By this I mean that the face of the limb is wider and tapers down towards the back of the limb giving a cross-sectional view which appears as a trapezoid. A characteristic of Grumley bows is the trapezoidal limb cross section. Additionally you will find Grumley’s backed with sinew, rawhide, and various types of wood. The later Grumleys also can be found in laminated woods as well as self-wood models. These bows were available primarily in one piece design, but a few were made in 2 piece take-apart and some in 2 piece hinged models. ◦ Deerslayer (with brush nocks 3-4 inches long). ◦ Bush Bow (having brush nocks carved into the ends of the limbs about 1-2 inches long) ◦ Hunter (steamed limb tips but without Brush Nocks) However, in late 1948 Bear began using what later became known as the small “Running Bear” decal, and thus some bows built beginning in 1948 may have this decal instead of the written brand. These bows were simply marked “Bear Archery” in a written form. There were several other bowyers who made Bear wooden bows, mostly the lower line lemonwood models such as the Ranger. Not all Bear bows made in these early years were made by Nels. These “Grumley by Grumley” bows are marked with a simple stamped signature “Grumley” either on the limb or on the riser, and are very scarce and excellent collector items. However, his private venture into the bow making business lasted only two years before he took a job in an appliance manufacturer as a model maker. Nels left, even though Fred tried to convince him to stay with some handsome financial offers, and struck out on his own to make bows. Nels felt strongly that bows should be individually crafted, and not made by machine. Nels left Bear in 1948 when Fred made the decision to begin mass production of bows at the new factory in Grayling. Note: Remember that the company was known as Bear Products until 1940, so the “Bear Products by Grumley” bows were obviously made before those marked “Bear Archery by Grumley”. Then somewhere in the early 1940’s, the brand was dropped and broken and instead of buying a new one Nels simply began writing his name on the bows. Why the different means of signing the bows? Well, when Nels first began making bows for Fred in 1938, he used a sort of branding iron to stamp into the wood his mark “Bear Products by Grumley”. The pride in his craftsmanship is demonstrated in that each and every bow which Nels made is either stamped or signed with his name, along with the words “Bear Products by Grumley” or “Bear Archery by Grumley”.īeginning in 1938, Grumley bows bore the stamped mark of the maker, sometime in the early 1940’s, the stamp was broken and all bows after that date bore the written mark of their famous maker. Nels was a fantastic craftsman, and his skills show in each and every one of his bows.

The Pre-Grayling Era Bows of Bear Archeryįred’s first bowyer back in 1938 when the fledgling Bear Products Company first began commercially producing bows was a remarkable man by the name of Nels Grumley. And as a result, many of us grew up with Bear bows in our hands for a good part of our lives. Most all of us who grew up in the days before compounds saw Bear ads and promotions everywhere we turned. Seriously, Bear bows were the best marketed bows in the world for over 50 years. Why then, if there are so many Bear bows out there, are they so valuable? Wouldn’t it make sense that other bow companies who madey fewer bows would be rarer, and thus command more value? Without a doubt this can be attributed to the influence of the man himself, Fred Bear and his immense popularity In fact, in one year alone (1975), Bear Archery made over 360,000 bows.

Without a doubt, Bear Archery Company has produced more traditional bows than all the other traditional bow companies combined.

Bows stick ranger