So who else regularly shoots a Static recurve Bear? Had mine out this morning. I find that bow really fun to shoot. Mine is a 1952 K4, 50@28". New grip, refinished very carefully with the Bear logo decal replaced (Thanks Al). Looks great, shoots great. Post them if you have them, tell us about your static Bear. I am also interested in the new K4s. What do you think of your bow? Chuck S

I have a new K4. 64", 45#. Its a cool bow. Very unique feeling draw and release.

That's a nice lookin bow.

Hip

I used to shoot one of my 5 static Grizzlies alot. Great ol bows. JF

I have one. I like it very much however I am hooked on longbows.

I shot one of the new K4s at ETAR and liked it very much and now have the itch to own one. :o) It's something different from everything else I have.

Got four (actual oldies, 3 1955 and 1 1956) Love them when I'm shooting them, but into a Kodiak cycle right now.

Chuck, I shot one of mine on and off all week. I have a ‘52 Grizzly, a ‘53 Grizzly and a “53 K-4. All within a few pounds of each other so I can shoot the same POC off all of them. Here’s last weeks long bomb for the FS series. The good arrow was a fluke, trust me. Lance

Chuck, your K-4 is real nice...for what it is...^<>^

I shot one of the new K-4's at the Traditional Expo in Kalamazoo in January and loved it.

I now have one but haven't been able to shoot it because of my shoulder replacement in June. I know I'll be shooting by fall and am looking forward to taking it to deer camp.

Chuck, I still think that a Mid-50’s Bear Polar of the same draw weight, will out shoot that what’s a K-four...^<>^

George thanks for rotating the picture. Nice to hear you guys appreciate them like I do. It is a unique feel. Kind of a cross between an ASL and a recurve. Just fun to shoot. Mike your Polar Bear bow is what guys in the 1950's bought if they couldn't afford a Kodiak. Sides my 50 lb Kodiak's arrows pass up those 72lb Polar Bear arrows all the time. Go in the target farther too!

I have one of each New and Old. Really like them both.

I think Chuck is just putting off the inevitable, he needs a new one. - Mike.

Hunted with one for a couple years back in the 90s. The performance surprised a lot of onlookers at shoots.

Refinishing. A '55 Grizzly right now. Shoots so good I thought I deserved a facelift.

Looks like a nice bow. I always wanted a vintage K-4. Probably super smooth with that string off the limbs like that.

Uphuntn does the new one shoot the same as the original or does it feel different?

CStyles the Old one is a bit smoother through the draw curve and a tad less vibration at release. However the New one is a bit faster and really likes a heavier arrow. The thing that has me curious is the difference in the fades. Attached picture is not the best, but I think you can see the New K-4 has much longer gradual fades than the Old K-4.

I'd like to get one but I don't think I'd get along with the grip.

I shoot with a very high wrist. Don't think I could make the transition.

I like an ASL grip, so it feels right to me. But i can see if you prefer high wrist, not the grip for you. Uphuntn thanks for the picture an explanation. I am curious about the new one, I really like the looks of it, and since I like the one I have, another could only be even better. Thing is I have too many bows I really like to shoot already, and not enough time to shoot them as often as I would like. I said earlier this year, no more bows. It has been almost 10 months since I bought my last bow, a 1958 Kodiak. So my willpower so far is astounding Chuck S

For you guys that are shooting the old ones, are you using B50 or a low-stretch material? I'm currently using Dacron but thinking of trying D97.

Bear suggests using Dacron on the new rigs to. I never even shot mine with the factory string. I tossed a skinny BCYX on it first. If you look at the construction of the tips they are clearly robust enough to handle any string material of any diameter. New version or old version.

Rhino on mine.

