Bear Whitetail II Review

Editors' review

Before Bear's name became shorthand for the affordable, grow-with-you hunting bow, there was the Whitetail II - the model that quietly wrote that formula in the mid-1980s. This is a long, forgiving, finger-friendly compound from an era when 46 inches axle-to-axle was normal and a bowhunter drew with a leather tab, not a release. It ran for roughly a decade, from about 1985 through the mid-1990s, evolving from round wheels to cam eccentrics while keeping the same easy-to-live-with character. What makes it worth a page today is not raw performance - it is slow and heavy by any current measure - but the fact that so many are still shooting, still hunting, and still turning up at swap meets and in family closets for the price of a tank of gas. For the archer who inherited one, found one, or wants to understand where Bear's whole value lineage began, here is what the Whitetail II actually is.

Finish

The Whitetail II shipped in the hunting camo patterns of its day rather than the deep-anodized colorways buyers expect now. The most common factory look is a green base with a black spray-pattern overlay - a purpose-built woodland camo applied right over the aluminum riser and limbs, Bear logo included. Later units in the run appeared in early licensed patterns such as RealTree Advantage and tree-bark-style prints, which today command a small premium among collectors hunting for a specific look. The finish is a painted coating over metal, not a modern powder-coat, so surviving examples often show honest wear at the shelf and grip - cosmetic rather than structural. There is no gloss target finish or multi-option palette here; this was a one-look-per-run hunting tool. Buyers restoring one should treat the camo as period-correct character, not a flaw to sand away.

Riser

The riser is a machined aluminum handle in the long-riser style of 1980s Bear compounds, and it is the source of both the bow's virtues and its heft. At roughly 46 inches axle-to-axle the geometry is built for stability, not maneuverability: the long riser and generous limb spread put the nocking point a long way from the pivot, which quiets shooter-induced torque and rewards a relaxed finger release. Cable routing runs through a simple slide-style guard rather than any roller system, and the string terminates in the era-standard teardrop fittings feeding steel cables. There are no accessory rails or integrated mounting systems - you get drilled-and-tapped holes for a sight and a rest, and the two-piece-quiver mounting bosses many owners still use. In the hand the metal riser feels solid and cold, which is exactly the trade a modern buyer should understand going in. It is overbuilt by today's weight-conscious standards, and that mass is a large part of why these bows survive decades of hard use.

Grip

The grip is a direct, fills-the-palm handle formed into the aluminum riser with a simple grip panel, not a modular, swappable, angle-tuned unit. It carries the medium-to-high wrist feel typical of the era, which suits the finger-shooting stance the bow was designed around - the shooter loads the web of the hand and lets the long riser do the stabilizing. There is little in the way of torque-reducing sculpting, so a clean, loose hand matters more here than on a modern side-plate grip that hides small errors. Owners with cold-weather sits often wrap the grip, because bare aluminum draws heat out of the hand fast in late season. It is a period grip: functional, honest, and completely serviceable once you adapt your hand to it. Anyone stepping back from a contemporary rubberized grip will notice the difference immediately, but the long geometry makes that difference easier to shoot through than the spec sheet suggests.

Limbs

The limbs are solid (non-split) limbs bolted to the riser in the durable laminated-glass tradition of the era, the kind of build that lets these bows keep shooting thirty-plus years on. Peak draw weight tops out around 70 pounds, with 60-pound configurations the most common on the used market, and the practical story is how easily the weight comes down: backing off the limb bolts drops poundage several pounds without a press, so a bow set heavy for a strong adult can be softened for a smaller or younger shooter. That adjustability, paired with the eccentric's draw-length settings, is the whole "grows with you" pitch that Bear would later refine across its value lineup. The limb design is forgiving of storage and neglect in a way modern high-preload limbs are not - part of why so many turn up intact after decades in a garage. It is not a speed-limb; energy storage is modest and the bow trades velocity for durability and easy tuning. For its intended close-range hunting job, that trade held up for a decade of production.

