worth ??
My area is a little too "green" to find stuff like that.
Great deal and a nice Christmas present for you. x3 on the pics!
What a find! :thumbsup:
Nice find Walt.
What a great find. Congrats!!
Good idea, get to your tree before your luck runs out!!!!
Walt, if your wife is TOO mad, I'd be willing to give you $600 for the lot! :saywhat:
You're welcome! ;)
That's is amazing! Congrats on all the bows! What are the weights on them?
What a great find Walt. Congratulations.
Let's see the pics
Now that's cool! :thumbsup:
Gotta love it when it works!
That's just like hunting! The right place at the right time, congrats on a sweet find.
Sounds like money well spent to me!
That's just like hunting! The right place at the right time, congrats on a sweet find.
Holy Reindeer! Santa obviously flew over Montana a little early this year! Merry Christmas Walt!
Here are some pictures:
The four Schafer's
(http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y91/Slivershooter/Schafer%20Bows/IMG_20131221_181124_246_zpsubi4x9q_edit_1387731829388_zps2buj7rbj.jpg) (http://s3.photobucket.com/user/Slivershooter/media/Schafer%20Bows/IMG_20131221_181124_246_zpsubi4x9q_edit_1387731829388_zps2buj7rbj.jpg.html)
A close up of the one piece with the primer paint on it: 64# @ 28". The number on the bows is #762
(http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y91/Slivershooter/Schafer%20Bows/IMG_20131221_181219_078_zpsoudlvmr_edit_1387742636213_zpsgvbt3h6p.jpg) (http://s3.photobucket.com/user/Slivershooter/media/Schafer%20Bows/IMG_20131221_181219_078_zpsoudlvmr_edit_1387742636213_zpsgvbt3h6p.jpg.html)
Here it is after removing the paint:
(http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y91/Slivershooter/Schafer%20Bows/IMG_20131222_105212_592_zpsnavvjl8f.jpg) (http://s3.photobucket.com/user/Slivershooter/media/Schafer%20Bows/IMG_20131222_105212_592_zpsnavvjl8f.jpg.html)
A closer look at the three piece, it has Bocate limbs and riser with zebra and phenolic stripes, antler limb bolts, sheep horn tip overlays, checkered grip, and a Selway quiver. The finish is scuffed up in places and should be sanded out and refinished; structurally it is solid. Better be, I think the limbs say it is 74# @ 29" but it feels close to the to the weight of the one piece:
(http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y91/Slivershooter/Schafer%20Bows/IMG_20131221_181321_849_zpsdp5x59s2.jpg) (http://s3.photobucket.com/user/Slivershooter/media/Schafer%20Bows/IMG_20131221_181321_849_zpsdp5x59s2.jpg.html)
Both of the cub bow (16# @ 20") and the longbow (56" 36# @ 24") need refinishing, which I will do sometime this winter.
Here are a couple pictures of the Bear takedown. I took some of the camo paint off and determined it has factory bear limbs that feel like they are 55-60#. The sticker on the riser say's "Charter Member Freed Bear Sports Club".
(http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y91/Slivershooter/Schafer%20Bows/IMG_20131221_180919_732_zpseduxxyqo.jpg) (http://s3.photobucket.com/user/Slivershooter/media/Schafer%20Bows/IMG_20131221_180919_732_zpseduxxyqo.jpg.html)
(http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y91/Slivershooter/Schafer%20Bows/IMG_20131221_180952_140_zpsmq8kmny7.jpg) (http://s3.photobucket.com/user/Slivershooter/media/Schafer%20Bows/IMG_20131221_180952_140_zpsmq8kmny7.jpg.html)
I'm not much of a Bear bow guy so any input from those of you that know Bear bow appreciated.
I am keeping both of the longbows for my granddaughters.
The Bear will hit the classifieds after it is cleaned up.
I have received numerous inquiries regarding the one piece, but am undecided if it will be for sale. I have kicked myself since selling my one piece Schafer in 98/99, but the grip on this one doesn't fit me as nice as my old one. However, I might just be be miss-remembering (is that a word?), as my pappy always said "time and distance distort". I will reply to the inquiries before posting it in the classified.
I love the grip on the three piece bow (wish it was on the one piece), it is smooth, and shoots arrows with authority.....lots of authority. The only drawback is it has bolt on limbs. This is a personal preference, I just don't like the looks of a bow with the limbs bolted on. Guess that's why my brother Bob and I had Dave make the second and third two piece longbows for us.
Wow! Good weights too.
Sweet bows. You did very good!
That's an A-Riser Mag Bear.
That is awesome! Congrats.
Nice find Walt. Congrats!
chris <><
Nice find!
Very cool Walt!!!
Pretty cool to see what was under all that paint! Very nice. How long have you been married? She's probably used to this by now!
Nice pick Walt
Walt, don't waste your money buying any lottery tickets...you've already won!
Bowwild, thanks for the information on the Bear bow.
Dave, you are right, the wife just rolled her eyes and said how many bows this time? Then a few minutes later she remarked, at least they are Schafer's. Ya gotta love a woman that knows the value of a good bow. ;)
Wow. Another case of good things happening to good people
Nice snag Walt!
You dog you!
Awesome!!!!