The first 2 minutes of this video speaks volumes regarding such...as described by a very straight up Gent.
I especially liked the part where he described his first experiences with a compound bow and how...
"he lost all sense of feel for the shot as the wheels broke over into the let-off"
which is pretty much why despite their higher levels of performance?...I'm not a huge fan of the feel that the Super Recurve type limbs offer up.
Funny thing?...I was just in Bass Pro about 2 hours ago where I spied an all black "Oneida Osprey" (cam'ed lever bow) and thought what cool addition (and change of pace) it would be to add to my flock as I never owned a lever bow...where as soon as that thought passed?...I remembered "The Loss Of Feel" thing Papa Bear mentions above and reminded myself that if I did buy it?...I better pony up for a sight as well...and hung it back on the rack...though it is still haunting me.
Thought some might find that interesting. L8R, Bill. :)
Bill Wow, I had not seen that video so thanks so much for posting it. It made me Happy to see my old friend again but also sad to see him talking and chatting. That was no act, Fred was that humble and talked just like that in person. Made me miss him. It's hard to believe he has been gone since the spring of 1988... around 28 years. He was the best. So humble and kind.
Thanks so much for posting. KK Knockerboch was from Charlottesville, Va and Dick Mauch often talks about him. I suspect Mauch was also on that hunt, may have actually been at Dick's place. I will ask him.
Thank you again for posting.
By the way that Oneida bow shoots great instinctively. I shot one in 1985.
It says a lot about a man that shot a recurve when his company made and sold A LOT of compound bows. He knew exactly what he was doing and what he liked.
He seemed like a great guy, wish I would of met him. Thanks Jinks.
Fred was raised basically on his grandparents farm in Plainfield, Pa. The family wasn't wealthy by any standard, and Fred built his business from the ground up. He moved to Detroit to work for the Packard Company. His dad, Harry, lived his whole life in the Carlisle area of Pennsylvania and belonged to the local sports clubs, and was an archer himself. I don't know any archer, or bowhunter of my generation that wasn't influenced by Mr. Fred.
I have to reply to the Oneida comment. This is the one compound that does not have a break over and shooting it is not a whole lot different than my recurves, other than the lack of load at full draw. I am a fan of that bow so maybe I am just looking for a reason to support it. It's how I feel anyway.
yup, cam roll-over, oil and allen wrenchs ended my brief compound experiment in the early 80's. Squeaky cam on Browning Xcellerator spooked a nice everglades 6pt I had been after for weeks. A trophy deer in those parts with gun or bow. That was it for me, back to the recurve, never looked back.
Pic is a doe I killed a couple weeks before giving the compound to a buddy of mine. Loved the camo back then tho... :)
Jinkster- Just got off the phone with Dick Mauch. He turns 90 soon. I shared with him about the video you posted. The long distance deer shot Fred talked about was one Dick remembers- he was there.
Dick said it was on the "Dyer Place" and took place in 1964. KK Knickerbocker was behind the tree instead of in front of it and so when the deer ran to him he couldn't get a shot. Dick said Dick Sanger saw Fred shoot the buck and said it was like his arrow curved and flew right into the buck at a full run!
I love being able to hear all these stories from Dick, he has a memory like nobody I've known at any age. His memory is the best.
They broke the mold when Fred came along. Dick Mauch is another American original.
He gave me my first quiver back around 1979-1980 at Fall Creek bait and tackle which was an archery shop really and him and the owners were good friends. He was in town for the Indianapolis boat sport and travel show which was just across the street. I was there at the indoor archery range shooting a Shakespear Wonderbow and up until then I had always just carried 3 arrows, one nocked and two in my bow hand. He asked me about it and I told him this, he left the room and came back and motioned to a table everyone used to do stuff on, he had a quiver with two arm deals on each end to fit around each limb, he took one off and started twisting the other one around and did this a few times while hooking it on his belt loop. Finally he had me put my arrows in it (after stopping me and showing how to press down at the spot where the rubber clamps were-lol) and I hooked it on. I don't remember the conversation but I do remember he wold not take any money for it and he watched me shoot for a good while. Seemed like a real nice ,down to earth kinda guy I said to the shop owner when I was leaving, he said he sure is, ya know that was Fred Bear right? I had no idea the whole time who he was and did not recognize him standing right in front of me. I tried to find him at the show but had no luck. I still carry the quiver on occasion today, it has been painted lots of times and a leather patch repair and it looks like crap really but it still works. Wish I had realized at the time. Here is a couple pics of it.
Tried a compound bow WAY BACK in the day. think that It was a Browning? Never could get used to it. Sold it and don't even remember who to and how much. Sure that I lost money on the deal but the wheelie bow was not for me. Anybody remember the story from one of the outdoor mags about wheelie bow guy hunting in a combo of sleet / snow , rain etc? Came time to make a shot and the cables and cams had frozen up! NO JOY! I like to have fell out laughing about that.
Fred was a push pull guy, and if you try to go that route, instinctive, with a compound it will not be fun. The arm extended style of instinctive works fine with a compound.
Speaking of Oneida, I owned one at one time. It is an interesting bow, and well ahead of it's time, but didn't hang with me for that long. Tink Nathan was a pretty good instinctive shot with that thing.
This video is from the day of great bowhunting culture. Glad I was there to be a part of it. I never deviated, did not have to. Thank you for posting this video.
