I have always been intrigued with the old tournament bows. Please post photos of any old tournament bows. Also I would like to learn more about the sights that were attached to those bows. Thanks.

Sights :) you don't need no stinking sights ;) they can be attached to any bow tape or drill and screws. Jeff F

This one is 66" Swift Wing recurve..Never had sights on it..It's about 45#@30" draw and smooth as glass..I-beam construction..Made back when Wing was Wing..:)Jim

The sights kind of evolved from the back or belly mounts on the riser....like the Merrill and Reynolds, to the side mounted models like the Chek-It sights of the 1970's. There were a lot of target bows and every manufacturer had several from their very top of the line to entry level. Here is a Hoyt Pro Medalist from the 1960's with a Reynolds sight.

another shot of the riser..Jim

and the logo..Jim

Pearson made the 66" Javelina 706 in white glass for a tournament bow and red glass for hunting...all in the same year.

Here's my red glass model...no sights...the wood is spectacular.

Over the years in America..there have been a variety of archery tournaments..American Round, York Round, PAA indoor rounds etc..and those are just some of the target rounds..Been a bunch of NFAA tournament rounds also..which were more of a field archery event.. Here's a pic of Gilman Keasey of Corvallis who won two consecutive National Archery tournaments back in the 30's ..I knew Gilman n his advanced age beforre he pasdsed..He was quite and archer and archery tackle maker..making bows and arrows for the OSU archery teams many years ago..He co-authored a book also..which I have..

He made his own selfbow of yew he cut and seasoned as well as Port Orford cedar arrows of his own make and won the National tournaments useing them.... Back then..the competitors didn't use sights and often had to drive for DAYS to get to the location for the tournaments..Jim

Another pic...

Last one...this model is a very solid bow that shoots well and can be obtained easily at a great price..

This bow is XX50 or 48 pounds...I believe the tournament models would have been a lesser draw weight.

No pics at the moment but I have a 1966 Tamerlane HC30 that's a joy to shoot. Pulls 40# at my draw length.

My 1975, 70", 35lb Bear Takedown tournament bow. (C handle, #3 limbs) I also have the sights and stabilizer bar for it but don't use them.

Not exactly what you are referring to but I have a Ben Pearson Pro Staff 3000 with a magnesium riser from the early eighties...although it has the 66 inch limbs that bow was available with 68 and 70 inch limbs as well...sorry do not have a picture handy

DDave

I'll click the 'like' button on all of you folks bows..:) Jim

I "like" that Jim! I always like seeing your wonderful bows and your stories about them. I don't have a Houston Wing in my fold yet...they're amazing!

Did some research on the Ben Pearson site Miceal Kelley created. The Javelina I posted pics of was built in 1966 and was white glass up to 40# and red glass over 40#...it's the bow I use for the occasional local 3D shoots I attend up here.

I should charge people admission to watch me shoot 3D strictly for the comedy value!! :)But it's all fun!

I have never used sights bodymanbowyer. I was just curious how they were made and how they were used during competition.

Just kidding ya Paul.

Pdiddly what are you asking for the Pearson Javelina?

Oh sorry Paul, I meant there are lots of Javelina's that come up for sale and they're usually very affordable.

stickNString, sights were used, and still are on target recurve bows. They are used just like any other sight, save for the fact that you normally only have one pin/aperture and set it according to how you shoot it in. Most freestyle shooters in the early 70's were using something like this:

Here's a 66" tournament bow without a sight, a Groves Spitfire GS 300, 40#. Shot it some yesterday in the warehouse while it was raining outside (nice to have options). Never drilled for sights, and as pretty as any Groves bow (if you like Groves bows). You'll notice that I'm no Jeffer!

And here' one you won't see too many of ... a Sabo S-100. Over two feet of honkin' dalbergia nigra riser, 68# at 42#.

How about a Root Range Master? 66" and 40#. No sight.

Maybe this one is a little short for this thread, but it's close. A Staghorn T65, 65" and 34#. This one has a sight.

And here's the Staghorn's poppa - a 1960 Staghorn Falcon tournament bow. 69" and 40#.

And my final submission for the evening - a Howatt Vigilante. 38# and 68" of curvaceous wood and glass.

OK, I couldn't resist one more photo - the 66" Groves GS 300 I posted earlier is second from the bottom in this shot. It's big brother, a 69" GS 300 is at the bottom. How many variations did the guy make, anyway? Among my 9 Groves bows, no two are alike.

You have some great looking bows daveross. Thanks.

A Vintage Hoyt with sights. Love the old target bows myself. They were always what the bowyer thought was his best of the best in all he had to offer

Oldbowyer what is the cool looking shorty? second one from bottom on your photo. I love that profile!

That is the last bow my Dad designed. I built that bow in 93 for him.

Its a 3pc T/D 48" NTN. My Dad worked a lot with short bows and he really out did himself with this one. Have a riser to a 54" 1pc that he never finished and its form. Planning on finishing that bow. Be a father/son project. Just wish he was still here to see it finished.

Y'all take care

This is a hurricane archery Wellman bow company Cupid. It is 36# @ 28" and is 66" from nock to nock.

Boy, target bows have sure come a long ways since the 20's, as have the sights.

Smithwick Citation Mark III. 34#@29" AMO 68".

Closer look.

Hit Black Ace

This is Darrell Pace winning the 76 Olympics, notice the sights and stabilizers.

There were no 80 Olympics for us. We boycotted them. This is Darrell again winning the gold in 84. Notice by this time less is more because of better balanced bows.

Sorry, the first bow is a Hoyt TD2 with a check-it sight and the second one is a hoyt-Easton Gold Medalist, not sure about the sight. Some people were switching to Toxonic sights and Shibuya's about that time.

StickNString - thanks for starting this thread. I'm fascinated by the number of high-end bows made by bowyers I've never heard of.

I just got this bow at auction, from Bob Bruno (brunobows). It's a Pocahontas, made in White Sulphur Springs, W. Virginia. Clearly a target bow at 69" and 40#. I have not heard of this company, and can't find anything on the 'net. Anyone know something about the company?

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