I found this older Hunter at a thrift store today and would like some info as I'd like to refinish it, resting it, and begin using it in time to hunt next season. Can anyone help me identify the year this bow was produced? Also I think this needs a 58" B-50 string but have read that some think Fast flight is fine... which is the group suggestion? It looks like I can only add one pic so maybe the serial number would be the first place to start? Thanks for any help you can provide, Dennis

Here's a pic of the riser...

The bow is a 64. If you go to fast flight, make sure the loops are padded, but they do shoot very well with B50-55. Can we get a picture of the other side of the riser please.

That's an interesting piece of wood. Most of the 64's were rosewood. That could be too but looks light in colour.

The next year they had the laminated riser with the lighter stripe down the middle.

That year bow has tip overlays. I have a 1964 and use a Ten-Ring string made from Fury-no issues.

Measure the bow before buying a string as it is pre AMO and Hunters are sometimes shorter than marked and use a 57" string.

Interesting- The HSS indicates '64 but the riser wood, limb color and Howatt emblem doesn't line up with my '64. We'll see what the experts think...

I'm guessing the holes were for a sight. No other holes. I peeled off the crusty and dried out leather strike plate and shelf material.

The riser is one piece

The transition from the "Ne Plus Ultra" decal to the "Drawn Bow" decal occurred in 1964.

The last 1963 I have records for was HHX 4065.

I checked my database and this bow, #4299, is now the earliest 1964. If you compare it to the bow number above that would indicate it was made at the very end of 1963 or the beginning of 1964. That would explain the decal and limb glass colour.

It illustrates that the numbers and suffix letters are the key to accurate identification.

I really want to see more pictures of the wood. It look to be one piece, unlike the rosewood that were three pieces...perhaps it was a custom order?

I knew Peter would be the voice of reason. DB- by the looks of the pic's it appears that bow is pretty clean. Maybe just some elbow grease to restore the original finish??

Isn't there a chance it's a lighter piece of Brazilian Rosewood? You can see under the side plate it has faded, which Rosewood does.

I once had the same bow (year & glass color) in 46#.

I'll share some pics tomorrow.

Oops didn't realise I posted multiples of the last pic...

Here's what a tip looks like (carefully hitting "submit" Once)

Here's an overall pic.

Peter, I am pretty sure it is a solid piece of Brazilian rosewood. It is just very light in color. I have seen a couple that look like this, they get darker when refinished. What is interesting is that it appears to be one solid piece of wood, cant find any breaks where it would have been layed up. First rosewood hunter I have seen built like this. Interesting bow.

Yes...looks like a solid piece for sure. Intriguing..

Congrats on a nice find.

It'll take a string 3 inches shorter than the bow. Measure on belly side around the recurve and then straight line to the other end a around that curve.

Thanks for the input! My Dad had one of these bows back in the day so I have a little nostalgic investment here.

I have a 58" string I threw on her last night from my other bow. Man is this a bit tougher to draw! What should my brace height be?

Heres what im thinking for work i should do: The finish is flaked in places so I'll sand her down and may re-contour the grip a little to fit my hand. Shooting may decide if I pursue this further... will the wood become darker using a natural finish or do I need to apply some kind of stain? I am tempted to change the red on the limbs to black - is there a paint that works well for this? How about a topcoat? I've read shellac works best on oily woods...

You're going to need to work up to that draw weight if you're not used to it. Make sure you are not overbowed.

Start your brace at 7" and go higher until you hit the sweet spot.

Scrape and sand the finish off being careful not to cut into the glass...a sharp penknife at a 90 degree angle is what I use.

I would not mess with the limb glass colour. That bow is unique with the red glass and it will finish up nicely. Preservation of how the bow was made is, to me, the key.Do all you can to preserve the decal.

Best way to have a good job is good prep and patience.

The two final finishes I use are Minwax Wipe-On and Tru-Oil.

Larry H. once said that DH only did a few one-piece risers like that; that they liked the strength of laminated risers better.

