In your opinion. What were some of the best target bows made back in the day? If a guy was looking for a good target bow. What would you recommend?;)

One piece wood riser would be the Hoyt Pro Medalist, quite an array of awards to back that up. Metal risers, there were many good ones, starting with the Shakespeare/Root Golden Eagle, the first bow to score 300's in sanctioned shoots. Honestly though, good archers could shoot most of them pretty well. Wing Presentation I and II (takedown). Groves had a GS300 metal riser that was a great bow, and Bear was a player in the target models as well. The old Root Pendulus Supreme...later Shakespeare X-10 Professional was a great bow too, and of course the Wilson Brothers Black Widow line.

Hotyt Pro Medalist

Wow that was fast Steve! No hesitation! Do you own a Hoyt PM? Please tell us what you like about that target bow.

Wow two votes for the Hoyt right off that bat. Thanks George for all the information on those other great vintage target bows. In my opinion besides being a sweet shooter. The Hoyts had some of the beautiful risers on their bows.

I shoot two Hoyt Gold Medalists, one of them modified to provide a shelf for 3D when required by rules. Ugly metal, much better for shooters than purty wood. One of them has no grip, just a wrapping with fabric baseball bat tape.

Higher scores came with the evolution into metal risers and the more rigid platforms, but I suspect with Olympic shooters, the coaching also got more intense and better as well. That said, I've seen some very high scores shot with wood risers, particularly Vic Berger's amazing 899 of 900 with a Bear Victor Takedown in 69 or 70. I saw Rod Hoover shoot a 528 with a 68" Mike Fedora takedown as well and that was barebow.

Those are pretty amazing scores George. So maybe it is the man behind the bow.;)

It is, but also the metal risers tend to be better balanced and don't flex, but actually I'm not good enough to shoot the difference and never will be. There is something pretty awesome though about going on the range with a wood riser target bow like the Pro Medalist, or Wing Presentation. One of my favorites was the old X-15 Titan that Shakespeare offered (made in Root factory). That bow was super comfortable..big riser with small pivot area and medium high wrist. Mine was a 1969 model that I had bought new.

Any of the cast aluminum riser or phenolic risered bows till the metal risered pro medalist. Then to the Gold Medalist and top line Yamaha.

What would a vintage target bow thread be with no eye candy? Post some pictures of those old classic shooters. I’ll start. Hoyt PM on the right. That is some amazing wood in that riser.

And that’s no plain Jane in her company either. So no you get the idea of how really beautiful that riser is.;)

All good suggestions. I have a Dickie Robert's Fireball that's a real sweet shooter, but those aren't easy to find.

A Groves GS-300 is also a great shooter and is a little easier to find.

Thanks for the video George

In '64 thru '69 I shot a Hoyt Pro-Medalist for indoor target competition. Wish my skill level would have matched what the bow was capable of. IMO, without any doubt, the best target bow there ever was!

D -

The Hoyt PMs win hands down. The only issue with them was the lack of a main rod bushing, which some owners fixed pretty quickly.

The Bear Tamerlanes, Pearson Lord Me4rcurys and Wing PIIs, White Wings etc, were also right up there. Black Window's 1225 series did pretty well too as did the Damon Howatt Del Reys, Montereys, etc.

The fact is, that unless you were an elite shooter (close to the 300 level on the indoor circuits), the difference between any two was more cosmetic than functional.

When Hoyt, Bear and others started with metal risers, things changed, and like with wood, Hoyt was top of the heap, but some of the others weren't slouches either.

Viper out.

Thanks for sharing that cool video with us George. Thanks Tony for all the input. I know your speaking from experience. Special bows come along once in a great While. And the Hoyt PM has Definitely earned its spot as one of them. Thanks to everyone for sharing all your knowledge expertise and first-hand experience with all of us.

What are the top vintage target bows based on? Looks? Performance? Who shoots which ones? I've found middle of the road target bows that "I" can shoot very well and other top of the line ones, not so good. I believe whatever bow you shoot well could be "your" top target bow. Construction, looks and most of all how it performs make some better than others. I have many high end target bows and performance wise the leader of the pack is a 1967 Smithwick Citation III. However, other favorites are a 1962 Morris Challenger Custom Deluxe, 1966 Hit Shooting Star, 1972 Dickies TD, and so on and so on.

That's my old original target bow, 1966 Bear Tamerlane, a fine shooting bow.

Not to labor the subject - my father felt that Earl Hoyt's bows were the best thing since sliced bread. I've owned and shot a number of them plus a number of Widows. I found both brands to be stiff on the draw and the Hoyt's being a little jumpy. As far as smooth draw goes, my Groves and Roots are smooth like butter. My Diamond "Coronation" and Star "Holiday" are very smooth on the draw, little perceptible stack and consistent. So, does this make them a top of the line vintage target bow? Maybe or maybe not.

Hoyt Pro medalist without a doubt was the bow. Thanks for the video George that took me back, Hardy Ward, John Williams, Steve Liberman. Some of the best of all time.

Few folks can outshoot a good bow.. so get what you think is "eye catching". Myself, I like: Bear C riser takedown Wing Presentation (one piece) Black Widow

While the Hoyt are almost certainly "better" the difference is not something I can discern, and I like the looks of the others more.

$0.02

Disclosure: I have tons of C risers, one very good widow. I sold off my Presentation and regret it still. ISO another nice one.

Ladies champ Dorothy Lidstone went on to found Chek Mate Archery with her partner Larry Courchaine.

Wing Presentation II.

For me it would be the Hoyt Pro Medalist and the Bear Tamerlane. But I will say I have not shot very many of the older target bows. Only a few others than these and these were ones I really took a liking to. I’m in my 40’s so wasn’t around when these were popular.

I have a Wing, Head Ski era, Swiftwing at 37 lbs. that's a nice shooting bow.

Murray

I enjoy my Wing Slimline Competition II takedown; 37#@28” with metal riser. I have a white RH riser and a black LH riser.

I enjoy my Wing Slimline Competition II takedown; 37#@28” with metal riser. I have a white RH riser and a black LH riser.

LH riser.

I have a beautiful Bear Polar 66” #35. $285 tyd. Contact me, if interested.

In the middle,,68" or 69" 33 lbs.

Not really top of the line,,On the left,, Entry level Hit Adonis,,68" 28#

I'm not a competition-level archer but I found the Hoyt PM5 to be very easy to shoot well. I wouldn't want to carry one all day in the field. Fasco Decalthalon II is likewise; smooth, easy to shoot well but SO DANG HEAVY! As more classic recurve designs go, Bick Green, Corky Johnson, Clan Gordon Royal Monarch and its twin Browning Olympian, Wing White Wing and Swift Wing, and especially, a Wilson Brothers Black Widow TF are all sweet shooters.

Hoyt pro Medalist

Hoyt Pro Medalist followed closely by Bear Tamerlane

Thank you George that was a real treat! The narration, the music, the amazing hair, LOL! Love a good time trip- being four at the time I don't have the same fond memories of that era as some of you gents.

Happy Easter!

can't believe nobody mentioned a Carroll's "Lewis" also back then i had a Martin MX1100 (think that was what it was called) it was the only one i have ever seen, it exploded after too much time in the south florida heat .... i still have the carroll, 3 root golden eagles, a "56" bear tamerlane HC300 with a very high wrist and a first year Pendulus Supreme with the phonelic "I" beam riser

FWIW- one time Bear shooter John Kleman explained to me that when he started shooting with the Bear Team he was to competition shoot only mag risers. He did not like them because he was a better shooter using the wood risers. After a couple years he left Bear. Then one day he and Fred bumped into each other and Fred eventually asked John why he left. After hearing him out, Fred told John he could've shot any bow he wanted! So at least one competition shooter wasn't comfortable using the mag handles.

I sure enjoyed this thread. I guess the Hoyt Pro Medalist was a pretty darn good target or hunting bow If you wanted to use it for that.;)Back in the day.

My favorite was the American Archery Cheetah Supreme.

If you go back further Rube Powell used a Drake Firedrake Champion to win a lot of national tournaments.

Zealotox I based my sugestions on the bows that brought 300 scores into winning. I didn't go back to the wood pro medalists. There was a ton of top winners at that time.

I have a Bear Timogen that shoots pretty good.

Reuben Powell won NFAA championships from 1951-1956.

I think Jim Baker may have one of his bows...

He used a 70” Firedrake with 51-53# draw weights and had a 30.5” draw.

Quite the archer!

One of the best bowhunters of the time here in Pa., Dutch Wambold, used a Hoyt Pro Medalist Hunter for years. Keep in mind that there were likely 500 or more Bear bows made every Hoyt bow, one simple reason why you don't see as many Hoyt as you do Bear.

Here is my Bear Tartar

I think the advent of 300 scores probably had less to do with bow designs and more to do with money--specifically, the availability of cash prizes, sponsorships, endorsements, and jobs working as pro staff for big archery companies. As more and more money came into target archery, more and more participants were attracted to it, and more attention was paid to form, practice, and equipment.

That said--there's no arguing with the physics of increasing inertia and torsional stability by adding riser weight, whether you used metal rods and balls (Hoyt), or more and heavier exotic woods in the riser (Wilson Bros.first in 1961, and then just about everyone else thereafter).

My personal belief is that someone shooting six golds at 80 yards with a lightweight 1950's bow, such as Jay Peake or Rube Powell, is more impressive than someone shooting a 300 round at 20 yards with a heavy target bow tricked out with stabilizers.

Crookedstix's 3rd paragraph makes a very good point!

"My personal belief is that someone shooting six golds at 80 yards with a lightweight 1950's bow, such as Jay Peake or Rube Powell, is more impressive than someone shooting a 300 round at 20 yards with a heavy target bow tricked out with stabilizers."

This!

Fully agree Kerry and Fred.

That is what prompted me to post the picture of Rube Powell...after reading all of the other posts it seemed the pioneers who used simple equipment were being overlooked.

One that I really enjoy , Root Pendulus Supreme.

Tamberlane.

The owner and his wife of the local bowshop in the early 60's to late 70's were both well-known competition shooters. He shot a Tamberlane model and she shot a Herter's model. Both were high scorers and won several tournaments. Proof that not one size fits all.

1963 Tamerlane was a bow I kept getting a lot of compliments on from many people at the various archery ranges when it was new. Always was the best looking bow out there and it was smooth as silk, stable in the hand and the '63's didn't have that ugly sight bar like the other models did. The Brazilian rosewood in the '63's was as fine grained are the earlier Bear bows. I started to see courser grained not as pretty rosewood in the bows made after that first year, or after 1963. Sorry I traded mine for a takedown after the Navy in 1970, but if I had mine back, it would just be a dust collector, so I got another seven years out of my takedown, so that original $125 in January, 1963, went 14 years of having target bows to shoot.

The target bows most of the best of the best shooters in field archery I observed when I started were painted risered Black Widows. Don't see many for sale now but saw a lot of'em in the early sixties, so they have to be up there pretty high in the best target bows. They were not the best looking but many of the best sure shot'em.

Saw lots of Damon Howatts and especially Hoyt Medalists with their new ball stabilizers by some great shooters then too, but most of the early Bear shooters shooting Kodiak Specials around my neck of the woods (before the Tamerlane) were not the majority of the best of the best shooters. Did see a lot of'em though.

By owning some Bear Kodiak Specials, I do think the 1960 is one of the best models for that target bow. It has a fatter more comfortable grip than the 1959 and is slightly faster and has an improved riser design over the 1959 too. My smoothest bow I ever owned to pull back to anchor however, is a 63-inch 1962 Kodiak Special. It's a pleasure to shoot.

1965 Wing Presentation II ( shooting this one tomorrow and probably have a shoot on Sunday as well :)

1964 Bud Hit Black Ace

Two 1967 Bears. Tamerlane and Kodiak Special

Ignore the ILF and the 60 inch Kodiak!

The others are: 1965 Sovereign Lady mercury Circa mid 1960s Fasco 750 Circa 1964 Drake, fire Drake

Great video George! Really enjoyed watching. Thanks for sharing.

1969 Baird Tamerlane

( Obviously that last one was supposed to say BEAR Tamerlane :)

And of course many peoples favorite, for good reason, 1963 Hoyt pro medalist

Another great one from 1963 and another Wing presentation

And another Wing Presentation II I think 1969 or 1970…?

And another Wing Presentation only this one is the original from 1961. I call this one, Josey Wales LOL!

Dickie Roberts Fireball! Late 60s early 70s…?

