1957 Kodiak Special 62" 25#@26" (rare?)

[450 marlin]

This bow was made by a Bear Archery worker for his wife, is the 62" length or the 25#@26" considered rare?

[AALLFAB]

It is a little special in that it is marked at 26" draw but if you can prove it was made by a Bear worker for his wife that could help value even more. Jim

[TRAP]

Many of the shorter length Kodiak Specials were weight marked at 26" of draw.

Trap

[AALLFAB]

This 62" is not one of the shorter ones that were fairly common to see marked at 26". Jim

[Jeremy]

All the 62" (and some of the 64") '57s I've seen were marked at 26".  The '57 catalog recommends the 62" KSpecial for draw lengths of 23-25"

[450 marlin]

It is a friends bow, he would like to sell it and asked me to find out more on it first. I'll ask him if he has the name of the worker from Bear and his wife's name also.

[DLM]

I have 2 60" '56 Kod. Spec. with 26" marked draw length. 45# L/H I got from original owner. Other is 28# & was told about the original purchase.
What other lengths were made that year?

[450 marlin]

60" 64" and 68" for 1956

[Wade Phillips]

Jim & Jeremy - Interesting that you have only seen 62" 1957 Kodiak Specials marked at 26"...,

My experiences with 62" 1957 Kodiak Specials has been much different over the years.

Here are four 62" 1957 Kodiak Specials that I have that are all normal 28" draw length bows, which you can clearly see from the writing on the risers, one LH & three RH.

   

     

Boy,

Guess old age is really catching up to me...

In the above photographs, I missed the sweetest 62" 1957 Kodiak Special in the Arsenal, this great shooting little 51#... Another 28" draw length bow and a real Sweetheart...

 

[AALLFAB]

Very interesting new info to me that 62" was the shortest length K Special in 1957. Thanks all. Jim

[Wade Phillips]

Jim - I sincerely hope you are joking.

It is great that we have the old Bear Catalogs to use for reference.

It is even better that we have have a forum to share the collective knowledge of all of us to discover and document the inaccuracies that are in some of those great old catalogs.

I really don't know if the omission of the 68" Kodiak Special in the 1957 Catalog was done accidentally or on purpose.

The only thing I do know for sure is that some 68" 1957 Kodiak Specials were made.

This is the 68" 1957 Kodiak Special that I got from Bjorn. All original, except the leather strike plate, which is still "as found".

 

[Jeremy]

Wade, as with most bows, you've seen many more of the 62" than I have.  Might just be a fluke that the ones I have seen were marked at 26"  

[AALLFAB]

I was not joking at all. I did not consult my Bear CD catalog before my first answer to this post and made the false assumption that there was a 56" model of the 57 K Special bow which would be marked with a shorter draw like the other 56" models in other years I have seen marked at 26". I am very far from a Bear bow authority and really should at least try to consult my CD catalog before I try answering a question about Bear bows. Jim

[Bjorn]

Is the wife's name Henrietta?

[450 marlin]

No, just talked with him and he is going to find out more from the original lady who owned it.

[TRAP]

If it says "Henrietta" under that grip, it may be alot more "Historically significant" than a 56" MSW      

Trap