I had been watching online for a few weeks for a decent deal on a vintage Bear Kodiak Magnum and finally pulled the trigger on this one. It's a 1968 Kodiak Mag, 45lbs@28".
She shows signs of age and use, was missing the Bear medallion, but was being sold as being in good working/shootable condition with no limb twist issues. That was my biggest hangup in purchasing a vintage bow without holding it and inspecting it in-hand first. I found several bows that looked to be ok, but when I asked about limb twist or even if the seller had strung the bow, the answers I was getting didn't inspire confidence on my end. I took a chance on this one, and so far, it seems like I came out ok. I ordered a new medallion and a string from 3 Rivers that came same day as the bow.
Shooting the bow, I have been impressed at the performance so far. It's quiet, smooth, and seems faster than I expected. I have an arrow test kit to build an arrow tuned for this bow, I just haven't had time to dive down the tune/build road yet. So far, I am just shooting my arrows from other bows of similar poundage and they are flying pretty well. It took me a while to get my shots down, I was consistently hitting high for the first 10-12 arrows. Doing pretty well now.
I'm hoping this will end up being a good deer bow for me. The short 52" length will be a lot more maneuverable in a ground blind or in a tree, and so far, I have seen no ill effects on shooting a shorter bow. Pretty cool to shoot something that's 12 years older than me and wonder where it's been, what it's shot, who has owned it.
She shows signs of age and use, was missing the Bear medallion, but was being sold as being in good working/shootable condition with no limb twist issues. That was my biggest hangup in purchasing a vintage bow without holding it and inspecting it in-hand first. I found several bows that looked to be ok, but when I asked about limb twist or even if the seller had strung the bow, the answers I was getting didn't inspire confidence on my end. I took a chance on this one, and so far, it seems like I came out ok. I ordered a new medallion and a string from 3 Rivers that came same day as the bow.
Shooting the bow, I have been impressed at the performance so far. It's quiet, smooth, and seems faster than I expected. I have an arrow test kit to build an arrow tuned for this bow, I just haven't had time to dive down the tune/build road yet. So far, I am just shooting my arrows from other bows of similar poundage and they are flying pretty well. It took me a while to get my shots down, I was consistently hitting high for the first 10-12 arrows. Doing pretty well now.
I'm hoping this will end up being a good deer bow for me. The short 52" length will be a lot more maneuverable in a ground blind or in a tree, and so far, I have seen no ill effects on shooting a shorter bow. Pretty cool to shoot something that's 12 years older than me and wonder where it's been, what it's shot, who has owned it.