Thanks for the finish info pdiddy! Yeah, I couldn't think how to preserve the bow info if I painted over the red so it's going to stay red(ish)

I started last night with a pen knife where the finish was flaked. Moved to 60 grit sanding block in the sight window area to remove all the residual adhesive. It appears the bulk of the flaws and damage are in this area - the back side of the shelf being the worst.

Crookedstix - the test of time seems to show this one piece riser has been just fine. Maybe not as cool as a multi piece riser but I think I prefer the simple look. The grain is nice.

Anyway it's what I have to work with so it will have to do... ;)

Hey, Dennis....

I just searched your handle and it looks like you're new here, so welcome aboard!

But if you are new to archery or coming over from wheels, do yourself a favor and enjoy the refinishing project, but then pretty much hang that baby up while you work your way up to it. If you've been into archery for a while, I'd start at your state minimum; if you're completely new, you might need to go lighter. Anything over #45 is very likely asking for trouble - whether that be in the form of bad habits or injuries.

You can get away with more if you're young and strong, but just as a point of reference, I used to know a guy who could shoot an #80 hard-cam all day long, and 2 dozen shots with a #35 was about all he could stand.

And I would agree that it would be a shame to change the coloration other than possibly some stain on the riser - but even then it would be like putting metal-flake bass-boat paint on a '57 Chevy

Dennis, Here's a cool one with a bit of lighter wood.

Here's some more pronounced fading. Looks like tape hid parts of riser from sunlight.

Dennis, I sanded a 1966 Hunter with a palm sander avoiding the glass. It gives you the opportunity to perfect the grip if you like.

Then I sprayed numerous light coats of Helmsman spar varnish. I used the gloss version because it's supposed to be harder. Then I changed it to matte by going over with 0000 steel wool as a final step. Very happy with results 2 years after refinish.

The bow went from honey/cinnamon color to a shade of chocolate.

No more advice now, I've made myself hungry.

It's nice to see the different finishes - were these stained, or just natural? What woods am I looking at?

Little about me - learned to shoot with my Dad in a club as a kid (one piece recurve) years ago. No shooting for a long time as I grew up and we hunted modern firearm and black powder, then picked up a compound a few years back to shoot as a backyard hobby. Decided to hunt again (my dad's knees and eyes aren't that good any more so I'm on my own now) and decided I'd rather lug around a longbow so picked up a lightweight bamboo backed 45# reflex/deflex to start practicing with (intending to hunt deer and / or turkeys).

I also lead an activity group for my area through meetup.com. I thought it would be fun to offer adult "summer camp" activities next year and began searching for all fiberglass bows at pawn and thrift shops (they're kinda spendy on ebay). Found this hunter so am momentarily derailed as a bow collector until I'm done playing with this new toy.

as far as bow draw weights, I have one Pearson Super Jet 55# fiberglass bow that I've played around with a little (ebay find which is why I think they're kinda spendy). That's my heaviest draw non compound bow that I shoot so far. I prefer my 45#er for all day shooting and I'll definitely have to work my way up to using this hunter!

Its a great find I have a two hunters in the rose wood and the zebra wood I love shooting them. The rose wood is new to me this week and 63# and the zebra I picked up about a year ago 60#. I have a dozen or so DH's and every one of them is 2-3 lbs heavier on the draw than stated. I cant wait to see your pics when it is done.

Here's a pic of the riser after sanding with 60 grit then rubbing her all down with acetone.

I found an 18-strand B-50 string and strung her up tonight.

Brace height is 6-3/4" without any twists using an AMO 62" (58" actual) continuous loop bowstring.

I understand the Hunter likes 7-1/2" brace height so will be playing with this a little after sanding.

I noticed a slight warp in the limbs with the string on but understand it may not be an issue.

Keep the bow strung and twist the limb the oposite direction with your hand - don’t over push it but be firm and keep it steady 20 seconds. 99% of time it solves slight twists.

I like it. Rooty

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