Bear Takedown Bow (circa 1972, opinion on value sought)
DaydreamerLilies
I have a Fred Bear Takedown bow and I am hoping that someone can give me an
idea of what it might be worth. It is a beautiful bow and I think it is
something special though we don't want to put it up on eBay or try to sell it
until we know more about the set.
You can see it at: http://www.daydreamergardens.com/bow/index.htm . There are
detailed photos at that address including images of the serial numbers and
logos that appear on the limbs and one of the risers.
This bow has a companion riser that does not have a serial number, was never
finished (no lacquer or medallion) and seems quite small -- perhaps a cutdown
of an A, B or C riser. Further there is black case that has the Bear Logo
(decal) on both the top and bottom. It has minor damage on one rollover corner
and the foam form that held the bow snugly has degraded..
I would also be delighted to find out if anyone knows of a "Bud" (possibly with
the a real first name of Maurice or Marion) Helmick [unsure of spelling] who
worked for Grayling Mountain/Fred Bear in the early 70s. This bow was received
from this man who was a skilled archer and participated in many tournaments.
Bud, according to the owner's father, owned the bow personally and it [the bow
or the companion riser?] was instrumental in Bud's development of the 76er.
I would like to confirm as much of this as possible. It seems that the set has
real historical resonance.
Please feel free to ask questions or send me e-mail. I would truly appreciate
any and all information.
Dow @ Daydreamer
http://www.daydreamergardens.com
John Dickmon
finish later, was probably sent out to the customer for grip angle/size
evaluation. Maybe meant to be a presentation set? I bet the only 3 guys that
knew for sure are dead (Fred, Frank Scott, and the owner of the bow). There
were some changes made to the risers for the Type II's, reputed to
compromise the riser strength. This could also be a reason the A handle was
never finished. Could have also been suspension of production of this bow at
the end of '72. May have been spare parts on the shelf. A few of those bows
were built as late as '74.
Limbs appear to be Type II (red overlay) Style II.
It's worth a few bucks, but don't plan on buying a new car with the money.
But you might be able to buy a set of premium tires for the old one, though.
BTW, neither one of those handles is ANYthing like a '76er.
You might want to contact Al Reader or Pete Kocefas at
http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/fredbear . That's about the limit of my
knowledge of the Kodiak takedowns.
"DaydreamerLilies" <daydream...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20020429222322...@mb-mh.aol.com...
Dick Fuehrer
DaydreamerLilies wrote:
> Hi there:
>
> I have a Fred Bear Takedown bow and I am hoping that someone can give me an
> idea of what it might be worth. It is a beautiful bow and I think it is
> something special though we don't want to put it up on eBay or try to sell it
> until we know more about the set.
>
> You can see it at: http://www.daydreamergardens.com/bow/index.htm . There are
> detailed photos at that address including images of the serial numbers and
> logos that appear on the limbs and one of the risers.....
> Dow @ Daydreamer
> http://www.daydreamergardens.com
I recommend that you get rid of anything on your site that shows serial numbers.
Anyone with that number can report the item as stolen and you might lose it.
Dick
DaydreamerLilies
Just wanted to write back and thank you for the information. For some reason
AOL isn't showing the post(s) but Google groups is. Very odd.
Anyway. I've gone ahead and posted the bow on eBay for auction. Again, thank
you for your information.
eBay auction item number: 1826645156
Thanks again!
Stephen Sauer
information on this bow, go to www.stickbow.com there is a whole section
there on collecting Bear Archery products, including vast info on Bear
Kodiaks....
Shoot straight!
- Steve Sauer
"DaydreamerLilies" <daydream...@aol.com> wrote in message
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