Eccentric System

The Whitetail II's eccentrics are where its age shows most clearly and where its versions diverge. Bows in the run came with round wheels - smooth, mild, and utterly predictable - while a cam-eccentric version ran alongside that firmed up the profile slightly, both feeding steel cables through teardrop string fittings on a standard 38-inch AMO string. Either way this is a multi-draw system: draw length adjusts at the eccentric across roughly a 28-to-32-inch span, and because changing that setting also shifts poundage, the bow can be genuinely dialed to the shooter without a trip to the press. Let-off is modest - owners consistently describe it as small by modern standards, in the neighborhood of the 50-percent figure typical of period round-wheel bows - so you carry a real fraction of peak weight all the way to anchor. Speed belongs to its era: this bow predates the IBO test standard, and owner chronograph work puts it in the roughly 190 fps class at 70 pounds with heavy aluminum arrows, with lighter draws landing lower. Compared to a modern cam that rolls hard and dumps into a deep valley, the Whitetail II draws long and smooth and asks you to stay engaged - a very different, more deliberate shooting rhythm. In my experience with round-wheel bows of this vintage, that gentle, humpless draw is exactly what makes them so easy to learn on, even if it leaves velocity on the table.

Draw Cycle/Shootability

Drawing the Whitetail II is an unhurried, linear pull with no aggressive front-end hump and no sudden dump into let-off - the round wheels simply roll the weight on and ease it back a little at the wall. The long riser and 46-inch axle length make the bow feel planted and slow to react to hand torque, which is why owners keep reaching for the same word: forgiving. Drawing one myself, what stands out is how little it punishes a less-than-perfect finger release - the long riser simply soaks up the torque. That stability is a real gift for a finger shooter, though it comes with an honest tell - draw the bow with fingers over enough shots and you will feel it, a reminder this platform predates the release-aid-and-peep default most archers shoot now. With the light let-off you hold noticeably more weight at anchor than a modern 80-percent bow, so it rewards deliberate, well-conditioned shooting over marathon holding. Shot feel is heavier and lower-pitched than a lightweight modern rig; the mass that makes it a chore to carry also soaks up a good deal of hand shock, so the shot lands solid rather than buzzy. It is not quiet or fast by current standards, but it is smooth, stable, and honest - a bow that teaches form rather than hiding mistakes. Set up with a simple rest and sight, it groups perfectly well for its intended close-range work once the shooter settles into its longer rhythm.

Usage Scenarios

The Whitetail II's natural home is close-range whitetail hunting from a stand or blind roomy enough to handle a long bow, exactly the job it was named for. Its forgiveness and long sight radius also make it a surprisingly good learning bow for anyone who wants to shoot fingers and build clean release mechanics without a peep and release masking errors. Picture a hunter who pulls dad's old Whitetail II out of the closet, throws a $40 rest and pin sight on it, tunes the poundage down a few turns at the limb bolts, and is punching paper in the backyard the same afternoon - that is the bow at its best. It has the poundage and durability for deer and antelope at bowhunting distances, and owners have taken elk with it, though its modest speed asks for close shots and good shot placement rather than long pokes. Where it struggles is the tight, run-and-gun setup: 46 inches is a lot of bow in a cramped ground blind or a compact climber, and the mass wears on you across an all-day sit in the cold. As a first vintage bow, a dedicated finger-shooting rig, or a nostalgic hunt-with-grandpa's-bow project, it fits beautifully; as a do-everything modern hunting weapon, it is out of its era.

