is a bear whitetail 2 worth using?
Contributors to this thread:Equipment
From: JohnD
26-Sep-09
My neighbor gave me q whitetail two with new sights and arrow rest and i was wondering if i should use it or buy a new one?
From: Purdue
26-Sep-09
Compared to a new bow it will be very slow, have 65 per cent let-off, a little heavy, a little noisy, very smooth draw and quite accurate. And it will save you at least $500.
From: JohnD
26-Sep-09
Im going start target shooting with it and get use to it . Then go out bowhunting and see how i like it.
From: DLN
26-Sep-09
killed alot of animals in its day, will kill them just as dead today.
From: archer
27-Sep-09
For treestand hunting it's all you need. When you have money that is not better spent on more important things, you can buy a new bow.
From: snuffer
27-Sep-09
First bow I ever had, 1985 model. Sold it yesterday in garage sale for $5! Killed several animals along the way.
From: Majorhuntingfan
28-Sep-09
I have an old bear pursuit and have shot in a few competitions and it works great. you might want to put a few vibration dampening accesories on for hunting but practice is the main thing. you will need to remember that it drops faster than todays bows so accurate judging is important
From: muzzy100
28-Sep-09
set a pin for 10 and a pin for 20. it will kill a deer
From: Gundy
28-Sep-09
This is my brother in-law with the deer he got Saturday night. The bow is a 1986 Bear Whitetail II. Kills 'em just like it did 20+ years ago.
From: muzzy100
28-Sep-09
i love seeing old compounds still killin
From: gcoleman
30-Sep-09
deer is just as dead at 200 foot persecond as he is at 350 fps if you practice and hit him right,,, lots of advertising to day is to catch hunters not kill deer,, I killed many deer in last 40 years of huntin and many with homemade self bows and even the white tail hunter orignal,one of the bear compounds out,, any one remember them they were quite the contraption of pullys and wheels,, remember at one time your bow was state of the art for its time, deer aint changed none lol
From: BadgerND
30-Sep-09
My Bear Whitetail(original) was a Mule deer killing machine. It got stolen in 1977 or '78.
From: Billie
30-Sep-09
Ah! the memories! when I got my first WT2 I was so impressed by the increase in speed over my WT1. It must have been up to 210FPS. It was SO fast that I couldnt count to "one thousand One" before it hit my 20 yard target. It was heavy, and loud and awkward, and I thought it was the greatest step up in archery since the recurve was invented. It was great then. But I would get a newer bow to hunt with now.
From: Arrowflinger
01-Oct-09
Use the old bow until you kill a deer with it. Good woodsmanship and accuracy kills in the woods not speed. Most shots at whitetails are under 20 yards anyway. Use the old bow and enjoy the hunt. Good luck this season!
From: x-man
01-Oct-09
In the woods with ANY bow is better than sitting on the couch.
From: bowtech hunter
02-Oct-09
lol just hope the deer dont die of old age before the arrow gets there. but xman gots it right. I would take a bow from the wallyworld toy isle and shoot suctioncup arrows than stay home
From: acadianarcher
02-Oct-09
shoot it and enjoy. proper shot selection more important than speed.
From: Gundy
02-Oct-09
These old bows aren't as slow as you'd think. I chronoed the bow pictured above and it chucked a heavy 30" 2117 and 125 tip at about 215. Not bad at all for 65#@29". Shoot some light carbons out of it and the difference between it and todays bows wouldn't be all that great.
From: BubbaFett
04-Apr-11
Thanks for the info. I am in the same situation as the thread starter. I got one of these bows off of a friend a few years ago and I am finally going to try using it. I was ready to drop some cash on a new bow, but after reading this, I think I will give this "old" bow a try and save some money for now.
From: mathewscountry
04-Apr-11
had 1 for one of my first.i think they were one of the most forgiving bows ever.just make sure you check limbs for cracks .probably is none but you never know
From: 12yards
04-Apr-11
Also make sure stings and cables are in good working order.
From: archery1
04-Apr-11
Use it until you just have to have a newer, better, faster bow. Then use it for bowfishing.
From: brunse
04-Apr-11
I passed through many whitetails with a Bear Whitetail II, starting in about '88.
From: HOYTSHOOTER
04-Apr-11
I had a bear whitetail(original) When the whitetail 2 bow came out it was the hottest thing on the market! It seemed like everyone had one. Here's my first deer taken with a whitetail original I was 15 at the time! I'm 38 now!! [IMG]http://i719.photobucket.com/albums/ww192/bkm31512/001.jpg[/IMG]
From: HOYTSHOOTER
04-Apr-11
had a bear whitetail(original) When the whitetail 2 bow came out it was the hottest thing on the market! It seemed like everyone had one. Here's my first deer taken with a whitetail original I was 15 at the time! I'm 38 now!!
