Help identify reel

[dmccoyks]

I was given a Shimano bait casting reel from a friend and I cannot find a model number or anything other then Shimano marked on the reel. Is there anyway to find out what model this reel is? The last picture shows the Shimano marking down below the control knob, it is hard to see much detail in the picture. Thank you

[Lipripper]

Maybe LMG can help with that. 

[Tavery5]

Looks like one of the old Shimano Bantam Magcast, not sure which model.

[Smallie_Stalker]

Yeah I'm thinking it's a Bantam also, but like Tavery5 I don't know which model.

[Smallie_Stalker]

This is a lefty model, but looks similar

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Shimano-251-SG-Bantam-Mag-Level-Wind-Casting-Fishing-Reel-Nice-Vintage-/142405884091

[rman]

looks like a bantam mag for sure. I have 2 of the black 250sg



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

[dmccoyks]

Thanks for everyone's help. Is that a decent reel or not?

[zippyduck]

They were the cats meow in the 80's.
I had 4 of them and they are still a good reel.

[dmccoyks]

Great. I will see if I can get it cleaned up then and give it a try.

[FloridaFishinFool]

I am still trying to nail down exactly which model yours is, but it is indeed a Shimano Bantam Beast Master. The toggle arm indicates yours is a two-speed reel. What was throwing me off was the AR on/off switch on the top of your reel.

Shimano made this same reel in the Bantam Black Magnum series, but eliminated the AR on/off switch, but is essentially the same reel. And in 1990 Shimano made your reel again as the Bantam Beast Master VR and again eliminated the AR on/off switch.

So according to the Shimano book, your reel is either a Bantam Beast Master III, or a Bantam Beast Master V, both were made only in 1989. (Your reel has both the 2 speed lever along with the AR on/off switch. A more rare combination.)

These reels were the predecessor to what would become the Bantam Curado reel just a few years later.

So the model numbers for your reel is either a BBM III, or a BBM V, both designed in 1987-1988. The schematic was drawn up in October of 1988 and your reel was released to the market in 1989 as a model for that year only. It was not made again in 1990 the same as your reel is with the AR on/off switch.

Here are the schematic links:

http://www.nutterrodandreel.com/pdf/Shimano/1989/bbm%20III.PDF

http://www.nutterrodandreel.com/pdf/Shimano/1989/bbm%20V.PDF

I am including the 1990 BBM VR for you to compare, but it is clear to see on this model they eliminated the AR on/off switch.

http://www.nutterrodandreel.com/pdf/Shimano/1990/bantam%20beastmaster%20vr.PDF

And what the heck, let's throw in the Bantam Black Magnums made in 1990 as well- also notice these do not have the AR on/off switch: (This is what I thought you had, except for the AR switch. Took a couple minutes to correct myself)

http://www.nutterrodandreel.com/pdf/Shimano/1990/bantam%20black%20magnum%201000%20II.PDF

http://www.nutterrodandreel.com/pdf/Shimano/1990/bantam%20black%20magnum%202000%20II.PDF

Something you should be aware of when servicing this old reel is that the flipping switch is very tricky to take apart and put back together. Most people who attempt to service these at home can get it apart, but can not get it back together with a working flipping switch. And your reel also has the tricky 2 speed lever mechanism.

Some of the parts for the flipping switch remain on the cover as it is taken apart and have to be reinstalled in the reverse order and it is tricky getting the spring released for disassembly, and back in place as it slides back together.

But just know these reels are built like tanks. If maintained they will last virtually forever. I still service a few of these at the shop and I sold one to a fishing buddy of mine who was just swearing up and down last week how much he loved using it for salt water. So here it is 30 years later and these reels are still being used today without replacement parts. That says something.

Your reel was the first of the Beast Master reels. Today some of them cost near $1,000.00.

Another issue with this old design is that the spool axle touches the inside of the pinion gear and these reels were prime candidates for shaft polishing and inside the pinion gear polishing. This is how "super tuning" was done back in the day. Today we no longer have to polish pinion gears to get extra casting distance and you rarely hear of anyone polishing drag washers too.

But, there is always timeless shimano where we can relive the past!

http://www.timelessshimano.net/default.html

I use the Beast Masters and Black Magnum reels myself for many years... and there is one on ebay right now for sale- same as yours:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Shimano-Beastmaster-2-Speed-Baitcasting-Reel-BBM-III-RARE-VINTAGE-/263029551409?hash=item3d3dc87131:g:UwEAAOSwN2VZO0QN

[FloridaFishinFool]

Here is a review of the reference book on Shimano Bantam reels. I use to be in contact with the author Phil White and I sold him some reels, some of which were used in the book, and I also purchased some of the reels he used in his book as models shown in the photos of this great book:

It is kind of funny that the reels I sold to him were fully serviced and ready to fish, not sit on a shelf, and all of mine were by the book, but some of the reels I bought from Phil that he got elsewhere and used in the book were not shown in the book as a stock reel should look. Some of the reels had been changed in various ways, but Phil, not being a reel tech did not verify that the reels he was using for illustration purposes in the book were correct build stock models.

