Think you know how a “typical” Bear Archery bow should look and shoot? Think again.
“Our flagship bow for 2010 is the Bear Attack [$749]; it was our goal this year to introduce the ‘perfect killer’ hunting bow—one that is fast, durable, lightweight, and aims well while not compromising one aspect for another,” said Jack Bowman, vice president of Bear Archery. “We all agreed we wanted a fast bow, but we knew a [bowhunter] can’t be ripping his arm out pulling it back. We wanted a nice smooth-shooting bow.” Bowman explained the Attack offers IBO speeds from 332 to 340 fps — fairly smoking for a one-cam.
“The Bear Attack tops an entire new line of ‘Perfect Killers,’” Bowman continued. “Back in 2008 we had completely revamped the Bear line, and then this past year, we added a few color options to address the competition market. We added the black finish for ground blind hunters and we also introduced a new youth bow, the Young Gun. So it was time for a complete revamp of the line again.”
One new feature that you will notice on both the upper-end Attack and the new Bear Assault is a unique and distinctive “pre-loaded” limb design. “By pre-loading the limbs, it has allowed us to store more energy up front without the bow stacking up as it is being drawn,” said Mark Wenberg, who heads up the design and product development team.
Wenberg explained that the company is supremely confident in the new technology that represents a rather bold departure from recent Bear bows. “[Our engineers] have done so much testing on the new limbs, we feel very confident about it. To highlight this new technology, you’ll see we’ve pretty much gotten away from the bright green cams and pockets and the orange/green strings throughout the line, blending those elements into a much more eye-appealing, cohesive look throughout the line. I believe when someone looks at these new bows, they’ll see they are some really good-looking hunting bows, meeting or surpassing everyone’s expectations. The Attack and Assault offer dipped camo limb pockets in Realtree APG camo, and the Attack and Strike are also available in a Shadow Series (black). You’re seeing more companies go with a solid black bow, which is popular with customers whether they want to shoot 3-D or use it for ground blind hunting. We saw a really good response with the black last year.”
An even better response came when Bear rolled out its new 2010 line to its pro staffers and sales team last fall.
“I think that was one of the neatest things,” Wenberg continued. “It’s always fun watching people’s reactions, but back on October 1st, when people shot the new bows, it was just like, ‘Wow!’ It just made you feel good because we’ve been working on this line for a long time.”
It’s also no coincidence that Bear has hit several prime price points for both its dealers and customers, with a goal of over-delivering on features at each level. Along with the Bear Attack and the Bear Assault [$549], they’ve also got the Bear Strike [$399], and the Bear Charge [$299].
“I think that’s what Bear has always been about — performance to value,” Wenberg explained. “Even though we expanded this year and took a step into that ‘upper tier,’ we want the customers to feel they are getting an incredible-performing bow for the money they are spending, all the way from the $299 price point to the $749 price point.
“With the talented engineering team we have, you’re going to see a lot of great things in the future as well. All of our engineers understand the game, they all shoot competitively, and they are in the field using the equipment,” Wenberg said.
In addition to substantial bow line changes, attendees of the ATA Trade Show will also see a much different look to the Bear booth (#1301) — and both dealers and their customers will see a new, exciting advertising/marketing campaign aimed at tying it all together.
“[Our advertising/marketing] has a real ‘clean’ look—it has that ‘rough, dark, grungy’ feel to it — a little bit of that ‘cool factor’ that is different from what you have seen from Bear in the past, and it is all focused around the ‘Perfect Killer’ concept,” Bowman said.
One other new bow is the Apprentice youth bow, which is following the proven Young Gun introduced last year.
The Young Gun retails for $329 (that’s bow only), and the Apprentice is $279 RTH (Ready To Hunt), which includes a sight, quiver, and integrated Whisker Biscuit rest — it’s actually dovetailed right into the riser. Again, another nice performing bow designed for the youth at a very reasonable price.
See the full line at Bear Archery Products or contact them at (812) 467-1200.
