Fred Bear

Fred Bear was known as the father of modern archery and in 1939 started Bear Archery Products. Bear was born on March 5th 1902 during a blizzard in a farmhouse in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. He moved to Detroit a few days after his 21st birthday to work for the Packard Motor Company. His first archery patent dates back to 1937. Fred Bear is my hero because of his devotion, innovation, and his hunting status among archers.

He made his first bow in 1929 and he didn’t kill his first deer until 6 years later. He started his archery business for his friends at first and then expanded into a worldwide company. He competed in many different archery tournaments including winning Michigan’s state championship in 1934, 1937, and 1939. He was a very important person when it came to getting an archery season started in Michigan.

Fred Bear also helped modernize archery to what it is today. His first patent for a piece of archery equipment dates back to 1937. He would experiment with fiberglass limbs and machined aluminum to help make the bow more efficient and lighter weight. He produced archery films and wrote articles in magazines such as "Life" and "True".

In 1935 Bear killed his first deer with a bow and arrow. In the late 1920s he watched Art Young’s film called “Alaskan Adventures.” This was what made him get into hunting and become an avid hunter. He has killed many trophy animals including ones that are still in the record books today. He has hunted in areas like the Yukon, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Alaska, and all of the western states in the U.S.

Fred Bear is a hero in the eyes of many outdoorsmen of the past and today. If it wasn’t for Papa Bear, archery would not be where it is today.