But you know, to be truthful, I have not used any of the reels I purchased from him for fishing either. They just sit on a shelf and still have the little white stickers on them he used for his numbering system he used to keep reels in chronological order for the book.


Thursday, April 23, 2009
Thursday Review: Phil White's Shimano Bantams: The First 15 Years
A Review of Phil White's Shimano Bantams: The First 15 Years

Who will preserve our current fishing tackle history? There are many technological innovations going on around us, but we are all so preoccupied with trying to unravel the threads of fishing history from the 19th and first half of the 20th century that we often lose sight of this fact.


Phil White's Shimano Bantams: The First 15 Years is just the kind of work that is badly needed and that reminds us that even fishing history from the 1970s and 1980s is important to preserve. It also, as Phil will attest, can be difficult to research. In essence, this is a book about the history of the casting reel revolution inaugurated by Lew Childre of Alabama and the Shimano Corporation of Japan, which first manufactured the Lew's Speed Spool but soon after replaced it with the Shimano Bantam.

The reel, as White notes, was a revolution. Introduced in 1978, the Bantam was a low profile, lightweight bait caster that helped change the face of bass fishing forever. The shape of the reel allowed the user to "palm" it and helped inaugurate the days of "grip-and-rip" fishing that pro anglers became famous for.

White's book is a reference work designed to help the reader identify and evaluate the myriad of models of the Bantam from 1978 through the early 1990s. The book conveniently divides the reels into three generations, each detailing a "family" of Bantam reels. The first generation gave way in 1984 to the Bantam Mag Plus generation in 1984, which itself was replaced by the Curado family in 1991. Reels from all three eras are still being used on American waters every day.

This is a really well researched and written book that is the definitive history and guide to Shimano Bantams. It contains color photos of virtually every model of Bantam, catalog data culled from a complete set of Shimano catalogs, and a value guide built on years of following these reels at shows and on eBay. It even has a nifty fourth section on miscellaneous Shimano and Bantam information.

I would be stunned if the average collector could not find something of value in this book. With "classic" tackle drying up in the field, fishing lures and reels from the 1970s and 1980s will soon be all that's available to buy. A whole generation of collectors will emerge who will seek out the tackle they fished with in their youth, and a huge number of them will be seeking out Bantam reels. This book can help you tell a rare Bantam from a common one, so the next time your at a garage sale you won't pass up a $150 Shimano in lieu of a $10 Heddon spinning reel. I predict this book will be a standard reference work 20 years from now.

I got my first Shimano Bantam in 1980 and a new Bantam Mag Plus in around 1985. I still own them both. They were (and are) outstanding casting reels and brought me many hours of pleasure. It was a delight to read about their history, and anyone interested in reels, fishing history, and in particular the history of modern bass fishing will need this book.

Shimano Bantams: The First 15 Years is 198 pages, printed in full color and spiral bound, and costs $35.00 plus shipping.

[dmccoyks]

Thanks so much for all of your help and the information and history information. Very interesting reads.

[Tavery5]

Shimano Black Magnum II  Model BKM-1000II   as mentioned a two speed reel.   This is as close as I can tell with the limited quality of the pictures.

[FloridaFishinFool]

Shimano Black Magnum II  Model BKM-1000II   as mentioned a two speed reel.   This is as close as I can tell with the limited quality of the pictures.

I had the same problem T5, but it is not a Black Magnum. It is a Beast Master.

I posted the schematics above for the Black Magnums along with the Beast Master. There are only two reels that have the 2 speed lever along with the AR on/off switch and that is the Beast Master. The Black Magnum 2-speed reels do NOT have the AR on/off switch clearly shown in the OP's photos.

So it can not possibly be a Black Magnum. His reel is either a Bantam Beast Master III, or a Bantam Beast Master V.

These two are the only reels made by Shimano with both features shown in the OP's photos.

[Tavery5]

I had the same problem T5, but it is not a Black Magnum. It is a Beast Master.

I posted the schematics above for the Black Magnums along with the Beast Master. There are only two reels that have the 2 speed lever along with the AR on/off switch and that is the Beast Master. The Black Magnum 2-speed reels do NOT have the AR on/off switch clearly shown in the OP's photos.

So it can not possibly be a Black Magnum. His reel is either a Bantam Beast Master III, or a Bantam Beast Master V.

These two are the only reels made by Shimano with both features shown in the OP's photos.

Thanks for the correction,   I am not that familiar with the older Shimano reels, just have a general knowledge.   Lots of great info in your post thanks for the share.

[dmccoyks]

What is the AR switch you referred to mean or used for?

[dmccoyks]

I think I figured it out. Anti- Reverse Switch