From: Harleywriter
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Date: 30-Jul-22 |
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What makes an original 59 Kodiak so sought after?
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From: longshot1959
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Date: 30-Jul-22 |
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It is a classic piece of Americana, like a 1957 Chevy. It also represents a pivotal point in American Archery equipment development and bowhunting.
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From: bodymanbowyer
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Date: 30-Jul-22 |
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X2 longshot. It has sweeping slender beauty/curves. Plus it's a great shooting bow. But the only one is a 64" RKK. JF
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From: bodymanbowyer
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Date: 30-Jul-22 |
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I'm pretty sure that's Wyatt's first shot picture lol. Computer glitch. JF
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From: Boker
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Date: 30-Jul-22 |
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They are awesome bows.
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From: bowhunt
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Date: 30-Jul-22 |
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Its a Classic,beautiful,nice aesthetics and great design for excellant shootability.
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From: HEXX
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Date: 30-Jul-22 |
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The bow in the middle and in back looks like my Grizly. Lent it to a fella and never got it
back.
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From: cut it out
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Date: 30-Jul-22 |
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One of the best looking recurves imo….
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From: Papadeerhtr
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Date: 30-Jul-22 |
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59er imo is the best looking Bear period!
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From: Nomad
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Date: 30-Jul-22 |
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They were used on the iconic 59 Little Delta Hunt.
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From: Draven
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Date: 30-Jul-22 |
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You are right Papadeer
But ‘60 is even better
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From: shandorweiss
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Date: 31-Jul-22 |
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Imagine you've been shooting Bear's previous bows. Almost all of them, almost all made of maple. Some may be walnut, or have a little bit of Brazilian rosewood in them. Great shooting bows sort of plain looking.
Then along comes the 59. All exotic woods. Entirely Brazilian rosewood, or mostly rosewood with purple heart, maple or bubinga I beams and windows. Bigger risers, a graceful new shape, a more comfortable grip. Less hand shock... rosewood is about twice as dense as maple, absorbs more shock. The I beam helps with that also.
Then you have the nice brown glass back limbs and the autumn orange facing limbs. Great colors for a hunting bow.
Just the appearance of these bows, when first introduced, would have generated a tremendous WoW factor. But they also shot superbly, were forgiving and just plain fun and enjoyable to shoot.
So they became famous. An immediate legend among bows which has not faded since then.
Draven is right. 1960s are an even better bow, and look almost the same. But 59s retained the iconic status as the first of its kind.
Actually there are 2 main and distinct forms of 59 Kodiaks. Earlier ones had straighter limbs with more of a J shaped hook at the end. Later ones had more curved limbs with more of a C shape hook. They each shoot differently, although similar. There were other variations in the forms also. But most people don't know about the differences, and a 59 is a 59.
The Bear remakes are modeled on the later 59s.
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From: crookedstix
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Date: 31-Jul-22 |
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But let's also bear in mind that none of these innovations were really firsts for the industry; but rather the first time that Bear had combined them in a Bear bow. Bob Lee, Damon Howatt, and even Ben Pearson (as with this 1958 Palomino) were already stretching the envelope of what a modern riser might be, in terms of curves, layups, and exotic woods. My own belief is that brand loyalty might be the biggest factor in why it's considered a classic.
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From: George D. Stout
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Date: 31-Jul-22 |
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And Sanders was making big risers in the mid to late, as were several others. Pearson's 58 Safari was also a bigger riser bow and Ben was right on par with many other manufacturers of the day. Folks would do well to learn more about other companies that were alive and well in the 1950's.
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From: Nemophilist
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Date: 31-Jul-22 |
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I guess Hoyt (1931), Pearson (Ben got the financing he needed to begin Ben Pearson Inc. His first catalog in 1938 had only arrows in it, and Ben's initial claim to fame was as an arrow maker. By 1941, however, he was making several bow models.), Bob Lee (early 1950s), Damon Howatt (late 1930s) all got most of their ideals for building bows properly from Stemmler who started building bows in 1912, or Fleetwood (1928), or Indian Archery (1927), or York Archery (1923). All of these great bow making companies got their ideas from somewhere (yes even Fred Bear). Like someone said there is really nothing that new in archery, especially traditional archery.
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From: shandorweiss
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Date: 31-Jul-22 |
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The original question was, what makes the 59 Kodiak so sought after. Sure, other bow companies were making bows with similar features before Bear did. But for Bear fans and bow users, the 59 Kodiak was a big change. Since then Bear bows have continued to be very popular... whether their bows are as good as, better than, or not as good as other brands and bowyers' models. Collectors as well as just people who shoot bows, who like, love or prefer Bear bows, continue to view the 59 Kodiak as one of the most desireable vintage bows. And there aren't any new vintage ones being made. So...
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From: Draven
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Date: 31-Jul-22 |
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I consider the '59 - '60 the most iconic Bear bow because they are the final product of a decade of design improvement from grip to limbs and shelf - I don't associate the feather rest with any other vintage bow than Kodiak 59/60. Performance wise, the '59 is the best Bear one piece bow I tested.
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From: fdp
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Date: 31-Jul-22 |
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It's all subjective and personal.
To me the absolute most iconic Bear design is the takedown.
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From: CStyles
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Date: 31-Jul-22 |
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Cause you can't get a 58
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From: Silverback
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Date: 31-Jul-22 |
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I have a 59' kodiak. It'64" and 44lb at 28in. Nice bow. I don't shoot it much but I should.
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