Is archery dying ?

[Szwampdonkey]

If WI is any indicator YES. Why you might ask? crossbows.

2024 WI Crossbow Kill to date
62,157

2024 WI Archery Kill to date
37,894

Wisconsin deer harvest summary | | Wisconsin DNR

dnr.wisconsin.gov

The gap has widened every year since they made them legal only 10 short years ago. In another 10 years how low will the WI Archery kill drop to???? How about 40????

I think it’s because society as a whole is generally always looking for the easy button. We have a comfort crisis as people no longer see value in doing hard things. Why put all that time and effort into becoming lethal with a bow if you can just buy a crossbow and spend an hour zeroing the scope once a year, IF THAT.

If you’re lucky enough that crossbows are still illegal in your state fight to keep them that way if you value the art of bowhunting cause it will surely die if crossbows become legal for all.

 

[Maxam]

I think it’s just really hard to make money selling archery equipment only . They need to contend with Scheels , cabelas online etc . Seems like the only ones that survive have great technicians and sell everything in camping and hunting


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[Mike 338]

Competition with big box stores. If you're going to operate a mom and pop, it's gotta be in market that to small for corporate this or that's. It also means you might starve too.

 

[OkayestHNTR]

I don’t think so, online shops are shutting down local stores, and people buy targets and put them in their yard instead of paying $10 or so every time they want to shoot. That’s my opinion.

This and, at least in my area, a lack of organization and social media presence from the archery clubs.

 

[Ryan Rothhaar]

A big part of the lack of attendance to 3D or other shoots vs years ago is a shift of being “involved” in archery to archery just being another weapon to kill animals and another means to get more/easier tags for a lot of folks. There was always a 2 season hunter push since Fred Bear coined the phrase 50 years ago. Social media, the “OTC public hunting” fad, and playing the tag game has taken it up several notches. Most of these guys aren’t archers, and have no interest in shooting a bow outside of a very limited situation. It’s just a tool to them.

The guys I’m around that are archery shooters/hunters (traditional archery) only haven’t changed. The compound guys I see at shoots are the same guys that have been going for years.

R

 

[West.mass.hunter]

Dying, no not at all. I do think that 1.5k-2k or more for a bare bow definitely scare some away though

 

[Maxam]

Dying, no not at all. I do think that 1.5k-2k or more for a bare bow definitely scare some away though

That’s a fact and well said


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[fatlander]

The pro shop only in person purchase model is dying. The archery only shops are holding for dear life. Like it or not, the only way to stay in business as an archery only shop is to lie to people. You need to tell them that what they currently have isn’t as good as xyz overpriced item you have inventory of that you need to move.

In the age of the internet, folks have realized that working on bows isn’t hard and the vast majority of shops don’t take the time to actually help you tune your bow.

I’ve been to a lot of pro shops in my day. I get it, they’ve got rent, payroll, and inventory. That all costs a bunch of money. For the price of a mid range budget bow set up, anyone can have everything they’d ever need to not visit an archery shop for the rest of their life.


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[Savagenut]

Same could be said for anything. An oil
Change can be done at home with 20$ in parts. You can assemble a rifle with 50& in tools. Most people
Would still rather pay someone to do it.

 

[hunt1up]

The internet has killed local shops. I bought my kids each a new Elite Ember. Bought them both online. I went to the local shop to have the peeps put in since I didn't have a press. The bill was $16. I had no reason to buy anything else from them.

Also, being able to change DL and poundage in 2 minutes in your garage has killed the need for a shop. The flagship Mathews bows of the past required new limbs and cams to change specs. Now it's just a mod you can DIY.

Beyond those changes, bow innovation has leveled off. I shoot a 2019 Mathews Vertix. I bought it like new on Archerytalk for $700 when it was a year old. Since the introduction of that cam system in the Halon line, there's not really much benefit of buying a new model. Why buy a new Mathews Lift for $1500 when their previous bows are basically the same? That's one brand, but the same can be said for most of the other brands as well. They all cut the risers a little different, add the same cam systems, and slap a new name on them.

 

[Weldor]

I was lucky, grew up down the road from the Bear factory and museum in Grayling. We all shot yaer around and practiced weekly. I don't see that much anymore, most guys shoot a little bit just before the season and store it the rest of the year. Not all but enough. The 3 D circuit is still around just not as popular as it used to be. As far as pro shops go, It's sad that they pay more for a bow from the manufacturer than Cabela's or big box stores. So that will never change. You can buy all the stuff you need fairly cheap to maintain your bow. Arrow saw , press, string jig, fleching jigs etc. No need really for a pro shop since online sales. Sad but true. Bows today cost more than most rifles and the guys have to have the newest thing on the market. I think archery is here to stay.

