Hello all, I've been collecting, shooting ,trading etc, Bear bows for about 20 years. But I just got a Wing recurve off flea bay.I dont know much at all about Wing bows. Thought maybe some of you could help me out and give me some info about this bow, maybe even the year if all possible. Its a Red Wing Hunter. The bottom limb says Wing Archery company, nothing about AMF or Head Ski Company..So it must be a older one? The serial number is RA3223 58 inches. The riser seems to be maybe Bubinga and the limbs are brown, front and back. It sure is a sweet shooting bow, glad I got it Thanks

When my uncle got me into shooting he got me a Wing Redwing Hunter as my first hunting weight bow. I was saving my money to buy a Bear bow at the sporting good store.

Anyway, he and dad got me the bow and to explain why I got a Wing instead of the Bear he said, "You buy Bear bows if you can't afford a Wing."

He said not me. ;^)

Enjoy the bow,

Carl

Wing archery was first then head ski co. and finally sold to amf.

Wing was a high class bowyer of the late fifties, sixties and early seventies. Bob Lee owned the company in Texas and his work was on par with Howatt and almost Bear. Lee was innovative with well made and designed target bows, hunting bows and some of the first takedowns. The Red Wing Hunter was his "Grizzly". It is a fine shooter and still very desrable. The early ones had more exotic wood risers, very comfortable grips and nice, slender tips. When the company was sold to Head Ski and then resold to AMF, this was reflected in the limb decals. The older models has writing and decals at the lower fadeout on the belly of the bottom limb. Bob Lee and his son resurrected the company 6 or so years ago and make a fine line of "modern" bows.

Plywood, your dad and uncle had a point. I like Wings...and I've had them both.

Wings are very good bows in my book. I killed my first Deer with a Wing Chaparral back in October of 1969.

I have two Chaparrals, one 62 inch Thunderbird, three Presentation Take Downs, and one of Bob Lees new model Takedowns and I'd have a lot more of them if my wife would buy them.

There is a nice interview with Bob Lee in the current issue of TradArchers' World.

Killed my first trad deer this year with a Red Wing Hunter!!!!

I currently own 3 58" Red Wing Hunters and can attest to the performance. The earliest I have is a 1961 45#@28 resembling the bottom pic above of archer4ever. The other 2 are I believe a 63 model 45#@28 and a 64 49#@28 that was refinished by Don Ward. They are all pre HeadSki and some of the finest recurves I've ever shot. I have owned probably 20 of the RWH's over the past 12 years. Some were passed on to my boys and grandkids and others I've sold or traded. Don't be afraid to try one of the HeadSki models as Bob Lee was still actively involved after the transition and maintained a lot of influence in the design. JMOH Fred[IMG]http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z314/Bowferd/DSC02723.jpg[/IMG]

One more pic of the unfinished cabin.

Thanks for the info and the great pics.Looks like he did make some nice looking bows. Does anybody know when Wing was bought by Head ski company? Im just trying to get a idea what year this bow is.If all possible. Thanks again.

Head Ski bought Wing in 1968, sold it in 1969 to AMF.

Bob Lee's Wing bows were as good as any sold at the time, including Bear. They were superb shooters, and the Presentation 1 target bow was highly sought-after for tournament shooting, prior to the takedowns coming on the scene. The Thunderbird was my favorite of the one piece models.

My current favorite recurve is a '75 Red Wing Pro. While '75 was well past their heyday, this bow hits wherever I point it. It draws and shoots smoother than any other bow I own.

In 1973 I bought a new Red Wing Hunter , #50, 58". Used it for groun hog hunting. Lots of hogs back then. Anyhow With it I did my best shooting ever.. Being 25 yrs old probably had something to do with It. My neighbor was trying to introduce me to compounds at the time but wasn't successful mostly because the Wing beat him in every contest we ever had.. In fact the wheelie never won even once,, even with sights..He was a good deer hunter.

There was a good article on wing bows several yrs ago in TBM, gave all the dates...PR

Current issue of Trad Archers World mag has an excellent interview with Bob Lee with some interesting history of the company.

