realmfg

There has been a lot of talk on here about bow shop service and service with stores like cabelas and gander mountain. Here is what I have seen just getting into compund bowshooting. Bow shops give you much more experience to learn how to do thigs by yourself and right. You get help tuning shooting and assembling your bows and that knowledge is priceless and is mostly free. You meet a lot of good people who are willing to help you in the sport we all love too. The only negative I have seen is how they almost force thier opinions on you. I have a Parker Phoenix 34 that I got for an amazing deal. It is a 600 bow that i got for 300 brand new, so starting out why not. I went in the bow shop and it was a mathews dealer and they made me feel like I hd a no name bow that was kinda worthless in thier eyes. The guy is like where do you even buy these, and another guy watching said cabelas. Not to mention there are a lot of people who pay 600 for this bow, and it is a good bow. It was not a long conversation but he did say I got a great deal. They also are so negative to certain rests, I bought a trophy taker and they said the quicktune is by far the best but if you want it we will get it to you. Thats where places like cabelas are open to all you wants and needs.. As a beginner you can go there and the people will not rip on you for what you want or like. Non the less I will always buy from a local bow shop because of the atmosphere and dedication they have to our sport. Overall the guys where nice, and I will go back , but thats just my two cents on the two.

Mattiac

Thats a pretty good and fair summary of shops vs stores.

I think the reason the shops have the pushier attitude, is they know what works and what doesnt. Of course sometimes its just about selling their products too. They usually cant afford to carry every line of gear, so they push the ones they do carry, and usually carry what they consider to be the best. (Only problem with that is, whats best for some is not best for others)

Stores carry just about everything, and dont want to be pushy, because a sale is a sale. They may steer you towards the pricier stuff, but they are ultimately looking for a sale.

A friendly pro-shop has you're better interest in mind for the most part, but remember they are also looking for a sale too. They are going to downgrade equipment they dont carry because how persuasive is this?;

Yeah that bow is better than ours, and cheaper, but we cant sell those here. Buy this one instead.

Wouldnt work on me....

So, its up to you. Some people need the knowledge of a shop and others know what they want and how to do most everything, and can shop chain stores.

Having both types of shops and stores around is great, because sometimes you do need the help of a pro-shop and sometimes you just need the selection or pricing of a store.

Have a good one--matt

PABowhntr

I think you are always going to run into "opinions" regardless of where you go to. Though the pro shop attitude you mentioned may be correct in their experience it does not necessarily reflect the bigger picture. Some folks just tend to gravitate towards certain types of equipment. They should be open-minded enough to recognize this and offer a reasonable explanation as to why they prefer what they do. If not then it isn't something I would go by...pro shop or not.

realmfg

I have been to 2 difefrent bow shops and exoerienced the same things. Overall they were nice guys and we got along well. It was just in the beining when they see my bow was a parker, and top of the line I must add they made me feel like I didnt belong there. But after that we had a good ol time talking and they even taught me some tips. At cabelas the peopl were pretty knowledgeable and were very nice and open. Made me feel like I could get what I wanted without them slamming me. Thye id give some good oninons also.

PABowhntr

You are always going to find that pro shops tend to favor the bows that they sell. But, as I stated, the good ones will always recognize the short comings of their lineups as well. Educating you to both the pluses and minuses of any bow purchase should be the responsibility of the owner/technician.

To summarize, we are all human and like to believe that whatever we shoot and/or sell is the best piece of equipment...regardless of cost, etc...

Parker does make some nice bows. I owned two of them at one point.

AllenRead

I've found that the better Pro Shops tend to be a little hesitant about recommending one accessory over the other.

However, they do want to know where you got the bow because a good Pro who has been around long enough will know what he probably has to correct depending on where you got the bow. It saves both of you time and effort. That used to be one of my pet peeves about bow shops until Len explained it to me.

Sometimes it comes off as being critical of anything not bought at that shop.

A shop that says that Trophy Taker is a bad rest and Quicktune is a good rest is probably not the place for a beginner to shop. They are both good rests. If they are overly critical of a good product, it may be because they are not experienced in setting up that product.

A good bow technician may appear psychic, but he really is not. You have to give him some information to work with.

If you have another shop available, you might be better off giving them a try.

Good luck,
Allen

rybohunter

I know when I went around shopping for bows last summer I got a mixed bag of "pushyness". I think that bow shops should ask or be able to recognize if someone is new, or been around awhile and just looking for new stuff. I know what I'm looking for, it your job to show me what fits my criteria and price range.
Quick story about this one shop. This guy had one of the biggest broadhead selections of anywhere i have ever seen, especially for a smallish store. I am a die hard thunderhead guy(unknown to him) and i commented on all the new whizz bang heads he had on the wall. He came back with a comment about "old timers still trying to kill deer with those old out dated thunderheads" so that's the only reason he stocks them.

realmfg

HA I have heard the same things about certain rests. We keep one around for thos who have to have one, but wouldnt recommend it. It was about a whisker biscuit.

Mattiac

Maybe we should compile a photo journal of all our "outdated thunderhead" kills and see if he still thinks we have to try to get the job done with them. Does he need a list of tracking lengths too? WHat a &*@!#%^......

I guess he doesnt want to sell them anymore because they dont cost half a paycheck for three...

Heres a couple of pics to get the ball rolling.





Ask him if the $40 pack of 3 broadheads would have killed them deader...

Carphunter

I'll jump in on the side of SOME chain stores.

One of the big selling points of a "Pro" shop is that they have a, you guessed it, Pro.

Well, in our neck of the woods, we have a Gander. In that store are at least 4 gun people and two archery people I'd put up against any of the "Pro's" at the smaller shops. I believe that they can give me the advice I need, and still offer the equipment to me at a reasonable price.

Another plus going for the chain stores is that they are more likely to fight manufactures "price protection" programs....otherwise known as price fixing.