 

[Glendon Mullins]

If WI is any indicator YES. Why you might ask? crossbows.

2024 WI Crossbow Kill to date
62,157

2024 WI Archery Kill to date
37,894

Wisconsin deer harvest summary | | Wisconsin DNR

dnr.wisconsin.gov

The gap has widened every year since they made them legal only 10 short years ago. In another 10 years how low will the WI Archery kill drop to???? How about 40????

I think it’s because society as a whole is generally always looking for the easy button. We have a comfort crisis as people no longer see value in doing hard things. Why put all that time and effort into becoming lethal with a bow if you can just buy a crossbow and spend an hour zeroing the scope once a year, IF THAT.

If you’re lucky enough that crossbows are still illegal in your state fight to keep them that way if you value the art of bowhunting cause it will surely die if crossbows become legal for all.

sounds like crossbows are very popular and probably helping keep what mom n pop stores left open lol

 

[rclouse79]

Resources to information are killing archery shops, there are two within 20-30 minutes of me I have bought and used both numerous times, and now I feel like I can do a 1000 times better setting up and tuning a bow after getting some tools and trial and error at home on my own stuff. But this can be said for almost any industry. Want to tile your shower watch some YouTube and diy it, but the cost/ benefit usually doesn’t save much for those type of jobs but working on archery equipment does in my opinion.

I believe this is true. When I bought my last bow the guy behind the counter told me it was his first day and he was setting up the brand-new bow I just bought. He asked one of the other guys to help him tie a D-loop and I was like WTF? I would rather watch Dudley on YouTube to do most stuff instead of rolling the dice I get some high school kid who doesn't know what they are doing cranking on my bow.

 

[Ridge Ghost]

Most of the big box stores and online stores can’t sell the big brands.


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This isn't always the case. Our local Scheels sells Hoyt, Mathews, Bowtech, and Elite. Sportsmans Warehouse sells Bowtech and Elite.

 

[Weldor]

Big brands have to get them to the big boxes or their sales suffer.

 

[flyfisher117]

I don't think it's dying, if anything since covid I still think it's a trendy hobby that people are still getting into.

Not knowing the ins and outs of what a pro shop makes I do feel like it would be a tough business to run. Especially with customers like me. I buy a new bow every 10 years. Buy a dozen arrows a years maybe. Try and do most of my own work etc etc. Not a lot of money to get out of me. Ha

 

[Szwampdonkey]

sounds like crossbows are very popular and probably helping keep what mom n pop stores left open lol

If they are buying crossbows at those Mom and Pop stores than maybe they are?

But the thread ask was “is archery dying” and if crossbows become the norm as they are in WI and WI data is mirrored in every other state as crossbows become legal archery’s days are coming to an end outside of a very small niche. This is of course unless someone actually considers a crossbow archery, i don’t.

But signs of the times i’m aware i’m a dying breed as a bowhunter. People want things easy, accessible for all, everyone is entitled to success in the form of a filled tag, and they want it NOW. I think it’s sad people don’t see the value in doing something the hard way anymore but i’m just one aging guy with no power to change it other than instilling it in my son.

 

[Johnnybobcat]

Online shops, wealth of GOOD information online (tuning ect) alongside a booming “tinkering” culture with archers. Not as many people screwing up their own bows like there once was. Shops always running deals to compete with online, it’s gotta be a tough business to stay afloat in.

 

[sclb745]

I think that most people do not realize that with archery, there is very little dealer mark up. Most pro-shops that I have worked with and helped over the years aren't making bank, the smaller ones struggle to make a minimum wage for themselves after all overhead is addressed. The dealers want these shops to carry so much new product, the overhead makes it hard to break even. It's not easy for the small shops out there.

As far as archery as a whole, I think you'll see certain aspects of it rise and fall with the ebbs and flow of life. From a national perspective, 3D archery is as strong as it's ever been. Locally, it's struggling. A lot of this has been mentioned already, but the guys who shoot nationals want to shoot the same targets they shoot when they travel. If you're club is not sporting the latest McKenzie targets, you're not going to draw the crowds. The cost of buying a new range is going to push $10k easy, unless you buy used after a tournament. Then, you're going to want new cores which will set you back a couple grand also. It's not cheap, and it's hard for the smaller guy to stay afloat.

But, if you want to see how archery is setting up for the future, check out the S3DA and look at how many youth are participating in this sport. I coached for several years after I stopped competing myself and it's insane how good some of these kids are.