I just bought a Bear panda,I was wondering when it was made, what is the recommended brace, and what to do about a couple of cracks in the glass that run length ways. Markings are Bear glass-powered an aprox. 1/8" dot and then Panda. The serial number is 5076 it is 58" and 36#. The bow looks like a very early curve, very thin with a little leather grip and a small rubber self, gray glass and looks like maple riser. but strings up more like a longbow.

Looks like a 1958 model. The brace should be around 7-1/2", more or less. A lot of the Bear bows from that period had crackks in the glass. Didn't seem to hurt them much.

Is there a method of gluing to stop the cracks from lengthening as i plan on shooting this bow.

You can use super glue on them. Maybe some of the other guys will have better ideas on it.

Thanks, any advice is appreciated.

I would like as much information as you guys could provide, I always do this for others on this site, Thanks Chuck

Chuck, Often what appears to be longitudinal cracks on the fiberglas are in the old finish.

You can gently rub a spot with 0000 steel wool wetted with olive oil and see..

IF they ARE cracks, unless they extend to the edges of the glas they are not ever gonna be fatal..:)

IF you want a 1st class job, the old Panda can be carefully stripped and IF the glass is actually cracked down a thousandth of an inch or so, you then give it an epoxy 'wash' to microscopically fill the tiny cracks.

Then rub out the bow surface and refinish the bow using lacquer, poly or whatever you choose for finish.

I'd brace the bow between 6.5 & 7" measured from the rear of the shelf to the string.Have fun! Jim

Thanks so much buster v davenport and dire wolf. This is a surprisingly nice shooting little bow. Seems to like Easton 1916 with 125 grain tips. At 18 yards I was shooting grapefruit size groups to point of aim right away.

I looked in the '59 catalog last night and the recommended brace height was 6-1/2" to 7-1/2".The Panda was referred to as a semi-recurve and could be shot right or left handed. Sounds like it is working well for you. It was made for a dacron sting, so use your own best judgement when you change strings.

According to the limited information I was able to get my Panda was a 59. I sold it to a friend of mine recently because she needed a good bow to get started with. Mine also came with the original booklet and warranty envelope, which is the main reason that I bought it.

By today's standards we would call these bows reflex/deflex longbows.

As far as fixing the "cracks" the best product, used be all the best bow repair guys, is called Loctite 420. It is a wicking super glue.

DDave

Thanks for all the Information.

Not all that easy to see but the serial number on my bow is 22333 which would lend credibility to the fact that yours is a 58 and mine a 59.

There would not be a lot of Pandas around in good shape as they were designed mostly to be a club type bow, most of which would not get cared for very well over the course of 50 plus years.

Here is a pic of some of the paperwork that I got with mine. Note the selling price back then.

DDave

Cool!

I am going to bring this one back around because there are at least two Pandas available on eBay right now...both of them still have the little plastic shelf that one can switch from side to side to shoot either right or left handed...mine in the above pic has one as well, looks like I just had it out at the time I took the pic...pretty easy to just shoot that bow using your bow hand as a rest as well...the leather works as a locator for elevation

DDave

I could be wrong about the bow being a 1958 model. The '58 year model was measured @26" draw length. The '59 year model had the silkscreens on the belly of the bow and had a copper coin. The '60 and '61 year models had aluminum coins. Being a low end entry level bow, different glass colors, left over from other models, were used. This is according to Jorge Coppen's book, "Bear Archery Traditional Bows". bvd

I have a Panda I bought on the Bay. It Is 58" @ 22# SS# 503 anybody happen to know what age it is? Is a light cream color green. Bought the whisker brush style rest for it. Shoots great and does have few cracks in the fiberglass, nothing serious though.Have it set on 7.25 for brace ht and b 55 string.Does anyone know real BH for it? Think I might re-finish it.

Found it in the 1958 catalog. This catalog is the only one of the old pandas that came in 22# weight.Rest skipped in 5# increments. Shoots pretty good for a 68 yr old bow. Made some arrows from 1/4 in dowel from Lowe's.

In 1959 the Panda came in 2# increments; 24-26-28-30-32-34-36-38-40#. It is possible a 22# one could have slipped in there. bvd

I have a 65 Panda 60" 30# in real good shape. Its fun to shoot, has a real small grip, best for kids and women but I like shooting it too. Cream and green glass

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