Bear Kodiak Magnum - How Old?

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  • TopTechAgent

    Active Member
    MDS Supporter
    Nov 30, 2012
    991
    Mooresville, NC
    I was gifted a while back this really beautiful Bear Kodiak Magnum recurve and I've kept it safe and dry for many years. There was one point I thought I might get it strung and shoot it but at this point it might be better off in the hands of someone that would appreciate using it.

    I'm trying to figure out it's age, plus maybe some tips on "shining it up."

    After some quick google fu suspect it's a 1970's era.

    Figured I would share some photo's for the folks who might be interested and could provide any more perspective. To me it's a beautiful but I do notice the finish has some look of dryness. Perhaps there is something that can shine it up but I won't proceed with any treatment without advice.

    If you are a true lover of these Bears I'd consider selling to our MDS community that would truly appreciate it and keep it for use or collection.
     

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    Horseman308

    Active Member
    Jan 27, 2016
    222
    Bears are sometimes hard to date, as not all of the serial numbers followed real clear patterns. Based on the woods, I'd guess early 70's, but I'm not the expert a lot of guys are. The characteristics of the medallion can give a better indication of a timeframe.

    It's a very nice looking KMag. I had a '69 that was similar to yours. I loved how it felt to hold, but it was just too short for me to shoot well.

    Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk
     

    TopTechAgent

    Active Member
    MDS Supporter
    Nov 30, 2012
    991
    Mooresville, NC
    Hey all tried to edit the original post from mobile but couldn’t so commenting here. I did research some more and that gave me the bug to keep it and get it working for some backyard fun !

    I’m still interested if anyone knows what I might use to clean it up. The finish has some dry chalky type feel.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
     

    Rambler

    Doing the best with the worst.
    Oct 22, 2011
    2,162
    I have anold Bear similar to this. I will drag it out and look at it.
     

    6Den

    Active Member
    Feb 10, 2013
    835
    Howard County
    OP, use goo gone to remove any adhesive residue or gunk, then furniture polish like miniwax to preserve and bring out the beauty of the wood. It should clean up nicely. Also PM Raineman to get a new Flemish string made up. He’s local and makes great, very reasonably priced strings as a hobby. Happy shooting!
     

    Raineman

    On the 3rd box
    Dec 27, 2008
    3,543
    Eldersburg
    Its been a while since I spent time "dating" the K-Mags, but if I remember correctly, I'd say that is a '73 or '74. I'll have to go back through my catalogs (which are buried at the moment). They can be dated by wood colors, tip colors, overlay colors, etc., and even down to which side of the limb the silkscreens were on. The "KU" serial number instantly indicates '70-'77 Grayling era production. The brown combination was (IIRC) for 2 years only.
     

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