Hey guys just looking for some pointers here, i just bought an old bear whitetail hunter compound bow for $20 but its missing some stuff, like a sight, arrow rest and probably other things i would imagine. Seeing as I dont know much in the way of bow hunting I was hoping someone could give me a few pointers on how and where i could find some parts. Thanks.
That is what most people call an antique. I want to be very clear with what I'm getting ready to say. I don't want to come across as discouraging or demeaning, but there is much, much better equipment out there than that. I remember when that bow was around in the 80's!! Technology wise, the capabilities of that bow is maybe equal to youth bows today, in certain aspects, but the youth bows of today will even surpass it in many forms. It is going to be loud, it is going to vibrate like a tuning fork during and after the shot, and it's going to be very, very slow.
That being said, if you wish to "restore it", here is what I would do. Take it to a qualified archery pro shop and ask them to look at the limbs for safety. The string should be a tear-drop design that attaches to rubber-coated cables and the string itself should be 39". The same pro shop should be able to verify that easily enough and order a string for you and install it. You can go to Walmart and buy an inexpensive sight and put on there yourself and the arrow rest can be found here.
https://www.lancasterarchery.com/bear-traditional-weather-rest.html
Again, not trying to sound demeaning or crass, but you have the equivalent of an old Ford Pinto. It's neat, it will do the job if absolute necessary, but there are much better options out there for a beginning level archer to have a good, safe experience and the deer to have an ethical, humane end of life experience as well.
You can buy a used bow, that is under 10 years old, for 200-300 dollars, that will give you a far better experience, and if you decide then it isn't for you then you sell it to someone else just like someone did it to you. I would get involved with a local archery club, go to a local archery 3d tournament, and start looking at places like in the classified section of
www.ArcheryTalk.com, and even some Facebook groups. Talking to people and just reading information will give you a better idea of what you need and the direction to go— if you can get a hold of a good mentor to guide you, then that will be all the better.
I probably would get a string put on it, and hang it up for decoration if it were me.
If I can help, please reach out.