An awesome Recurve buy at a pawn shop

[dirtlooter]

I have been trying to shoot traditional bows again, always loved it. With my left eye problem, my focus has been lousy plus a shoulder injury. I have an old no name 50# recurve and had been shooting it but it was just a little too much bow for me now. So after a lot of thought and research, I decided on a 35 to 45 pound Bear, preferly a Grizzly or a Kodiak. Being on a fixed income, I was and am kinda forced to look at the used bows and so I did. On Ebay, these "vintage" bows are quite expensive now, from about $300 up. After calling nearly forty pawn shops in 150 mile radius of me, I found that used recurves are getting harder and harder to find if at all. So, I placed a bid on one on Ebay and was watching it. I just happened to find a couple more pawn shops that I had somehow missed and called them. One had 6 or 7 so the next day I was there. Everything was $400 to $700 and I was about to leave when the woman pulled out this last bow. It was a Kodiak and a very nice one, so I checked the poundage, 45#. Then I checked the price, $99! I checked the price like 5 times to make sure as I looked for any problems at all. Nope, like new 1967 Kodiak Hunter for $99. I talked her down to $87 and bought it. It is better looking than many of those on Ebay that were selling for over $300. And it shoots like a dream so all is great now. So now I have something that I can do until I get my foot operated on, I have a place inside where I can get about a 12 yard shot. Also picked up a very nice Damon Howett Martin 30# Bandito recurve, should be an awesome shooter for someone.

 

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[TooManyHobbies]

Sounds like a good deal for a vintage bow. What's the tip to tip length on that? I shoot a 50# Super Kodiak. Its a bit short for my draw, but great bows.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

I have an old green "Futurewood" Kodiak Hunter. Solid bows that keep plugging away. Fifth one from the left in this picture. It's got a niche as a GREAT bowfishing bow.



The first one in the image is a 1964 to 1966 Root Warrior and never got the name recognition of Bear, but boy are they shooters!

 

[desmobob]

Nice find! I love those old bows but it's hard to find something that doesn't stack badly at very long draw lengths. I shoot an old Hoyt Gold Medalist target recurve. It's long and smooth, but not always real handy in the tree stand...

 

[releventchair]

You made out like a bandit on that Kodiak dirtlooter!
Congrats.

 

[dirtlooter]

Sounds like a good deal for a vintage bow. What's the tip to tip length on that? I shoot a 50# Super Kodiak. Its a bit short for my draw, but great bows.

it is a 58" bow, they had another newer model Kodiak that they want $300 for. this one is perfect for me

 

[dirtlooter]

I have an old green "Futurewood" Kodiak Hunter. Solid bows that keep plugging away. Fifth one from the left in this picture. It's got a niche as a GREAT bowfishing bow.

View attachment 1800484

The first one in the image is a 1964 to 1966 Root Warrior and never got the name recognition of Bear, but boy are they shooters!

Dude, you are about as bad as me. I once was as bow poor as you are but life happens. you have some very beautiful bows. it is nice to have options. my old recurve was pretty darn mean on the fish, frogs and snakes. just wish I could get around like I used to and bow fish again.

 

[dirtlooter]

Nice find! I love those old bows but it's hard to find something that doesn't stack badly at very long draw lengths. I shoot an old Hoyt Gold Medalist target recurve. It's long and smooth, but not always real handy in the tree stand...

View attachment 1800495

I was really surprised at how smooth this bow is and doesn't stack at all. my old bow stacks some and I really feel it now. yeah, a longer bow can be a challenge in a tree stand, you have to make sure that you have clearance all over for that shot. your 3D target looks a whole better than my old one. I have been filling it's kill area with that instant foam for several years LOL. and that is wadding the arrows in there the right way. I'm having to relearn everything again, my left eye throws off my distance perception but I wam slowly workiing thru it

 

[dirtlooter]

You made out like a bandit on that Kodiak dirtlooter!
Congrats.

yes I did, my wife said that I kept saying that I couldn't believe that I found one and got it for that price. I still can't believe it but sure am loving it.

