So many guys talk about the new custom bow theur getting or would like to have. Besides a liking for old Bear bows id love to have a Paul Schafer 3pc abd a G. Fred Asbell Bighorn Ramhunter as well as a Grand Slam recurve. Any of the old customs you woyld like to acquire?

My first year bowhunting for deer in 1957 I used a 43# Bear Archery Cub model bow, sure would love to have that one back.

One of my favorite things is seeing an boxed up old bow being delivered to my house.

My old 66" brackenbury built by Jim is a hands-down favorite for me.

When I saw the title, I thought you meant old bows. Now I see my definition isn't the only one that applies. ;) I only ever ordered one custom bow and that was from Dave Guthrie in the mid to late 1980's. I actually had a chance to buy that again on Ebay just about a year ago when I saw it there for sale, but the weight of the bow kept me from it.

I did have an original Bobby Thompson Zipper around that time that I wouldn't mind having back. I bought that through Kustom King.

Never had a custom bow except my own.Built custom recurves ,and reflex deflex bows over the years with maple, bamboo core wood with black ,red, clear glass, and even some with some carbon layers.My son still has most of them for keep sakes. Shoots them at times, and hunts with one he calls his favorite.6o inch reflex deflex with zebra wood riser, and amber bamboo core wood under clear glass.Now I only build self bows, and have slowed way down at that.I must say though it was a great journey.

Maybe a Rocky Miller bow or perhaps a Bighorn

Original 59 bear kodiiak luv those bows

Just a little bit of diligence can lead to "old" custom bows on a fairly regular basis. Just this week an interested buyer could have secured custom bows made by Joe Fries, Ken Ketzler, Bill Stewart, Dick Green, Bud Hitt, Owen Jeffery and some others even more coveted, and any number of Wilson Bros. Black Widows for a small fraction of the cost of new custom bow.

Whats Old! I am still shooting my Blacktails that I bought back in 1994 and 96! They shoot just the same, I am the link that changes!Love these bows, matter a fact I just bought a new 3 piece take down from Blacktail! AWESOME BOW! I sold my Bighorn some years back due to the high poundage! Enjoy the rest of the year and Good Luck!

56-inch, 1959, 35lb Kodiak. Saw one on auction a few back but might not see one again.

Some of my Old bows. I sold some customs to buy Old bows.

I still regret selling a beautiful Howatt Super Diablo to buy a Hoyt compound. Young and dumb. Richard

Just FYI, there weren't many custom bowyers around in the 60's when I started, and it wasn't until the 80's that they started popping out of the furniture. Now there is a gazillion.

What George said. The oldest "custom" that I have is a Roger Hollenbeck recurve from 2004. Off the top of my head, the only one Im really jonesing for is a vintage St. Charles Thunderbird. Now old factory jobs is a different story. Love my old Howaats and Pearson's, and am putting a lot of milage on a '55 Grizzly dual shelf static this fall.

That sure is true, George and we have been through quite a few, havent we??!!

I’ve got an Asbell Grand Slam recurve and had a couple Schafer Silvertips Paul made. They were great shooting bows and I wish I still had them. I sold em cause I was having Paul make another when he passed. Wish I’d find one of my old ones for sale

The oldest custom bow I ever owned was a Schafer Silvertip made by Paul Schafer in either 1990 or 1991. The oldest bow I ever owned and I still own it is a 1955 Bear Polar. I been through quite a few bows in almost 50 years, both production and customs. The most I ever owned at one time was thirty-six.

It’s not that ‘old’ but I’d like another Cascade Archery Redtailed Hawk by Steve Gore. Steve made one for me in 1982 63# @ 28”. Today I’d like 43# @ 28”!!

J.

I have an" old" Bear green stripe TD that i really like and will soon have another. Would like to find an Asbel one-piece Grand Slam in a draw weight i can handle. Also like the older Howatt Hunters

To me the best looking bow.

If the bow wasn't built to your specifications, can we really call it custom? To me its just a used bow, and given that once you've owned enough vintage "production" bows and realize there is no practical performance difference if set up equally, there is no point in paying extra for a "name".other than a possible "Ooh-Ahh" show off factor.

You cannot buy a better performing bow that the "right for you" production classic.

Rick R

Here's one I would like to run into again. I sold this a few years ago in a non-thinking moment. Shakespeare/Proline recurve, 60".

Beautiful bow White Falcon! I guess I'm kinda partial though because my first and only traditional bow (for now LOL) is a 72' Kodiak Magnum.

white falcon. Beautiful bows.

Ill say one thing..... my brothers of the bow have some EXCELLANT taste in bows!!! :)

Savage Deathmaster.

The bow I took my "handle" from, my Yamaha YG68

A 68 inch, 35# @ 26" (they were measured at 26", not 28"), one piece, early 1970's target bow.

I bought it, used in the early 1970's and kept it ever since. I shoot is as it is shown in the picture; its a nice, enjoyable bow to shoot.

Wow, that looks really nice. I've never seen a one piece Yamaha.

