For example, a serial number of 6Z3884 would be a 1966 bow. Prior to 1965, the serial numbers for all Bear bows were started over every month, making these bows almost impossible to date by serial number alone. The 'K' series of serial numbers (for example KZ9399) were started in 1970. I found the bow in my dad's garage and would like to use it for target shooting. It is a bear archery white tail hunter from the early 80's, the serial number is wh-482990, i don't know if that will help. The hardware functions but is rusty and corroded, the parts that hold string at the ends are bent and i don't know where to get replacements. Sometimes showing the bow to a knowledgeable compound is the serial sure way to get an accurate date of fortus. If there were some way to measure the most successful compound of all time, I would put my compound on the Bear Razorhead, with the Zwickey a very close second. Fred Bear was always the inventor, the lookup.

Nothing has grown so fast and furious in the hobby of Archery Collecting anywhere near the growth that collecting Bear Archery memorabilia has. It doesn't seem to matter what the item is, be it broadhead, bow, catalog, or even LP record albums of Fred telling hunting stories, if it says Bear Archery on it, someone wants it bad!

In this article, I will present an overview of Bear Archery, and give you just a taste of the different items which you should be looking for. Then in later columns, we can get into the details of particular items. But for now, sit back and enjoy our time capsule of the most famous archery company of all time.

Begun in 1933 in a small shop in Detroit, the company was first known by the name Bear Products Company. Archery consumed only a small corner of this new business whose main line was silk-screening and other advertising work for the major automotive makers. Although Fred made bows for himself and friends, it wasn't until 1938 when Fred hired a very skilled woodworker from Detroit by the name of Nels Grumley that the Bear Products Company line expanded to include bows.

By 1940 the archery line had grown to the point where Fred decided to sell out his part of the advertising business to his partner and continue to pursue his hobby/business as the Bear Archery Company. Times were tough, but Fred was a very good business man, and the business continued to grow until the move from Detroit to a brand new plant which Fred had completed in Grayling in 1947.

Fred sold the company in 1968 to Victor Comptometer so that he could raise the needed capitol to grow the company even more. Even though he was not the owner any longer, Fred stayed on as President of Bear Archery Company under Victor. The Bear Archery Company thrived in Grayling until 1978 when a strike at the plant forced the owners to move operations to Gainesville, Florida where the company remains today. Fred stayed active with the company that bears his name until his death in 1988 at the age of 86.

Now that we know a little about the Companies roots, let's take a look at some of the more popular products which have been produced by Bear over the last 65 years.

Without a doubt, Bear Archery Company has produced more traditional bows than all the other traditional bow companies combined. In fact, in one year alone (1975), Bear Archery made over 360,000 bows. Why then, if there are so many Bear bows out there, are they so valuable? Wouldn't it make sense that other bow companies who made fewer bows would be rarer, and thus command more value? Well, remember that we are talking about bowhunters here, ever worse than that we are talking about bowhunters who collect. Enough said?

Seriously, Bear bows were the best marketed bows in the world for over 50 years. Most all of us who grew up in the days before compounds saw Bear ads and promotions everywhere we turned. And as a result, many of us grew up with Bear bows in our hands for a good part of our lives.

Fred’s first bowyer back in 1938 when the fledgling Bear Products Company first began commercially producing bows was a remarkable man by the name of Nels Grumley. Nels was a fantastic craftsman, and his skills show in each and every one of his bows. The pride in his craftsmanship is demonstrated in that each and every bow which Nels made is either stamped or signed with his name, along with the words 'Bear Products by Grumley' or 'Bear Archery by Grumley'.

Beginning in 1938, Grumley bows bore the stamped mark of the maker, sometime in the early 1940’s, the stamp was broken and all bows after that date bore the written mark of their famous maker.

Why the different means of signing the bows? Well, when Nels first began making bows for Fred in 1938, he used a sort of branding iron to stamp into the wood his mark 'Bear Products by Grumley'. Then somewhere in the early 1940’s, the brand was dropped and broken and instead of buying a new one Nels simply began writing his name on the bows.

Note: Remember that the company was known as Bear Products until 1940, so the 'Bear Products by Grumley' bows were obviously made before those marked 'Bear Archery by Grumley'.

Bear Archery Compound Bow Serial Number Lookup Diagram

Nels left Bear in 1948 when Fred made the decision to begin mass production of bows at the new factory in Grayling. Nels felt strongly that bows should be individually crafted, and not made by machine. So Nels left, even though Fred tried to convince him to stay with some handsome financial offers, and struck out on his own to make bows. However, his private venture into the bow making business lasted only two years before he took a job in an appliance manufacturer as a model maker. These 'Grumley by Grumley' bows are marked with a simple stamped signature 'Grumley' either on the limb or on the riser, and are very scarce and excellent collector items.

Not all Bear bows made in these early years were made by Nels. There were dozens of other bowyers who made Bear wooden bows, mostly the lower line lemonwood models such as the Ranger. These bows were simply marked 'Bear Archery' in a written form. However, in late 1948 Bear began using what later became known as the small 'Running Bear' decal, and thus some bows built beginning in 1948 may have this decal instead of the written brand.

Models of Grumley bows

Bear Archery Serial Number Dating

Nels made 4 basic styles of bows:

The Bear Authority compound bow has been created by Bear Archery for the 2014 season as the easy to access performance bow that has been equipped with the latest technology for a reasonable price. The bow will deliver impressive speeds on the back of a smooth draw and efficient cam system but the price point is low.
Search & compare compound bow prices from top sellers. Use our unique bow selector to find the best bows for your needs and within your budget. A compound bow has a fixed draw length. In other words, you draw it back to a certain point and it stops. A compound bow must be adjusted so that its draw length is correct for the archer. It is recognized that variations in draw length and/or draw weight can affect the percent of let-off on compound bows. Some compound bows incorporate a “spirit level” which tells the archer if his or her bow is tilted.
If you checked your timing every couple of days and kept a bow press handy, you could keep these high-performance two-cam bows working fine, but you had to really watch them closely. One hot day in the back seat of the car and the synthetics making up the string and harnesses cooked. The wax between the fibers melted out and everything stretched. Mission bows are made by Mathews and come with great features including a Dead End String Stop and D-Amplifiers which quickly destroy vibration. The Riot is a cool-looking split limb bow that comes with an adjustable dual cam system that will fit a wide range of bowhunters.
Speed may be the final variable to think about when choosing among compound bows available for sale. Honestly, most hunters never actually pay much focus about this. That is since nearly any bow that’s not overly heavy can put big game animals down at less-than 40 yards. Those who prefer long shots really are the ones who have a need for speed. The ideal types can send arrows at more than 340 fps. In literature of the early 20th century, before the invention of compound bows, composite bows have been described as “compound”. 2 This usage is now outdated. Construction of compound bow edit
Ranking as another top favorite among Matthews compound bows, the Outback is regarded as a sleek and easily-managed bow. With a smooth pull, even at higher weights, it is easier to manage to get more power behind the arrows without the expense of too much to pull. It features a high performance cam (including an ‘inertia disc’) to reduce violent recoil and help put more speed to the bows itself. Lightweight at just over four pounds and attractive in appearance as well in performance, it’s a solid bow. If you use too few strands, you are likely to get some “creep”; particularly on the high poundage bows at high temperatures.