 

[dirtlooter]

I have always loved the sheer beauty of a stickbow. They can be as light as a flyrod and yet a very deadly tool. Elegance is a word that always comes to mind when I hold one. I have worn out numerous compounds, cables break, wheels wear out and other major problems. But a properly taken care of stickbow may only need a new string here and there. plus they might outlast you. all 5 of my bows are over 50 years old and still shooting strong. I no longer shoot wooden arrows, just aluminum and carbon now but I still use the old two and three blade broadheads that cut on impact. There is a certain joy in sharpening those broadheads that you have been using for years

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

All I have bowhunted with since 1982 are recurves (one longbow) and wood arrows I make up myself. Tried compound bows for two years and had nothing but problems and no venison. Very accurate on the target range. Jerry Lewis in the woods. Simplifies life to have a bow with no added weight or sights to fail or make noise (drawing or releasing). Have to be patient and persistent to get the deer within 25 yards. Sometimes from a stand and sometimes still hunting. The broadheads I use recently are Mowocs from a lot made in 1960 that Larry Whiffen Jr. found in his father's garage.

 

[dirtlooter]

All I have bowhunted with since 1982 are recurves (one longbow) and wood arrows I make up myself. Tried compound bows for two years and had nothing but problems and no venison. Very accurate on the target range. Jerry Lewis in the woods. Simplifies life to have a bow with no added weight or sights to fail or make noise (drawing or releasing). Have to be patient and persistent to get the deer within 25 yards. Sometimes from a stand and sometimes still hunting. The broadheads I use recently are Mowocs from a lot made in 1960 that Larry Whiffen Jr. found in his father's garage.

View attachment 1800514

beautiful buck, beautiful bow, the result of hard work and preparation. Yes, light and quiet with limited things to go wrong. have taken a lot of deer with a bow, most were within 20 yards or less. stand placement, site reading on current sign and I like to brush in my stands to hide any movement on my part plus to hide from other hunters. it just feels so good when you have done your work correctly and manage to harvest a deer. I am not a trophy hunter but a meat hunter. I have taken some nice mountain bucks when rattling. I had a friend that lost his release as he walked into this thick area in the dark, he wasted the day. Me, I lose my tab or gloves, I just shoot fingers, no big deal.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

I have a 20 yard "range" I can squeak out of my basement with a screen-stuffed pillow target at one end and I stand in the other and shoot past the fuel-oil feed and return lines of my furnace. Makes for concentration! I practice every morning before work; though this time of year I may only shoot a couple times a week. Practice, practice, practice.

About 10 years ago I managed a STUPID STUPID thing with my tractor and lopped the last inch off my ring finger on my right hand. Good news is it was THE DAY after using the tractor to pull a deer off the hill. Also good news is the surgeon was able to reattach the piece (the nail even grows mostly OK and it has full strength but a couple "numb" spots on the edges). But for six months I just worked to get a grip back, and then I got started learning to shoot left handed. What an eye-opener. I had to re-learn all my muscles and brain. I did hunt left handed (with a 42# LH Red Wing Hunter I still have) but had no shots offered that season. I had to pick-up and unlearn all kinds of bad habits and it was a great, maybe not recommended, exercise. It's like trying to throw a ball accurately with your weak hand.

 

[dirtlooter]

wow, great surgeon for sure. yeah, nothing like losing something that you take for granted and having to start all over again. sounds like a lot of hard work and determination to over come. This is something I am well versed in as well, strokes create big time obstacles. I guess what is hardest is knowing that you once could do something and very well. now you are like a rank beginer struggling to get better at what ever it may be. Glad that you have been able to over come such an injury. Injuries and old age force us into new adjustments to cope with newer limitations. Shoot straight my friend and never slow down

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Second time - about 35 years ago I learned even a 14" chainsaw shouldn't be used one-handed when cleaning up the little 1" branches after felling a tree. 1/2 way through the middle knuckles of the first two fingers of my left hand. STUPID, STUPID & STUPID. took me about a year before I could squeeze a pair of balled up socks tightly; I moved up to tennis balls. But I got both of those back 100%.

