Bow Shops

[vambo991]

Anybody near the metro St. Louis area...try Timbucktu Outdoors in Maryville, IL or BPS in St. Charles, MO. I've gotten good treatment at both places.

[peepsight]

I cannot say anything for any other state, but if you happen to be around Clearfield County PA, go to Clearfield and see the guys at Jim's Pro shop.  They do a wonderful job of helping you to figure out what it is you want and what it is you might like to afford.  They handle Bowtech, Diamond, Parker, Hoyt, and of course Reflex.  They even let me put my bow on layaway, with a less than stellar payment schedule.
        I would never have bought that "Old Glory" by Bowtech if I had not had a chance at shooting it against my old Bear 44 Magnum bow.  They let me shoot it for free, checked my draw length and handled all of my new neophyte questions, without giving me attitude or making me feel stupid.
         In our area, bow shops are quite common, about 20 miles apart, and they know that you could easily buy from someone else if you wanted to do so.  I go back to them, because they tell me about the shortfalls and advantages of products that they carry. 
          Now I easily have over $1000.00 into my rig, and I only do it for hunting, not 3D, or anything else.  Which is almost as much as I have in my custom made Mauser, but not quite.
          I have pretty much given up on rifle hunting, just because strummin' my one string, gives me so much more pleasure, and opportunity.[:D]

[Squirrelhawker]

It's gotta be the luck of the draw here in regard to bow shop woes.
As an instructor, I always council people to in general, seek out the smaller shop rather than the big chains. Statistically more experience there (you want fries with those broad head thingies?)
 
With all shops big or small they certainly are not all created equal. In the end you have to find someone you respect and trust. I agree I would much rather drive a little farther and get good servove and fair treatment than save a little gas and time, only to get jerked around for it.

[fasteddie]

The small shop is where I went . It is at least 30 miles from home and only open in the evenings . It is where I had originally purchased my bow a couple years ago .
I have read where you should shoot a bow with a new string at least 100 shots before adjusting but I need to adjust in order to do that . I have the peep adjusted . Now I need to adjust the rest .
The shop owner is the only one there to do the work . Maybe he was in a hurry and I was in a hurry to get home ........

[ranwin33]

ORIGINAL: hunter480

ORIGINAL: ranwin33

That's pretty much been my experience with local bow shops.  No interest unless your part of some inner circle. 

I've found Cabelas to be pretty good, no major complaints.  One time I bought arrows there and left them to be cut, then got them out to the farm and found they hadn't been cut, Cabelas gave me a $250 gift card to make up for my trouble.  THAT'S CUSTOMER SERVICE.

Just took my Illusion to Basspro last night to get a cracked limb repaired - they're just a mile from my house so thought I'd give them a try.  They're never as busy as Cabelas so they seem to take a little more time with the customer.

Did by "inner circle" you mean a paying customer?

 
Kind of hard to be a paying customer when they won't wait on me.

[Squirrelhawker]

ORIGINAL: fasteddie

The small shop is where I went . It is at least 30 miles from home and only open in the evenings . It is where I had originally purchased my bow a couple years ago .
I have read where you should shoot a bow with a new string at least 100 shots before adjusting but I need to adjust in order to do that . I have the peep adjusted . Now I need to adjust the rest .
The shop owner is the only one there to do the work . Maybe he was in a hurry and I was in a hurry to get home ........

 
Whereabouts in WNY are you?

[Sailfish]

I took it to BPS and my bow was a mess.
The arrow was pointing high and to the left (just like it was shooting strangely)
Guy hooked it up, put a laser on it, re-aligned everything,  tied my peep in better (it was creeping).
Works smoooooth again.
 
Oh and $3.00
I had to drive to Orlando to do it (I was going anyways for my yearly trip in Sept)

[EatDeer]

ORIGINAL: hunter480

ORIGINAL: ranwin33

That's pretty much been my experience with local bow shops.  No interest unless your part of some inner circle. 

I've found Cabelas to be pretty good, no major complaints.  One time I bought arrows there and left them to be cut, then got them out to the farm and found they hadn't been cut, Cabelas gave me a $250 gift card to make up for my trouble.  THAT'S CUSTOMER SERVICE.

Just took my Illusion to Basspro last night to get a cracked limb repaired - they're just a mile from my house so thought I'd give them a try.  They're never as busy as Cabelas so they seem to take a little more time with the customer.

Hasn`t been my experience in the least. I bought my bow from the pro shop, "juinor" set it up, tuned it, helped me paper tune cut arrows, fletched, watched my form, re-adjusted the draw length... I paid for the cost of the bow and accessories.

I go into the shop today, he checks the string, looks over the cams, does whatever else he does when checking out a bow for functionality, hands it back to me so I can go over to his indoor range to shoot. No charge.

He`s spent time with me a couple times, watching my form, helping me pinpoint flaws that were killing my groups. No charge.

I buy all my arrows from him, all my Muzzy broadheads, all accessories I need or want, I visit regularily, and he treats me great.

Did by "inner circle" you mean a paying customer?

I agree, my local bowshop owner, has bent over backwards for me, and earned my loyalty. He would never turn away a paying customer, regardless if they were in the "click" or not.