Shown in the picture below is vintage Rose Oak Archery equipment from the 1960's which includes a Puma Hunter recurve bow, a King Panther recurve bow, an original Rose Oak Archery catalog (1960), a vintage shooting glove, 6 Rose Oak target arrows (made from barrel tapered Sweetland compressed cedar shafts, AKA Forgewoods), a vintage Rose Oak scoring card from the indoor archery range, and 3 Rose Oak cedar hunting arrows tipped with "Hills Hornet" broadheads.
Shown below is the silk screened "Rose Oak Bows" logo on an original "Puma Hunter" recurve.
Shown below is the silk screened logo for the "King Panther" recurve.
Shown below is the front cover of the original 1960 Rose Oak Archery catalog. The cover design, graphic arts, and photos for the catalog are listed as being done by a local graphic artist, Paul Mohr.
The pages below list the features and price for the "King Panther". This was Rose Oak's premier bow at the time and it sold for a staggering $75! One built with a Brazilian Rosewood riser cost an additional $25. Times have certainly changed.
The pages shown below list the "Ocelot" and the "Snow Panther". The "Ocelot" was designed as a tournament bow that cost a little less than the "King Panther". The "Snow Panther" was advertised as "a bow designed with the ladies in mind".
The pages shown below feature the "Black Panther" and the "Puma Hunter". The "Black Panther" was advertised and priced as a "beginners or occasional archers bow". A portion of the "Puma Hunter's" description states "designed for the hunter that wants the best" and the price was listed at $52.50! That amount today barely covers the cost of just the clear fiberglass laminates that are used in a bow!
The pages shown below list the arrow and arrow accessories that Rose Oak Archery offered. The aluminum arrows were made with "Alcoa aluminum shafting processed by Adams". These shafts supposedly offered many of the quality features of the more expensive tubing but were sold at a more economical price. A dozen of these built as "hunting arrows" sold for $21.65. That price included the finished arrow (crested and fletched with 5" die cuts) and "Hills Hornet" broadheads installed. Micro-flite fiberglass arrows are also listed on the page. They sold for $25.95 per dozen for the target arrows and $29.70 for the hunting arrows. Another thing that is interesting are the feather prices. The dyed whites actually sold for more than what the grey barred feathers did! Dyed whites sold for $5.95 per 100 and the grey barred feathers sold for $3.50 per 100. Wow!
The pages shown below list some of the archery accessories that were offered.
And finally, the back cover of the catalog is shown below. Listed on it are some "back page cover arrow specials". One of these specials includes cedar hunting arrows that were weight and spine matched, fletched with 5" feathers, and broadheads installed for a total cost of $12.50 per dozen!
Thank you for taking a moment and drifting back with me to a simpler time in archery.
Brandon Stahl