My favorite old bow is my 1954 dual shelf Kodiak 2 as it's my birthday bow.

I still shoot my late 60's Super K.'s from time to time. And, I use my early 80's green stripe all the time.

All it takes is a rasp, some checkering tools, and some tung oil to turn any production bow into a custom that is yours and yours alone. I've customized Hoyt PM's, Howatts, Brownings, Spitfires, Shakespeares, Chek-Mates, Tice & Watts, Wings, and Pearsons to get them just the way I want them--and it has added greatly to my enjoyment of the sport.

mahantango

I wanted to get back to you earlier regarding "Wow, that looks really nice. I've never seen a one piece Yamaha." but I have been suffering from a severe muscle spasm in my back that has prevented me from sitting at my computer too long, and also shooting for the past week and a half :(

I bought this bow in the early 1970's, used, from a great shop (long gone) in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

The takedowns were rapidly displacing the one piece for target archery. It looked like the compounds were going to totally displace recurves and longbows for all other uses.

For a young guy without a lot of funds, that liked traditional archery, this meant I could buy some nice bows back then for 10 to 20 cents on the dollar.

I am not the last word on the history of the Yamaha one piece bows but it seems like they came out possibly in the 1950's and were certainly around in the 1960's.

Some say that Yamaha got into them as an offshoot of their fine woodworking experience from their piano division.

Others say they were made in Korea, for Yamaha.

Not sure which is correct, maybe it was a bit of both.

I had a Yamaha catalogue in the early 70's and as I recall, there were quite a few models offered at one time.

I can see the issues with a one piece target bow for people traveling by small car, bus or commercial flying to go to shoots. Not an issue for me, the 70 soft, padded case fits quite nicely in the small SUV :)

had a few custom bows, widow, lot of bear take downs, blue woods, black woods, green stripe, a few mag handle units, bob lee custom fred asbell one piece now shoot super Kodiak 1970 model, love the little grip, and back up is green Kodiak hunter one piece bows, love them dr

Eicholtz "Saturn"1953; White "Custom" 1954; Drake 1954; Drake 1957; Groves "Spitfire" 1960.

One of go to bows is my Brackenburry. Had Jim build it for me in the early 80's. This past year I picked up a Bear Tiger Cat. It's the one hunted with this year. I like it a lot. Fits real well.

Nuve bows fella's!!

1993 San Marco, 63# @27"for fun, a buddy was the original owner. 64# 60" brack built by Jim is my main hunting bow backed by a one piece 62# 60" spitfire, post Harold.

First bow was a 43# hoyt pro hunter. Back when 45# was the most popular weight bow and a 50# a rare bird. Actually the first hunting bow at 14, was a 60# solid fiberglass longbow handed down by an uncle.

Trying to resurrect a groves spitfire built in the 80s by Harold. Loved that bow and it shot where I looked. Bad time for spits in the 80s. Blew up a set of 70# limbs, had the 65# limbs checked by Ben and deemed useable. then the riser spilt at the grip. Fixed that. then the upper end of the riser snapped and the bowstring flat out disappeared.

Glen,

I have a Yamaha YF68 (unless it's a YG68 and I read it wrong, always possible), serial #60042, 34#. Looks just like yours. Do you know if they did make a YF68 also and what the difference might be? It's a beautiful bow.

Thanks, Ralph

Was not aware yamaha even made bows in the 70's until this thread.... nice bows :)

I am no expert in the Yamaha bows :(

When I bought the YG68, used, sometime between 1973 and 1976, they had quit making the one piece bows.

The guys at the shop where I bought it gave me an old catalogue, which I no longer have (stupid move on my part).

From what I recall, there were quite a few variations of one piece recurves with various letter/numeric identification. I think the two digit number indicated the length, letters designated different riser and possibly limb styles.

I also picked up a YB66 back then, a simpler, lighter 66" 25# recurve which is a nice bow to shoot. Hard to mistake it from others, its fg laminations are red.

Hello all, longtime reader - first time poster. haveing some downtime I thought I would show a couple old bows. the first is a Bear Grizzly with factory camo - my favorite bow and the first one I ever shot at a deer with way back when. the other is an old Bear Cub model from my dad's basement. I think it was from the 1053/54.

hope you like seeing these "relics from the past"!

Sorry - the photos did not attach - any help with posting photos would be appreciated - ie finding the advanced editing button?

I've got a few stashed away. Wing/AMF T'bird, Howatt Super D and Hunter from the 70's, an old Black Bear. Got to clean out this stuff...

Troutman, when you login you will see the blank reply box. Just below that box you will see "Add-Ons for your Submission". Just below that is "Embed A Photo", hit Browse and find your photo.

Recurves-Schafer Silvertip,Asbell Bighorn,Rocky Montain and Brackenbury Legend.Longbows-John Schulz American Lb,Robertson Mystical,Quillian Bamboo Longhunter and another(around 55@27)MR Hamilton Scorpion.The one I have is [email protected] bit much these days.

If I had to pick one it would be an American Longbow built by John Schulz. They don't get any better!

