How to date your Fred Bear Bow
Since we have the opportunity to sell many different items through our eBay return store, certain things that seem to be selling extremely well are starting to stand out. One item that stands out is the vintage BEAR recurve bows.
Recently on a trip out of town we passed an antique store like we usually do and saw this recurve bow on the corner. Since we were already somewhat familiar with how well bows sold when selling them to a customer, we naturally gravitated towards them. It appeared to be in excellent condition and came with a quiver and 3 different sets of arrows. The asking price was $ 100.00 and we finally got the whole thing for $ 75.00.
Based on the dating procedures listed below, we determined this was a 1965 Fred Bear Kodiak Recurve bow in excellent condition. It was a 60 “bow with a 44 # pull.
After bringing the bow to our store, we noticed that inside the large quiver there was a smaller quiver. Based on a slight raised mark on this smaller leather quiver that we put out, we were able to date it to the late 1940s.
We decided to split this into 3 different auctions and started all three at $ 9.99. Auction results are listed at the end of this article.
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GET OUT WITH YOUR FRED BEAR BOW
There are several features and changes that were made to bear bows over the years that will help reduce the age of your bow or your potential investment.
1. The Serial Number: These bows typically have what appears to be a handwritten inscription on one end that gives a serial number along with the length and weight of the bow. This serial number works great for dating Bear Bows from 1965 to 1969 when the first digit of the serial number is the year of manufacture.
For example, a serial number of 5L212 would be a Bow from 1965.
Prior to 1965, the serial numbers on all Bear bows were re-started every month, making these bows nearly impossible to date by serial number alone. The “K” series of serial numbers (for example, KZ9672) started in 1970.
2. Patent mark: Most of the BEAR bows we have sold have the US logo and patents printed along with the CANADA 1953 date. This date which is printed on all bows manufactured between 1953 and 1972 is simply the patent date for a functional recurve member and has nothing to do with the actual model year.
3. Decals and Silkscreen: In 1948, the small Running Bear decal was the first and was later replaced by the large Standing Bear decal in mid-1953. The large Standing Bear decal also has the words “Glass Powered Bow” below the Standing Bear.
The large Standing Bear decal was used until 1955 when it was replaced by a silkscreen of the identification on the bows. In 1956 silkscreen appeared on all bows.
4. All Wood vs Laminate – If your bow is ALL wood (no laminations of any kind), then your bow had to be made prior to the mass productions that began in 1949.
- If the ALL wood bow has a stamp that reads “Bear Products” in some form, it would have been made before the early to mid-1940s.
- If it is stamped “Bear Archery” it would have been made AFTER the early to mid-1940s and BEFORE 1949.
- Also wooden bows with a small “Running Bear” sticker can be dated 1948.
5. The leather grip: ALL Bear bows had leather grips until 1959. In 1959 the Kodiak Special removed the leather grip and in 1961 the Kodiak did the same, as did the Grizzly in 1964.
6. The coin locket: Starting in 1959, all Bear bows had a coin locket of one type of metal or another. Below are approximate date ranges for the type of currency used.
Copper coin – 1959
Aluminum – 1960-1961
Pewter – 1962
Brass – 1963 – 1970
Nickel-Silver – 1971-1972
ALL coins were flush with the wood until 1972. In late 1972 the coin rose above the surface of the bow and came in gold and chrome coated plastic and is still used on Bear bows today.
7. Manufacturer Location: In 1978, Bear relocated all manufacturing and offices to Gainesville, Florida. If your bow shows Gainesville, then it was made after 1978
8. Arch model: Check the arch model. Below is an annual production chart of the most popular Bear Bows.
Wooden Handle Disassembly 1969-1972
Wooden C-Tower Victor Custom 1973-1975
Detachable magnesium handle ABC 1971-1978
Kodiak Static Recurve 1950-1953
Kodiak Recurve 1954-1966
Super Kodiak 1967-1976
Static Recurve Grizzly 1949-1957
Grizzly Recurve 1958-1978
Super Magnum 48 1966-1976
Kodiak Magnum 52 “1961-1977
Kodiak Hunter 58 “and 60” 1967-1977
Tamerlane 1962-1968
Tamerlane HC-30 1965-1967
Tamerlane HC-300 1968-1972
Kodiak Special 1955-1967
Temujín 1968-1970
Tartero 1968-1972
Victor Patriota 1973-1977
Victor 1972
Polar (recurve) 1957-1970
Alaskan (semi-curved with leather grip) 1959-1961
Alaska (recurve) 1966-1970
Tigercat 1964-1978
Cat Bear 1964-1971
Black Bear 1972-1978
Teddy Bear 1965-1978
With this information, you should be able to get very close to the date of your Bear Bow, if not pinpoint it in the year.
If you are looking to price your bow, I suggest that you first log into your eBay account and do a full auction search on the general keywords that match your bow i.e Bear Grizzly Recurve and see what sold. in the last 30 days.
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Our eBay Results: Within 6 hours of posting our 1965 Bear Bow alone starting at $ 9.99, it had already hit $ 152.50, which was exciting but, based on our research, not surprising. The surprising thing was that it stayed at $ 152.50 for the next 6 days. On the final day with 8 minutes remaining, it went up to $ 182.50 with over 40 viewers. Usually in these kinds of auctions, we tend to refresh and refresh and refresh the auction to the end to see the bids, but we took our time writing more listings and we forgot. When we remembered to go back and review the auction, it had ended and ended at $ 282.55
The other 2 quiver and arrow auctions sold for a total of $ 80.00. So our initial investment of $ 75.00 in an antique store ended in $ 362.55 in sales. That was almost a $ 300.00 profit (minus gas and eBay fees, of course).