Is Jennings thru???
Contributors to this thread:Equipment
From: Stoney
02-Nov-08
After seeing that Jennings last updated website is from 2006.....are they done as a company?
From: bgfisher
02-Nov-08
Jennings, as a company was done a long time ago. Bear Archery bought Jennings a ton of years ago. Their bows generally went downhill from that point on. The latest versions were nothing but Bear bows with Jennings logos on the limbs.
From: vinemaplesavage
03-Nov-08
Iam still using a carbon extreme,its put lots of meat on ground . Guess I better pass it on down to son and he can use it to back up Jennings xlr I gave him when he graduated from college.
Where does the time GO ??? I am on the last half of 69. ,
Milt
From: Carpshooter
03-Nov-08
I gave my Jennings Buckmaster to my brother-in-law,let him figure who makes it.I did like that bow though,was a great 3d animal killer and spot shooter until I got serious about archery.
From: x-man
03-Nov-08
Both Jennings and Fread Bear got bought out by, and are now owned by "The Evil Empire" that is Escalade Sports.
From: TJS
03-Nov-08
I still shoot the Jennings Quasar model. Sweet shooter that keeps up with top names in 3-D shoots. Quasar is a one cam bow. Bought it after shooting the Jennings Forked Lightening, which was my first.
TJS
From: The Rooster
03-Nov-08
I killed my first deer with a Jennings Carbon Extreme. I loved that bow...
From: Stoney
03-Nov-08
I liked Jennings bows when they were actually made by Jennings. What a shame....I wouldnt shoot a Bear bow if you gave it to me. Why they'd let such a proud heritage go in the drink Ill never know.....Guess they figger Fred's name sells more stuff than Tom's......what can you do/
From: FXRScotty
03-Nov-08
Uniforce recurve here!
From: archer
04-Nov-08
"I wouldn't shoot a Bear bow if you gave it to me". Why such an opinion of this bow? Every review of the latest Bear bows say basically the same thing: shoots well above price. A bow doesn't have to cost $900.00 to be good.
From: Carpshooter
04-Nov-08
Anyone want to give away a Bear Truth 2,I'm a good place to give it to.I'll take any of their last couple of year model bows, pride not a big thing with me.
I really want a Jennings camo X master bow,30 inch draw,you never know!
From: Stoney
04-Nov-08
archer....your absolutley right, a bow doesnt have to cost alot to be good. Thats the reality for sure. In reality as well....I shot the Bears and for what they cost, I still didnt like them. Ive shot newer reflexes and liked them, ross' and liked them, Hoyt Hawk series and really liked them...the Bears just never got my attention and I will NOT buy something when product hounds like Will Primos put their name on it. Their name on something means Im supposed to be impressed with that person and help Bear pay for his "mighty endorsement". Will Primos? ....gimme a friggin break.
From: Africanbowhunter
04-Nov-08
How about a Tred Barta bow?
gag :(....
From: lugnut
04-Nov-08
A close friend still shoots the Jennings T star-bought in about 1976! I used to shoot two Jennings elephant bows that had nearly 100 lb. draw wghts! None of that 65%letoff either! Had some pretty serious lamination problems though! We took alot of animals with them in the good ol days!
From: archer
05-Nov-08
Stoney, Bear has one person pushing their bows. Matthews has about 50, Hoyt has about 10, etc. Bear has consistently placed high in various bow reviews over the past three years. If you don't like them you are entitled to your opinion. What I don't like is when people who shoot one kind of bow make other people feel inferior. If you like your bow that is all that matters.
From: FXRScotty
05-Nov-08
Tred Barta bow? I don't have time to grow a tree cut and carve a bow, find a dead tatonka and make a gut string, chip out some flints and make a point, then carve and fletch my arrows. I am however willing to make a fool of myself on TV.
From: TJS
06-Nov-08
Jennings may have been absorbed into Bear, then again by another. Jennings had an impact on todays compounds. There are many great shooting bows out there. You don't need a "promoted" bow for it to shoot well. I also say hooray for Will Primos. He makes quality, fun loving videos. He has done well with his business and enjoys the sport we all love. From all that I have experienced, many Primos products have been well made and help me enjoy the sport. Now get out there and hunt the rut! (It's puring rain with 30 mph winds here.) TJS
From: Twang1
06-Nov-08
Last I heard from Tom Jennings was several years ago when he sold everything, guns, bows, books, etc., at an auction in Columbia, MO. I did an interview with him for Bass Pro Shops and then he moved from Missouri to Honduras! His step son was building a scuba business on some island near there.
