Bow brands of years past...

TheTone

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No he sold McPhearson(ie his last name) then started Mathew’s in 1992.

An old bow line I used to have was Alpine. They went extinct a few years back. They were pretty popular in the late 90s early 2000s in the NW being they were based out of Idaho.
Alpine made some good stuff for a while, tons of them in my area. Seems like the end kinda started when they started building the bolted together multi piece riser bows in the mid 2000’s
 

Steve O

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If you could get a split limb High Country that lasted over 100 shots you had a great bow. The 66-69 Bear Super Kodiaks give up very little to the highest performing custom bows today.
 
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Wapiti1

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If you could get a split limb High Country that lasted over 100 shots you had a great bow. The 66-69 Bear Super Kodiaks give up very little to the highest performing custom bows today.
A buddy was a High Country guy and blew up several of their bows. The thing with him was they all had to be 80-90 pound bows, and High Country was it at the time. I remember he had a Carbon 4Runner that split the riser just below the bottom limb pocket. That bow was the shit at the time.

I haven't shot the older Bear, but a Schafer Silvertip from the late 70's/early 80's is my grail bow. You don't hear much about him, but Paul Schafer was a hell of a hunter.

Jeremy
 

bootstrap

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I still have an XI Miles Keller Legacy. That was the first bow I had in probably 93/94. Shot XX75’s at 204 FPS. I think it weighed as much and was about as loud as my 7 mag but I put down a bunch of deer with it.
Sounds like my High Country Excalibur. I was accused of slamming a screen door twice one morning by a hunting partner. He didn’t mind helping me gut and drag both deer to the road :ROFLMAO:
 
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I warfed my old Bear Whitetail II to accept ILF limbs. It worked really well as a target setup. Too long and heavy for hunting.

I forgot that Browning had a bow line.

Jeremy

I can't think of Browning archery without thinking about Lewis....



I feel like this is something common with a lot of the celebrity stuff:
He told agents he was driven to poaching
to maintain his reputation.
 
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Now shuttered bow manufacturers and models that I owned in the past:

Browning Explorer recurve
Jennings Wood Riser plus an Arrowstar
Shakespear solid fiberglass recurve
CSS Quadraflex compound....one of my favorite compound hunting bows, too bad they only survived a few years as they were very progressive at the time with split center mounted (in rubber) bow limbs and a forged riser. Still have one for old times sake but wouldn't shoot it with the wood laminate limbs that are 40 yrs old.
Wing target and hunting recurves
Martin Hunter recurve and Warthog and Cougar compounds
Bighorn (Fred Asbell/Denny Behn) recurves....still have one and shoot it on occasion
Carrol compound
 
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Steve O

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A buddy was a High Country guy and blew up several of their bows. The thing with him was they all had to be 80-90 pound bows, and High Country was it at the time. I remember he had a Carbon 4Runner that split the riser just below the bottom limb pocket. That bow was the shit at the time.

I haven't shot the older Bear, but a Schafer Silvertip from the late 70's/early 80's is my grail bow. You don't hear much about him, but Paul Schafer was a hell of a hunter.

Jeremy
Dave makes a MUCH better bow than Paul did both in looks and performance. I’ve had a few. Hard to beat a Silvertip.
 
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My first was a high country also. Think it was an Excalibur??? Long gone. Remember it left a lot to be desired but dang thing shot straight! I think I could've hit the deer in the eyes with that thing if I wanted to
 

Bsax89

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Do not remember the model but my first bow was a golden eagle growing up. I could not tell you if it was a good bow or not because I did not know any better or care. The memories it gave me are worth more than any bow could ever be.
 

xcutter

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This thread brings back a lot of memories. I remember drooling on several of these bow brands in my Dad's Cabela's catalogs. Good stuff.
 

hiker270

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XI Legend Magnum, loved that bow.
Jennings Airmaster, gave it to a friend and he still shoots it.
 

LostArra

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Browning Nomad Stalker recurve, a real shorty.

My son in-law hunts with a Parker Viking and he loves it. Very nice shooter and quiet.
 
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Jennings lightning-still have
Martin Pantera-sold-not a great bow, but it killed a few deer. One of the last steel cable bows I remember.
Browning recurve-Was my mom's and is several years older than I am and I am 55. Ive killed a buck with it.
Dad had (still has) a Martin Cougar 2. Pretty bow. Shot it a few years ago. Still smooth but obviously early 80's tech.
 

TheTone

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I remember wood riser compounds including one that cabelas sold with a thumbhole design

The old golden eagle formula(?) that had a entire setup of integrated accessories. The current integration companies are pushing are nothing new
 

Elkhntr08

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Clearwater, was a offshoot of Alpine
Golden Eagle, junk
Forge Flite, short lived
Oregon, expensive
Black Knight, BowTech before bankruptcy
Xi, loved the Flatline-NOT
High Country, big flash in the pan, HUGE
I can’t remember how many companies can into the shop in the ‘90s wanting me to stock their bows.
 
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My first bow was a Renegade Tominator. Bought it used about 15 years ago. Used to get made fun of at deer camp because of how old and worn out it looked. But it would kill deer…. It met its end last season when it blew up in my hands. Thankfully no one was injured.
 
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