For my 68th. birthday today my wife Deni presented me with a box from Lancaster with a pair of new #1 Bear takedown limbs at 40 pounds . Out of six Bear t.d. handles they fit perfect on my green aluminum, fit sloppy on my camo handle on the top limb.Fit perfect on my two tone wood riser but again sloppy on my grey riser and wont fit my old magnesium riser at all. I will keep them and use them on the green riser but honestly I wish Bear would improve their quality control. There is no excuse for them not to be better than that. I also had to clean up the string nocks a little as they were slightly uneven. That said they shoot great now on two of my risers and shooting wise I am happy with them but I do not feel it is right to have to fix something new that is that expensive. I am going to E mail Bear tomorrow with my thoughts and see what they have to say.

I love the Bear history and design of the bows with that said they have done nothing but run it into the ground.

The Bear T/D is one of if not the best bow designs out there today, “IF” it hadn’t been for Bears lack of attention to detail it be almost untouchable.

Many say they are a Slouch performance wise but that’s not true.

Ran my hunting set up through chronograph last night.

B riser #1 limbs 45lbs@30” B-55 string , cat whiskers

Easton legacy carbon arrow with 3-5 inch feathers - 514grs - 11.5 gpp averaged 174fps

Same set up but with a 9.5 gpp arrow was clocking 180fps, when my mercury string arrives I’d image that set up will be pushing 190fps.

I have had the same quality issue many times. With a boat load of other complaints that are seemingly simple fixes.

I have two hanging in front of me as I type. that’s near $2k. For that money I expected quality and Bear doesn’t deliver the fit and finish to justify the price.

As I said I love them and have owned many but never one that was what it could have been

I know some may disagree but its what I have seen and believe to be true.

I hope they step up their game in the future but somethings aren’t fixable at this point in history.

If the limbs fit perfectly in one riser and not the other, then the risers are cut differently. The limbs don't change from one riser to the other. It's not uncommon to need to pad limbs in various places to make them fit different risers.

Orion....yep.

I wish I had pics of 2 sets I bought a month or 2 apart. Width taper could not have been farther apart.

Yes I am aware you sometimes need to pad limbs sometimes and have done so many times including on these new ones . If it is the limb or the riser makes no difference, one or the other or both should be better . I can mix any of the other sets of limbs I have (five pair ) and they fit every riser pretty good to perfect, bottom line is simple, I think the Bear takedown is one of the best bows ever made and have used them in one form or another since 1971. There tolerances and quality control need to be better for what they cost. I intend to give them every chance to reach a satisfactory conclusion with this issue on these limbs, risers or whatever but to be blunt it has soured me on them a bit to have to repair what they sell to be able to use them in the first place.

I would not purchase a Bear bow, sight unseen. A Bear take down riser had a serious snipe on one end from the planer. It had a high gloss finish right over it. We had so many emails back and forth. I suggested they at least hire someone to look at them before finishing & shipping. They didn't seem to care & quit responding to emails about a broken bow. >>>----> Ken

The customer service did not sound professional in regard to your inquiry with Bear in regard to flaws in the riser.

I think they could tighten up thier quality control and tolerances and try and achieve near 100% cusomer satisfaction.

That being said I have had 2 risers purchased since 2019 and both risers were near perfect if not perfect in every way.As good as any Bowyer known for thier finishing work and overall quality.I am pretty picky and have owned many high end bows.These risers were super nice!

Also 2 of the newer limbs I have are also very well made with excellant glue lines,tip work and finish work and shoot superbly.

I am sure thier are very many happy customers and some that have been dissatisfied as well as is represented by above statements.

I know archers who have been shooting Bear T.Ds for decades who have the newer risers and limbs and are totally happy with them.These guys are not greenhorns.

Some have slipped through the cracks apparently and those cracks should be addressed and eliminated by management.

Its called quality assurance and quality control.Bottom line you take care of your customers and do everything to make them happy.