Needless to say I can tell three days before the weather is changing. And a few years ago I had the happy diagnosis of Dupuytren's Contracture (genetic) of the hands. Some years back I took up fly tying to keep dexterity in my hands. That I do recommend. When you stop you stiffen up.

 

[DizzyDigger]

Dirtlooter: CONGRATS on that awesome find. I'd love to have nice Kodiak
from the Grayling days...

Never realized I was hanging out with a bunch of stick shooters!

Started shooting trad back about 1985, and never looked back.
I hunted with a gorgeous #60 Custom Kodiak t/d for many years,
and like a fool I traded it for a longbow. Longbow (Miami Valley)
is a nice shooter, but I'd rather have the Kodiak.

Any of ya hang around The Leatherwall?

 

[desmobob]

I still use the old two and three blade broadheads that cut on impact. There is a certain joy in sharpening those broadheads that you have been using for years

The broadheads I use recently are Mowocs from a lot made in 1960 that Larry Whiffen Jr. found in his father's garage.

My favorite broadhead is the big ol' Zwickey Delta. You can still buy them at 3 Rivers... I put them on modern carbon arrows though (Gold Tip Traditionals).

 

[dirtlooter]

Dirtlooter: CONGRATS on that awesome find. I'd love to have nice Kodiak
from the Grayling days...

Never realized I was hanging out with a bunch of stick shooters!

Started shooting trad back about 1985, and never looked back.
I hunted with a gorgeous #60 Custom Kodiak t/d for many years,
and like a fool I traded it for a longbow. Longbow (Miami Valley)
is a nice shooter, but I'd rather have the Kodiak.

Any of ya hang around The Leatherwall?

Ah the regrets. yeah I got rid of a few bows that I wish I still had, 25 years ago one was a Dan Quillian Bamboo Longhunter at 45lbs. it was a sweet shooting bow and I thought at the time that I was upgrading LOL. Nah.

 

[dirtlooter]

My favorite broadhead is the big ol' Zwickey Delta. You can still buy them at 3 Rivers... I put them on modern carbon arrows though (Gold Tip Traditionals).

Yeah, got them too. in fact, I have early ben pearson "dead heads too as well as the razor heads, snuffers, woodsman, Bodkin and other old stamped heads. just wish I still could shoot like I used to. Back to practice on tiny things to get my focus back and my form

 

[dirtlooter]

The pure simplicty of the stick and string is intoxicating in itself. Ay first you are just happy to even hit that big pie plate at ten yards and then twenty yards. But if you are persistent enough and practice correctly, you become better and better. For me, I had to practice on tiny objects like scattered dry pinto beans on the ground or even black eye peas. This led to untold confidence on targets such as squirrels etc. It also made a better bowfisherman out of me as I became more efficent at picking a spot, a tiny spot. It is an awesome thing to finally know without a doubt that you can make the shot on whatever it may be other than unforeseen things. I am not at that level anymore but am working on it. I am shooting inside at tiny 1/2 red pom poms glued to fishing line hanging in front of a large block target. I am a firm believer of mastering the very close and working your way out. Reprograming my brain again and getting my form and release smooth again. There is no substitute for hands on practice but it also matters how and what you practice on. If you just shoot at something big all of the time, most will fail badly on the small and tiny targets. So many just shoot at the target and do not focus intently enough on a tiny spot. Some guys say to focus on even a single hair on a deer but my eyes aren't that good to see that LOL. I have pretty much always built my own arrows, no longer wood like before but still put together by me. That is part of the whole experience, build an arrow, sharpen the broadheads yourself an use a stick and string. Even better if you can or have built the bow yourself. A lot of people out there know exactly what I am talking about.