It's been, oh, a week or so since there was a thread with beautiful bows. So I thought I would start this one. Let's see your best shooting and/or most beautiful Bear Kodiak Specials. Any year, length, weight... just give us some good photos.

Please specify the year, length and weight.

I'll start. 1959 KS, 66" 36#.

2016 RKK KS 60" 53#

Jeff, that's a beauty. I wasn't thinking of modern replicas but since you posted that one, why not? Here's a Don Doan Andromeda replica of a 59 KS.

Same bow, the back limbs. 64" 40#.

Now I feel guilty so I'll have to post a vintage KS. 62 KS, 66" 40#.

Same bow, other side.

I know you didn't mean modern replicas, I couldn't help myself :-) JF

That's fine, JF. This is just for fun. I couldn't either. In fact here I go with another. My excuse is I'm just trying to get it going for the early bird visitors when they wake up.

A 63 KS, 66" 35#.

here's my 59

Here's one that passed briefly through my orbit...it's got the "appaloosa" thing going on with the heartwood/sapwood mix in the crescent, which I've heard is a look that FB himself was very fond of.

I spotted this one in an online classified, when it was still covered in paint from somebody's camo job--luckily, they had just scraped off a teeny bit of the paint, and I could see the crescent detail to tell what it was.

Zepnut, great job finding and restoring that KS. Love your other 59s also. Seeing them all together, makes me feel like mine is lonely. I'll have to get another one. At least!

Here's a 61 KS, 66" 30#, that my friend Chad is refinishing now.

That one really is an exceptional piece of ZW Shandor! Here's a few others I've been working on.

Here's my local CL find, '62 KS 66", 35#'s, so much fun to shoot.

Bubinga is not often a fancy wood but Bear managed to find some for the 1963 KS.

DDave

Very clearly the Kodiak Special, as indicated by the suggested price, was Bear's top of the line bow when it was made (except for 1960 when the Deluxe's displaced it for that honour). The suggested list price for one was about 10% greater than that of a Kodiak. The word Special in the title actually meant something. Yet when I started assembling my small collection of Bears the average KS was considerably less expensive than a Kodiak. However when the price of a Kodiak went in the toilet the price of a KS did not seem to take an equivalent drop. I paid what appeared to be top dollar for the above bow at 325 bucks, yet in today's market that is about right. I paid 1000 dollars for my favourite 1960 Kodiak yet balked at a price of 625 for a 1963 KS in the very desirable 63 inch length and as I recall a weight of about 60 pounds. The fact is, in as new condition, that KS was a steal.You do not hear it much any more but many considered the 1962 Kodiak Special to be the best bow Bear ever made.

DDave

Those are some beautiful bows.

Very nice looking bows.

Chas, that's a beauty! If you ever get tired of it let me know.

Dave, thanks for the comments and lesson. I was surprised at the beauty of the Bubinga in the 63 KS I got also. Photos don't do it justice, as is true for yours. I never understood the price thing, either. My first KS was a 61, 63" that cost $150. Seems like they are going up slightly in price lately but I hope the prices stay low and a lot more of them show up!

wow! you all got some beauties!!!

1957 & 1958 Kodiak Specials, both 66" 42# and 44#

This one is on its way. 61 KS, 66", 43#.

58 KS 68" 51#

original 59 KS 66" 42# Both a pleasure to shoot.

Can anyone think of a bow that used an exotic wood I-beam, to give that beautiful contrasting sight window, any earlier than the 1958 Kodiak Special? Possibly some of the earliest FASCO bows? At any rate, I think the '58 KS is the bow that really brought the ornamental I-beam into the mainstream...where it has remained very popular for sixty years.

The'59 and '60 are 64-inches and '62 is 63-inches. The '60 shoots smooth and fast and has skinnier limbs than the other two. They are all fantastic bows.

Can anyone tell me what rest/strike plate came on the '62 SK?? Was it the leather strike plate and feather rest? If so did the strike plate come smooth or with the embossed lines??

Thanks

Chas, this is how my 62 came and it looks like it was original. Not much left of the strike plate but you can see what it was like. Others can tell you better than I can, though, if it was original.

Bear only used embossed line strike plates at that time. My 62 Kodiak Special did not have anything on it when I got it and had been well used, but my 62 Kodiak Magnum still had the original strike plate. I have it somewhere if you want one. My 1961 Kodiak Special had also been shot a lot and because the well worn featherrest it came with was red I felt it was not original. Until I found a Bear ad showing a red featherrest on one. The 1962 Kodiak Special and the 1961 were made on the same forms so no reason to believe they came from the factory any differently set up. Give me a bit and I will reference a Bear ad from 1961.

DDave

Here's another

Yes Chad that is the original configuration with the smallish pointed strike plate. I hate giving up my secret information locations but I guess everything changes. Just check out traditional recurves on Archeryhistory.com and there are some old Bear ads for both the 1961 and 1962 Kodiak Specials. Forgive my memory issues. Ever since I turned 66 earlier this month it is not what it used to be when I was only 65.

