I currently have a 1958 Bear Kodiak that I like very much. I have been thinking about getting a Kodiak Special from 1956 to 1958. I read the catalog pages from that time period. The Special was marketed as more of a tournament bow. Can anyone tell me if there is much difference between the bows aside from appearance?

I had a 1958 Kodiak Special, it had a longer riser and came in longer lengths that the Kodiak

Who's that in the picture, looks like Franky Avalon.

I was young once

That photo of Ron and his bow at full draw is quite interesting--look at how stiff the limbs are just above the fadeouts, and how short the working section of the limb really is.

Kerry, that is how most tournament designs operated. The longer riser added mass and had a longer sight window, and the short working limbs didn't give up performance on a longer bow. Pretty common actually.

In general the Specials of that era did not differ a lot from the Kodiak. And because of the hand work involved it would be impossible to tell which would shoot better without shooting the particular bow. The difference between individual Kodiaks would be as great as the difference between a Kodiak and a Kodiak Special.

DDave

I had the 1956 model KS. great bow.its in the Bear Hall Of Fame in Springfield, Mo.

Thanks for the info guys. Ron those are cool pictures. I went ahead and ordered the bow from Footed Shaft after talking to to Terry. I got my 52 K4 and 58 Kodiak from him, both good bows. So I look forward to cleaning it up, refinish, and adding it to my archery arsenal. Chuck S

6-Gold, and rightly so it should be there as the previous owner knew how to shoot it, and very well. )

Some of the nicest looking Bears. At one time I had all the years except a 55 & 67. Only have five or six remaining now.

The looks of the bow is what made me in to buy it. Plus I really like my other vintage bear bows

Nice to see 6-Gold posting! Happy 2019 Mr. Peake! I still can only marvel at what you achieved with that bow in 1957--with a taped-up limb, no less.

http://leatherwall.bowsite.com/TF/lw/thread2.cfm?threadid=277014&category=88#3963509

Bear Kodiak at full draw in 1955

That's a 1953 Mercury car in the background

Ron, do you still have that hat?

It's stapled on the wall of my shop

The Kodiaks were pretty tiny in 56 and 57. They started to grow again in 1958. I have every year of the Kodiak Specials. I prefer 59 and 60 models but my 58 is a great shooter. Maybe if I would take the camo paint off of it, I would like it better.

Thanks guys for the nice comments. 6-gold

A 1956 Bear Kodiak that was resurrected a couple years ago to hunt again

Jay (6-Gold) I remember you from the 50's, are you still shooting?

That's awesome Ron.

Never shot the special but do own two vintage Kodiaks. I think they are 56 or 57's. Both ended up failing on me. Both were quick and very quiet. A joy to shoot. Amazing given they were made 6 decades ago. I managed to hunt a few times this season with one of them, very cool vibe there.

I can say physical appearance didn't seem to matter in terms of how they held up either. The one I expected to last the longest failed the soonest. The one that looked like it might explode when I first braced hit ended up launching a few hundred arrows more than the minty looking bow. Fun while they lasted though.

I have a 59 replica and its great, but I wish Bear or someone would make exact replica's of those earlier model years. GN ghost is closest I've seen and owned, but not quite the same. I might take a stab at it this off-season using the left overs I have in my garage as a guide. Haven't built any kind of bow in a long time. Could be fun.

I am still shooting cant pull much weight anymore but still try, i still hunt got a griz and a brown bear in alaska a few years ago. Did I ever shoot any tour. with you Ron? Take care of yourself. Jay Peake

I hear you Jay on the "cant pull much weight anymore but still try" I'll be 83 in March and had a shoulder replacement last June but hunted this fall with a light weight bow.

If memory serves you won the National Instintive title in 1957. I never had the pleasure of shooting with you. I did shoot with Erwin Ketzler and Carl Heinrich both great instinctive shooters. Jack White who won the title in 53 was my wife's 1st cousin, I shot with Jack and also hunted with him.

I'm glad to see you posting here, it's good to hear from some old timers that still love the bow.

Erwin and Carl were good friends, both were great shots and really great guys, i shot with Carl many times not to much with Erwin. I never knew Jack White.Good to talk with you. Jay Peake

Aint this a great place?!

Ron, back when Michigan was trying to gather data on archery kills, and the tag called for the bow poundage and broadhead used, one of my Dad's bowhunting buddies who later became my father-in-law filled in his tag to honestly report his 1957 doe harvest as having used a "1953 Mercury" broadhead.

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