Didn't Bill Stewart design the Red Wing Hunter?

Not sure Lon, but he did the P2.I like wing.Wing Gull and falcon were my favorits.GR

I picked up a lefty RWH for my son a few months back. It is a mid-sixties model as best as I can tell. He hasn't had alot of opportunities to shoot it much because of school, ball practice and nasty weather. The bow seems to shoot well and is pretty quiet. I think they are real sharp looking too.

That looks alot like the one I just got Reaper. I'm a lefty to,which arent very easy to find. But I'm going to try to find find another if I can.

Got a Thunderbird coming from Colorado in a couple weeks.

go to archeryarchives.com they have a lot on wing bows, you can probabaly figure out what year you have from the pics and descriptions provided

http://archeryarchives.com/public2_html/Redwingbows.htm

Thanks for the link guys! I think I got a 65 or 66 Hunter. Nice looking Thunderbird Buzz.........and its a lefty to! Its funny how all you ever hear about is about Bear bows from the early days........but I guess there were quite a few great shooting bows from the 50's and 60's.

i put phenolic tip over lays and 10 strand d97 fast flight on an old red wing hunter and would compare it with 95 percent of the modern bows made today for performance. excellent bow

JT_IND, With no Head Ski on that Wing silk screen and the RA- serial number you have a "transition" RWH, one that was made in early 1967 just before the sale to Head Ski. Wing had already moved from Houston, TX to Jacksonville, TX to get ready for this sale. After the sale the Div of Head Ski was just added below the Wing logo.

Any RWH made before 1967 were all from Houston TX and either serial number started with R- or RW-. The latter was Bubinga handle, the former was Brazilian Rosewood or maple with rosewood stripe being the first ones. Also some were made in 62" length on custom order-all of those start with serial number R-.

Up for a potential new member

There is a Wing Presentation11 on Oregon Coast Craigslist now. Looks good , 35# @ 28" at 64". - 37# @ 28" at 66"

Old thread. But I do love my RWH. Tiny tip 58" 48@28 gold Wing stickers. Great shooter!

I have a Silver Wing, 32lbs 66". One of the best bows I have.

Kelly, what year did wing start making the 52” Red Wing Hunter? Did Wing make any before the sale to Head Ski?

Kelly, what year did wing start making the 52” Red Wing Hunter? Did Wing make any before the sale to Head Ski?

No 52" before Head Ski. I think the 52" debuted in 1969.

The first 52" bows showed up as Thunderbirds in 1967, serial number T7- with Wing silk screens. These were transition bows that Head Ski later add Div of Head Ski to the silk screen. Then Head Ski built 52" Thunderbirds with serial number TA-.

The first 52" RWH were built by Head Ski(on same form as T-bird) in later part of 1967/68. Head Ski also built the first 52" Slim Line Red Wing Pro and Slim Line Vantage Pro, as did AMF.

I have a 52" RWH from AMF and a couple of my grandkids have 52" RWH from Head Ski.

Thanks guys, I have a small group of short bows from the golden era and wanted to add a wing by Bob. Guess it will need to be a HeadSki bow instead!

Thanks Kelly...figured I was close but one year too early.

I checked my 52" Thunderbird, my 52" Head Ski RWH and also my Colt's Huntmaster made by Wing. All had identical limbs.

Lucas, Bob Lee was still very much involved with Head Ski. He was basically running the Company for Head Ski. When AMF got involved is when he parted company with Wing.

If it's a lefty of equal to or greater than 45# draw@28" it's worthlass and actually dangerous, send it to me, I'll dispose of it for you ;)

Fuzzy does not know what he is talking about - those worthless left-hand bows should be sent to ME (please package them carefully so as not to twist the limbs, for some reason twisted limbs will jam my bow-shredding machine). Thank you for your cooperation.

I have a lefty 1967 Thunderbird, 48#, the sumo wrestler of recurve bows. Dwarfs a puny 1967 Super Kodiak.

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