Paul L Mohr

I often get asked by people if they should get a bow from the internet, their buddy, or from a department store. My answer is almost always "NO!". I then ask these questions. Do you know what bow you are looking for? Do you know your draw length? Do you know what accessories you want and what the differences are? Do you have good form? Do you know how to set it up and do basic maintenance? Almost always the answers to these questions are no. Well this is what a good pro shop can do for you.

I happen to be fortunate enough to have several great pro shops in my area. Just this weekend I purchased a new bow for my girlfriend. I got such great service I decided to share the experience with others. The shop I happened to go to was Cleland's Outdoor World in Swanton Ohio. Most of the employees are hunters and top level competitors in one form of the shooting sports or another. So if you ask a question there you get an honest informative answer. They also have one of the best gunsmiths I have met.

One of the best reasons to go to a pro shop is selection and inventory. How do you know what to buy if you don't get to look at, fondle it and shoot it? A good shop will set a bow up and let you test it out comparing it to others to what YOU like best, not what your buddy or some guy on the internet told you to get.

This is my girlfriend Nikki shooting her old bow and comparing it to a new Hoyt Rintec.


They will also show you all the accessories they have and explain the differences between them. Like the rest or sights you may need and what the pros and cons are between the two.

In this picture Nikki is being shown the difference between the cheap hunting sight on her old bow and a newer more expensive target style sight. And trying to control her slightly autistic son.


At this point boredom has taken over and he has pretty much given up They are not even done setting up the bow yet and he is asking if we are going home yet.


While most shops are children friendly, if you can leave them with someone things will go much smoother. This can be a lengthy process and there is not much for the kids to do in most cases. I had originally planned to do this while the kids were in school, but I was forced to work on my day off (I have a four day work week, supposedly).

Another advantage of going to a proshop is they will put everything on your bow, set it up and adjust it for you. Not to mention Check your draw length to make sure the bow fits you. Once they know your draw length and draw weight they can help you find the correct arrows for it.

Here is a picture of Kurt, the young man that helped us out. Don't let his youthfulness fool you. He is a very accomplished archer and as it turns out a decent instructor. He is adjusting her draw length I believe.


And the best thing about going to a true pro shop is the coaching and advice you get. I don't have a shop I visit that will not spend some time with you helping you shoot if you buy a bow from them. Whether you are a new archer or an old one, it never hurts to have a second pair of eyes to point out any form errors. I cannot believe the amount of people I meet that have never had any instruction or lessons. Archery and Golf are two of the hardest sports to learn and stay proficient at. Yet there are a ton of people out there trying to figure both out on their own. What other competitive sport is there that people don't have some sort of coach or take lessons? I don't think Tiger Woods ordered a set of clubs from Ebay and winged it! Why should you?

Here are a few pics of Nikki getting some lessons on how to use a back tension release. Hooking that thing up is a pain in the you know what!


And here is one of them touching up her form and more practice with the new release.


This shop and many others will teach you to shoot if you buy a bow from them, or give you pointers after setting your new bow up if you are an experienced archer. This shop also offers lessons for $25 I believe, they are half hour sessions but tend to run 45 minutes or more sometimes depending on what you are covering and how you are doing. Not all shops offer this service, but most will be willing to help you out if you ask. The better you become, the more you will spend in their store.


So unless you are an accomplished archer I highly suggest finding a good shop in your area and let them help you out in getting your new bow. If you are a new archer it is a must in my opinion. If you are buying your buddies bow and he knows what he is doing and it fits you that is ok. As long as he is willing to help you out. I still suggest going to the local shop and having things checked out.

When I sell a used bow at one point we usually end up at the local proshop to make sure the bow fits them and they get the proper arrows for it.

When everything was said and done, here is Nikki at home sporting her new $600 Hoyt hat. Oh, and they threw in a really cool hoyt rintec with it.


Good luck,
Paul

NCYankee

She got a better deal on that hat than I did!

Paul L Mohr

The Rintec is not a very expensive bow. Hers was like $378 for the target version, and they actually had them in stock (last years models I am sure). You can get them cammo for $299. I spent close to $600 total though. Heck the release was like $123 or something like that. We started her out with a 45 dollar pure back tension release, but she was having problems hooking it up and drawing with it, so we switched to one with a safety. And I already had the rest and stabilizer, I just painted it to match the bow.

Paul

fufanu360

cool... good post

paka

thanks for the post. You are all so lucky , we dont have a hunting store here on Kauai ( but the ocean works) . I drooled just looking at the quivers on the wall