Dating a Bear Grizzly Static

Q

"Wondering about age and value I believe it's a 1948 from the bits and pieces I have found so far on the internet.

Jim W.

 

Fyi Discovered Bow in our attic in  Port Sanilac Michigan "

27523 serial number

53# poundage

A

Hey Jim!

I have nearly the exact same bow, just the serial number is different and the pattern of the fibreglass is different, and mine has aluminum in it. Mine is from 1949 and still shoots perfectly.

Judging by the serial number, the decal and the fibreglass pattern (no crossweave) your bow is a Circa 1952 Bear Grizzly Static. There is also no aluminum in the limbs so it could be a late 1951 model, but most likely it is from 1952.

Value might be $150 to $200 USD. Depends on the condition of the limbs, handle, tips, etc. I would need to see about 12 to 16 photos of every part of the bow to make a detailed guess as to the value.

Have a great day!

Sincerely,
Charles Moffat

ProjectGridless.ca

 

 

 

BACKGROUND INFO

 

The small Running Bear decal on the left was used by Bear from 1948 until 1953, with the larger Standing Bear decal replacing it in mid-1953 and lasting until the 1955-56 model years. Beginning in 1955-56 Bear began using the silk-screened logo shown on the far.

 
The Grayling Era bows of Bear Archery

Beginning in 1947, Bear Archery moved into a new plant in Grayling, Michigan. Bow sales were now beginning to soar as new archers and bowhunters entered the sport in record numbers due in large part to the successful promotions of Fred Bear.

Fred realized that he could not meet the demand which would come from these new recruits by making bows one at a time like Bear had been doing since it's inception almost 15 years earlier. So he came up with a new method of mass producing bows, finally allowing his company to meet this demand. But Nels Grumley would not accept that quality bows could be made by any other manner than one-at-a-time, so Nels left the company to go out on his own.

Upon Nels departure, Fred moved another employee by the name of Bob Meeker over to supervise the manufacturing of the new bow lines. Even though bows were then largely the result of machine work, Bob came to be considered a fine bowyer in his own right.

The Aluminum Laminated Bows

The first new bow model which was introduced in 1949 after Nels’ departure was the Grizzly. The Polar and Kodiak were introduced in the following year, 1950.

These bows of 1949, 1950 and early 1951 can be recognized by the lamination of aluminum in the limbs. This aluminum was scrapped from B-17 bomber airplanes of WWII, the purchase of which was arranged from the government by Glen St. Charles. The aluminum lamination on the Kodiak and Grizzly is found only in the inner lamination, surrounded by layers of maple and glass. However, on the Polar, the aluminum is found both under a layer of maple and glass, and on the outside lamination.

In 1949 and 1950 Bear was using a bi-directional glass on their bows which looks somewhat like a basket weave pattern. Then in 1951 Bear began using a new Uni-Directional glass in which the glass fibers all ran lengthwise to the bow limbs. This is a good way to tell the difference between the 1949/50 and the 1951 models. The 1951 Grizzly also began production with the aluminum lamination, but very early in 1951 the aluminum was dropped due to the high reported breakage problems of these aluminum bows.

The Kodiak was introduced in 1950 with the bi-directional glass and the aluminum lamination. Then in early 1951, just as with the Grizzly, the new uni-directional glass was introduced but the aluminum lamination was still present. This glass change apparently occurred around serial number 5000. Then in mid-1951, the aluminum lamination was dropped. So for 1951 you will find Kodiaks with aluminum and bi-directional glass, aluminum with uni-directional glass, and no-aluminum with uni-directional glass.

This aluminum laminated caused two problems. First, the bows had quite a bit of handshock when shot, and as a result were not comfortable to shoot. Secondly, the large amount of shock contributed to a large number of bows delaminating. This warranty problem caused a substantial strain on the companies finances, but Fred insisted that all bows be replaced if returned broken.

 

Wanted - A Sliver of Land to Rent in the Vaughan / Woodbridge Area

To Anyone in the Vaughan / Woodbridge Area / North GTA

Do you have a tiny sliver of land you are not using? Say about 50 to 60 yards long, but only about 5 to 10 yards wide? The land could be in a corner of some farmland, a section of unused wooded area, with a backdrop that isn't near any residential area.