RED WING HUNTER GREAT BOWS

tbow, I never found a Red Wing Hunter that I liked the grip on. They do spit an arrow out pretty hot.

Forgot-Fred Anderson Skookum.Sorry Fred!Must be the age thing.

An early, circa '62-'63 1-piece Yamaha.

More pics/info here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/? set=a.1437160509704087&type=1&l=41dab57308

I only have two "custom"built bows. Both built in the mid/late 90's. A 70" 66# Howard hill built by Craig that was the prototype for the Cheetah model. the other is a Big River Super Kodiak reproduction 62", 62# built by John McDonald in Wisconsin. Both are right handed that I can no longer shoot due to an old injury and had to switch to lefty. I doubt I could handle the poundage anymore either,as 50# is about my limit left-handed and dealing with other medical issues.

I have sold all my custom bows. I am now buying old bows. I just got this one a couple weeks ago.Ben Pearson Raider.

Neet bow!...never seen one of those

I have two both green Mountain,Jim built outstanding bows

Here's an old root bushmaster I recently got at a yard sale.

I partial to Ben Pearson Mustangs, cougars, colts, palominos and such. I grab them when I see them.

My other old Yamaha, a YB66, 66" 25#.

Fun little "shooter", great for practising form.

I like the way you guys ROLL! ;-)

I've had a number of custom bows and ended up selling all but one (Hill Cheetah my son wants) for one reason or another. No regrets though, they are just bows and I had good reasons for selling them that wouldn't change if I bought them back again.

Always had an old 70's pearson, bear or browning laying around too. Recently went on a vintage browning binge and they shoot as good as anything else of comparable spec's that I've owned, custom or otherwise. The old vintage bows are plenty capable to hunt with, relatively inexpensive to buy, sell or trade and fun to shoot until you feel like flipping them for something else.

To me, custom bows are more about cosmetic choices than improved performance over mass produced bows. I've also got to the point where I don't want to have to pamper my bows. I don't abuse them, but I don't want to have to think about dinging up a new custom bow any more. Plenty of great used customs out there to scratch the itch and the bow...

My brother went to a yard sale and the woman running it had two bows..One was a Pearson Bushmaster which she had priced for $18.00. She wanted $65.00 fore her Bear Whitetail hunter...Someone was happy to get the Bushmaster for around $200.00..

I went through a lot of bows in fifty years. The most I ever owned at one time was thirty-six. I owned both production bows and custom bows like two Robertson Montana Falcons, two Paul Schafer Silvertips, and a Bob Morrison Cheyenne to name a few. Twenty-two years ago I decided to go Bear Archery only and sold all my non-Bear bows. But I have to admit I wish I still had my old mid-1990s Bob Morrison Cheyenne back. It was 60#@28", had real nice looking wood, and was a really good shooter.

Two bows I miss come to mind...one was my first Asbell custom Bighorn (GORGEOUS!)...and the other (although not "old") was a Rose Oak Puma.

I reached the saturation point at somewhere around a 100 bows. Some are old. Some are new. All have their good points and their faults. Never had a Paul Schafer bow but I did have a very nice longbow from Dave, who has been building bows longer than Paul did. My favourite custom was my Snakebit from 2004. Only sold that bow because of shoulder issues which clearer up later. Unfortunately the current owner has told me often he will never part with it.

DDave

My oldest is my old Bear Polar.

Nice bows folks :)

lol at saturation point ............. think i might be drowning ..........lol..... picture dont include the ones on my walls in the house or the ones in the archery display

Well...... im always willing to help a brother out. Ill send you my address so you can clear up some space :)

I have had lots of unique /custom vintage bows. The ones that pull on me now are the work of giants of our sport...Bill Stewart, Larry Hatfield, Fred Anderson, Harry Drake, Owen Jeffery. Rich Lopez (droptine59) recently had a LEFTY Kodiak Special replica, one-of-a- kind, that Owen Jeffery custom-made for a guy in the late 1980's...I had to chain myself into the dungeon and throw the key out the door.

correction to above. The bow Rich had was a Super Kodiak replica. Also mooned over a couple Norm Richards bows.

deathmasters, jack howards, spitfires, schafers, quillians..... i cant decide which to shoot! so much fun

Would love a bear static tip and also have a love for solid glass bows, still wish they made them in 40# or heavier.

Here's my oldest bow, but it's not quite as old as I am. I really wouldn't call it old. It's probably a late 63', maybe early 64' bow.

Joe

I acquired a Bill Stewart t/d 3 months ago. Yesterday I got an Owen Jeffery Royal Hunter. Great shooting bows! More bows that tie in with Fred Bear.

Would dearly love to have my mid-60's DH Hunter back. Traded to fellow from ID for a High Country Longbow.

Here ya go...

Personally I would like to have an early Wing Thunderbird in a 62"er and 40#

A Damon Howatt Matador in dark wood 40 at 28 and 70" and a Bud Hitt Black Ace

Like to have my DH Hunter "66 65#@28" back. Also an early G Fred Asbell Bighorn one piece.

or Take down.

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