Archery Shop musings

[Pinelander]

I started a thread like this on the old forum. It was interesting to hear some of the stories everyone had to tell.

The pro-shop owners in my area are makin' fun of my Cabela's SST carbons. "Old technology, sloppy outsert fit, can't spin a broadhead worth a darn, ruins 3-D targets, blah, blah, blah".... oh well, I'm gonna tune some for my bows anyway.

A fella and his two sons were at the shop today looking for recurves. Of course there were none in stock. So I drove 2 miles home and brought back my bows for them to try out and get a feel for poundages. Most archery shops around here have no knowledge in this arena whatsoever. Not surprising... that isn't where the money is. They would do well to hire me as a consultant and have an account setup with someone in addition to Mathews and Hoyt, LOL. The number of archers interested in "trad" archery is still on the rise.

There was a fella there last week that was shooting compound with fingers and a clicker... that was kind of refreshing.

[Grey Ghost]

Sort of the same thing here. A friend of mine by the name of Grizzly, and I shoot on the only two indoor ranges in town. We convinced both stores to start carrying some Longbows and Recurves this year. Both shops have sold over a dozen bows in the last four months.

We attract the general publics attention by shooting at a couple tennis balls suspended at the end of an arrow by a bow string. We also put up a couple practice golf balls the same way. Like you we both usually keep a spare bow with us, along with an arm guard and glove. The stores are allowing us to have those that shoot, try out their bows. They are currently out of those in the 40-45# DRAW WEIGHT.

gg :highfive:

[Pinelander]

"currently out of those in the 40-45# DRAW WEIGHT"

Uhhh... imagine that! I recommended 40-45 to those folks I "introduced" to the classical side of archery today. It seems many of the average compound shooters aren't much aware of arrow spine. Guess the shop just sets up the arrows for the bows and ready to go.

About a month ago, I felt sorry for a young girl (about 12 yrs old) at the range. Her and her mother were there with a new AIM recurve and some alum. arrows that were WAY too stiff and heavy. I struck up conversation and she soon had a smile on her face.... hitting the target well using my itty-bitty, girly-weight carbons.
You guys are doing GOOD!!! Keep the flame burning!!! :cheers:

huh... I just noticed, Paducah... drove through there a few years back, awful perty country down there. :)

[Grey Ghost]

Pinelander, next time your coming through, drop me a line. We can meet and shoot some indoors at one of the ranges, or go out to a 3D course and shoot a round. Be glad to have you visit.

One of the two shops has taken to making up a set of arrows following what we suggest. They keep a set of 1916's with FEATHERS, three fletched, and 125 or 100 gr field tips ready to be put to use. (smile)

gg

:shooting:

[steve morley]

http://www.donadoniarchery.com/

This Filippo Donadoni in Italy, I visited his shop a couple of years ago, not a single compound or CNC Riser anywhere to be seen, loads of Hill\Bear memorabilia, well worth a vist. :)

Very big into Trad shooting in Italy as in Austria and Germany.

[the other DWS]

Our local shop started in the early 50's maybe earlier in the owners basement. Some of the few older archery guys can remember Fred Bear driving a truck down a couple of times delivering bows and spending the afternoon shooting with them in the backyard range. It's in its second location now and has been run for the last 30 years of so by the same family.

They switched over to wheelbows when the market went that way. Thats still where the $$$$ is---buy a compound for 400 or 500 and you can count on another 75% sales on accessories that have a higher profit percentge.

However over the past 4 or 5 year a few of us who still shoot traditional stuff have been slowly convincing them to start carrying more trad stuff. Now its mostly the Korean and Italian imports plus a few Bear bows. They are a Martin Dealer but not a stocking one (for compounds) and are looking at getting a few of martins Trad bows in. Letting the staff shoot my Savannah was a real eyeopener for them. The locals do a lot of trading and swapping between ourselves and on ebay and the Bow shop owner is reluctant to get into buying and selling used trad gear--not enough profit and liability concerns. The guys actually running the shop enjoy trad stuff and have all bought themselves a trad bow within the past year. They do manage to keep a bunch of prefletched arrows-- Beman woodies in several weights as well as a range of generic cedars---tabs gloves and guards on hand. They have also made it a practice to allow anyone who wants to try out any bow they have on the indoor range--from the $100 ragims to the $900 Matthews/Sky LB.
Those of us who shoot trad there are real missionaries and are constantly loaning equipment to curious wheelbow shooters. I have left a couple of my Warfers down there just to let people play with them. Having the site for the Compton Rendezvous here locally has probably stimulated the interest a lot. That event has attracted a lot of locals who come to see it just out of curiosity--then it becomes one of those "I think I still have my--or my dad's--old bow up in the attic do you guys have a new string and arrows" kind of thing. Traditional archery is clearly on a slow low-key rebound around here.

The shop sponsors a small indoor league---maybe 25 or 30 shooters- 2 years ago there was only 1 trad shooter in the group, this year 7 or 8 guys are shooting in their trad class. The local Isaac WAlton League in South Bend has an active archery program that still carries a fair number of trad shooters--indoors in Winter and outdoors in the rest of the year. We have several other clubs within a 15 mile radius that do one sort of archery or another---mostly IBO w/compounds I believe. There are enough that you can shoot regularly 3 or 4 nights a week if you have the time and money