B-50 on mine! Lance

D97 on my K4, and also my 1958 Kodiak, also on Mike's 72lb 1954 Polar. I added phenolic tip overlays on my 1958 Kodiak and Mike's Polar before using the D97 strings. As far as the K4, I agree with Pearl Drums, those tips are robust. I did not change them. The D97 strings really make a noticeable improvement both in performance and noise. I bought my old bows to shoot them the way I like, so it is survival of the fittest. I do think adding phenolic overlays is a good idea for old bows that don't have big moosey tips like the static Bears. Chuck S

I run 14 strand d97 on all my old Bear statics, makes a big difference vs b50. They shoot harder, quieterthe , no hand shock. Papa Bear would have used no stretch if he had it IMHO.

Nothing more controversial than string materials. I shoot what Rooty will make for me.

DDave

Here’s a pic of my Polar with the phenolic tips Chuck put on making my Polar a hybrid, 50’s - wise, red glass, no tip overlays, pre-56 Polar decal (Thanks Al’s Decals). With the white phenolic tip overlays, It sports a D-97 string now.

Top bowis a 46# 1952 Griz. You got me wondering so I strung her up and wow, she was shooting pretty good.

Before Mike got his first old Polar I always thought the old Bear bows with their plain maple risers were just boring and old. Then I shot his Polar, and Bear came out with the new K4. Didn't realize the old Kodiaks had those cool static tips. Got my 1952, surprised how much I liked it, then Mike gets A 55 Kodiak. This is only a month after getting my 52. Decided I needed a newer Kodiak too, got my 1958 Kodiak. Turns out these old Bear bows are fun and interesting bows. Put a modern string on them and they shoot really well. Then started thinking about a 59, and maybe, a Kodiak Special, and a new K4... So be warned these old Bear bows are addictive.

You got that right...(that’s one in a row ^<>^)

Well, I made up a string for my '55 Grizzly with the last of my Astroflight and was really tickled with the performance. Shot a 3d course at Shade Mt. with it yesterday morning and only missed one target, which is great for me with any bow! Really getting a kick out of this oldie. Now to make up some old school tapered cedars with razorheads before the season opens...

Anybody know if these originaly came with a feather rest or Bear Hair or something else?

I think before 1959 it was just leather. You can look through there old ads here http://grayling-bears.tumblr.com/page/11 Leather is good because it doesn't wear out, that is what I have on my 52. Tried a feather rest for awhile but I think the shelf is really too small for that. Made a feather rest for my 58 that works very well, and !ooks cool too. Chuck S

Have a 53 Grizzly I keep cased beside a cased Hoyt that I have. The bow is almost mint condition. Love the lines of the bow but have a hard time shooting it. Its a little heavy for me. Did manage to shoot one of JF's here awhile back that is lighter than mine and really liked how well the bow pointed. The ole bow surprised me on a lot of levels! Where are you fellows getting the new ones at? I'd be more than tempted to buy one if I could get it 45# or under

Paul, Here’s a photo of the original leather rest and side plate on my Compass K. It would have been the same on your Grizzly. Can you see the little bump in the plate part of the leather. This is really thin leather so you could use the leather from an old wallet or something similar. I hope this helps. Lance

Here’s the other side. I have a 58 Alaskan with the same leather as well as my statics. This bow was just easier to grab for the illustration. Lance

Thanks Lance, that's perfect!

Oldbowyer Bear is selling a new Static K-4 now. Three Rivers sel!s them. Many of the bows in this thread are originals, mine is 66 years old, shoots great

shot a new k-4 at the spring fling. wouldn't mind having one ,shot good with a little handshock but not at all bad!

I checked out the new K-4 at ETAR, hate to say it but I prefer the originals.

Thanks CStyles will go have a look. Got the bright idea of building one last year except I R/Ded the design with a 2pc slip sleeve. Those tips were a lot of work. I did miss though what I was after and had a hard time getting anything to spine out of it. But it was a great build all in all had a lot fun

Oldbowyer, I think I recall that thread, cool idea. I too have made a number of bows, including a static hickory recurve board bow. I see where it would be an interesting project to recreate one of these Bear statics, but I really did not like working with glass. In spite of having my nice 52 Kodiak, I could be see where I may get a new one. Kinda like that 59 too.

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