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in reply to: Collecting into the 21st century #33225

Yes, good older bows are becoming more expensive. But I must say that I have been pretty lucky in the last two years. I went from zero old recurves to six good shooters, without breaking the bank. I stumbled upon a highly collectible Bear that belonged to an elderly neighbor, and managed to buy it at a good but fair price. The rest have been acquired from eBay and other forums online.
Collectibility takes second place to good shooting characteristics for me, and left-handedness trumps everything. Manufacturers seem to have made most of their bows in most draw weights for southpaws, in years past. I bet the fact that Fred Bear was left-handed had a little something to do with it. . .

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in reply to: Anyone own a Shakespeare? #27670

There are two wonderful Shakespeares in my collection: an X-40 Mancos and an X-30 Super Necedah. Both are smooth-shooting bows; the Mancos has relaxed a little from its rated 40 pounds, but the Super Necedah is still fast and in like-new condition. The Super is the smoothest short bow I have ever shot, even at my longer-than-normal draw length. Both are left-handed, as am I.
If all Root and Shakespeare bows are as good as my two, then it’s a sad thing that they decided to leave the archery business.

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in reply to: Bear Kodiak Magnum-a good choice? #24701

My KM is green, left-handed, and as another poster noted, the sexiest bow I ever picked up. Too bad I can’t hit the side of a barn with it . . . If your draw is short, it may be the bow for you. My draw is a bit on the long side, and so the KM stays in when I hunt, in favor of a smooth old Pearson that’s six inches longer. I have confidence in my ability with the Pearson.

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in reply to: President Roosevelt's Birthday #46923

Glory Hallelujah, another TR fan!! It is good to know that others remember this great American hunter’s achievements.

It is possible to be a hunter, and at the same time, realize that truly wild game can only exist in truly wild places.

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in reply to: Almost done #46913

sorry — accidental double-post

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in reply to: Almost done #46911

What adhesive did you use to glue the pieces together? So far, I have only made self bows of red oak, with risers glued on using Titebond III. Hope to have a bandsaw by springtime, and start a walnut/maple or hickory/maple longbow, with some deflex in the limbs. Thank you for the pictures and inspiration!

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in reply to: Any other Bear Archery enthusiasts here? #45592

My neighbor’s 82-year-old dad decided his 50# Kodiak Mag was a little too hard on his shoulders, and since both of us are leftys, he sold it to me. I normally shoot a 40# Shakespeare X40, but the Bear was too good to pass up. Going up to 50# has been a challenge for me, since I have arthritis in both shoulders. I can’t shoot the Bear very well, but will keep trying to gain enough strength to do better with it.

This Kodiak Magnum has a walnut riser, maple lams, and green glass on back and belly. It is a lot better-made than my Shakespeare — edges nicely contoured, finish smooth as glass. The previous owner hunted with it every year, but kept camo sleeves on the limbs, so it is in very good shape. I sure hope some of his hunting luck came along with the bow!

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in reply to: Black walnut bows? #59169

Greatreearcher wrote: anyone out there ever heard of anyone making a self bow out of black walnut?

Here is a comment I found in researching bow materials. The author is Tim Baker:

<< WALNUT, black: .55. Semi-ring-porous, easy to work, elastic for its mass, similar in performance to cherry, but more tension-safe. Will try to chrysal where cherry wont. A wonderful, overlooked bowwood. Bows can be all sapwood or all heartwood, or mixed, sapwood taking a bit more set in compression. The off-white sapwood can be worked down to 25% or so of limb thickness, creating appealing contrast with the almost black belly. Very high heartwood extractive level, so as with similar woods, it may be more resistant to water absorption. It s reported not to warp with rising and falling humidity, possibly for this reason.
WALNUT, European: .56. Design as per Black. Not as pretty, but makes a nice bow. Strong enough in tension to tolerate being a backward bow: the crowned sapling surface as belly, the split back surface tillered. >>

Black walnut is my favorite wood, but so far I have only worked with red oak. I do have a 6′ maple stave that I have been thinking of laminating with an overlay of black walnut.

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