From: Pdiddly
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 03-Dec-17 |
|
Thought I would share some pics of a few really old recurves I just refinished and fixed up. Here's the first one...
Before the Browning Explorer's we are all familiar with there was this model. It premiered in 1962 and was featured in the 1963 catalogue.
This is the 3D264, which was the 264th Explorer made in 1963. David Ross has a 1962 and it is identical to this one.
The Gordon influence (which is the facility and equipment Browning used in San Diego) is readily apparent...the riser design, four thin maple laminations in the limbs and the tiny tips with maroon and green overlays, the only Browning or Gordon to have them.
The bow is 62" and 56# and I shot it for the first time today. Likes a brace close to eight inches and I tried 2016's with 125 grain heads and 2114's with 145 grains. It likes them both.
I used a sealskin rest and a thin leather sideplate with an index strip of leather. The finish on the belly was shot so the decals were not salvageable.
I am going to use this hunting next year! It would be great to take a deer with it!
|
|
From: Pdiddly
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 03-Dec-17 |
|
Riser closeup..
|
|
From: Pdiddly
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 03-Dec-17 |
|
The tiny tips with the great overlays...they're smaller than a dime!
|
|
From: Pdiddly
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 03-Dec-17 |
|
Four maple laminations in the limbs...
|
|
From: Pdiddly
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 03-Dec-17 |
|
The specs...I sanded them carefully to try and get past the lousy finish..lost a bit.
|
|
From: Pdiddly
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 03-Dec-17 |
|
Last view of the riser, rest, sideplate and laminations...looks like a Gordon as they made it,, but a new design that was Browning.
|
|
From: George D. Stout
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 03-Dec-17 |
|
They kept that riser design with the Safari and Nomad, but wen to the capped riser for the Explorer line later on.
|
|
From: Cameron Root
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 03-Dec-17 |
|
Nice design and great grain.
|
|
From: MStyles
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 03-Dec-17 |
|
Classy recurve.
|
|
From: Knifeguy
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 03-Dec-17 |
|
Nicely done, Pete.
|
|
From: Phil Magistro
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 03-Dec-17 |
|
That’s a beauty. Nice refinishing work!
|
|
From: zwickey2bl
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 04-Dec-17 |
|
Beautiful. My first bow was a Browning Nomad Stalker, the longer one. I think it was 56"? 50# draw, and a beautiful bow. Wish I had it back.
|
|
From: Babbling Bob
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 04-Dec-17 |
|
That's sure some good looking grain in the rosewood riser.
|
|
From: mangonboat
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 04-Dec-17 |
|
That came out quite well! Did you fine polish the top coat with rouge or superfine steel wool/wet emery paper?
|
|
From: Pdiddly
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 04-Dec-17 |
|
Not yet...that's True-Oil over Minwax Poly Wipe-On.
I might dull it down later...
|
|
From: Kodiak
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 04-Dec-17 |
|
Yeah those Brownings have nice classy designs. Nice bow.
|
|
From: Chas
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 04-Dec-17 |
|
Great work, liking all those lambs as well.
|
|
From: Kodiak
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 04-Dec-17 |
|
I noticed that too.
|
|
From: Shorthair
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 04-Dec-17 |
|
I was told that model evolved into the Safari line of their bows....while the Explorer went to their more popular or readily recognizable design. I have a couple 1966 Brownings but nothing in 1963. Pretty bow...
keep em sharp,
ron herman
|
|
From: cueman
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 04-Dec-17 |
|
Beautiful bow Peter!
I have to disagree a little that the 62 and 63 explorers were identical.
Here is a 62 (2D035) I picked up out of San Diego a couple of months ago. Notice that while the riser is the same and there are 4 maple lams on the limbs, the lams are set up differently. Mine has 3 on the belly and 1 on the back instead of evenly split.
|
|
From: cueman
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 04-Dec-17 |
|
You will also notice that the E bow (guessing pre 62 run) is set up opposite of the actual 62 bow with 3 lams on the back and 1 on the belly. Both have the brown glass back and green glass belly. The only other difference is that the E bow is a 2 piece riser and the 62 is solid.
|
|
From: cueman
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 04-Dec-17 |
|
I am pretty sure the early explorer was taken directly from the Gordon Royal Knight bow. It was an identical riser and 62" bow. The safari was the Royal Huntsman in 54" length, nomad was same bow as safari except with cheaper wood in the riser.
|
|
From: cueman
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 04-Dec-17 |
|
I thought I had pretty much all of the explorer variants, but now I guess I have to find a 63! Thanks Peter.
Anyone know the last year of the early explorer? Was it 63 or 64? I know it was reintrouduced in 66 with the horns.
|
|
From: Pdiddly
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 04-Dec-17 |
|
The Royal Huntsman had real large tip wedges that the Safari did not...the Nomad had skinny ones.
|
|
From: Pdiddly
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 04-Dec-17 |
|
I'll have to figure out the numbers on your bows Kenny...one of them looks mislabelled.
|
|
From: cobra
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 04-Dec-17 |
|
Very nice. I have owned some mid 60's Brownings and for the $$ was always very pleased with them.
|
|
From: Pdiddly
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 04-Dec-17 |
|
Hey Kenny...it's the "E" bow that's the oddball.
