To anyone reading the archery forum

[vectordawg]

After reading comments on this sight and AT about "taking ownership" of your gear, I bought a press and a draw board in 2020. I'm still learning but I'm getting better. I have the owner of our local shop (now closed) on speed dial. LOL! He points me in the right and I get to it. I got my Triax and a buddy's Z2 shooting bs bullet holes in less time than it would take me to drive to a shop and back. There's a certain satisfaction to DIY. Now on to broadheads.

 

[lintond]

I haven’t been to a shop in years except to test new bows and buy. Everything else I buy online.

I started with building my own arrows and evolved from there. I am not a great bow tech but I know who to blame if something isn’t right.


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[cjdewese]

I started this journey 3 years ago with no knowledge, bought a bow on amazon amd have done everything myself since.
I'm a patient person and figured if I had to teach myself how to do everything I would have a much better idea of how everything works.

At times it's been really frustrating but getting Iron Will 125s grouping with my fieldpoints at 50 feels great knowing all the hard work is finally paying off.

 

[Marble]

My buddy does it for me. I do some of the work, but he is a pro archer and likes to do it himself. We trade. I do his reloading.

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[brokencar91]

I do everything but strings as soon as I get stuff I will do that

 

[Hoythews71]

Do the majority of my own stuff, but was having a hell of a tough time broadhead tuning my V3X. Took to a tuning specific pro shop (Tagged Out Tuning in Maryland), and we finally discovered the QAD Integrate rests sometimes have issues with longer draw V3X’s (31.5”). Never would have figured that out on my own.


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[sndmn11]

I use @TheViking 's stuff.

I NEED a vise, but I haven't brought myself to spend the money for one yet. This is dumb though.


I can do a lot with the bowmaster press, but I'm one slip from dropping a bow.

 

[JjamesIII]

This is meant for anyone who shoots a bow. It's really just wondering how many archers really do all their own tuning/maintenance versus how many need a good local proshop. I suspect on RS we get the sense that most are a bow tech, when in reality it's far from it.


This is not a judgment post, simply personal research. Something I have wondered about for a while.

You can’t honestly tune a bow properly unless you’re set up with your own press and other tools. It takes a few sessions and range time to do it right. I’m not talking about a paper tune and calling it good either. Start with a bare bow to finish with a quiver full of arrows/fixed blades micro tuned to impact with field points at extended ranges. It just would demand too much time for a pro shop tech to devote to each customer.

 

[cjdewese]

You can’t honestly tune a bow properly unless you’re set up with your own press and other tools. It takes a few sessions and range time to do it right. I’m not talking about a paper tune and calling it good either. Start with a bare bow to finish with a quiver full of arrows/fixed blades micro tuned to impact with field points at extended ranges. It just would demand too much time for a pro shop tech to devote to each customer.

I think this is pretty accurate. I know that i had to make a lot of fine adjustments before getting the broadhead flight i wanted.

 

[whaack]

I have my own kitted out shop. No one touches or tunes my bows but me. Same for my family members.


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[dtrkyman]

I have a press and draw board.

I managed a pro shop for a while back in the day so I have a lot of experience setting up and tuning bows, I enjoy it and often play with different arrows so I can mess around with my tune.

It is kinda dumb but I get bored just shooting and even when I have a bow dialed in really well I still get the urge to play around with it.

 

[Billy Goat]

You can’t honestly tune a bow properly unless you’re set up with your own press and other tools. It takes a few sessions and range time to do it right. I’m not talking about a paper tune and calling it good either. Start with a bare bow to finish with a quiver full of arrows/fixed blades micro tuned to impact with field points at extended ranges. It just would demand too much time for a pro shop tech to devote to each customer.

A shop with an indoor range can bareshaft tune a bow for a customer at 20 yards. Once bareshafts are flying good at 20, it's unlikely to need much more for broadheads, if anything, just slight micro adjustments to the rest. That shouldn't take multiple sessions.


Most shops likely won't spend the time to do it, but it's plenty feasible for a tech to have a bow tuned very close in an hour as long as they aren't also coaching the shooter on form and shooting issues as well.

 

[WTNUT]

Haven’t read the answers, but I am 56 and have tuned my own bow, built my own arrows, built my own strings and cables, worked in the retail side of an archery shop in HS and College, and owned a manufacturing plant in the industry for 20 plus years.

For me, the passion of bowhunting and tournament archery including field, indoor and target was only extension of my joy of working on my own equipment.


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[Stalker69]

Friend I've known since grade school (40+ years) owns the pro shop/indoor archery range here. He is a hunter and a shooter. And he is way better at teaching fundamental archery to my kids than I am- well they listen to him.
He is very detail orientated and does a great job on all our bows and arrows. He does nothing but archery every day and has for many decades. No way I can match that with you tube. When he retires I will have to take my bow over to his house.

What about if he passes away, you gonna give up archery ? Not trying to be a smart arse, but I don’t like to depend on others at all.

 

[nphunter]

I do all of my own work, 4 of us shoot in my house, and with growing kids it would cost a fortune to have someone work of all of our equipment. The only bows I buy new are my hunting bows, the wife and boys get used bows. I like the idea of a warranty on my bows since I shoot them so much. Honestly though I'm really considering going backward on bows and getting a few year old bow with a longer ATA. A lot of the new bows are just getting short and heavy, I'm wishing I wouldn't have sold my '14 CST.

I do think archery shops are great and I learned quite a bit helping the local shop, however, I've learned way more watching videos from guys like John Dudley online. I feel like most of the shops around just setup bows for people and don't really tune them. I've seen a lot of bows come out of the shop(s) a mess and just shake my head. Some shops do good work but still don't / can't really spend the time with each person to actually tune the bow to that person. They just get them shooting through paper, get their 20yrd pin dialed and send them out the door for the most part.