Identify This Bow
Equipment
I wonder if this was a military issued bow? Bet you haven’t seen an archer in a war for a long time. I wonder if any Vietnam Vets out there have seen bows in use here like this? Not counting Rambo.
Looks like a great candidate for "how's my form" discussions. :-)
This picture has shown up on leatherwall and discussed a few times. Check over there for details.
In college in the '70s I was on the archery team. I shot my camo-painted Black Widow and took it to class sometimes on practice days. One day my English prof, a nice older lady, asked me, "Is that an army bow?"
I met a Vietnam War veteran at the MWR rec center in FT Sam Houston in 2005. I was talking to him about the archery range and bow rentals. It came up in conversation that he was in a Special OPs unit in Vietnam in the 1960's and had a recurve. His claim to fame was that he killed a tiger with that bow that was stalking them. He had black and white pictures With the tiger and bow. Pretty cool, not many people alive have killed a wild tiger with an arrow.
Doesn’t look like he’s wearing an arm guard, that could be dangerous.
Long range Hootch burner.
I think it was a Ben Pearson, Cougar maybe.
Looks like a Bear Polar. They were made thoughout most of the Vietnam war period in two lengths, 62" and 66". The 66" were available in higher draw weights and would probably have been friendlier to the longer draw lengths that would be encountered when issued to troops. Every one I ever saw was in that white limb color on both sides,
Seemed like an unlikely choice to me as compared to something shorter, with darker limbs, and a take-down configuration, but I often don't see the sense in government decisions. Earlier versions of the Polar had shorter lengths and slimmer risers, but the version that came out in the mid-'60's had big risers shaped just like the one pictured, and the logo on the lower limb looks right as best I can make it out.
Most of the ones I saw were "the wife's bow" or one for a an older kid getting into fairly serious target archery. The Bear Tamerlanes were still very competitive at the more serious levels then, and the heavy-risered Polar was a "Tamerlane Lite" at about half the price. A few of the taller local hunters painted them up in camo and used them for hunting. The long length and smooth shooting properties made them acceptable hunting bows for guys who didn't mind the extra size in the woods.
“Identify This Bow“
Ram-bow!
