Finding a top of the line bow shop

[dayhunt85]

I have been listening to the Gritty Bowmen and also John Dudley and Joe Rogan podcasts. They all are always raving about the bowshops they frequent and all of the technology they use and all the details they go through to get their bows shooting as good as possible. I haven't found that level of knowledge or attention to detail at any of my local shops. So much show I turned to the Web and researched how to work on my own bow.

Is there any resource out there for reviews on bowshops so I can figure out if one is worth a drive? Does anybody have any recommendations for West Central IL?

 

[mfllood3800]

It's not hard with Google to do it your self
Press $400
Vise $89
Is not rocket science
John Dudley put out a series of videos that are easy to follow and we'll get you as professional as just about any bow shop out there

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[camelcluch]

What area are you in? That would help get the info you need.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

Any reason you don't send your bow to a known good bow shop?

Esse quam videri

 

[dayhunt85]

West Central IL.

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[dayhunt85]

Any reason you don't send your bow to a known good bow shop?

Esse quam videri

The bow has to shoot for me not the tech at the pro shop.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

If that is the reasoning behind it, and I mean no disrespect, you should tune your own bow. As mentioned above all of the products needed are available. Should save you quite a bit of drive time, and you can do it on your own schedule.

Esse quam videri

 

[camelcluch]

Carters is in north west Missouri. Not sure how close that is but he is top notch.

 

[wncbrewer]

I'm lucky here in the Portland area. There are 4 shops within a 2 hour drive that I would consider to be top tier. If I didn't have that available I would definitely work on my own stuff.


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[Flashmo]

Bottom line is that you will get better luck working on your own bow.

To your original question: finding a consistent quality shop will always be tough. Most can not pay the wages for a real quality tech to work there as a career choice...just a fact of life. Your average bow shop employee (aside from the owner) will be between 16 and 27 years old. They will last for about 2-3 years as an employee, and then go off to college or something more lucrative after "living the dream" for a while. You just can't gain any real experience working at anything for 2 years.

If you can find a shop where the owner is the primary employee, or he has a staff member or two in their 30's (or older) the odds of high quality will move in your favor.

There are exceptions, and we have all seen truly talented 20 year old Tech's, but that is not the norm.

 

[tipsntails7]

Quality bow shops are a dying breed.
The internet combined with people not wanting to pay for services have created this. Guys can't support a family on 30k a year and I bet most techs don't even make that, so it's natural people move on.
I know I wouldn't want to make 30k a year and get zero time off during hunting seasons because I'm busy working on other guys gear.

Most bow shops need to branch out into other avenues in order to subsidize the archery aspect.

Phil Mendoza owns a pretty popular shop, he may be a guy to shed some insight on it. He seems to have built a pretty good local following as well, which is key to a shops success.

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[Lheise88]

My buddy owns his own shop. Absolute archery in Perryville Missouri check him out on fb. Send him a message or give him a call. He'd be more then happy to talk to you.

 

[Gobbler36]

Had the same problem, took my tax return and bought ez green press and a vise all off the AT classifieds, took my iPad and watched John Dudley and watched him completely build his pro defiant about 10 times, asked tuning questions on AT and googled more and more info (look at nuts and bolts DVD), took notes until I thought I had the basics memorized and started pressing and twisting cables and strings. Had a new set of cable and strings installed and shooting bullet holes in about 6 beers time. Seems little bit scary at first cause you don't wanna F your bow up but with a little attention to detail and all the info out there and accesssible it's easily done and very helpful to gain that deeper understanding of your equipment.

 

[dayhunt85]

I have a bowmaster press and I have been twisting strings and cables on my bow for years now. I installed a 60x string the year before last and was able to tune it back up myself.

I recently switched the a hamskea hybrid pro and have been fighting a high tear, and I am about at my whits end. I will eventually figure it out myself, but I'd gladly pay to have it fixed if I had a shop that I trusted.

There are still certain things that it would be helpful to have a second knowledgeable person helping with. Watching draw cycles, form, cam or IW lean at full draw, things you can't do alone.

When I switched from my old Darton Maverick (38" ata) to a short Z7 extreme (28" ata) my shooting went to crap. I developed target panic and had to just walk away for a year. Over the last couple years as I have researched to tune my own bow I have learned a ton. Through my research I believe my draw length was set incorrectly which lead to an unsteady hold on target. On the Z7 extreme DL is not easy to change.

All in all, I'm comfortable making minor adjustment on my own equipment in the basement. But, I still wish I had a shop to visit where I was getting good advice.

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[idcuda]

They all are always raving about the bowshops they frequent and all of the technology they use and all the details they go through to get their bows shooting as good as possible.

Those guys aren't getting the same service we would get, and that's understandable. Good thread, though. Got me thinking about gathering some tools and knowledge to start doing my own. We have a pretty good shop where I'm at and I'm comfortable taking my stuff to them. But I have three boys, so I should probably figure out the tuning/maintenance part now.

 

[OR Archer]

Those guys aren't getting the same service we would get, and that's understandable. Good thread, though. Got me thinking about gathering some tools and knowledge to start doing my own. We have a pretty good shop where I'm at and I'm comfortable taking my stuff to them. But I have three boys, so I should probably figure out the tuning/maintenance part now.

Well yes you would get that same service at our shop. I don't treat those guys any different than my regular customers. I take the same time and care with their bows as I would with Cam's or Joe's.

 

[idcuda]

Well yes you would get that same service at our shop. I don't treat those guys any different than my regular customers. I take the same time and care with their bows as I would with Cam's or Joe's.

Fair enough, and I believe there are many great shop owners who share your sentiment. My statement is more of a generalization that I believe is still accurate. Most shops don't have the opportunity to work on any celebrity's bow, so if they do, they're going to pay a little more attention.