DDave

The '62 Kodiak Special strike plate was like the '63 Tamerlane strike plate, which was a 1.75 inch (or so) pointed piece of smooth leather with a red feather rest. 1963 was the only year Tamerlanes had the red feather rests like the '62 Bear K. Specials. On my '62, I just use a modern store bought short rectangle side plate and dyed a 3 rivers wild turkey feather rest light green to match the color of the glass on the limbs.

Great..thanks guys. Happy belated birthday DD.

I had a 70" Kodiak Special with four maple lams, I gave it away and do not have a picture to share. Rhodes told me that there were only 8 made of that particular configuration.

Here's the 62' add.

Here's my 63" refinished. Looks a lot nicer now.

Great info and beautiful bows Chad.

The 63 also used the small pointed leather strike plate and feather rest. I have one that is mint and all original.

I got my first Kodiak Special in 1958

Got the next one I think in 1962

1960 64" and 49#. It is a classic looking bow for sure.

Thanks for the info, research and photos everyone. Keep it coming!

Bob, can you post a photo of yours with the dyed green rest?

Dave, I think you need to go online and listen to Frank Sinatra's song, Young At Heart. Or download it. You're getting to be such an old man! I'm not far behind, though. I turn 64 next week. I don't think I'll ever catch up to you but at least we all still remember who our friends are!

Great thread! Here is a pic of my 55 and 57. Since I dusted them off for a photo, I think I'll string them up and give them a work out this weekend.

Scott

55-64"-46# 56-64"-30# 56-68"-75# 57-66"-47# 58-66"-53#

Have to agree. 62 Kodiak Special is one of the best shooting bows Bear ever made. Top 66"-42# Bottom 63"-Marked 47# at 26"

That's a beautiful bunch of bows, thanks for sharing.

Just received one today. 61 66" 43#.

Amazing how many beautiful bows there are, and great color combinations.

Bottom to top, 55,56,56 1/2, 57,58,59,60

Not sure why my pics are always sideways. Can anyone explain?

Nice bows.

'57 , 70" 50 lbs

Any one got any new KS pictures? 62" 56#

Using my old laptop this morning and here's one I no longer own, 1962 KS lefty, 66" and 60#. Gorgeous one-piece hunk of rosewood with the bushing for the old Bear one-screw bow quiver. This was a hunter's bow from the beginning. Now I have a 1961 KS lefty, 63" and 60".

3 I have..

Y do all my pic go upside down even if I rotate them?

I don't know but I would call a May Tag Repairman.... Could not resist.

Here's one that perhaps no one has ever seen the likes of. If you have, let me know. 1959 KS, 37# 68", with a Brazilian rosewood slab instead of a bubinga slab, and a walnut flair instead of Brazilian rosewood flair.

If your pictures are taken with a phone then you might try flipping the phone the opposite way when taking a picture.

KSD beauty

Avni, my tigress. 1961 KS, 63", 60#.

My 59 thru 62 collection, pried from reluctant archers. Some may already be posted here by the prior owner.

60 KSD, the smoothest shooting bow, ever! IMHumbleO

61 KS. Not my favorite but I haven't spent a lot of time tuning. Always an eye catcher.

My favorite. This girl is not shy, She has an elustrious Leatherwall career, by better photograhers.

That's a sweet looking 62' ya got there Mark!

My holey bow, a 63 that had fifteen filled holes in it, no specs, and a bad glue up on stress cracks. I figured that I would fix it my way.

Thanks KDog, we all here are lucky to possess such vintage works of art.

Thank you Shandor for starting the KD and KS topics. The specs for the bows in my photos are as follows: 59KS - 64"-40#@28" 60KSD- 66"-40#@28" 61KS - 66"-45#@28" 62KS - 66"-35#@28"

I've added a few since taking this picture

Nice bows everyone! Especially those ones you've got there Brad, who would have thought some of those KS's had blue/ grey limbs. You're a master at a refinish job.

59 KS

58 KS

I’ll try

The above are traps

Man, that a lot of beautiful bows. Thanks everyone, for posting more. Now it's my turn again. Another unusual KS, a 62, 63" 27#@26", with a light rosewood (perhaps sapwood) I-Beam and window.

Great post as usual Shandor!

I happened to be outside today testing a theory I had. And my theory was correct. My 63 inch 1961 Kodiak specials are extremely fast bows!

I tested all three of these bows at the same time today using the same arrow. The Kodiak deluxe is 60”, 35 pounds,

the 1961 Kodiak special is 63”, 31 pounds

and The ILF rig is 66”, 31.5 pounds all measured at 28 inches. The ILF has a fast flight string and the least expensive Uukha short carbon/glass matrix limbs.

