That's great, thanks.

Great story Gary, thanks for sharing with us.

Fred was one of a kind and is greatly missed by those of us who have personal recollection of what he was like.  The momentos I have from our time together are priceless.  He would send me messages typed out on postcards (Fred used an old 30s era typewriter, "hunt and peck" style) letting me know where he was going to be so we could visit.  Mrs Bear (Henrietta) was quite the lady with a beautiful handwriting style.  I still have letters she would send me asking about old art pieces or photographs she came across.  She was very interested in antiques.  Fred's word and handshake meant something . . . we need more of that these days.

ttt so others can see . . .

That's cool Gary!

The fletch looks like a "hybrid" of a parabolic and shield...

Very nice story.  Thanks for sharing.  I'd call your fletching the Bear Parashield.

Best of luck.

Lot of people I know want and use that style of fletching.  The rounded back corner makes it quieter, and is what I call as do others, a "HIGH BACK SHIELD"  cut.  They work great.

great story and nice 'modified shield' shape fletches.

i like a fat, high back, full helical, sorta-kinda-shield shape, too.

good to be in the company of papa bear.  

Thanks for sharing. Awesome story!

I'm burning all of my current fletching this way.  They're going into a new Kanati quiver I picked up at Kalamazoo that will be attached to my new Tall Tines recurve . . . that is if I ever receive it. . . consider that a HINT Brian;^)  I plan on posting a photo of the full "Bear-Tines" rig when it comes together.  Gotta love this stuff . . . I'm like a kid on Christmas Eve.

Gary,
 Thanks for sharing a piece of your memories of a great man. I always wished I could have known him. With stories like this we do just a little better.

Thanks Robert.  Fred was a wonderful man, humble, with a great sense of humor and willing to laugh at himself.  I originally met him in Alabama when I was attending the Fred Bear Bowhunting School at Westervelt Lodge.  He was there to film a seqment with Glen Lau (Sports Afield)- if memory serves, along with Hugh Blackburn of Bear Archery.  Fred and Hugh served as our guest instructors.  Both men spun tales of their work on the film Deliverance.  

We kept in touch over the years and had some great visits. I was honored twice when asked to present several awards of recognition to Fred. One from my state bowhunting organization. Fred told me many hunting stories )including a few yarns,)and in more serious moments would relate his fears of where the "archery industry" was headed.

The last time I saw Fred was the day he burned the arrow in the photo.  My wife and oldest daughter was with me and filmed a lot of the visit, including Fred spinning one of his famous Alaskan hunting yarns about himself and Bob Munger, who I also knew.  

People ask "What impressed you the most about Fred Bear?"   I always say, "Everytime I was with Fred or watched him interact with a new admirer - he was always the same; Fred had a way of making each person he met feel important . . . he would seem more interested in how their last hunt had gone than telling them about his latest adventure."  

I think that says a lot about the man, considering many of the hunting "celebrities" of our time, it says a TON.  As a kid, Fred was a bit of a hero to me, so my expectations were pretty darn high when I first met him.  Guys, he surpassed my expectations whenever I realized what a truly nice fellow he was.

Thanks, enjoyed the stories and seeing the fletch design.

Keep it coming Gary, this is great!  

Several of you have asked about obtaining a drawing of "Fred's Feather Shape" so you can burn them yourself.  I came up with this outline drawing of Fred's fletching.  Save the image to your computer and print it out at 100%  If done correctly the shape will print exactly 5" long. With a little luck, and a steady hand, you can shape your own burner ribbon/element and be burning your own version of Fred Bear's arrows in no time. A nice tribute to Papa Bear not to mention a very good looking and functional fletch. Good luck!

(NOTE: Hit F5 on your keyboard to refresh the page if the image fails to download.)

thanks for sharing

Thank you Gary, I really appreciate your time to share this story and feather shape.    

thank you for a very Interesting story man that is way Cool!      

Thanks for sharing.

this post is the exact reason that i frequent this site.