Got a phone call from a guy asking me if I could work on his bow. I said sure, bring it up. Well he walks in with a new Reezen. Good I thought, I get to shoot one. (more on that later). I asked him what the issue was and he said that he had it in a local shop and the shop owner said he needed a couple days with it and will have it tuned. He said he brought it home and is running out of vertical adjustments on his sight. I put it in my vice and said, first it's obvious it's nock low and arrow is pointed out away from the riser. He said, are you kidding me? (another astonishment that people don't look their equipment over, I mean it was obvious. People should be able to eye ball center and level.) Needless to say, I sent my levels to WY with my Air Raid so I had to do with others. Long story short, after setting him up proper, a couple shots later and he couldn't hardly believe the difference. Now I understand even more of some of the horror stories that come out of "pro" shops. This Reezen could have seriously been considered a sucky bow because of it's shops set up. Now to the bow. It shot really nice, smooth draw. More shock than some of my Bowtechs and the owner was actually surprised at that too. Still don't like the thick grip but a very, very nice bow. I shot his arrow through my Admiral and it had the same speeds. I thought the Reezen was a speed bow? My 82nd blew it away at less poundage. :D
Oh dude, you're tellin me! We've got another shop..oh, about 20 miles away or so, that we've fixed more poor set ups than I care to tell you about. Draw length doesn't matter to them, either....apparently. I've seen guys come in after buying a bow there a couple weeks prior and say "This just isn't comfortable to shoot." Well it's no wonder.......It's only about 3" too damn long! You mentioned people not looking over their equipment, and that's true. For the guys that know something about it. But how many people go to a pro shop because they have no education on archery at all. They don't have a clue about centershot, level nock travel......And really, if they're going to a PRO shop, do they need to? Sure, it's a good idea to have a bit of knowledge, but.........Should they need to? If I'm spending 7, 8, 900 dollars on a set up....by god it better be set up right. People don't know about draw length.....they don't know about brace height, tiller....That's why they came to a pro shop, to get set up with what they need and have it set up right. I could go on for hours about some of the horror stories I've seen. Both from poor pro shop work to......well...........there's just no way to sugar coat this.......Dumb asses.
I here you Rob, I have worked on a couple that were done at Gandar and man I cant believe they let them go out the door like that. Aint it nice being able to do it yourself ???? glad you got him squared away just curious, how did he get your name or did you know him?
Two trips to my local pro shop, and that's why I ended up at your house, Rob, and why I now am learning to do most of it myself. I won't mention names, but I'm wondering if this was the same shop.
I felt really stupid walking into my local shop,(good shop in my eyes) when my bow was completly out of tune, because i relied soley on the dumbass part time worker at cabelas to fit a bow for me. Luckly the guy who runs the local shop is a real nice guy and will fix my problems and show me how to fix them myself, never gets annoyed by my constant questions, just an all around real nice guy. Thats a real pro shop in my eyes.
Sometimes when I write my monthly column in which my audience is dealers and pro shops, I wonder if I'm writing "beneath' them... then I see threads like this and it reassures me I'm not.
Greg......being....'in the business' such that I am I can assure you that in most cases.....You certainly are not.
Another satisfied customer of PoorGuy's. Should have called, I'd have brought my levels up. Sounds like you got him set. The loval "talent" ain't so talented I guess.
Its my belief that all archers should be taught at least the basics when it comes to tuning a bow. Even without most equipment a guy should be able to at least know how to use a bowsquare and be able to set his centershot reasonably close. I think thats being lost or not realized by many new archers.
Glad to hear this problem isn't limited to Virginia only. We have more crappy shops than good ones. Thats why I bought everything I need to do it myself. Greater satisfaction that way too.
While I agree with this I would modify it somewhat. All archers should, at the very least, know how to setup and maintain their bows and arrows. As is mentioned, nock height and centershot are just not that hard. Neither is getting the arrow spined correctly and tuning the bow and arrow together. I am constantly amazed at the numbers that have been bowhunting for years and don't have the faintest idea about these basics.
Exactly Bruce. Hell one only needs to hold their bow up in the air and look at it from a couple angles to really get it "close". And with a little reading, they could get it really close. I'm not trying to knock dealers and proshops but have a little pride in your work right? I never slammed this shop that the guy used as that's bad business (although I'm not in business) but I wouldn't be surprised what this guy will have to say about that shop for some time to come. The one thing that stood out to me is that this guy said that shop paper tuned it. I simply said, then he must torque a bow, drastically.
Yep...thats the first thing they do once the rest is installed. Thankfully the only thing I need a proshop for is actually the bow itself. AND really...I don't really need them for that. Could order it off the net.
In my experience, Greg, that's alot like letting someone else sight in your rifle. You can get it close, but without the actual shooter shooting through the paper you're not going to get it right. I know with my 30" draw, if I try to paper tune someone else's bow that's a 28" draw, it just ain't gonna work. I'll go out and help them, no doubt. But IMO, it's best if the owner is the one doing the shooting.
It's been like that for about 20 years around here. One of the most basic and important thing's any bow shop should be able to do. Yet nobody around here seems to be able to get it right. It amazes me. Sometimes it seems like they will hire just any bone head off the street. My friends always bring their bow to me. They won't go to the bow shops around here.