On average the 1961 Kodiak Special was 2 or 3 FPS Faster than both the high- tech fast flight rig and the Kodiak Deluxe which is 4 pounds heavier!

Here are the bows tested:

Some Kodiak Specials I’m currently refinishing...

Sorry. That’s a 1962 Polar on top but there is another 1961 KS under the1960 KS that’s next to the Polar. :-)

Here’s my early 1959 KS. Note the micarta laminate trim in the riser.

Cool test, Jason! I don't have a chrono but I would say the 61 KS is one of the fastest bows I've shot. I think it's that far forward grip-riser, and big hooks. I've had 3 63" 30# 61 KS bows and they all shoot best with arrows that I usually use on 38-40# bows. Here's one of those 63"ers (you have one of them!). I got this one on Craigslist, after posting the listing on a Bear Facebook group so that someone could get it (since I already had one). No one went for it, so I did. Am I glad I did!

It’s coinless for some reason...

It’s coinless for some reason...

Here's the other side of the 61 KS from Craigslist.

Phew! Zebrawood on that one sure is a beauty Shandor! :-)

Of the several Kodiak Specials in my possession, all but 2 are actually yours LOL! That 1961 KS I did the chronograph Testing with yesterday still requires payment so it’s still yours LOL!

I actually think the handle forward design of the 1961KS actually slows it down But may add stability/accuracy. I believe because of the strong reflex angle of the limbs coming off the bow and highly recurved hooks of the limbs they needed to do something to the design to maintain stability/accuracy and that’s why the forward handle forward design. Im certainly no expert and the statement is definitely not fact! LOL!

No, it's yours, Jason. You just owe me your first born. Or if not that, a few bows back.

I don't know enough about bow design to say how the far forward grip affects speed, but these bows are accurate! When David Ellenbogen made some arrows for one of mine, he said the design, with it's far forward grip and big hooked limbs, was a world-class design. He really knows about bow design, so I'll take his word for it!

I will let Nadine know that we must give you our first born. I’m sure she’ll be happy to do that! LOL!

Here are some pics of Shandor’s 1962 Kodiak Special that I’m refinishing. I just added the flares and applied/sanded the wood pore filler in this pic. Pretty much ready for the first coats! :-)

Here are some more pics of it after I sprayed it with alcohol so you we can see what it will look like when the finish is applied. Still has the blue low res masking tape over the coin.

That looks great, Jason.

That reminds me of a long old 1950s Chrysler with fender flares. It sure changed the look of the bow. Aren't you afraid that the limb flex might pop that loose?

I like taking those old bows and personalizing them . It shows pride of ownership.

56 KS both 60"

This KS was given to Floyd Eccleston from Fred Bear. When Fred pass away in 1988 Floyd took the bow to The Michigan Bow Hunter rendezvous and had most of the archers that shot the 21 arrow salute sign the bow.

Brad, I asked Jason to put those flares on to cover holes in the upper limb, instead of just filling them. The shape is based on a Browning Olympian, which Jason copied. I think he epoxied them on pretty well.

Looking through this entire thread again, I'm amazed at how beautiful these bows are. I've gotten some others, too, that I didn't post yet. Here's a 38# 66" 58 KS, my first and so far only pre-59 KS. I looked a long time for one that's under 40# and at least 66" long. This beauty fit the bill! It's a sweet shooter, too.

Here's a close up of the window on that 58 KS.

Here's a 62 KS I found on Craigslist. The seller wanted $80 for it. I gave her an extra $100 plus shipping, just so I wouldn't feel like I was cheating someone. It's about 34.5#@28".

A 35# 66" 61 KS, signed by Fred Bear.

1963 66" 45#. I'm mostly a smaller riser kind of guy, but I love these 63 KS bows.

62 KS 35# 69". Wow, is this bow smooth!

Another 69" KS, a '61, 40#. I'm loving these longer ones. This was the first time out shooting it, 30 yards.

The 3 63" 62 KS bows I have look great together. Two of them, as it turns out, have the same draw weight @28", about 30#. The top and bottom one. The middle one is 34.5#@28. I'm thinking about trading the bottom one for a heavier 63", or a 69".

LOVE that 1958 KS!

LOVE that 1958 KS!

1956 64" , 44lbs Quite zippy Chuck S

I think these bows are even more beautiful today. People that own them tend to hold onto them. Nice ones are getting harder and harder to come by.

Not sure what year they are. Also looking for info on getting refinished.

top to bottom my 3 Kodiak specials, 1963 66in 38lb sweet shooter,1960 66in 43lb Kodiak special deluxe, 1956 64in 45lb , the 1956 is the first sweet wooden bow I found at a yard sale, that started a wonderful addiction to, as my wife would say way to many bows. ahh what does she know

Red Lion, 2bears aka Ken Butler here on the wall does great refinish work.

Great looking bows. Every one of them

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