Anyone hear anything about Tom's current where-abouts?
From: thesquid
06-Nov-08
I still shoot my Arrow Star and my son in law shoots a T-Star. I have 60 to seventy animals with the Old Arrow Star and have no plans to change. It shoots well and I am comfortable shooting it / don't change what is working. To bad the company isn't still in operation.
From: bgfisher
06-Nov-08
I talked to him several years ago about the scuba business being planned. I have an interest as that is my "other" hobby. Guess I'm going to have to look and see what I can find out about it. Haven't dove Honduras for three years now.
As for Jennings bows? I bought a new 1977 ArrowStar way back when I shot field archery in the 70's. Jennings was a real innovator. Someone said Tom had an impact on compound bows. You bet he did. He was the one that took the Allen patent and started a company to mass produce them and get them into the public eye. Who knows. Without him maybe we'd all still be shooting stick bows.
Jennings was the cream of the crop back then--seriously. Hoyt didn't even have a compound till about the mid 80's---again, top notch bows.
I have nothing against Bear bows. They're pretty decent, but when Bear got hold of Jennings it was all downhill from there. There is nothing in the name Jennings any more. If you're going to shoot a Jennings you might as well just get a Bear and be done with it.
From: breid
06-Nov-08
Wish I had my Jennings Black Lightning back. Some jerk stole my brothers, which I had with me when he was in boot camp. Had to give him mine. It wasn't lightning fast, but it was forgiving and I could shoot it good. Don't believe all the hype about the super expensive bows. Find one that feels right to you and you'll be way ahead.
From: KY Clint
11-Nov-08
I am shooting a Jennings 1990 Sonic 300 with Pearson Renagade cams. The bow shoots better than I do so I will wait till I outgrow it and then look for something newer. It is a shame that small companies like Jennings (and Ross) get aquired because of the good product they make and then the product is changed, usually for economic reasons and end up gone from the scene. Sad but not alot we can do about it.
Clint in West Kentucky
From: string boy
11-Nov-08
NICE LITTLE USED JENNINGS CARBON EXTREME 80 LB AT 31 INCH DRAW COMPOUND BOW WITH 3 INCH OVER DRAW..NICE 300 FPS BOW AT ABOUT HALF THE PRICE OF THE NEW TYPE COMPOUND BOWS.COMES WITH CASE,ARM PROTECTOR,RELEASE,FIELD POINTS, AND 24 AFC 2400 CARBON ARROWS JUST REFLETCHED.GETTIN TOO OLD TO PULL THAT MUCH WEIGHT.WENT TO TAKE DOWN RECURVE.EASIER AT MY OLD AGE.
From: bgfisher
11-Nov-08
Hey, Jennings isn't the only bow company that got absorbed and then discarded by Escalade. They did the same thing with Golden Eagle. Granted GE was never considered a top notch bow, but they were good bread&butter hunting bows.
Pretty much the same happened to both bow lines. They ended up wearing the same limbs as you see on Bear bows. Except for the limb logo you could hardly tell them apart.
From: wz1f
18-Dec-10
I have a Jennings T-Star XL. this is the blue one. Can anyone tell me what year they were made. This one is set up now for target shooting at #55 it shoots very well.
From: rocky
18-Dec-10
My first Jennings was a T Star as well. And as luck would have it I ended up being sponsored by Jennings here in Ontario for a quite a few years. One of my favorites was the Machined Extreme...awesome shooting bow. My last was the Starmaster...killed a pile of animals with it. It's too bad how companies such as Jennings get swallowed up and thrown away. Tom Jennings was a pioneer in the archery world and I don't believe he ever got the credit he deserved for the early development of compound bows.
From: stagetek
18-Dec-10
I still have, but don't shoot a '78 Arrow-Star. I think they were introduced in '77 as the Master Hunter. One of the best bow's I've ever owned.
