I've always wanted a 1962 Bear Kodiak more than any other bow! I've looked at several times for number years, Vintage Bow Works, and am wondering of their work, quality, comparison? The 62 Grayling Classic is the bow I'm interested in! Any experience on here of their bows?

Excellent bows

I had them build two 61/62 Kodiak replicas, both were outstanding, although I did end up selling one of them (I still have the one with the black phenolic riser). Unfortunately, Vintage Works stopped making bows several years ago... I remember that the waiting list was up to about 2 years when they stopped making bows. I have never held an original 61/62 Kodiak so I cannot compare VW to the original. I have a 30" draw, and I think the 61/62 design is not all that great for a longer draw (I suspect 30" is the practical maximum), this is based on my experience with VW though, not original Bear bows. They do/did stack slightly on me toward the end of my draw, not terribly so by any means, but I did notice it. Not a criticism of VW, but it is pretty obvious that the 61/62 Kodiaks do have somewhat short limbs and a long riser....

Nice bows,,one of Bears best shooters IMO,, post a wanted in the classifieds, ya never know,,Good Luck.

Thanks, if they've stopped selling I'll forget about them. I wouldn't go with a waiting list that long anyway. I'm perfectly happy with my Kodiak Hunter for now! But I am going to find me a 40#?? in near future. Probably will go with a new Bear, either Super Grizzly, Kodiak Hunter, or maybe the new Kodiak? And I'd welcome comments on either of these 3 new ones?

The 61 and 62 Kodiaks are similar other than the riser material and glass colors. The 62's are popular now since they had Brazilian Rosewood handles, versus the bubinga risers (African Rosewood), and when you find one the price will reflect that. They had longer risers and shorter working limbs than did the 59 and 60 models, consequently they are generally "quicker", as we say out here in the hills.

Short draw guys can benefit from that design versus the shorter risers/longer limbs of the previous years. I'm a fan of those years as well and have owned several of them back when I had working money coming in. :)

I'm more flexible than I used to be on draw length. For years I drew a true 29.5" but I've shrunk ??!! I'm making new arrows right now, cedars, and years ago I used 31", but about 15 years ago I was able to go to 30". I'd just settled into those, but now I'm shooting 3 under, checked everything closely, and these new ones are 29" cedars, barely will give me .5-.75" clearance. A longer riser bow would be fine for me now. Before I always preferred the Kodiak Hunter to the Super Kodiak, but now not sure! The new Kodiak looks very appealing!

1962 Kodiak Is my favorite bow. I think you will not be sorry you spent some money on one ,or two , or three. LOL Here are a couple Holy Grails.

I love the wood in that 40#!

Modern day Kodiak too...

As others have said, the 62 is a great, fast bow but the shorter limbs are more work to draw. For that reason I have a few but they are all 40# or under. My draw is 28.75" and they definitely stack for me. Although stacking the way the word is used by most, is a subjective experience for each archer. Technically it is just a measurement and a bow either stacks at a certain draw length, or it doesn't. Or the stacking is so slight that it feels smooth. The 59 and 60 Kodiaks are more smooth. 60 is faster than 59 and just as fast as a 62, b/c of the bigger hooks. The modern Bear remake is based on a late model 59 which had bigger hooks than an early 59. It's about half way to a 60. The remakes are great bows. A good combo of speed and smoothness. If you like the new ones go ahead and order or buy one. You can also sometimes find used ones that are the original Bolivian rosewood/purple heart or maple, with the original vintage limb colors.

However, if you like the Kodiak Hunter the grip on the Kodiak is quite different. The KH grip is huge by comparison.

I'm thinking I'll go with a new Kodiak, I actually like it better than the previous 59 Kodiak. I adapted to the grip of the Kodiak Hunter, but am sure I'll like the grip of the new Kodiak better. Always liked the Grizzly grips!

I always found the Kodiak Hunter a bit clunky. It was just bigger than it had to be. The 58" 67 Hunter was a better bow imo.

I've seen the new Kodiak Hunters with the Grey glass. They are outstanding looking. Had I the spending money, I may have bought one.

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