Today is Papa Bear's 117th birthday. We should take a moment to reflect upon all of his many contributions to this sport/lifestyle that we all love so.

He sure did contribute a lot.
Saw him at an archery show in Grand Ledge Michigan in about 1986. He was pulling an oxygen bottle.

Truly a Man among Men! A true sportsman and one heck of a crack shot with a recurve!
I love watching those old films of his hunts!

My local shop owner, Bob Viden (former NRA Board of Directors member), was fortunate to join Papa Bear on one of his last hunts. Told me that he'll always remember Fred walking into the woods with a bow in one hand and his oxygen bottle in the other. He joked that it was filled with peppermint schnapps. What a great man!

Yep Happy Birthday to a great man - Fred Bear .

Saw a video of when they were tearing down the Museum building - the front doors had ecthings and archer outdoor stuff on it - couldn't believe that someone wouldn't go take those down and keep them - trackhoe operator was willing to let anybody get anything that remained . Sure seemed wrong to see the front doors torn down and hauled off to the dump . I guess a lot of history winds up there . O- well seems that the younger generation does give a hoot about that sort of thing so the doors went sooner than later . . .

I wish I'd have seen this a couple hours ago. I'll have a drink in his honor tomorrow night........I promise.

Thank you Fred Bear for all you brought to bow hunting.

I have hunted an area he hunted in my area many years ago. Wish I could have met him, I am not a bowhunter but have read a bunch of his books and thoroughly enjoy them.

Fred and Ted

when i was young,i seen Fred Bear and my father pointed him out for me,wished i would have got his autograph . Fred Bear was a great man ! The Legend

I still have one of his ( not his) magnum recurve bows that I bought in 68.

I got to met mr Bear at the 1988 shot show, he was sick the first couple of days but had heard, a young guy from michigan wanted to see him, the 3 day I went to the Bear Booth, the girl at the counter said Mr Bear was waiting to met me, I was taken inside to the office, and got to talk to Mr Bear for 45 mins, than a Guy came in and took Pics, I signed a release, and only asked for a photo or two the guy took my address, but never got any photos! I did get a Bear archery Hat signed! and a key chain! Mr Bear just kept asking me about Michigan, said that he Missed it and didnt realy like FLA!

I bought a Bear bow at a yard sale for .75c and sold it to a collector for $350.00 and he drove50 miles to my house to get it...thanks Fred

The Bear museum in Gainesville, FL was pretty cool.

I have a "signed" book from Fred Bear and had the honor of having breakfast with him during the Shot show in the 80's. He was a quite man who spoke softly and I sure was tired of hearing from bowhunters who told him they started hunting with a Bear bow. My first bow was a Bear 3-piece take down... handle A ( long riser). Wish I still had that bow.

I met him in the early 80's in Green Bay, WI. My dad took me to a presentation he was giving and brought three of his Bear recurves with him. Fred signed each one of them, and we still have them. One is on my basement. Fred also signed a baseball cap for me. I threw the cap away years later not realizing the significance of him to our archery and hunting world. I loved his movies though.

I watched his movies on the local TV channel as a kid.
Mom shot a Tamerlane in the league (forget what pops shot, Herters or Shakespear).
He liked Bear stuff though, since he was a lefty.

I keep thinking about an A handle TD. Or maybe a new one w wood riser.

Proly try one out at Farmland or Cloverdale.
If I can get in shape and not embarrass myself.

I just dug out an old (50's) Bear Alaskan today. I have intentions of posting it for sale, but need to check values somewhere.

Any ideas where the best place to look?

Ken

Back in the mid 1960s I was a young teen my father knew Fred and he came to our hunting camp in Sullivan county, Pa. for a week long bow hunt. Everyone killed a deer that week Fred had a small buck as did my uncle the other 4 of us killed does. Fred loved to fly fish for trout and spend a few afternoons on the local streams doing so with my dad and uncles. I was too young to grasp just what a treat it was to be in a camp with the father of the fiberglass laminated bow, but I do have a few pictures of the occasion and stayed in contact with him for several years therefatwr. He stayed at my parents home for a couple days while doing an outdoor show in Allentown, Pa years later. For a tall thin man he could eat pan cakes faster than mother could stack them.