I agree that there is something wrong at Bear, and I have always been a fan. I recently received a Black Widow that I only waited 5 months on, whereas Bear has kept me waiting on a bow 21 months now and won't give me an update. I keep saying this, but I'm not going to wait much longer. I'm 69 and don't have the patients I use to have.

I have, I think, about 10 Bear risers. Mostly old C risers and Mag risers, 1 old B in wood green stripe, one new B.

If I recall correctly, Ken did some work on limbs for me on one of them.

I have also had about 20 sets of limbs, mostly old ones.

Quality wise, they do leave a lot to be desired.

So far all limbs have fit all risers. The fit does vary, but I can shoot all. Only have had to pad out a couple times to reduce noise and vibration. This is frustrating at times, but has not been a show stopper for me. The older limbs are slightly different in thickness than modern limbs in general, but I cannot recall now whether the new or old ones tend to fit tighter in pockets. The widths seem highly inconsistent at pocket, but I don't think it matters there.

The build of the risers is not consistent, and one mag riser I took to a local powder coating shop came back with all the pits visible- the casting was, in a word, horrible. I guess when Bear built it back in the 70's they just filled it with bondo, sanded, painted and shipped. If it is porous all the way through I can imagine it would not take heavy limbs- good thing I stop at 35# on fingers. Still- it shoots fine. My new B (2019) is a work of art, and has no flaws of which I am aware. I really am happy with all the wood C risers. One had a bad finish.. .but after 50yrs that might have been due to how it was stored, etc. and not the original work. In short: Quality on risers in particular is rough.

I don't find the new limbs slow. My C riser/30# #3 limbs clocked an arrow at 185 to 187FPS through a chrony. This would have been ~32" arrow, and at ~9.5-10GPP. Funny story- I told a fellow I figured I was getting close to 180FPS based on how arrow was flying and his comment is unprintable. He brought his chrony the next weekend to show me up, then was very surprised. I think he felt that way as when he shot the rig it was slow vs. his bows, but his draw is only ~29" and mine is ~31", that extra couple inches matters. :)

I am a fan, find them imperfect, but great shooters, and far simpler to set up and maintain than my ILF rigs. And they shoot: My best scoring days at the range have been on an old Bear wood C riser/#3 limbs, and a Wing Preso II.

I have not shot that rig in too long, going to take out to the range next weekend, thanks for the reminder!

You wife giving you pricey archery gear.

Let's here it for Deni!!!!

In the Paul Shafer book it mentions Paul and Bob Savage before him making limbs for Bear Takedowns. Seemed like a niche market had developed back then. Was it a quality or performance issue with the Bear limbs? Does anyone have any of these and are any bowyers making aftermarket limbs?

Folks still make limbs for bear today. In the "big names" Border makes limbs, check for "Ursa" limbs on their site. They also make Black Widow Limbs. I have two sets. I wanted to try them, mainly to get a limb that was stiffer and twisted less, I shoot very lightweight limbs due to some shoulder issues. They have been good limbs.

If you search around on forums with google you might find other individuals. A very nice fellow a few years back made me a few sets, I cannot recall his name though.

I have a set of RER limbs that Kevin made for me quite awhile ago when he was still building bows and limbs. They were for and are on one of my vintage C-Risers, 51# @ 30". Honestly, I can't remember why I went with after market limbs, but did and they are great limbs!!

Hopefully Bear will listen to the problems and step up their Q.C. process. Wolf

What you are exposing is the weakness in the Bear take down system. I know that lots of guys absolutely love it, but in reality there are simply too many moving parts that can get slightly bent or worn. Take a caliper to those risers where the new limbs have a sloppy fit and then measure one that has a snug fit. A close examination will tell you what is going on. You can't blame the new limbs if they fit a couple of risers and don't fit others.

Limbs that fit old risers a buff about a 1/16th off the fingers to line up the hole. One after market maker used to elongate that hole. If you get a good combo you have a nice rig. Big if.

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