I quite often see threads with people asking "what year is my Howatt Hunter?" I have searched for but never found an identification thread for the Hunters. I am talking about something similar to what Wade Phillips has done for the Bear Kodiaks and Kodiak Specials. If anyone knows of such a thread, please let me know. If there is no such thing, I think that it would be fun to put together something. If anyone has pictures of Howatt Hunters and knows the year of the bow, we could post them all into one thread. Then as time permits, I or someone else could go through the thread and copy the photographs and put them into sequential order. Would anyone be willing to participate?

Brad, a search would show quite a lot of content about the Howatt Hunters...and other Howatt bows. Since they repeated the number system each decade, you need a photo of the bow to show the wood used, etc. Larry Hatfield is the expert since he designed nearly all of them and built them as well. He can many times tell you who even made the bow. A few Howatt collectors on here may have the photos to make a compilation.

I would be willing to join in on this. I presently have four and pics of another two I owned.

I think this would be a great idea and would join in. It could help to clarify the dates on some of these bows. Would need a riser picture and a picture of the decal/serial info.

I'll add mine in too. I was told it is a 1980. I'll have to wait a day or two it's wet with a coat of poly.

Here's a starter; the HM in the serial number reflects that they began as the MAMBA Hunter. This one had the brownish papery covering over the bone-colored fiberglass; I think Larry pegged it as pre-1958. A wonderful shooter which I gave to a good friend.

Here's a closer look at the serial number, HM 65015, 62", 40#

Cool.

Here is my '65.

HHS 5262

I've got 12 of them, with a goal to get one of every design phase.

I think that the pictures that crookedstix posted are close to what will be needed. In order to be used in an identification thread we need to have a good profile of the sight window side of the riser, fade out to fade out, showing any highlight lines, etc.The serial number picture is also important. I will try to get a couple of shots of the two that I have on hand as an example of what I have in mind for the finished catalog of models. What would be great is if I could snip the photos then place them one after another or side by side in groups of like designs. With over fifty models and with serial numbers starting over every ten years, it is going to take a little organization to end up with something that makes sense to anyone with an old bow that they are wanting to identify. This thread could be the place to post the raw photos and I can save them and build the catalog in a program on my computer, then repost them when they are complete. I have not seen an edit option on this site. That complicates things quite a lot.

I have several vintage hunters and would be be happy to join in. Would be a great thread.

It might be helpful on some of the rosewood models to include a picture of the tips as the later years (64 and 65) included overlays on both sides.

Or perhaps instead of a picture a note could be added.

1995 Howatt Hunter

1995 Howatt Hunter

Thanks for the example picture Brad. I am on holidays for a week but when I return home I will post pics of my Hunters.

2003? Howatt Hunter

2003? Howatt Hunter

Here is my 1961 Hunter, serial # HM65743, 62", 43# Ne Plus Ultra decal, recently refinished at Doan Archery in Northern California. Have been told the riser is walnut, with rosewood caps...very sweet shooting bow. Hope these photos post correctly!

Back cap and decal

Brad, that above 2003? model appears to be instead 1973 since it was was of the very few years with curved stripe in the bubinga riser...and a wonderful shooting bow too!

Thank you Lon. Duly noted.

Here's my oldest Hunter, from Pdiddly's earlier thread I believe it's a '58. Serial info is HM 95890, cinnamon glass on the back and "Frisky" green on the belly with the red Howatt nomenclature.

decal pic

handle pic

Surely there are a few more pictures out there.

Yes there are more pictures out there Brad!

Finally making good on my undertaking to post pics of the Hunters in my Howatt collection.

I'll start with what I believe is a 1959 Hunter. Riser first.

Stats...

Here's the best picture I have of the decal...I had to remove it when I redid the bow. I am getting a replacement...it is the Ne Plus Ultra decal.

The tips...no overlay on the face, just the belly.

Next is a 1960 Hunter. Same walnut and rosewood riser but the glass is black and red and I think it is 3M.

Specs...

The decal...hard to see a gold decal on red glass. It's on the belly.

I did not take a picture of the tips as they are the same as the 1959. Pretty standard on Howatt's for decades

Next is a 1962 Hunter with the "knife edge riser...rosewood

Here is the knife edge...

Here is the specs and the decal...every '62 Hunter I have seen has a V in the serial number.

Next is a 1965 Hunter. It has the same tip overlay on the belly as a 1962 but also has an overlay on the face of the limb.

First the riser...again rosewood but no knife edge.

The back of the sight window is squared off...

Here's the decal and specs...note the drawn bow is being used and the serial number begins with a 5. They had begun using the first number is the year rule.

Here are the tip overlays. The belly is the same as the 1962.

The overlay on the face shows up in 1964...I had heard of earlier Howatt's without these overlays splitting at the tips so perhaps that's why it was added.

Last but not least is the 1995 Purpleheart Hunter. First year for thicker overlays for FF strings and it was a total riser redesign.

This one had two vertical accent stripes. Frisky's is an early model and has one. I understand they went to two in order to utilize smaller pieces of purple heart.

