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Shoot The Bear
Shoot The Bear was a popular Gun Game in arcades during the late 1940's and for about a decade thereafter. The patron fires a rifle at a mechanical bear target, which moves back and forth against a forest background. The device was built to withstand many hours of dedicated play, which is another reason why the game was so enduring.
The target cabinet is 3' feet tall by 3.5' feet wide, and stands on chrome tubular legs (or even hangs on the wall). In the cabinet
is a window about 3' wide by a 1.5' tall. There is forest scenery visible through the window, and a small rabbit is hiding in the
grass. There are some trees with gaps between them half way into the box. A small bear, about eight inches tall, is visible in front
of the trees. Game uses a tube style amplifier.
The gun stand is about 25' in front of the target cabinet. It consists of a cabinet with two coin slides, a rifle, one button, and instructions. The player puts in a quarter for three games or a dime for one. An amber light indicates there are credits to play. The user presses the button and the green light comes on, indicating the game is ready, and the bear starts moving. The player can pick up the rifle and shoot, with each game consisting of twenty shots.
Every time the player pulls the trigger, a rifle crack sounds and the shot count goes down by one. When the trigger is pulled, the rifle causes a light beam to shine out of the barrel. The bear has three lenses, one in each side and one in the front chest. Should the light beam strike the lens, the game will register a hit. Several things happen then. The bear stops running around the track and rears up on his hind legs. His eyes and mouth light up and he growls. He turns, gets back down on all four feet, and runs around the track in the opposite direction. The number of hits is recorded in lights above the window and should the score be high enough, a rating is also displayed in lights under the window. The possible ratings are Marksman, Sharpshooter, and Expert.