WThunter

I have an old Whitetail Hunter bow made by Bear. Can anyone tell me how good they are? It looks like it is one of the first compound bows made. It is practically new. It belonged to my wife's dad and wasn't used much. Would it be worth hunting with? Is it a collectors item that should be kept in its good condition or what? It is at least 30 years old.

tm

Bear made alot of those so as far as collectors value it's doubtful it would be worth much. Best use I've found for mine is a bowfishing bow, of course I'm not a collector. It'll still prbably work for hunting, just not very fast. One thing about them they're pretty durable.

Tazman

WThunter, I got my first bowkill with a Bear Black Bear, this past season, it is now retired, I bought a new Browning Ambush. My old bow is over 20 years old and it still shoots great, if I was you I would take it to a proshop and have it checked out and fitted to you. You will need to have the draw length set correctly for you. Can you hunt with it? You sure can, I will warn you though, once you get that first bowkill, you will be hooked like I am and have to buy a better/newer/faster bow. The new ones shoot so much faster and easier than the old ones that you will be amazed, it will almost feel like you are cheating.

The Tazman aka Martin Price
Proud father of a Devil Dog

WThunter

Tazman, I have already killed four deer with my bow. I have a browning that I use, but I was just wondering about the bear for some nostalgia. You are right about it being addictive. I am already at the point of new/better/faster even though what I have has done the job every time so far.

This bow looks like a longbow but has pulleys and cables. It doesn't really break over. It isn't a regular compound type bow. Unless you have seen one it is hard to picture.

Edited by - WThunter on 01/28/2003 13:02:40

beprepn

I think that my first bow was a whitetail hunter. It shot a 602 grain arrow 200fps set, I believe, at 60 pounds draw weight. 53.5 foot pounds of KE. So out of easy to draw, round cams, you are getting 80+% of the energy of a current bow.

In the last two weeks 17 whitetail hunters have sold on ebay for between $11.50 and about $40.00.

Real bargains in the sense of deer killing capability per dollar.

beprepn

kodiakhuntmaster

I've got a bear whitetail hunter, just like the one you talk about. The limbs on mine are made to look like wood and the riser is black. It was the first bow I ever bowhunted with. If mine is still good for hunting I imagin yours is too. My grandpa killed many a deer with that bow. I shoot mine like a recurve since mine doesn't have any sights on it.

Just take it to a pro shop and have them set the draw length for you and get it the way you want it.

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