The Hunters from 1986 to 1994 had laminated maple risers. I'll post a pic of one I once owned. They would have riser with the number beginning with 8,9,0,1,2,3,4 or 5.

Here's the decal and specs... I just love the script on the later bows!

Here are the thicker tips.

Here is a 1992 Hunter that I once had as a reference pic...on the left of course with the 1960 on the right.

Here is a 1960 Hunter beside a 1992. Compare the limb curvature...not much difference.

if it is not broken, don't fix it!

Thanks a lot Pdiddly. Now we are up and running! You know that I now want a '59,'60,'62, and '65. I've give you fifty bucks for that 65. Wow, that's the kind of wood that I like. Good looking stuff here. Come on guys, lets post them up in honor of the longest continuous production bow in the USA. I don't want to have to buy a bunch of bows just to take pictures.

My other Hunter, a '64 from what Larry says.

Knife edge.

My hunter, with single stripe, was bow #140. I think most had two stripes by #300.

Joe

The thick tips were from a 1 piece lam that measured, say, .150 in the exact center and then tapered both directions from center at a constant rate until into the recurve, and then grew thicker to the tip. We were the only one's I ever saw with lams like that. Don Jewett and I figured out how to make lams like that that so we could control how the recurve uncoiled.

HHV 2410L

Reinforced tips added when it was refinished I believe.

Oh my goodness...glad Larry's intrigued by all this!

I need to know on what bow you used the lam design you are describing Mr. Hatfield.

It sounds to me what you are describing is incorporating in the lam design what a tip wedge (power lam) would do. So you are increasing the thickness of the lam taper out into the recurve rather than using a separate piece of wood, like Harry Drake, Ernie Root and Jean Louthan did.

If that is what you did then that is simply brilliant and, yes, I have seen no other recurve with lam design like that.

George. Where did you learn so much about bows? Have you had one of every bow made? LOL

Larry's post intrigued me to the point that I went and measured the lams on some of my Hunters (and other bows.)

I was always aware that the Howatt's had limb tapers that went both ways, rather than just thick to thin but now see that they thicken at the tip to, as Larry stated ".. control how the recurve uncoiled."

I took pictures of my 1995 and they clearly show that design feature. I measured my 1965 and they too thicken toward the tip from .075 to .100 thousands of an inch.

Here is a photo progression from the fades to the tip on my 1995.

Further along the limb...the lam on the face is narrowing.

At the turn where the recurve begins... the face lam on top is noticeably thinner.

On towards the tip...still thinner.

The tip...the face lam thickens noticeably between the last picture and this one to the tip.

A closer view...now we know why Howatt's perform the way they do.

I checked some other bows in my collection and did not see this.

I am going to look at my other Howatt's and see if this is done as well and I look forward to Larry's next bit of information!

Keoneola's Hunter is likely a 1959 due to the glass and the specs. In 1961, the last year for the walnut and rosewood risers, they wrote the specs on the limbs and not in the sight window.

Is there a set year when Damon Howatt began installing a front stabilizer bushing in the Hunters at the factory? I note Pdiddly's 1992 Hunter pictured above has one. I have one in my 1976 Hunter but don't know if it was installed at the factory when the bow was made.

Pdiddly, good stuff and info.

To follow up on your '60 Hunter with black glass back and red glass belly. I have one with glass reversed and pic shows the gold label on the black glass.

Here's a pic of the serial# of the '60

I have a 1974 Hi-Speed and it does not not have an insert.

Well, I have had a set back on this project. My hard drive burned up and I lost my work to date on building the Hunter indentification catalog, along with thousands of personal photographs and other important records. I didn't realize how much work was at risk since it has only been a few months since my last back up.

Oh well, I have plenty to do now.

Keep the pictures coming, please.

Sorry to hear that.

In future maybe back up to a portable hard drive.

Couple of early "Mamba Hunters" They are similar but different. Like to believe they are walnut but there is a lot of difference in the wood color and grain structure.

Both seem to be about 64" Green glass one is 1 3/4" wide and tan one is 1 1/2". Green one is 55# Tan one is 43#

Both have cross hatched glass.

My best guess from previous threads and displayed ads is 1954-58.

more

Green one is in pretty fair shape, contemplating refinish on the tan one as I cant find the serial number anyway. Maybe it is walnut and just bleached out.

In the limb picture you can see the green one has a lot larger tips than the tan one. Different bowyer or a poundage thing?

Grizzly said: "My best guess from previous threads and displayed ads is 1954-58."

I agree and more likely closer to 1957 and 1958.

Here's a 1957 ad.

I have the photos pulled out of this thread and the other thread for the serial numbers early on. I have very roughly organized it into decades and have one junk drawer full of photos that needs to be identified and moved to the proper decade. It is in Excel format. If anyone can help, or just wants to look, pm me with an email address and I will send a copy to you. As they say, excuse our dust, under construction.

Just glancing through the Excel file there are almost no photos from the eighties to the present. If somebody doesn't have some, I will have to get inventive.

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