The letter designate for Explorers was D. So the 2D35 meant the 35th Explorer made in 1962 (or the 35th Explorer ever made, in fact, as 1962 was the first year! Dave Ross has 2D27, made eight before yours.)
E was the designator for Nomad's...but the serial number would have a number, then the model letter, then the bow number. This one looks like it is mislabelled. It can't be earlier than 1962 as that was Browning's first year.
Do they both have Browning Explorer decals?
This is interesting!!
|
|
From: Pdiddly
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 04-Dec-17 |
|
What are the tips like on both bows?
|
|
From: cueman
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 04-Dec-17 |
|
Both bows are identicle except for the 2 piece riser and the way the lake are set up.
|
|
From: cueman
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 04-Dec-17 |
|
They are both labeled explorer. I have seen a couple of other Brownings labeled like this one with the E first. They were other models, Olympian and an Apollo.
|
|
From: lonfitz
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 04-Dec-17 |
|
I like your bow man,to bad some one out there can't start making those old Browning decals again.I have several that I don't want to take a chance on refinishing because of damaging the decal!
|
|
From: S.M.Robertson
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 04-Dec-17 |
|
Beautiful bows, Peter and good history lesson. Scott
|
|
From: Pdiddly
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 05-Dec-17 |
|
Hey Ron (shorthair)...the Safari (and the Nomad) came out in 1963 as well...here's an ad from a catalogue...this was from September 1963 and the bows would have had to have been in production for a few months
|
|
From: crookedstix
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 05-Dec-17 |
|
Thankfully, someone at Gordon/Browning finally said "Enough of these Evil Dwarf Bows! We need a longer Safari for the full-grown hunters out there!"
Or something to that effect, at least; and so they made it in the 60" length like this one. Thank goodness.
|
|
From: cueman
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 05-Dec-17 |
|
Earliest Browning catalog I have is from April 1963 in TAM Magazine.
|
|
From: mangonboat
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 05-Dec-17 |
|
Peter, my 1962 Diana is F2501 , my 62 Apollo is B2522 and somewhere I have a photo of a 1962 Diana with H28, I think. Maybe they started off that way in 1962. At least on my Diana and Apollo, the specs and serial number ware written with VERY fine, very tiny handwriting in gold ink at the lowere end of the riser. I dont think Ken's observation regarding lamination layout is a consistent Gordon vs Browning identifier. My 62" December 1961 Gordon of unknown model has two thin maple laminations on the back, 2 on the belly, 56#.
|
|
|
|
|
From: cueman
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 05-Dec-17 |
|
Mangon At the end of 61 Gordon was only building 2 bows in 62" length. The page had an all maple riser. The only other bow in 62" length was the Royal Knight. Riser should look pretty much identical to the first browning explorer. That information is from the 61 Gordon catalog.
My showing the differences in laminations is only to show the inconsistancy of the Explorer design build during the same year and next year of production from 62-63. I have never run across a 64 or 65 explorer so I dont know if they were built in those years. From 66 thru 75, after the explorer was reintroduced, all of my bows are consistent with 3 laminations, 2 belly and 1 back.
|
|
From: cueman
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 05-Dec-17 |
|
don't know why the pictures are sideways. I will try these again
|
|
|
From: Pdiddly
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 05-Dec-17 |
|
Thanks Mark...a light bulb went on when I realized there was no reason to mark an initial year of production with a build year...I wonder if some of the models with a 2 prefix were the early 1963's with modifications? That fits with Kenny's two Explorers.
|
|
From: Pdiddly
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 05-Dec-17 |
|
I'm thinking that Kenny's "E" bow is a very early Explorer...pre 1962?
|
|
From: GLF
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 05-Dec-17 |
|
The op's bow has a different limb profile than the other pictured bows. Notice the long sweeping recurves that take up almost a third of the limb. My Pearson Golden Soveriegn Knight has those and is the smoothest bow I've ever shot.
|
|
From: cueman
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 05-Dec-17 |
|
Limb profile on my early 2 explorers are the same as Peters. After they grew horns in 66, totally different limb profile and the got a bit wider also.
|
|
From: Stkbow3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 05-Dec-17 |
|
I looked at my explorer and it's serial # is 3d176
|
|
From: cueman
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 05-Dec-17 |
|
Stickbow3, can you post a couple of pictures. What colors are the glass? Does it look like Pdiddly's bow?
|
|
From: Stkbow3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 05-Dec-17 |
|
Cueman, same as pdiddly's. My go to bow this season was a rose wood Safari,41#
|
|
From: Pdiddly
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date: 05-Dec-17 |
|
Another 1963...glad there are a few out there.
I would love to get a photocopy of that catalogue Kenny...it's great! First proof I have seen of all the models out in 1963.
Crokedstix is once again casting aspersions on bows less than 58" long. Glad to see that Browning had the sense to include the "shorties" right from the start and continue them for years, even making the amazing 50" Cobra!!
( I can hear the gnashing of Kerry's teeth in Maine from here!!)
FYI...he once waxed eloquent about the early 56" Explorer!! That was the bow to beat at one time!
|
|
If you have already registered, please sign in now
For new registrations Click Here
|
|
|