Va Head Hunter.....While I am not here to argue I feel the need to speak up.....by the way what ever happend to the club you were going to start a two seasons or so ago?? I never did get any more information after all our phone conversations you seemed to vanish for a bit?

As far as Gander Mnt. goes... they do not work on precentage true...how ever that alone does not mean that you will get a better deal at a box store.... It also does not mean that you will get a more knowlegable bow mechanic.... how many of Ganders "mechanics" have factory certs... and if the do are they for any brands other than the ones that Gander carries? How many hold certs from outside sources for bow mechanics? They may all have these certs then again I would hope not... I bought a bow from them last summer b/c I was in the mood to try something new... they offered to set it up and tune it etc... so I said what the hey... well I got it home and shot 2 arrows thru it when I saw something was off..... their paper tune was a high left tear..off by almost 3/4"... that is not acceptable for a paper tune...I shot 10 arrows thru paper all with same result... no biggie easy enough fix...how ever upon close examination of the bow I found the tiller was off an alarming amount as well..... at this point I went back and asked them if that was acceptable and the guy there said it would be ok not to worry about it....

Now I am NOT saying that all the guys in their achery department are this caliper of mechanic as I got stuck with, the current ones may be top notch guys...when you deal with a small shop you deal with the same guy over and over...just like your car mechanic... your lawyer... even your maint, guy... you deal with one guy and they know you and your style and they know what will work for you and what wont...Another plus with Neal is he does custom strings and cables...and that doesnt mean order them from someone who ties them for him.. he has a jig and makes his own if you want a set of customs...

I have seen a few other examples of their staff at work... some of the guys are good guys.. but for a bow owner who isnt a bow mechanic or hasnt been in the sport long enough to know much about basic tuning..what happens when that guy gets the guy I dealt with... they go home and think they are where they should be... then they shot and shot and wonder why they can not get good groups... maybe become fed up with the bow and give it up... another sportsmen lost to a cross bow....

I will also say that yes there are a few shops that all they see are dollar signs...they tend be be in northern Va... if yournot a regular then you get treated like an outsider...not a way to keep customers....

Neal runs his shop part time... as he is a full time Law Enforcement Officer... he has the shop due to his love of the sport and wanting to promote it... not a means to live off of.,, he is always cutting people breaks on stuff...he teaches several youth archery clinics in northern va I think..not 100% sure...he is no slouch in other areas as well... he makes his own trail camras which he sells...knowledgable about LE/Tactical firearms, firearms in general...

There are certain items that he will tell you that you will be better off buying at Gander Mountain due to the fact they buy a larger bulk and have a better deal... but on 85% of the archery items he has they are the same or less...plus I know he isnt just trying to make a sale...He will be the first to tell you that he is not pressed about making a sale....