Unfortunately, the TD did not sell well and the line was discontinued after just 2 years.įred was an avid hunter and promoter. Finally, in August 1969 the Bear Take-Down recurve went into production, appearing for the first time in the 1970 catalog. The Polar and Kodiak were introduced in the following year, 1950.įred had been tinkering with take-apart and take-down bows of different styles for 30 years when in the mid-1960’s he began working on a new design that would require no tools for assembling/disassembling the limb and riser sections. The first new bow model which was introduced in 1949 after Nels’ departure was the Grizzly. Even though bows were then largely the result of machine work, Bob came to be considered a fine bowyer in his own right. Upon Nels departure, Fred moved another employee by the name of Bob Meeker over to supervise the manufacturing of the new bow lines. After Grumley’s departure, Bear began using the famous “Running Bear” decal. These bows were simply marked 'Bear Archery' in a written form. There were dozens of 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. However, his private venture lasted only two years before he took a job as a model maker for an appliance manufacturer. Nels started his own bow making business. Grumley knew that mass producing bows by machines instead of individually crafting every bow by hand was not what he wanted, and despite Bear’s attempt at retaining him, Grumley left Bear in 1948.

After observing Ben Pearson’s successful efforts to machine make bows, Bear changed from hand-made bows to mass produced bows using fiberglass and other modern materials.Īutomation did not sit well with Grumley, Bear’s principal old-school bowyer. The Grayling plant focused on making and marketing recurve bows and longbows.

In 1947 the company moved to a new facility in Grayling, Michigan. The archery business was renamed Bear Archery. Early on each and every bow which Nels made was either stamped or signed with his name, along with the words 'Bear Products by Grumley' or 'Bear Archery by Grumley'.įred Bear sold the advertising side of the Bear Products Company in 1940 to focus on archery. Nels was a fantastic craftsman, and his skills were reflected in the quality of the bows he made. In 1938 Bear hired Nels Grumley, a woodworker and bowyer, and the company expanded to offer hand-made bows.

The initial focus was on silk-screening and advertising support work for automotive companies. Bear Archery was founded by Fred Bear and Charles Piper in Detroit Michigan in 1933 as the Bear Products Company.

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