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Fred Bear collectors

I bought a Fred Bear Take down recurve limited to 1000, but he passed away befor less than 200 were made. It comes in a wooden display box and is the most beautiful bow I have ever seen. If any of you know anything about this bow or value I would be most interested. The number on my bow is 158. Never been strung only looked at. Been in my closet for many years. I was lucky to have hunted with him at Grouse Haven were I bought the bow.

I think you have one of the Fred Bear Signature bows that were made around 1980. Does it have clear glass on the limbs and the limb latches are gold-plated? If so, DON'T shoot it-I believe they are going for high dollars ($10,000+??)if they are untouched and complete. Did I type $10,000? Sorry, typo, I meant $1,000 - PM me and I'll put the check in the mail (Hell, I'll drive to your door and give it to you!!). Fred is one of my hero's, but the closest I've gotten to him is a signed photo. You are a lucky man-any interesting stories or insights from your hunt with him? Seriously though, I'm not a collector - I usually know just enough to be wrong most of the time. Hope some other more knowledgeable guys on here can pinpoint it better.

Ya, its only worth about $20, but I will give you $25. Sounds like you have a real winner there! Like most collectibles, it is worth what you can get for it.

I might go as high as $27.50.

I must be missing something here. You hunted with the man, at his hunting lodge, and bought a bow there, and you are asking for information about it here???????? If I had been that fortunate to hunt with him at Grouse Haven, I would know the value of that bow, and would never admit I bought it to let it sit in the closet for years.

When I started this thread I was going by memory because it has been in my closet for 30years. It is a Fred Bear Signature bow #108 with ebony, Ivory and gold hinges. It is still in it's orginal cardboard box. I forgot how beautiful it was, till I got it out to anwser you questions. If some of you have never seen one maybe I will try and take a picture and put it on the site. I also have a couple of the takedown regular bow signed and never used. He was also what made me want to be a bow hunter. I sure was lucky to have spent some time with him and heard him tell his stories. He was in his 80s when I got to spend time with him and watch him shoot his bow. I guess I will pass it on to my son who is also a bow hunter. I hope he will understand how important Fred Bear was to archery and bow hunting. I hope the young kids of today will learn about him, to me he really somone who left his mark.

Caribou,

You are a lucky man. I would be honored to sit in the presence of Fred Bear. I hope your son realizes the magnitude of your experience and of your collectibles. If possible could you please post pics of your stuff. I think it would be awesome just to see. Also, how did Fred shoot when he was 80. Could he still shoot well? I will assume, yes.

At a Pope & Young Convention....I think the one in Edmondton, Alberta back around 1997 or so....1 sold at their auction there for $10,000! Supposedly....Fred only had 200 of these bows built! He inspected each and everyone of them personally and IF there was a flaw he threw them in the trash and told them to build another!

The were given to Friends and Business Associates and maybe a few sold! But was only planned on the 200 being built!

The story on the 1 in Alberta P&Y Auction was that a man was given this bow by Fred! Later this mans son was in a BAD car accident and need exstensive dental work and he did not have the money. A friend of his...that wasn't a bow hunter....offered to give him the money he needed and the man gave him the bow for this money then as a collectors item. It (the bow) sat in this mans closet for years and years. Upon his death his wife and/or family came across this bow and they donated it to The Pope & Young Club for their auction! I wanted this bow...#6 or so (I think) and I stopped bidding at $3,500. I was shocked when 2 guys kept bidding and it finally quit at $10,000.

There was one on E-Bay last week....I never went back to see what it finally sold for. But it had been used!

SAVE IT and CHERRISH IT!

Is this the bow?

I cant sell this but think its the BEST, I got a hug from Fred at the lst convention I attended in Spokane Washington, He asked me if I could have a BEAR HUG, My husband Stan and I had a picture taken with him. THe next convention we went to he remembered ME not Stan, It's one of my favorite memories of FRED. Carolyn Godfrey, Senior MemBer of P&Y

There is one on E-Bay now. It's been shot,has stress marks on the limbs and is going for over $2000.oo ! If you don't need the money "hold on to it". Money in the bank my friend.

Richard, You probably have one of the most sought after and valuable traditional bows ever made. I was just a kid when they were made, but I remember seeing the advertisements and wanting one worse than anything I ever wanted, but not being able to come up with $10, much less the $1,000 price tag at the time. Passing it on to your children is a wonderful gesture and I'd do the same. I'd be sure to let them know, though, it is a valuable heirloom and strongly encourage just looking and admiring it and not using it or unwrapping any packaging, etc. I'd suggest keeping that original shipping box and any shipping documents and all literature with the bow - in other words, keep everything. It will make a big difference if you ever decide to put it up for sale. Also, if those other take-down handles are wood (insted of magnesium) and unused they are quite a find also, and multiply their value a bunch if they are signed by Fred! What else do you have in that closet? You should buy a lottery ticket while you at at it, too! You know what else would be fun? - Mention these bows over on the Leatherwall and see how many new servers Pat has to buy to handle the feeding frenzy.

for bear fans I went to the fred bear factory in gainsville that has a the upstairs dedicated to the man with alot of his equipment and trophys it is a must go in your lifetime..

