I'm looking at buying a couple of bows that would be Ben Pearson's. What ones to look at good/bad/ugly or problems in the past? I have a deal with a Mustang an Colt in the works....

Which Mustang?  The early ones were 60" and had capped risers, somewhat like the colt.  In the 70's they went to a 58" Mustang that looked much like a Bear Grizzly in design.  The Colt is a good shooter too, just a cheaper run...no tip overlays, etc.

Pearson made myriad models under different names; Golden Sovereign, Silver Sovereign, Special, Apex, Ben Pearson, etc.  You can find good and average models within those names.

The Palomino is a nice bow, as is the Stallion.
The Mercury Hunter, and Mercury Marauder Takedown were also top of the line models.  The standard Hunter  58" is a good hunting bow and usually reasonable to buy.  They also had the Predator, Rogue, BPH 70, BPH 90, BPH 52...all designed off their hunter models.

Visit  archeryarchives.com for more.

Thanks George! The Mustang is the 60". Looking to have an shoot with grandson an keep for down the road. That what I'm looking for information on the better ones to invest in.

That 60" Mustang is a nice bow and a great shooter.

Even though I prefer the vintage Bears, I have a few of Ben's old bows.  I believe this is a '62 Pinto with unique looks, but shoots real nice.

I have Colts, Stallions, an All American and a Cougar. Nice bows, all. I have had one Colt for almost forty years. Beautiful! I like it better than a Super Kodiak.

Killdeer

I have owned and have a couple of Pearsons still. They are good bows that don't get all the attention they should. I am presently changing back to a Pearson to hunt with and really am impressed with it.  Ben

I've had a lot of different recurves over the years but if I had to be limited to just one it would be a 1964, '65, or '66 Pearson Stallion. I agree with Killdeer that they are better bows than the Kodiaks, or at least I like them much better. Of course, that kind of thinking is why I'm not a rich man.  

From Left to right:

1964    47#
1964    48#
1964    53#
1965/66 54#
1964    54#
1965/66 55#
1965/66 55#
1964    60#

The 60# is the first one I bought, and the only one I bought new.  


 
 
 

My go to for small game through caribou is a 1963 colt. Moose, bear, mountain goat and Dall sheep I use a Kodiak TD. They are both tack drivers, the TD is 60# and better suited for the bigger game, if the colt was saw 55# or higher I think it would probably be my "all around hunter."

Wow, Tom, I never knew!!
How do you find out the date of manufacture?

Killdeer

Thanks for the information an pictures guys an Killdeer! Tom did you paint the bows or did they come that way? I got a few Ben Pearsons to buy looks like down the road... LOL

Kathy, the 65's and 66's are identical. I don't know a way to tell them apart other than being able to look at Pearson's record and see the ID # cut off dates. Ben Jr. or possibly Van/TX might be able to date them.

The '64, although basically the same bow, had a few differences, mostly cosmetic. The 64's had a light green belly glass, a flat shelf, no nock overlay on the belly, and a narrower lighter limb tip. The 65/66's had dark green belly glass, beveled shelf, a bit wider limb tips with nock overlay on both back and belly. The back glass on all models varied from red to reddish brown to brown glass. There were a few early 64 models that had zebrawood risers. I owned one and in 45 years have only seen one other like it so I suspect they're pretty rare now. I have a couple 64 models that lack the thumb rest and have seen a couple other 64's that way. Really like those handles as I'm predominately a long bow shooter and the grip fits me better.

Mack, with the exception of a '64 model I picked up last year I've had these bows for many years. Yes, I painted them. Why? Because back in the day Bob Learn told us to.    

They're all great shooting bows.