outdooraholic

ive never used them for repairing anything but i can atest for the idiots that work there. not too long ago i put up a post in the "bowhunting" section, venting about the complete morons that run the customer service department. long story short - i wanted to exchange some clothes, and they sat on my order for two weeks - and then when they did manage to pull their heads out, they shipped it to me, and it was sent back to bps. did anyone call or contact me (only have about 5 different ways)...NOPE. so now i can say with a promise...I WILL NEVER MAIL ORDER FROM BPS AGAIN. not to say i wont go there and shop - just NEVER EVER going to order anything!!!

BIGBUCK17

i got some arrows from them and it took them forever for them to deliver. i was very dissapointed with thier service

meathanger

For those who dont have a Pro Shop close, BPS, Cabelas, Gander and such, may be all you have. But not all Pro Shops advertise well so ask around. Ask the others hunters at the BPS, Cabelas, Gander. Not all Pro Shops are the best either so just like everything else shop around and find a good fit for you. I love my Pro shop cause of the personal touch and the pride in workmenship. Every customer counts to a small Pro shop. Plus I've made good friends with others there and at the Pro Shops range. Learned alot just stopping in to say Hi. I may pay a few $$ more for items but if I buy it there its put on for free, can't beat that. To each there own. By no means amI saying I dont shop at the big stores, but they will never touch my Bow, or guns.
Good luck and keep your eyes open for a Pro Shop.

dick_cress

I buy a lot from Cabela's and have never had a problem with them even when it came to returning a produce. But when it comes to my bow, it goes to my Pro Shop!

Moebedda

I would never take my equipment to a huge re-sale store like Gander, Bass Pro, Cabelas etc. Especially a bow. You got to find a locally owned pro-shop that has been around for a while. Most of these large chains hire help for cheap, and not knowledgable sportsman like they should be hiring.

Gundeck

A pro shop is the only way to go. Bass Pro and the like do have their place, however. These places are the WalMart of the hunting world. They have a wide selection of equipment at often good prices. You wouldn't go to WalMart and ask the guy in the automotive section how to change the lifters.

stalkingbear

The fact of the matter is that we all need to support pro shops as much as we can. Sure,you may pay a lil bit more for some things,but it's well worth it cause you KNOW it's the EXACT right product and model you want/need. Pro shops don't make more money than the huge discount places per item,it's just the cheaper lines and amount of bulk buying power the huge lines enjoy advantage of. Most people believe that pro shops charge more for more profit but that's not the case,that's why we need to support them ANYTIME we have a chance to. Wouldn't it be a shame if pro shops went the way of service stations?

nothinspecial

Glad people are catching on.
I worked at bass pro in Memphis from 02-03 and spent about 4months in archery before going to security. I learned what I know about working on bows, from a local pro shop owner, who I still work for during the busy parts of the year (now). I left the bass pro archery dept. due to the fact that they were hiring people with 1. No Archery Experience and letting them work on bows 2. Some with No hunting experience at all and 3. They hired the "team leader" which is like an assistant manager, over archery, and he had never shot and/or worked on a bow in his life.
And to boot, they didnot have a properly set up archery shop (an open shop behind the cash register, with tools worse than those that came with my little cousin's plastic tool kit)
and had us pushing the crappy kit bows that were made specifically for bass pro b/c the mark up was higher, and we were supposed to tell people about how good of a bow that we were selling them, I did not I am very honest.

My advice to everyone is find a good local shop, and use them, They will treat you like a human and not just a person with money to spend. Thier accessories may bea dollar or two higher but it's well worth it.( I can't speak for every shop in the country, but this has been my experience with most of the shops around here)
If its better for your budget buy a bow from a big box store, but I urge you to take it to your local shop for your tuning and accessory installs. It will save you headaches and to me thats worth alot.

UFunny2

I was at the BPS in Gurnee this Summer, my son graduated from Navy boot camp and wanted to check it out. I didn't buy anything but was impressed with the bow dept sales guy. We chatted for quite some time about bows and bow hunting and I would definately take his recommendations on items. Don't remember his name, but he had an accent.

Now at my local BPS in Hampton Va, seems they never have what I want in stock and always say "it might be on tonights truck". I think they're instructed to tell you that. You would think that this time of year they would carry extra stock. Gander Mountain just opened in Richmond, time for a road trip.

VT Outdoorsman

Support your local businesses. Even if they dont have what you want...they can usually special order it for you. Although you might pay a little bit more on average at your local pro shop, you can build a good relationship with the people that work there and even pick up on some speical info or tips on the area and hunting in general.