When the Bear Super Kodiak came out in 1967 and it was $99.95? (A lot of money then).

The 1959 Bear Kodiak was $59.50?  (OK, I'll give you that for one now, if it is nice shape).

The "New St. Charles Hunting Quiver" cost $12.50?  (I won't even go there).

The Bear Master Glove cost $2.25? ( I wonder how many of these they sold).

Bear Razorheads were $3.75.........a dozen! (How could anyone even afford to hunt at these prices!).

The Red Wing Hunter bow was $54.95? (Good bow for the money).

Forgewood Hunter arrows were $12.95 a dozen?  (Some do not even know what I'm talking about here, but good arrows).

True Shape Natural Barred 5" Shield cut feathers were $4.00 a hundred, dyed feathers were $4.25.(Get outahere!  Who would pay that?).

Bitzenburger fletchers were $23.00?

Ben Pearson Deadheads were $7.00 a dozen. (Now they want $7 each!)

And my favorite, the new...the latest...the greatest.....The Baker Tree Stand!  What a work of art!  A lot of attorneys are rich now because of this invention.  I remember hunting the Whitetail rut in November in Monongahela National Forest in WV years ago.  The third evening we were there it started to rain, then sleet, then snow.  To get up and down with this thing you had to hug the tree.  The tree I was in was covered with solid ice by the time it was dark.  What a hoot!  It would have killed me at my age today, but I only have the scars to show my bravery.  

I could go on and on, but I'm sure some of there others can add to the list

I remember my Baker very well. I had the one with the climber. One afternoon, I was just about 20 feet up, and the bottom slipped off my feet. It sounded like a bumper jack as it ratcheted its way clear down to the bottom of the tree. There I hung, on a shagbark hickory(it was the only good bad tree on that trail)dangling and wondering why I ever took up bowhunting to begin with.    

What a depressing post.  Especially since I paid $15 for my first Blitzenbuger - which still works just fine.  I must be older than dirt.  My first 100 POC shafts were about $20 shipped from either Rose City or ACME.  The first 1000 I split with a friend were just over $100.  I was getting in shape for elk season, but now I feel like I'd better go rest.

I also remember when I brought home 127.38 per week, and thought I was in high cotton! My first job...and man I thought I was THE KING, BABY!

I can say that I too have fallen while using the Baker stand.  One of my many humorous moments from my first season hunting at age 12.  Luckily it broke my fall when it stopped about 4 feet up the tree.  I just got rid of two of them when I cleaned out the garage.

My first climbing tree stand was a kit that you had to put together using your own piece of wood.  I don't remember the name but it had a flexible steel band that went around the tree.

The climber consister of just a long seatbelt strap that looped around the tree.

My dad had a Baker climbing stand.   I think we still have it at the cabin.

man all this falling out of trees.helloooooo!!! keep ya feet on the ground. if we were ment to be in trees god would have given us wings. same goes for flying.    
wolfman.

I rememember getting out of the Army and landing my first job...$250 a week. I remember clearly my Uncle Jack saying, "Well heck, you don't need anymore than that"....

Just found some of my old Archery Licenses. 1979 Mi Non-Res Bow and Arrow Deer License $20.00, 1980 WV non-res bow license $15.00 1981 Pa non-res 62.50

LOL yep remember Bakers well. One day on an out of state trip to Wisconsin, I relaxed and stepped back on the stand, free fell for about 10 feet before I put my weight back on the front which stopped it like an emergency brake and about threw me out ha ha of course we didn't wear safety belts in those days.

I also remember going to the US Nationals Archery Tournament in Franklin Ohio in 1978 (met Fred Bear there) and there was a stack of maybe 50 brand new Bear recurves in their boxes, take your pick $25..and I only bought ONE..DOH!

At my first job(cashier in a restaurant) I made $1.25 an hour...that's $50.00 GROSS for a 40 hour week ha ha and I celebrated by buying my first brand new motorcycle which cost $380...on payments LOL

Now I ain't as old as Mickey, but I remember landing my first job with benefits...9k a year!  Whoop!  Now I can support my family.

I still have a climber out in the garage made like those Bakers...I think it's a knockoff, though.  Not sure why I haven't tossed it, that thing is a one way ticket to the emergency room.

... and one day when a gas war in our little one-horse, but two station town put gas at $0.18 per gal for a day.  It was 1967, I was 10, and EVERYONE knew gas was supposed to be $0.25!!

Oh, how times have changed-

Daryl

1 dz Bear Cedar arrows WITH 1 dz Razorheads..$12
Browning Nomad 60" Bow....$69.95
Tiger Stripe Viet Nam Camo....$24 pants&Jacket
Sweetland Forgewood Battleshafts....$24 dz
Herters Centerback Backquiver....$17.95

I could go on forever....those good ol days....
last one....Staghorn Recurve...$75....

I used the inflation calculator someone posted for the first two. Below are the buying power the cost had in the time converted to todays money.

1967 Bear Super Kodiak  623.34

1959 Bear Kodiak 425.90

Like Kev, I too was stuck sitting on the climber and the platform was at the bottom of the tree.

My buddy sat laughing on the ground. He was scared of hieghts and was always amazed as I usually set up very high,,, 30 to 35 feet and more if the hill is steep and the only good tree is on the downside of the hill!

Anyways, he say's "Now what are you going to do?" I stand up on the seat, turn around, bear hug the tree, kick the seat loose from the tree and did a fireman slide down the tree. All this quicker than he could get up off of the ground. It was a dumb and dangerous stunt, but he never made fun of me using a tree stand again!

I pulled out of a gas station once refusing to pay $1.00 for a gallon of gas. I also swore I'd never pay more than $1500 for a new motorcycle or more than $5000 for a new car. (My last motorcycle was almost $10,000 and sticker on my last truck was $36,000 GADS!!!! but I only paid $30,000 for it ha ha)You can see I really stuck to my guns.

Oh and to keep it trad bowhunting related I remember when my dad sold custom longbows for $10.00 each.

For MI Bowhunter,

I believe that was a TSC kit.  Had one of those also.  Worked pretty good, and not too expensive, about $38 at the time I had mine.  Brings back more old memories.

LOL How Old Are You Mickey?...      

I copied the Baker,  my rendition weighed 21 pounds-and i used to hike in every morning and out every evening i could.
I remember my first few hunts, if i dropped something i could jump out and climb back in it-not too confident.

Big Ron I have you by a couple of decades plus a couple of months ..or to put it another way I had been out of high schoool for a couple of years when you were born