Picked up a quiver full of old bear aluminum arrows. The arrows have written on them bear hunter, with the bear emblom, and 8.6 mm. One dozen had field tips the other had a bunch of different brodheads on them, pretty cool variety, and two of them were flu-flus with the big wirey hoops on them for bird hunting. Are these for recurve or compound?, they do have very old vanes on them now. Are they collector pieces or just go and shoot them? I shot a few of them with my 50# long bow, They shot fair, but they did porpoise some with that bow when I shot them. What weight bow are they ment for? Thanks! Gunner

Gunner -

Not too collectible. Good shafts, I preferred the earlier plain magnums.

Viper out.

The arrows with the big hoops on them were probably Snaro's, designed for birds I think, but they work real well on frogs. :)

Bear Metric Magnums were the first arrows I used when I switched over to archery in 1981.

Metric Magnums were introdued in 1977.They were green that year.In `78 they were a golden bronze color.In `78, the metric hunters were introduced,and they were a gold/bronze color. Not sure how long they were made AFTER that,as my interest in all things old Bear Archery ends at 1978!

they were a very brittle arrow i think they were a x7 alloy.

I have some 8.6 in X7 Bronze color. A tad too stiff for my bows so I installed a 100 gr brass insert and they fly great. Tough arrow. I wish I could find some 8.5 (2117 Equivalent) and I would definitely buy them.

Looks like the spine ranges on them were about as random as some carbons today!

I shot 8.7 metric mags(same as 2219) till I could no longer find em in about 86 or 87. You couldn't bend that x7 alloy for nothing. If I'm not mistaken metric hunters were same alloy as xx75's.

Got a few 8.5's left and yes they are X-7 quality. Shot some 308 Metric Mags (X-7 also) for a few years but they are all busted now ;-)...Van

I used to buy those Bear Magnums Brand new with Vanes on them, strip those Vanes off and put the feathers to them and I think I shot better with those shafts than any other kind of shaft material I ever used.

Give me a Quiver full of old Bear Magnum 308's or 312's and I'm happy as a Pig in Mud.

I remember back in the day when the Magnums were fletched with all natural Barred Turkey Feathers. Five and a Quarter Inch Feathers I believe they were.

The Magnum .308`s,.312`s,etc., were all crown dipped and crested,fletched with barred feathers from `69- `75. And were a brushed silver color. In `76 they were a bronze color with just some pinstriping,no crown dip,and PLASTIC fletch! And in `77,everything was switched to the 'Metric Magnum" series. Which never made any sense to me at all! All the numbers meant were the outside diameter of the shaft in millimeters.What good did that do anyone?? I still have some .308 Magnums I bought new in 1969 when they came out. Think I may try to kill a deer with one this fall.I know I didn`t in 1969,and they have been gathering dust ever since!

I understood the Metric Hunters to be XX75 material, not X7 as were the Metric Magnums.

Gents -

Bear Metric Mag, (refletched).

Viper out.

they will snap in half before they bend.

I have 8.5's and 8.6's some purchased new back in the 70's and some purchased 2nd hand. The ones I purchased new were advertised as the x7 grade(7178 alloy 105,000 UTS) as shown on the original box. That is the same alloy that eventually Easton also started using on it xx78 Super slam shaft line. In any case back to bear. On the wall thickness for the metric magnums, I contacted the factory back then and, while it took some doing, I was eventually able to pry out of them that the wall thickness was .014 and was constant across all sizes 8.4, 8.5, etc. It is true that the 8.5's are roughly equivalent to 2117 in spine. In fact some of the later 8.5's that I own actually show that on the arrow, 8.5/2117. They also marketed a bear Hunter arrow and a Metric Hunter arrow both in the metric sizes. There is an unopen box of 8.5's for sale on ebay right now of the Hunter line. The box describes them as economy grade aluminum. My guess is that they are made from the original gamegetter 2024 alloy that had an 88,000 UTS. I am just guessing here but I would not be surprised if the metric hunter line was made from the 7075 alloy which was the most popular aluminum shaft(xx75 UTS of 96,000) of the time.

I still have a doz Metric Mags. Also have some of the camo hunters which I acquired in a bow deal back in mid 80’s. Just never think to use them up.

Metro Hunters were xx-75 alloy, Metric Magnums were x-7 alloy.

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