Will anyone share an opinion or fact what would a, 56" 24# at 24" draw 1959 Maple sight window Kodiak, be good for or why was it even made. Was it a super cool bow for a child or what. Ever seen another. SER# AA105. Jim
Woud like to see a pic if possible. Could have been made for a woman or youth.
Jim - Bottom of Page 5 of the 1959 Bear Catalog pretty well answers your questions...
The 56" 1959 Kodiaks were designed for arrow lengths up thru 26", which would include anyone short in stature, man, woman, or child.
(http://i386.photobucket.com/albums/oo301/WadePhillips/59-56.jpg)
Although 25# was the lowest advertised weight, sometimes the lowest or highest weight of a finished bow was outside the advertised weights by a pound or two.
Even Fred stated they could be off a pound or two when they were trying to hit a specific weight.
Ok thanks, it is just a normal production bow. Jim
"Will anyone share an opinion or fact what would a, 56" 24# at 24" draw 1959 Maple sight window Kodiak, be good for or why was it even made."
Sounds like a great bow for a 10 year old to shoot frogs and bunnies with to me ;)
Trap
If you think about selling it I have two girls 10 and 11 that would love to shoot it. I have a hunter and my sons shoots a magnum for carp in the spring the bows we have match in color and wood thats why I bought them. Anyway it sounds like a cool bow to me.
Well scratch that I just googled it and seen it on e--y I love my girls a ton but just a bid out of my range. Wow I wish i had one of them .
I was pretty shocked to see what you saw and that is why I was asking. Jim
I guess some folks only see $$$$ When they look at bows!
i had a 65#@28 56 inch 59 kodiak and it was actually marked at 28. got it at a yard sale for 10 bucks....lol! wished i would have never sold it! it was pretty pristine. the fella i sold it to sold it on the auction site a few years back for 1500!
none the less light weight or heavy thats a rare bird right there bd
If I'm not mistaken it's not so much the 56" and the low weight. is it is the Maple site window in a 59 Kodiak that's getting everyones attention. I dont think I've ever seen a 59 maple site window 56" Kodiak before.
Correct or not all you Bear collectors who know more than I do?
Either way, I"m getting the bowl of popcorn and a beer to watch the end of that auction!
I cant believe I had this one for a real low price all to myself and figured who would want a 24# kodiak with a hole. Jim
It is a rare weight, a rare length, and a rare maple sight window.
WOW, I cant believe this bow is being looked at as $$$$$$ only.
Geezus people, give me a break. I'm sick of hearing people whine that they should have bought the bow and made the money themselves.
Like, all they could see when they saw the bow on **** was "how much $ it would bring"
I'd love to have found the bow, but I can guarantee I would not have relisted it for a profit. It would be the centerpiece of my small collection and I'd show it to as many people that I could and be proud to own the only 56" Maple Sight Window 59 Kodiak known to exist(at least amoung the collectors that frequent several sites that I frequent)
Cmon guys, these bows arent just money, they are a link to archery's historical past. Some of them have real historical value.
This forum has gotten sloppier since it reopened than when it was shut down back in November. It seems to have become a play by play commentary of what is happening on the big auction site.
I thought breaking TG rules and the frequent reference to **** was why we were shut down before. If that is the case why is this permitted? If it wasnt the case, then why were we shut down in Nov?
Trap
I know what you mean Trap. There is a lot of greed these days by people who buy only to profit. I miss Al Reader. He was not only a big collector, but he liked to educate people about the history of old bows as well.
Thanks TRAP!
"Cmon guys, these bows arent just money, they are a link to archery's historical past. Some of them have real historical value."
Amen to that brother!
wow guy's I feel a little bad this morning.I've spent my entire life collecting tradeing buying and yes selling used archery tackle.It may seem weird but thats what I do.Fact is that is the only full time income I've had since 1980 when I got layed off and vowed to never return.Buying selling tradeing and being involved in archery tackle collecting.Sad to say but if I do not sell some of said items guess what ? yes your right I would not be typeing this because I could not pay my cable bill.Yes I would be takeing a shower in cold water because I'd have no heat.I hope you guy's understand that we are all not alike when it comes to archery.I supported my family doing this very thing along with working on old bows for more then 30 years.And all this time I thought I was doing a good thing..............bd
One of the key things that was mentioned, Doc, is the give and recieve aspect of it all.
You give way more than you get from here, dude, you have a 40 -50 page thread of TRADE SECRETS you contributed here. You are not who they had in mind by any stretch!!!
no I did not think they were talking about me.I just wanted to add that things are a little different for all of us in this business bd
Just remember, before the internet there used to be some neat old archery shops you could visit, hang out, trade bows, buy new and used bows and do-dads for your hobby, shoot in their backyard ranges. They made a profit on their sales too but they passed on a whole lot of knowledge and entertainment along with it. Sadly most of these shops have gone under. Bowdoc, you are also one of these unique individuals.
I think Trap is right and this MSW, rare as it may be is no longer a connection to Archery history and our past-but a connection to an auction site and to a coupla' Paypal accounts, and in the future it will reflect that electronic trading past.
oh yeah BJ you guy's are right about that one she went high and has now set the stardard by which all other 1959 Kodiak 56" maple ibeams will be judged by.It sucks in two ways one because some of us will never be able to afford to own one much less shoot one and two it sucks because some of us would never be able to afford to keep it bd
But it's in a nice safe place now.
:clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
As I have said elsewhere today, I feel more than humbled and honored to be the person who got the bow. I had no intention of bidding again after my initial recreational bid of Crazy Eights $888.88.
However, during the last two days of the auction, two very good collector friends, helped me along to see the errors in my original thinking, and agreed to buy some other items from me, so I was able to bid at the end of the auction. I'm not going to mention their names, but the two guys know who they are, they know how much I truly appreciate their help.
As I also said earlier, I don't believe the bow is really worth anywhere near what it sold for it, and I don't ever plan on selling it. So obviously my motivation is to never make a profit on it. That probably doesn't make much sense to anyone other than another chronically crazy collector.
After its arrival at the Arsenal, everyone will be able to see The Little Rascal, electronically or when they visit in person.
I'll promise to have it on display at Compton this June for everyone to enjoy.
My only wish is that the 56" MSW would have shown up a year earlier so Al Reader would have had a chance to see it.
Al and I had different ideas about the existence of a 56" Maple Sight Window. Al felt certain that some existed, but could never offer any tangible proof or logical explanation other than his gut feeling. I felt that with so many lower 56" serial numbers all being purple heart, that it was possible that no 56" MSW were made, and even if some were made, it was unlikely that more than just a few 56" MSW could have been made before the 56" purple heart sight windows were produced.
Now with AA105 showing up as a 56" MSW and all other lower AA numbers known being purple heart, its is apparent that both Al and I were correct.
The 56" MSW was a surprise when it showed up. But to me, its serial number was a big surprise too, as I was expecting it to be AA001 to AA015. We'll get into more details on the serial numbers at some point in the future.
Now that one 56" MSW has surfaced, it is encouraging to think that others may surface in the future.
Let's see, what can we establish as the next un-found 1959 Kodiak to look for... The next Holy Grail, for those who like this over used superlative.
Guess that would be the 56" Dark Rosewood Sight Window. It exists in 60" and 64", why not 56" ???
Don't laugh, it may show up tomorrow. And it may have a Buy It Now for $49.99.
Congrats,your stable is the best place for it.
Congrats Wade glad it's found a good home.Will be watching to see new pics when it arrives.
Wade, :thumbsup: :clapper: :) Enjoy. :cool: