Yes indeed. Par-x made three piece takedowns in the 1940's, right after the war. They used aluminum risers and bolt-on aluminum limbs. The also had fiberglass limbs as well. Here is a photo of a young man who to this big buck with a Par-X bow in 1949. You can see the bow in his hand.
They don't bring a lot of money, particularly the aluminum limb models, since they really shouldn't be shot. The aluminum fatigues (so they say) and can break. To be honest I never used one for shooting so can't attest to that. The fiberglass limb models are generally accepted as shooter, but to this point, they haven't brought a lot of interest as far as collecting goes. The good thing about that is you can pick them up reasonably. So far. ))
They were made in Jackson, Michigan. I don't know much at all about the history of the company. Here is a video from youtube; the last half of it shows this fellow shooting a 60# Par-X takedown bow. I wouldn't recommend his fast style, but it does give an indication of how the bow is shooting in a generic sort of wayl lol.
There indeed was a Par-x bow,very popular around the southern Michigan area in the late 40s and early 50s. Most of the bows had a leather limb cover on them to prevent injury if they broke. George the bow in the pic is a Grimes bow not a Par-x. Denny Sturgis Sr
Denny, my information lists Grimes first year of bow sales as 1952, not 1949 when that photo was taken. Otherwise I would have questioned it more. Do you have information on Grimes producing earlier than that? I don't mind being corrected at all.....so give me the dates that you have regarding Grimes initial business offerings. I like accuracy in facts as well as bows. 8^))).
DaveP, the only place you find bow names in most of those old magazines was in ads for selling bows. For some reason, it apparently wasn't important to writers at the time to mention bow names, or draw weights, like everyone does today. You're likely to go through a lot of stories before finding what bow a person was using.
My information (derived from old mags and internet searches over the years) show two bows of that design that were available in the early 1950's...Grimes and Par-X. But as mentioned, I show Grimes first year of public business as 1952. Perhaps that information was wrong, but I would need to know for sure to change my mind.
At the time there were also tubular steel bows being used; Seefab from Sweeden, and Apollo bows, made here in the USA. I'm not sure if there were other mfgs of the tubular bows, but have not ran across any in the old mags or research. That doesn't mean they didn't exist. If Grimes had bows in use in 1949, I sure would like to know when they started so I can correct my own information.
I bought a Par-X bow from a second hand store in 1951 when I was 15 years old for $15.00 (A lot of money in those days) It had aluminum limbs and was 52#. I shot the heck out of that bow until I bought a new Bear Kodiak in 1955. They are dangerous to shoot because the aluminum would stress after many bendings and break. Of coarse we didn't know that then. There was a story about a person that lost an eye when his bow broke.
I've got a bunch of aluminum limbed bows in the shop. People use to come in with them that they had picked up at a yard sale or somewhere and want to buy a string for them. I would explain how they shouldn't be shot and refuse to sell them a string. In the late 50's there was a bow made here near me called a "Cedarquist" it was aluminum limbs with a plastic like coating over the limbs.
Thanks to everyone for all of your info. I do know now that I have an old bow in great shape and it will make a great conversation peice. Thanks again, T.P.
Thanks to everyone for all of your info. I do know now that I have an old bow in great shape and it will make a great conversation peice. Thanks again, T.P.
Sorry George, don't have the exact dates that the bows were produced but I know what a Grimes bow looks like because I owned a couple of them. There was a hunting model and a target model. The hunter had green anodized limbs and the target model had gold limbs. The Par-X had a black wrinkle paint riser and natural alum limbs.I think a man by the name of Harold Doan from Michigan either won or was close to winning the NFAA shoot with a Grimes bow.
Denny, I would never argue with you on that aspect...you know about Michigan and have been around a bit long than me. It would be nice to get some accurate data regarding those companies, including Ivanhoe, Par-X, and Grimes. No doubt either that Par-X was around right after the war so maybe they all came to be at that point...when the aluminum was again freed up for commercial use.
George,sure not trying to start an arguement, sorry if it seemed like it. There a lot of alum limb bows back then, as I recall the best shooters were the Grimes, the Jet,and a the bow Ron LaClair mentioned the Sediquist. Hunted my first year with a Bear Grizzley with the alum lamination.
Oh no, I didn't consider you arguing, just deferring to your knowledge Denny. Back a couple decades ago, I had an aluminum lam Grizzly and shot it for about a year without incident. I sold it to a fellow who came into my store one day and wanted it. That was back in the early 1980's and I hadn't heard anything about them having issues with the adhesion of the wood and aluminum.
Thanks for the reply...this stuff is all good to know..the more the better.
I don't know anything about dates but Grimes also made fiberglass limbs for their bows. They were made at Pontiac Airport about 4 miles from where I grew up. I thought that looked like a Grimes riser too, but I don't what a Par-x looks like to say for sure.
