Fred Bear RIP

smokepolejohnson · Apr 27, 2018

It's been 30 years today since his passing and he still inspires and has an impact on my shooting/ hunting more often than not. I still remember watching his Old film from hunting up north and on the Kodiak in the 1960's and every other film/publication he ever put out. He was a pioneer an innovator and reinvented the archery/hunting game as we know it today. Hell of a guy in all facets. In my opinion he's the top shelf and one of the best of all time. I do Wonder what he might think or could ve been if only he had a turbo sidexside, flatty hat, 1,000$ of high end camo, pre- workout, cross fit, teeth whiteners,a yeti, sfw, accubow and a You tube channel, expandables, etc etc. Nonetheless RIP MR Fred Bear. He was a game changer and shouldn't be forgotten!

littlebighorn · Apr 27, 2018

Sounds like you should change your handle to stickflipperjohnson.

I feel the same way about Jack O'Connor.
Maybe time is passing some of us by.

smokepolejohnson · Apr 27, 2018

LAST EDITED ON Apr-27-18 AT 07:51PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Apr-27-18 AT 06:11?PM (MST)

I completely agree on J O' C. Some of the youth in the hunting community could use a lil more J. O' Conner and Fred Bear, something off the old printing press and a lil less of the social media in between Kardashian reruns.

eelgrass · Apr 27, 2018

Back in the 60's I used nothing but Bear broadheads with my longbow. Spend hours sharpening them. Cedar arrows. I think I still have some in a drawer somewhere.

DW · Apr 27, 2018

We were lucky growing up having men like the two mentioned above to look up to. The example they set shaped Who We Are. There's still a few for today's young people to look up to who are doing it right. Here's to hoping today's youth follow the right ones.

#livelikezac

WiscoKid · Apr 27, 2018

All the respect in the world to Fred Bear for who he was and what he did for our sport. We had 3 pictures of him framed in our house in college and everyone would always ask who it was...we would just say it was our grandpa.

That being said, hunting back then, especially bowhunting, while much more primitive, was an easier game. There was no else bow hunting or very few. Yes, there are many obnoxious social media personalities putting their own twist on the game of hunting. But mainstream hunting TV for years has cheapened the hunt, abandoned woodsmanship, exploited natural resources (through a number of poaching scandals, high dollar pay to play ranches etc).

A lot of these guys who you don't like, who vlog their hunts and hikes, wear flat brim hats and receive free product for promoting things like pre-workout/wildnerness athlete/ and any other hunting gadget are still doing a lot of things right. They are putting in the miles, they are hiking for sheds, scouting in the units they hunt and trying to put animals down ethically...for that there are a lot of parallels to the original allure of bow hunting that we can thank Fred Bear for.

Just my opinion, from a die hard bow hunter.

Homer · Apr 27, 2018

LAST EDITED ON Apr-28-18 AT 00:22AM (MST)[p]he didn't die again ....did he?

https://youtu.be/Fnj6h6U5yK8

YBO · Apr 28, 2018

Much to the dismay of the older generation, HOC was the reason I started deer hunting with the .27Oconner in 1966. Still use the same rifle today on Black tails.

bigpiney · May 2, 2018

Smokepole Johnson,

I couldn't agree more with you sentiments Fred Bear. Fred Bear is a legend in his own right.

But you got give some credit to these younger guys. These guys wearing flat brimmed hats, skullet hair do's are getting it done on and off the mountain. Many of these guys kill big bucks and bulls and then do fundraisers in the off-season and the like to give back to the local community.

EVILNR · May 2, 2018

Fred Bear, the real deal.
Not so many now, kinda gone off on a
"Homey" tangent.

ddsflyfisher · May 3, 2018

Without a doubt, Bear "walked the walk, and talked the talk". He made a lot of sacrifices for his passion of archery and as such archery is where it is today due to his efforts.

Jack OC was a fantastic writer- love his fiction. His nonfiction though tells of a time where there were few limits on harvesting the majestic sheep. In a lot of ways his personal hunting stories are a turn off as his sheep hunting was easy compared to today's efforts- harvesting multiple massive rams on a trip was commonplace. Good on him for chasing and living his passion, but I wouldn't consider him a sheep conservationist.

YBO · May 3, 2018

Yes it was a different time. Nowadays Teddy Roosevelt would have been tar and feathered will all of his poaching

littlebighorn · May 3, 2018

LAST EDITED ON May-04-18 AT 07:46AM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON May-03-18 AT 10:50?PM (MST)

Given that JOC was born during a day when subsistence hunting was common place, (and legal) I'd say it's pretty harsh to call him a sheep glutton. I've pretty much read everything he wrote and aside from a hunt for Rockies when he shot two rams, because he had permits, and another Stone hunt he never took more than one sheep per trip. If he took more, he always had permits to do so and keep in mind that he was sponsored and encouraged to take that game by Outdoor Life (his employer) so he would have future writing material. He also went on several hunts where he did not shoot a sheep, even when he had a chance. In his writing he frequently called out slob hunters for not being ethical and wasting game, etc. and he regularly preached about the wows of poaching which was way more common in those days.

His first two desert sheep attempts ended without him taking a sheep. Most of his hunts lasted a month or more and calling them easy is also a stretch from where I sit, given todays fly in hunts with all sorts of high-tech gadgets.

It's pretty easy to be critical about what went on 80 years ago, using todays standards in anything.

I agree with YBO. Fred and Jack both lived during a way different time! But this thread is about Fred Bear.

dirtclod Az. · May 5, 2018

Went to many a Fred Bear seminar held here in Az.always enjoyed his speaking,and enlightenment on life.

Mackey · May 5, 2018

Back in my college days I worked at a gun and archery shop in Staunton Va. One of the owners, Bob Errett, worked for Bear Archery and would tell me stories about hunting trips he went on with Fred Bear in Michigan. To me, Fred Bear was larger than life. A pioneer. An innovator. A visionary. And most of all a great sportsman. Fred must have rubbed off on Bob because Bob went on to start Parker Bows in Mint Springs VA and grew it into one of America?s largest bow and archery manufacturers. Bob passed away several years ago. It's amazing what influence from the right people can have on someone?s life and how that can lead to amazing things. I do believe Fred Bear influenced Bob and as a result Bob Errett gave archery fans some of the best shooting bows and crossbows in the world. World class archery innovators Fred Bear and Bob Errett........R.I.P.

piper · May 8, 2018

I wonder where he would have stood in the scheme of today's world? He lived in a totally different and wonderful day and age, when the world was much a much Wilder place.