I tried using some paracord for a test string to measure and set brace height, but it stretches too much to give any sort of reliable measurement...

 

D -

Digger from what you described, there's no way your weight measurement is going to be accurate. The width of the scale makes the bows weigh artificially heavier than they really are. A bow, fish or luggage scale works much better.

Measure from nock to nock and subtract 3 - 4". That will get you started.

Viper1 out.

 

I know, but I thought the info was at least somewhat useful and a way to quantify just how much stiffer this bow felt over the Bear bows, without actually having a string on it to measure draw weight correctly. Plus it showed me that I should probably get the 16 strand string for it over the 14 strand I was originally going to get...

 

Deflecting the bow to a brace height of 8" gives me an approximately 61" string length, which would be tip to tip relaxed length of 65" minus 4" for string length. 60X's Dacron 16 strand string is rated on Amazon for up to 75 pound weight bows, so a 61", 16 strand string from 60X should be about perfect for this bow, eh?

 

Digger -

While not impossible, the odds of the weights you're suggesting seem a little high for solid fg bows.
That mean A LOT HIGH, btw.

Also, given the lack of efficiency of solid fg bows, relative strand counts may not mean that much.

Put any string that's close on those bows and have them measured at a shop.

Viper1 out.

 

I managed to put on a paracord string and adjust it's length until it stretched while strung on the unknown bow to a string length of 61" which produced a brace height of 8-1/4". I tried shooting it a few times in the yard at 10 yards and it's harder to draw than my Bear Encounter compound bow that's set at 63.5 pounds right now. It hits the bag target HARD, too. This thing's a beast for sure. I will take it to the shop tomorrow and get it's draw weight measured and report back what they say.

 

I have no recurve strings at all in any length and neither does the local shop(he just opened not too long ago). I'm going to have to order strings based off the educated guesses and cross my fingers. Thanks for the help. Any idea what this bow might be brand-wise?

 

D -

Not really, since just about all manufacturers made pretty much identical fg bows in 1960's and early 70's.
I have one that looks a lot like your longer bow, but it's 35# and no idea who made it. I got it in the late 70's, and it was "old" then!

Ya know, might be a good reason to start dabbling into making strings... just sayin'

Viper1 out.

 

Just got back from the pro shop. The Bear Green Fox bows weighed in at 26-27 pound draw weight at 28" draw, the unknown tan/brown bow has a 50 pound draw weight at 28" draw. So I estimated 10 pounds heavier than actual, but still, an all-fiberglass recurve pulling 50 pounds? Is that normal?

 

That looks to me like a Ben Pearson bow. The leather wrap is not original and is way too big. The little tab arrow rest was used on some Pearson bows. You might be able to recycle about half of that leather into a nice grip. 50# would not be unusual in such a bow. Some models started at 45# and went up. Those bows work pretty well once you get arrows tuned to them. I have owned several of them. They are thick in the middle, often made to shoot either lefty or righty, so you will need arrows rated lower than the draw weight of the bow. It is will do best with a modern fast flight type string.

Howard Hill and Ben Pearson himself, two of the greatest bowhunters, used similar bows. Howard did rather briefly, while under contract to Ben for marketing, before reverting to his own design. It could make a good hunting bow. Nice find. - lbg

 

I have some 340 and 400-spine Carbon Raiders I was planning on using with it... I already cut back some of the leather to expose the little plastic tab rest. It seems totally usable. I have a 16 strand Dacron B-50 string from 60X coming for it...

 

My strings just arrived from 60X. The Green Fox bows have 8" brace height with the 52" strings and the tan unknown bow has around 8-3/4" to 8-7/8" brace height with the 61" string. I'm happy with the green bows, but is the unknown a little high in the brace?

 

I am willing to bet that your unknown bow is a Ben Pearson. I have a Ben Pearson Cat. No. 337 Fiberglass 66" Recurve Bow Strato Jet Target that looks just like it, except for the grip. Mine has a 62" string, that I need to replace, giving it an 8" brace height. Yours may be the 339, as it came in 50, 55, or 60 lbs versions.

 

It might be, the tips look similar. But this one only measures 65" tip to tip. It does weight in at 50 pounds at 28" though. A 61" string give me about 8-5/8" brace(the new string stretched slightly). Is that a good brace or too much?

 

I really cannot say.. cannot find a recommended brace height for any of the vintage fiberglass bows... and have not changed mine since it shoots very nicely at 8".

Look closely at the back of the bow, about 1/3 of the way down from the grip to see if any markings may remain. 40# is also marked on mine on the left side of the bow just under the grip.

Keep us posted, curious to see if we can identify it.

 

Interestingly if you look at the picture of the catalog you posted, the 339 is listed as 5'6" just like the 337, but the picture depicts the 339 as slightly shorter than the 337. That could explain why if mine is a 339, it's slightly shorter than your 337...

I can't find any markings on mine at all, but there is some black smudging on the lower limb below the grip on the face towards the target... No letters or anything legible, just some black smudging...

 

I bought an old recurve that has markings on it .half of it is missing, it says elco,below that it has 00?? 64" in length with it strung,28 to 29 draw length. Anyone know about it?