Great Pro shop Update (Kingston/New Paltz)

[EBB]

Hey All, new to bowhunting but loving it so far! Spooked a couple from the ground so far but excited for the rest of the season!

Anyway, I posted here a while back looking for a good archery shop & got some recommendations. I ended up going with a place in Westchester that seemed ok (not gonna name names.) But last Sunday I went into Gander Mountain in Kingston b/c my sights needed a tweak and they were astonished at how bad my bow was set up.

The knock was in the wrong place, the line from the drop-away was mounted wrong and frayed already and the peep was too low. No wonder I was having trouble!

I don't want to bash the place I bought from (buyer beware, etc.) but I DO want to say how awesome the guys at GANDER MOUNTAIN were. They sorted out my bow and spent almost an hour helping me with my form in their range. They were upbeat, enthusiastic and knowlegable. And their price for new whisker biscuit and stabilzer were good too.

Just thought I'd mention it for any other new guys or anyone in need of a good shop.

Thanks to all and good luck! Looking forward to an awesome rut.

[nyhunter863]

I was there this past weekend also. I think it is a great store. One can handle all the guns and bows they want without having to ask anyone to see them. You surely can't do this in a small shop where the sales person will start to get PO'd if you are just looking and not exactly interested in buying! I hear people complain that stores like Cabelas, Gander, Bass Pro even WalMart are putting the small shops out of business, but I say the small shops can't even come close to the prices one can get at the big stores. Others also complain that the sales people in the big stores don't really know much, but as with your experience, the small ones don't either. The small shop sales people never dazzled me with any brilliance. There knowledge is usually limited to pretty much what they sell, which in most cases is a limited selection compared to big stores. I wish there were more stores like Gander in NYS, but there honestly aren't that many hunters around anymore to keep to many of them afloat. Maybe in middle America there chances are better, but the NYS hunter population is a fraction of what it was 20 years ago and don't see it getting any better any time soon!