Papa Bear shot a sight and did well early on with good upright T form. Want a sight? shoot one!

Great upright T form.It is all archery inclusive no matter how you shoot.

Wonder if he shot pheasants like that....my guess is no.

I'm sure that is how Mr. Bear shot tournaments, as he shot and won many. Agree Kodiak, do not think he shot any fur or feathers with that equipment or form?

No clue if he ever used sites when shooting pheasant, but I have seen video of folks shooting dove on the wing with their bow & sights. They were doing pretty good with them also

Rick

If you ever get a chance, find the Tim Wells vid where he's shooting doves on the wing. The most amazing shooting I've ever seen. Yes he was using a compound but it was barebow. Incredible talent.

I've seen the Tim Wells videos. Yes, he is very impressive.

I just love to see great shooting, regardless of equipment and/or styles being used.

Rick

And they gave him Target Panic so bad that he quit shooting for a while! I seen the wright up I just don't remember which book has it.

Me too Rick. The older I get the more ridiculous stickbow elitism seems to me. 10 years ago I was a hardcore purist...those days are long gone now.

Same Same Kris. :-)

Rick

well now Ive lost my religion

Sights don't "give" target panic...another falsehood. It's all a mental thing and guys who never used them can and do get it. It just gets a burr under people's saddle when they hear sights were used by people for centuries. The new Trad folks are particularly appalled, likely to the degree of nausea.

So by Freds very kind and noble personality and benevolence, all methods of shooting a Bow is inclusive of our sport.

Papa shot compounds for the photo shoot. He couldn't get used to the let off. bvd

Back when I had T.P. I could pick up a bow with sights and shoot it with no problem. As soon as a shot mine barebow, I had a problem.

love watching T wells shoot Brooks Johnson as well

Lots of good shots out there

Favorite Bear picture. Possibilities>>>>>-------------->

AND he was a GUN hunter!!!!!

That picture of Fred and the mountains about sums it up a life well lived

I doubt Fred ever worried about being "trad" enough. :o)

Fred was a business man first and foremost. He saw the writing on the wall regarding compounds so they built them. Doesn't mean he approved of them.

You bet, many archers would be better served. Evan a simple pin site is far more versatile then using the point of the arrow.

“ [Even] a simple pin site is far more versatile then using the point of the arrow.“

Not entirely; sight pins are like any other sight - you get off of plumb and you’ll start missing. Of course (JMO), it’s a mistake to use only the POINT of the arrow when you can align the full length of it.

Less precision, but try using a sight pin from prone....

A sight is just gapping at bow.

Every one that shoots a bow gaps.

I don't shoot a lot from prone. It takes me too long to get back up. I have bow sights older than a lot of folks on here but I guess they are not TRAD. I don't use them but have no objections to them. They serve a purpose and are a great way to start out youngsters. It is much easier for them to grasp what you are explaining. It is all good. >>>----> Ken

I'm totally insensitive I don't see the arrow it's the best way to shoot I never miss what the arrow hits

GF I shot a 5 pin sight with a 45° cant for a year or more on a Damon Howett Super D. Yep the pins were 45° to the bow. Each one extended a little farther out than the last. Pins were vertical at the shot bow wasn't. Lots of things are possible,work well, and or fun with a little experimentation. Right now I am consumed with a fixed crawl. Been there and done most of that.:^) >>>----> Ken

Fred couldn’t get used to the let off and it didn’t fit his snap shooting style. But being the smart business mind he was, he had to promote them.

“I shot a 5 pin sight with a 45° cant for a year or more on a Damon Howett Super D. Yep the pins were 45° to the bow.”

Yep! And you had to hold the sights plumb to the arrow, right?

Good time to be a machinist! LOL

Glen St. Charles also sold compounds for a while--called it the Buckskin Bowhunter.

I remember reading once That Fred Bear recommended learning to shoot a bow using a sight. He thought a person could learn good form much easier using a sight. But he went on to say that once you learn to shoot, it is better to learn to shoot instinctive for hunting.

Bear Alaskan compound, great bow, at 52" and not too much letoff a great finger shooter

"Every one that shoots a bow gaps."

Sorry Clyde but I won't let that slide. It's absolute nonsense...to put it nicely.

Fred Bear was certainly a pioneer and inspiration to many. I considered him my archery "idol" growing up, and scoured through his books countless times as a kid.

Having said that, Fred was just a man like you and me. What he chose to do really has no bearing on my choices. I've never seen any reason to try and duplicate or mimic the accomplishments of another man. I have always admired men like Fred or Howard or Ben Pearson, but I certainly don't feel any reason to act like them or do the things they did.

Instead, I view them first and foremost as pioneers - and respect that characteristic more than any specific choices they made. If we are to model their behavior, let us model their pioneer spirit and make our own choices at our own time.

Icons to me are the ones that did it ethically, and with respect to the animals and environment. Whether or not they used sights, compounds, or even crossbows is of no consequence to me as long as they were legal weapons in the season.

To me, this is more about 'look at me', I don't need sights or anything, so I must be a better hunter than anyone else. I don't know where else that it could go when you start chirping about those evil sights, machine bows or crossguns, etc. The inability to see what came before us can tell you a lot about the person doing the talking.

"learn to shoot instinctive" I just love that statement (not picking in the above post)

Just doesn't seem to fit the definition of instinct.....

Fire up the popcorn machine in 3, 2, 1.....

Dan it took you awhile to strike that plug.

Sight pins on trad bows were never much of an issue back in the day. Why? You still had to draw and shoot using your fingers. You also had to be very accurate in estimating distance. There were no range finding devices in those days to tell you which pin to use. To effectively use sight pins you also needed excellent form.

The ones that are offended by a sight on a bow are the wheeler dealers. They find an otherwise pristeen condition bow at a low price that they can't get top dollar for because it has a couple or more small holes in it where a sight is or was attached. bvd

Clyde,

"Every one that shoots a bow gaps."

Kodiak is right; that statement is incorrect. Some us string walk. :)

(It was good seeing you again last weekend)

With all due respect,,to Mr Bear,,he wasnt St Archery and i doubt he would have been comfortable with people putting that label on him today...

“ [Even] a simple pin site is far more versatile then using the point of the arrow.“ Not entirely; sight pins are like any other sight - you get off of plumb and you’ll start missing. Of course (JMO), it’s a mistake to use only the POINT of the arrow when you can align the full length of it.

Less precision, but try using a sight pin from prone...."

Recently (post STAR Seminar) I invented a new sighting method. I think it will make a little history...can't be beat for bowhunting as far as sights go...Very subtle, most people don't even notice. Can be used longbows, recurves, even self bows - unobtrusive. Only Rick Barbee knows it's real...

Parva victoria ob artem sagittariorum historia...

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