Yes that is the bow I have. It is still in the shipping box, never put togther. A little more on how I got the bow. The year Fred Bear decided to make a special bow, befor he left us I was invited to hunt with him at Grousehaven hunting camp. The same camp that is in much of his hunting books. At that time each year several dealers of Bear archery would be invited to spend some time hunting there. A good friend Henry Fulmer one of Bears salesman knew how much I liked Mr Bear. He arranged for me to get invited to one of these hunts. What a thrill it was to not only meet Fred Bear , but get to spend some hunting camp time with him. Each eavening after dinner they would roll out the projector and he would show his films. I also was lucky enough to go on walks with Fred and talk him into stump shooting. At 80 years old he could shoot the eye out of an eagle. There were also special friends of his in camp that included the Nuge and an astronaut Jim Level I think. It appears because Level was left handed Fred built a special tree stand for him to hunt. It became know as the astronaut stand. One other thing at that time compounds were just starting and he hated them. At that time we were selling Whitail compound bow for $129. We sold hundred to new bow hunters who would not have started bow hunting, if not for compouds. Fred Bear told me about the limited ed. bow he was going to make and I put my order in right there. I think I got one of the last ones they produced. The cost was $800. at lot of money at the time. I also ask him to send me a couple of his takedown bows to keep. He sigbed them and they have never been shot. At the end of each trip he would give each hunter,, I think there were 6 or 8 of us a special gift. An artist had presented him with a painting of him and a black bear. He had a few prints made and gave each of us a framed print. He also gave us belt buckles with his picture on it. The next year I was invited back, but I ask if my brother could take my place. So both of us got the trip of a lifetime. I was lucky enough to kill a six point buck, the only deer killed that week. So not only did I get to meet and hunt with Fred Bear , I also got to take a deer that is very special to me. Lucky me! I will also try and take a picture of the print and post it.

Yes that is the bow I have. It is still in the shipping box, never put togther. A little more on how I got the bow. The year Fred Bear decided to make a special bow, befor he left us I was invited to hunt with him at Grousehaven hunting camp. The same camp that is in much of his hunting books. At that time each year several dealers of Bear archery would be invited to spend some time hunting there. A good friend Henry Fulmer one of Bears salesman knew how much I liked Mr Bear. He arranged for me to get invited to one of these hunts. What a thrill it was to not only meet Fred Bear , but get to spend some hunting camp time with him. Each eavening after dinner they would roll out the projector and he would show his films. I also was lucky enough to go on walks with Fred and talk him into stump shooting. At 80 years old he could shoot the eye out of an eagle. There were also special friends of his in camp that included the Nuge and an astronaut Jim Level I think. It appears because Level was left handed Fred built a special tree stand for him to hunt. It became know as the astronaut stand. One other thing at that time compounds were just starting and he hated them. At that time we were selling Whitail compound bow for $129. We sold hundred to new bow hunters who would not have started bow hunting, if not for compouds. Fred Bear told me about the limited ed. bow he was going to make and I put my order in right there. I think I got one of the last ones they produced. The cost was $800. at lot of money at the time. I also ask him to send me a couple of his takedown bows to keep. He sigbed them and they have never been shot. At the end of each trip he would give each hunter,, I think there were 6 or 8 of us a special gift. An artist had presented him with a painting of him and a black bear. He had a few prints made and gave each of us a framed print. He also gave us belt buckles with his picture on it. The next year I was invited back, but I ask if my brother could take my place. So both of us got the trip of a lifetime. I was lucky enough to kill a six point buck, the only deer killed that week. So not only did I get to meet and hunt with Fred Bear , I also got to take a deer that is very special to me. Lucky me! I will also try and take a picture of the print and post it.

There is one problem, I don't know how to post a picture. If any of you can help I will post the picture right away.

Very cool! Sounds great!

Kurt

Richard, I'd really would like to see that print. Here is how to post a photo on here.

1.)You need to have the photo stored on your computer and know in what folder it is located. 2.)Right at the bottom of this thread is a section titled "ADD THESE OPTIONS TO YOUR SUBMISSION". Right below the title is "Embed a JPEG (PHOTO) into your post". Click on the button that says "Browse". 3.) This will open up a display of the folders on your computer. You need to find the photo in whatever folder it is and click on the photo. Then click on the button that says "Insert". This will transfer a copy of that photo to this thread. Last of all, be sure to click the "Submit Message" button below to post it on this thread. Hope this helps and someone please let me know if I missed a step or goofed one up.

if you wish - email the pic to me and ill post it for you

[email protected]

Deadhorse I will try to do that as soon as my daughter comes for a visit and takes the picture. Once again I was using my memory on what the picture looked like. I walk by it everyday, but never stop to look, however I also have a 9 and one half foot brown bear standing up that I also walk by everyday, but do not look at it also. The pictue in question has four bears on it. It is really a great picture, but the only thing on it was Fred Bears and the artist signature. I guess 65 is really telling on me. Forget a beautiful bow and the picture.

Those bows were produced in 1980. Fred signed each one in gold ink. The limbs were yew with clear glass. The guy that selected the yew for the limbs, can't recall his name off the top of my head, was 97 years old. Each bow was supposed to be able to achieve 200 fps, and came in a case. As mentioned, gold plated latches. I have a brochure on the bows somewhere. I wanted to buy one, but didn't have the money back then. At least I have a wood handle (Gainsville model) that Fred signed for me many years ago.

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