The elegant 1959 Kodiak special. I called this one Merlot.

And I’ll end with this one because I’m getting hungry and I wanna make some popcorn and watch TV. 1962 Kodiak special, bear. I added those rosewood flares as I am refinishing it, just because I thought they looked cool, Obviously not original.

Nice bows Jason. Thanks for the eye candy!;)

Right on man! Great thread and would love to see more of those top of the line target bows from back in the day! Speaking of which we can’t forget the Howatt Del Rey, Or as I call it, Afternoon Coffee!

Dang Jason , nice ! Love these old target bows

Here's the riser on my Pro Medalist ll. Crookedstix told me about this bow and asked me to pick it up for $40. I did and it's a good bow! Of course, it's no Bear TD.

Joe

Here is a rack of classics from a MD State Field Championship in 1970. Unfortunately, the quality of the photograph is poor so a lot of detail is lost.

Thanks for the great video George.

I never was a target shooter, but had the opportunity to pick up a 1970 HC-300 Bear Tamerlane and with the help from Viper got the correct carbon arrows for it.

I was surprised how that bow could place six arrows at 20 yards into a two inch group.

I figured that I concentrated so hard on shooting my old Damon Howatt/Martin recurve to obtain accuracy that I had the form down pat.

The bow did the rest.

I can't say that the Bear bow was better than the others mentioned which I doubt, but it sure was a lot better than the one I was shooting. I would never have given it away, but the poundage was too low, I needed a little more resistance to hold the bow solid.

it was 28 lbs at my 27 inch draw.

Great post

Not sure if it was a top bow, but they had a pretty good reputation when I bought my Yamaha YG68 in 1975.

Full view of the Yamaha YG68

Frisky sweet-talked some poor old farmer in the town of Albert Lea, Minnesota out of that beautiful Hoyt PM. I don't know who got shafted worse in that deal, me or the farmer--one was betrayed, the other was swindled.

Yeah George, great video! 1969 FITA world championship! Of course if it had been 1970 or later, they would’ve all been shooting bear T D’s instead of Hoyt PMs, right Frisky?

Absolutely beautiful Yamaha, Yamaha!

Tomorrow I think I’ll shoot this 1969 Polar just because my Friend got one recently and it made me think of it. It’s actually just as fast as the Tamerlanes, just a little bit louder. Great tiger wood!

There are so many great ones... many of which I've never shot. But I can easily say my favorite is the Bear Kodiak Special Deluxe, made only in 1960. Excellent grip. Long, narrow limbs ending in very small tips. Highly efficient. Fast. Shoots straight. Gorgeous risers and veneer limbs. Came in 62, 64, 66, 68 and 70 inches. A length for everybody. What's not to love? I guess I do, I have 22 of them now and have had a couple dozen others.

This is PA 001. The first 62" KSD made.

Owned a Wing 'White Wing' and a Howatt 'Catalina', both were fun to shoot.

Any of the bows above, in a long length, modest draw weight and with decent riser mass, is going to be a good training tool.

As a bonus they can often be had at lower cost than a 'hunting' weight bow, they're a lot of fun, a have a fair bit of nostalgia built in.

Dagnabbit, I guess I'm back in the market...

Theres a Root one that did well. Rooty

I think some of the Pearsons were underrated. I have a couple of early\mid 60's Javelina that shoot great and had a heavy rosewood riser Palomino that I regret selling.

Anybody looking for an early Hoyt PM? Shoot me a PM.

DanaC

"Any of the bows above, in a long length, modest draw weight and with decent riser mass, is going to be a good training tool."

Absolutely :)

My other Yamaha is a YB66, it ticks off all your specifications, except it has a lighter mass weight, weight is 20 oz.

This was not a top competitive bow, I think it was intended to be good quality beginner's or school bow. Mine predates 1972, don't know the exact age.

66" bamboo laminated limbs, 25# @ 28" (30# @ my 30" draw), very nice drawing/shooting characteristics.

I use a Dacron string and 700 spine carbons that it shoots quite well.

It is fun to shoot and makes a great training and TP drill bow for me. It get out on our club trails sometimes, which is where the picture was taken.

Here's a close up of the YB66 with my YG68.

Thanks for the pics guys! Beautiful bows.

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