Myself and a group of GTA archers are interested in renting a small space to make a private archery range for our personal use. The range would be maintained by us and only used by archers who are members in our group.

Ideally we are looking for a sliver of land that is located next to farmland or a wooded area that is simply not used for anything else and won't be disturbing anyone.

Say for example if you owned a 100 acre farm, but not all of the farm was arable. Say only 80 acres was arable land and there was a section of trees at the back of the property that takes up 20 acres of the total property. We would like to rent part of that 20 acres. We don't even need the whole 20 acres, just enough space to put up four targets at the following distances:

1. 20 yards
2. 30 yards
3. 40 yards
4. 50 yards

The targets would be relatively close together, width wise, with a cleared space where archers can walk back and forth from a shooting line.

So the space could potentially look like the photo below, but with 4 targets spaced at different distances.

We would also need enough space to park up to 3 vehicles.

The space would be used by the individuals of our group roughly once per week for a few hours at a time, during daylight hours, mostly between the months of April and October.

The size of the space needed is actually quite small. Only about 1/10th or 1/12th of an acre. 20 acres would be a huge space and we only need a tiny fraction of that. 1 acre is 4840 square yards. We only need a space that is approximately 250 to 600 square yards, long and narrow, plus space for parking.

Larger spaces, obviously, would be nicer, but we really don't need a giant space.

eg. Lets say for example you have a section of woods on your property and there used to be railway tracks that ran through your property in a nice straight line. Or an old laneway that is no longer used. That nice straight piece of non-wooded area would make a very good archery range.

The rental price is negotiable and the burden will be shared by the members of our group.

The good news is that unlike a rifle range, which is quite noisy, archery ranges are extremely quiet. So we wouldn't be disturbing you or your neighbours with any loud banging noises from gunfire.

Contact Info

Email me at projectgridless {atsymbol} gmail .com to discuss possible rental rates and the conditions of your space.



And the Backup Plan...

Failing this, should it prove difficult to find someone close to Toronto willing to rent such a space, I have given thought to setting up a similarly sized private archery range in the region of Bruce County (further north of Kitchener-Waterloo).

I would personally only be able to visit it 3-4 times per year, to both practice there and maintain it, but on the plus side the sliver of land I would be using would be owned by my family and free for me to use.

An Alternative Pin Setup for Compound Bow Sights

Whether you are using a 3 pin sight, a 4 pin, or a 5 pin sight on your compound bow a common theme is to setup the pins in the following order, with 20 yards being the pin most often used:

1. 20 yards
2. 30 yards
3. 40 yards
4. 50 yards
5. 60 yards

Even though most compound shooters when bowhunting rarely use the 40, 50 or 60 yard pins because it is generally accepted to be unethical to take a shot at long distances when you cannot guarantee the accuracy. It is more likely for a bowhunter to end up needing a 10 or 15 yard pin setup as bowhunters often end up being that distance from the deer (or similar game) when hunting anyway.

The general rule of thumb is that an ethical hunter should only be shooting at any distance they know they can consistently hit a target the size of an apple (roughly the size of a deer's heart).

Thus a more useful (and ethical) pin setup is:

1. 10 yards
2. 15 yards
3. 20 yards
4. 25 yards
5. 30 yards

The 3 distances most likely to be used are marked in a dark bold green.

Thus the bowhunter gets added accuracy by setting their target pins to the distances they are more likely to be using.

If someone actually had 6 or 7 pins they could potentially add 35 and 40 yards to their pin setup, but with the realization they might never use them.

Any experienced bowhunter will also tell you that you usually first see the deer at 25 yards or less anyway. At further distances they are usually obscured by brush or trees.

And once they are spotted you still have to wait until you have a clear shot at its heart and lungs, so they will usually end up wandering closer to the hidden bowhunter who needs to be patient to get a good shot at the heart area, which means the deer might only be 5 to 15 yards away by the time they take the shot.