new to " vintage" bears ques.

Lordswarrior · June 27, 2015, 07:23:00 PM

so i slowed down on coin collecting and picked up collecting older bear recurves. as some of you already know the opportunities seem endless! my first two additions have been a 69 kodiak hunter 45# and a 66 tigercat 40#. both are in excellent condition and seem to have very different shooting characteristics( draw weight aside). the kokiak is 60" and the tigercat is 62"; they obviously have different handle styles and i like the tigercat better!
so my main ques for now is this- i have my eye on a 35# bearcat. regardless of the weight diff., will the bearcat have the same overall feel as the tiger?
since i would be ordering the bow , any of your experienced advice in advance would be greatly appreciated.thanks

tippit · June 27, 2015, 07:43:00 PM

John,
You need to go to E.T.A.R. ~ Eastern Traditional Archery Rendezvous...Denton Hill the end of July in Coudersport, PA. You will see and get to handle more old Bear bows than you can dream of! tippit

http://www.archeryfestivals.com/e-t-a-r/

Lordswarrior · June 27, 2015, 08:34:00 PM

wish i could but i'll be on vacation with the family up in cape cod. maybe next year.

Doug_K · June 27, 2015, 09:02:00 PM

I can't comment on the comparison, but I can say my 40# bearcat handles more like a longbow than a recurve.

pghrich · June 27, 2015, 09:27:00 PM

Hello, if you Really want to feel a nice grip try a vintage 1970 era bear grizzly, in my opinion its the best ever, rich pyle

Lordswarrior · June 27, 2015, 10:00:00 PM

doug, i agree it has a longbow feel; and since the bearcat is 66" i guess that makes sense.
rich, got my eye on a griz as well.

damascusdave · June 27, 2015, 10:12:00 PM

Just a tip here...join us in the Trad History/Collecting Forum on down the page...that is where we Bear collectors hang out

DDave

Blackhawk · June 28, 2015, 02:10:00 PM

That '69 Hunter had the high wrist grip which was common for that model in those first years it came out (1967), and it is the least popular for me.

Fortunately, the majority of the Bear bows had medium wrist grips or those similar to locater-style grips such as your Tigercat.

SlowBowinMO · June 28, 2015, 03:11:00 PM

Old Bears are just plain fun.

dbd870 · June 28, 2015, 03:29:00 PM

Agree with the comments on the KHunter and the Grizzly

Lordswarrior · June 28, 2015, 04:06:00 PM

the khunter really does have a high wrist grip which i usually like, but i seem to get a little more hand shock compared to some other bows with similar grips. the tigercat shoots as soft as left out butter, i'm really impressed with it. thanks for the feedback so far.

Amberjack · June 30, 2015, 08:04:00 PM

Yep, actually had a '69 K Hunter myself. Beautiful bow that I bought based on its looks without trying the grip. It was certainly the highest grip I've ever experienced, so much so that I sold it to a buddy who just loves it.

I'm a big fan of the recurve-decurve bows like the Alaskan and Polars (and others) of the late 50s and early 60s. Slender and graceful and fun, fun, fun to shoot.

AJ