From: Teeton
04-Apr-11
I used to have a bear polar ltd 2 killed a few deer with it. Now this threads got me thinking, of getting my hands on a oldie and give it a try this fall for whitetail. With a flipper rest and a burger button. You remember them flipper rests and burger button, you old timers and I'm only 45. That's what I had back in the day. Just like having a old car!!!
From: HOYTSHOOTER
04-Apr-11
Teeton, actually I think that was a bear polar in the pic that I killed my first deer with, not a whitetail, although I had owed one of those too.
From: TRADSTYK
05-Apr-11
I bought one in 1990 and went on to kill my best bucks to date. Not fast but very deadly!
From: Paradox
06-Apr-11
Yeah Teeton......I must be old cause I remember a time when release aids were very rare. Flippers and plungers are still pretty popular with the Warf'd recurve crowd but my first compounds all wore them. Maybe we should start a new thread on who can resurrect and kill a dear with the oldest compound bow. Seems to be quite a few oldies for sale on fleabay.
From: TALLMAN
06-Apr-11
Went on a DIY mule deer hunt in colorado, I think it was in early seventies,one of my friends worked for bear archery at the time and brought along a new proto-type called a bear whitetail.He gave it to one of the young kids to use,you know what happened ,170 plus buck,kids first deer.
From: misfitmedic
07-Apr-11
I still have one that I turned into a bow fishing rig
From: Mt. man
07-Apr-11
Turned my old Jennings into my Carp killer. They make great bowfishing rigs too. That nice crisp let-off is good for finger shooting fish.
From: scentman
07-Apr-11
Same as any 20 yr old recurve or longbow... heck yea, critters don't know what your shootin.
From: Jbird
07-Apr-11
it is not the arrow...its the indian
From: Meat Grinder
07-Apr-11
A Bear Whitetail II was my first compound bow. Bought it in 1990. My Whitetail II had 50% let-off. It was a headache to tune, due to not having a cut-out in the riser, and funky little wheels with four or five slots made to adjust the length of the steel cables. Forty-four inches axle-to-axle and heavy.
Took me five years to kill my first deer with a bow. I told myself that as soon as I killed a deer with the Whitetail II, I would reward myself with a new bow. The new bow was a 1994 Browning Maxim. The difference was like night and day. I gave the Whitetail II to a buddy and have never regretted it for a second. They've killed a lot of deer, but if you can afford it, I'd buy something newer and save the Whitetail II for bowfishing. I think you'll enjoy archery more.
Good Hunting. Gregg J.
From: George D. Stout
12-Jan-24
They will work just as well as any bow. I still have six old compounds from the 70's and they shoot great, and I can shoot them well. The older I get the more attractive they are, and I probably don't have a hundred dollars in all of them put together. Enjoy it.
From: scentman
12-Jan-24
If the bow is in safe good working condition have at it, the bow don't make the hunter... your the one drawing back and aiming. Good hunting, scentman.
From: scentman
12-Jan-24
Also, find yourself some Ranger camo and have fun;0)
From: Boreal
12-Jan-24
Yup, 13 years later you can still kill a deer with it. As long as you have one of these!
From: grizzly
12-Jan-24
Remember when we used to hunt deer so close you didn't need a rangefinder?
From: drycreek
12-Jan-24
It was good for my first three deer !
From: Duke
12-Jan-24
‘Bot post at its finest…
From: Ricky The Cabel Guy
13-Jan-24
throw it in the trash...deer have changed in the last 30 years. their hide is thicker...ribs are thicker...and their organs are encased in a protective coating. nothing but a top of the line hoyt...mathews...pse...etc is capable of killing modern whitetails...not to mention broadheads (single bevel cut on contact only) costing at least $50 each.
as an ethical hunter...you owe it to the animal to only use the most modern hi-tech equipment.
From: Franzen
13-Jan-24
"Remember when we used to hunt deer so close you didn't need a rangefinder?"
Yeah, I did that last weekend. Probably go out today if the wind is bearable.
From: Altitude Sickness
13-Jan-24
My original is now a bow fishing rig
From: PECO2
13-Jan-24
It's great to read that old bows are good to go and to use them instead of needing a new bow. Very refreshing read compared to the usual woody fest about the new flagship bows.
From: Grey Ghost
13-Jan-24
The OP's bow is 15 years older, now, then it was when he started this thread. LOL!
From: Altitude Sickness
13-Jan-24
I wouldn’t trade that noisy, slow Bear whitetail for a new RX 12 Too much history. Shot it Barebow with a glove
From: Ricky The Cabel Guy
13-Jan-24
"The OP's bow is 15 years older, now, then it was when he started this thread. LOL!"
and probably still just as effective as it has ever been. :)
a couple years ago...i killed a deer with a 60 year old bear alaskan. it was the same level of dead as any of the other deer ive ever killed.
From: Meat Grinder
13-Jan-24
I was going to add my two cents to this topic, then I realized I made the last comment when this was first posted in 2011...lol.
I still don't regret giving that bow to a buddy. :-)
