Kodiak

[BUCKSTAR]

Pu a Kodiak special at a storage auction any guess on what year?

[agtex42]

I'm no expert but given the length, riser geometry, and white limb glass I'd say you have a '64. It looks to be in pretty good shape cosmetically, as long as the limbs are straight you should have a pretty sweet shooter at those specs!

[Centex]

Good looking bow. That weight at 69" is going to shoot like a dream. Did you buy it as an investment or are you going to add it to a collection?

[Restless]

Nice, Maybe a touch older than '64. Unusual that the lower limb wedge is so much darker than the top wedge.

[Restless]

And yes I'm old and cranky

[BUCKSTAR]

Thanks Restless First Traditinal bow. Where can I find a Quality string?

[agtex42]

You have a lot of options when it comes to strings, pretty much all the big-name trad retailers carry what you'll need to get up and running.

Remember that when ordering a string you can go one of two routes: AMO length or actual length. For that bow you would need a 69" AMO string OR a 65" actual length, make sure you specify that it's for a recurve so the bottom loop is big enough to slide up your limb when unstrung.

Bear didn't start putting coins in their bows until '59 and from '65-'69 they made the first digit of the serial number correspond with the year the bow was made (1966 would read 6******). Either way it should be a great bow to get you started.

Keep the questions coming and welcome to the fun side of archery!

[bubba1986]

I build all of my strings for recurves 4 inches shorter than the length marked on the bow

[agtex42]

I build all of my strings for recurves 4 inches shorter than the length marked on the bow

Good catch, had a brain fart there for a minute

Minus 3" for longbows and 4" for recurves should get you in the ballpark!

[bubba1986]

Good catch, had a brain fart there for a minute

Minus 3" for longbows and 4" for recurves should get you in the ballpark!

To be honest I was just makin sure I wasn't doing it wrong lol. They always work fine but in self taught so you never know lol

[Restless]

Limb Wedges came out in '65 so...

[agtex42]

I did a little bit of digging last year when I was in the market for a vintage Bear and found the following compilation to be very helpful: http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimateb...4;t=002059;p=1

Third group of photos shows the date range in question with the available specs for the year of manufacturer listed above.

In the end it doesn't really matter what year it is, you've got a well made bow that should provide years of enjoyment and the fact that it's light enough for pretty much any new archer to shoot is icing on the cake

[Restless]

Well if Wade said so. Ive been wrong before.

[agtex42]

Aint about being right or wrong

When you're dealing with a company that's been in the business as long as Bear has it's nice to have someone else do the grunt work of figuring out all the nitty gritty details!

[Restless]

Your right so many changes from year to year and changes made during production. thats what makes collecting Bear Bows interesting. I need to brake down and buy the Bear Catalog CD. after you posted that link to Wades collection I could see that the riser profile was what Wade called a '64. Wade has one of the best collections of Bears. I wish he would write a book.