Do old compounds need a cable guard?
 

I recently inherited a Bear Black Bear compound bow that my Dad used and have been working to get it ready to use it for deer this season. With a new rest and sights, it shoots great out to about 25 yards but when I got the string replaced to be safe the archery shop made a big deal about it not having a cable guard (they kept asking why it was taken off) which the bow did not come with when it was bought new.

The bow has killed deer before without one, all I have noticed is it folds the vane over a little after a lot of shooting. I tried finding one to work with this bow but the threaded area where it could possibly go is around 3/4" and no aftermarket one fits. Also originals from later versions seem to be hard to come by. Is it a major problem that it does not have one?

If anyone has one laying around I would be interested in this part as well.

I have just gotten into bow hunting and am looking forward to our season starting on Labor Day, the old bow is hitting six inch groups at thirty yards and 5 inch at 20 yards. I really don't want to get a new bow because of sentimental reasons and it fits me extremely well.

If it shoots fine probably not but you should paper tune the bow towns sure your etchings are not hitting.

I got it tuned in some more today and have 4" groups at twenty with finger release so I am getting increasingly happy with it.

The fletchings on my gamegetters do hit the cables but I talked to a family friend who has been bow hunting for longer than I've been alive and he said the cable guard was left off of bows in the seventies because the contact wasn't thought to be an issue with feather fletchings and they just used to rotate the nocks to one or two o'clock if they needed anymore clearance. Tried the two o'clock setting today with the four inch veins on the eastons and it only hit maybe an eight of an inch, the arrows need refletching anyway because the easton fletchings are weak and since I just started shooting a month ago they ended up in the grass quite a bit before I updated the rest to a whisker biscuit.

I would still be interested in a bear cable guard from a Black Bear if anyone has one.

If your fletchings are touching your cables even a little bit will affect the flight of your arrows, so you should get a cable guard and you can get those pretty much at any bow shop or cabelas etc. also if your cables are touching each other you definitely need a cable guard

This will be increasingly noticeable once you switch to broadheads. A broadhead will exaggerate the effect of fletching contact on the cables and your groups will be larger. Feathers will help but will not eliminate the problem.

I too have got my hands of a stripped down Black Bear bow and am going through the same things. No grip, I'll wrap it. No string. No rest. I have emailed a few companies for suggestions, but am trying to get it right the first time around. Hookeye, you mentioned a guard that used the same mounting holes as the sight. I have seen the bent guards that screw into the bow itself, that's it. Bear customer service said they believed it to be 5/16 thread. Would many of the generic guards such as Cobra work?

Do you have an archery outfitter near you? The ones I frequent are very helpful and could probably point you in the right direction... they might even know which are compatible and which aren't.

Black Bear Bow Wooooes
 

Yeah, the local pro shops around here are either intentionally not very helpful, or don't have enough time to help me out. I seem to be running into a number of disinterested people. The majority of responses I've been getting via email is, this particular bow doesn't need one. I'd just hate to throw a string on there, then find out that it does need a cable guard.

Well... it is smack dab in the middle of the busiest time for them, so I guess I could see that.

My outfitter has so much work it's ridiculous... everyone waiting until the last minute to get out and get their stuff in gear for the season. I've never liked to do it that way.

used to have some of these an old Bear Whitetail I had, as a young hunter. Problem I had, was they always popped off after shooting. Mine did not have a cable guard either. Never saw one, with one