Versions

The Whitetail II is one bow that evolved through its roughly 1985-1995 run rather than a family of separate models, and the meaningful version axis is the eccentric. Per Bear's own string-and-cable records, the earliest 1985 bows used round wheels on a 39-inch string; a cam-eccentric version ran alongside from 1985 to 1991 on a 38-inch string; and the later 1990-1995 bows kept the 38-inch string with the refined multi-draw setup. Across all of them the bow was offered in multiple peak draw-weight classes topping out near 70 pounds and in the factory camo finishes of the day - the green-and-black spray pattern early on, licensed RealTree and tree-bark prints later. Because these were budget hunting bows sold decades ago, there is no meaningful launch-price differentiation to list by SKU; in period they ran roughly $150 to $200, and as little as $99 in discount-club packages with a sight and quiver. What a buyer chooses between today is really wheel-versus-cam feel and which finish and draw-weight class turns up in good condition on the used market.

Bear Whitetail II vs Diamond Edge 320, PSE Stinger MAX

Bow	Bear Whitetail II	Diamond Edge 320	PSE Stinger MAX
Version	1995	2022	2021
Picture
Brace Height	"	7.25 "	7 "
AtA Length	46 "	32 "	30 "
Draw Length	28 " - 32 "	15 " - 31 "	21.5 " - 30 "
Draw Weight	45 lbs - 70 lbs	7 lbs - 70 lbs	45 lbs - 70 lbs
IBO Speed	fps	320 fps	304 fps - 312 fps
Weight	lbs	3.6 lbs	3.8 lbs
Let-Off		85%	80%
Where to buy Best prices online	$50.99 to $3675 Compare prices	$199.99 to $795 Compare prices	$150 to $650 Compare prices
	compare more bows

The fairest way to place the Whitetail II is to compare what it pioneered against how the same idea is executed now, so set it beside two modern budget grow-with-you bows: the Diamond Edge 320 and the PSE Stinger MAX. The gap in raw numbers is stark and expected. The Diamond Edge 320 runs a compact 32-inch axle-to-axle, a 320 fps IBO rating, an enormous 15-to-31-inch draw range, a 7-to-70-pound weight span, and 85-percent let-off; the PSE Stinger MAX sits at 30 inches, 304 to 312 fps, 21.5-to-30-inch draw, 45 to 70 pounds, and 80-percent let-off. Against the Whitetail II's 46 inches, roughly 190 fps, and small let-off, both modern bows are dramatically faster, far more compact, hold far less weight at anchor, and adjust across a wider span - all for a modern budget-tier price in the rough $400-to-$550 class. What the Whitetail II still offers is the thing those specs cannot show: a long, planted, finger-friendly platform that teaches form, a metal-riser durability that has already survived thirty-plus years, and an entry cost of pocket change on the used market. Both the Diamond Edge 320 and the PSE Stinger MAX are the right buy for a new hunter who wants a release-aid bow that will serve for years out of the box. The decision comes down to priorities: a modern, fast, compact, high-let-off tool for the archer starting fresh today, or the original long-riser Whitetail for the finger shooter, the vintage enthusiast, or the hunter keeping a family bow alive.

Summary

The Bear Whitetail II is not a bow you buy for performance - it is one you appreciate for what it started and how well it has lasted. Across roughly 1985 to 1995 it delivered the long, forgiving, endlessly adjustable, finger-friendly hunting bow that made Bear synonymous with affordable capability, and it did the job well enough that thousands are still shooting today at prices that once hovered around $150 to $200 and now run to almost nothing used. Its honest limitations are the flip side of its virtues: it is heavy, it holds real weight at anchor with its modest let-off, and its roughly 190 fps speed keeps it firmly a close-range tool. But the same mass and long 46-inch geometry make it stable, quiet-landing, and remarkably durable, and the press-free draw and weight adjustment let one bow fit a whole range of shooters. What I keep coming back to with these round-wheel Bears is how easy they make it to learn genuinely good form, precisely because they hide nothing. It is an excellent bow for the finger shooter, the vintage-archery enthusiast, and the hunter breathing new life into an inherited Whitetail, particularly strong as a forgiving, teach-you-form platform at close range. Buyers who want modern speed, compactness, and high let-off out of the box should look instead at the Diamond Edge 320 or the PSE Stinger MAX.