Brian Meehan
On Jorge L. Coppen “Bear Archery Traditional Bows – A Chronological History (1949-2015)“
I recognise and praise them for putting themselves out there for criticism but thank them for passing on their knowledge and helping others.
When it comes to reviewing the books, I do so based of my own opinions and thoughts. I want to convey to the reader which books I believe add value and at what stage of their archery journey.
Now for something totally different. Jorge has created the definitive guide to the Bear Archery bows, how to identify them and to determine the year of manufacture.
Fred Bear is renown as one of the forefathers of modern traditional archery and founded Bear Archery in 1933.
He went on to create some of the most iconic traditional bows including the Kodiak, the Grizzly, the Polar and then possibly the two most beautiful bows of all time – Tamerlane and the Temujin.
This is a beautiful book with sections on every single bow. It steps through bow from their initial creation to their final years with clear pictures, outlining the differences in each year or edition of manufacture.
While the book is somewhat repetitive to read, it is an essential for any bow collector or bow historian.
Suitable for:
Essential book for bow collector as invariantly they will end up with a bear in their collection
Liked:
Chapter 2 – setting the foundation, provides an exceptional cheatsheet on how to identify & age Bear bows
Disliked:
Its repetitive and is more of a resource than a read.
Star Rating (out of 5):
3/5 or 5/5 for the collector
Bear Archery Traditional Bows – A Chronological History (1949-2015) by Jorge L. Coppen
2nd Edition/358 pages
