Do bow shops hate when you work on your own stuff?

[540-Virginian]

Curious if you are a bow shop owner, know a guy who complains about it, etc.

I ask cause I’ve had better experiences at car dealerships than most bow shops I’ve been too.

Bow shop owners seem to be all great and helpful, or complete arrogant assholes - all extremes no middle ground.

 

[Rodéo]

I've had the same experience as OP. The first bow I bought a few years back I took to a bow shop to get it set up and learn from the guy. I stood around, asking questions about different things he was doing and why, a bunch of rookie questions - and he would barely look my direction let alone answer my questions. Second shop I went to was for a replacement limb stop and the tech was helpful in getting me the new part but once I started talking to him about working on my own bow he became quiet. I even asked to shoot a few of the newer model bows in that shop since I was in the market for a new one and I was ignored...

I have found a good shop that I like to support but it's almost a two hour drive so I rarely make the trip. Husband and wife owners, really into hunting and getting people into the lifestyle. They are very helpful with all my questions, even after I told them I work on my own stuff and will rarely be paying them for their labor.

My experience with the first place led me to join an archery club where we have a bow press and I bought the rest of the stuff I need to work on my own set ups. It's more fulfilling that way and you don't have to deal with bad shops.

 

[Brendan]

There are many that are pretty crappy, I've had to fix bows and tunes from a handful of them. Even the ones that are really nice, and competent, can't put the time and effort to get my bow tuned the way I want it without charging me an arm and a leg. THey'd go out of business.

Best thing you can do if you're in it for the long haul and particular about tuning is get your own equipment and learn to do it yourself.

 

[Ron.C]

I understand completely that when you are newish to archery, you don't want to screw something up. And most shops that sell archery equipment are super supportive. That said, you are best to learn how to do work on your bow yourself, especially when it comes to tuning.

It doesn't matter what the product is, If any shop/business was arrogant or felt the need to talk down to me because I was new or made a mistake and was paying them to correct it, I'd take my gear and leave.

 

[danwattsmessick]

The only time it ever bothered me was when someone who typically does their own work but can't for some reason this time (usually warranty work) wanted to hover around me and tell me how to do my job.

 

[Rob5589]

Learn to diy and it doesn't matter.

 

[87TT]

I needed a new string for my bow. The nearest bow shop was almost two hours away. It was a large shop in a large city and even had their own brand of bow strings they made inhouse. I called to order a string and make an appointment to have it installed and a full tune up. (including tear down and cleaning). They told me that I would have to leave the bow there for a week. This was in the late spring and nowhere near hunting season. After some discussion about four hours driving each way, the owner agreed to let me drop it off when they opened and pick it up just before they closed. I ordered and paid for it up front. Then when I arrived at the appointed time, was told I would have to leave it for a few days. Huh!! After another round of discussion, they said to leave it and it would be ready later. They called mid afternoon (I had been killing time in town) to pick it up. I had mentioned that I had a slight click in my QAD rest and the "tech" promptly oiled it, voiding the warranty. Then I test drove it at their indoor range. I noticed that there was some dirt/dust around the cams and it obviously had not been torn down and cleaned like I paid for. I pointed this out to the guy behind the counter (not the tech who tuned it). He checked my receipt and found that they had not done the "full" tune up. The "tech" had gone home so all I could do was leave it and come back in a few days.
Made up my mind that I was not going to be at the mercy of these guys. Bought a second bow, built a press and draw board, learned how to do my own work and never looked back.

Sorry for the long post.

 

[Rob5589]

I needed a new string for my bow. The nearest bow shop was almost two hours away. It was a large shop in a large city and even had their own brand of bow strings they made inhouse. I called to order a string and make an appointment to have it installed and a full tune up. (including tear down and cleaning). They told me that I would have to leave the bow there for a week. This was in the late spring and nowhere near hunting season. After some discussion about four hours driving each way, the owner agreed to let me drop it off when they opened and pick it up just before they closed. I ordered and paid for it up front. Then when I arrived at the appointed time, was told I would have to leave it for a few days. Huh!! After another round of discussion, they said to leave it and it would be ready later. They called mid afternoon (I had been killing time in town) to pick it up. I had mentioned that I had a slight click in my QAD rest and the "tech" promptly oiled it, voiding the warranty. Then I test drove it at their indoor range. I noticed that there was some dirt/dust around the cams and it obviously had not been torn down and cleaned like I paid for. I pointed this out to the guy behind the counter (not the tech who tuned it). He checked my receipt and found that they had not done the "full" tune up. The "tech" had gone home so all I could do was leave it and come back in a few days.
Made up my mind that I was not going to be at the mercy of these guys. Bought a second bow, built a press and draw board, learned how to do my own work and never looked back.

Sorry for the long post.

Seems like a lot of shops aren't run as a business but more like a place to hang with their hunting buds.

 

[OR Archer]

I ran a high volume pro shop for a lot of years and now own my own tuning business. The only issues I ever have with people wanting to do their own work is them asking a ton of questions then doing the exact opposite of what they were advised to do. Or they’d bring their bow in and I’d get it shooting perfect and then take it home an undo everything I had just done then call and complain their bow was shooting like crap.

 

[Don Qui Puncher]

I got all my own equipment after dealing with a handful of shops with bad results, it’s the only way to go. The last one I picked up from a shop I told the tech I was setting it up at home and he seemed relieved.

 

[Billy Goat]

Curious if you are a bow shop owner, know a guy who complains about it, etc.

I ask cause I’ve had better experiences at car dealerships than most bow shops I’ve been too.

Bow shop owners seem to be all great and helpful, or complete arrogant assholes - all extremes no middle ground.

It's a bowtech thing.


Literally.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

The techs at the nearby shop that I visit occasionally have made some snide remarks about the way I do things (e.g., nock sets, peep tying method), which makes me think they're packing a bit of a grudge against DIY'ers. They're not a very competent shop though, so I don't really care what they think. The first (and last) time I had them install a peep sight for me, it flew out of the string after 10 shots. They also swore up and down that 80% let-off mods don't exist for a Hoyt ZT cam. I had to call Hoyt myself and get the part number to convince the shop to order me a set. I now have my own tools and the only thing I need a shop for is to source parts that have to go through an authorized dealer.

 

[Blktailhtr]

My shops are more middle of the road. I think they are just too busy to dedicate much time esp when 90% or more of the people dont know any better than what they are doing/saying. After I spent 2K on a complete setup the peep was twisted 90 degrees so I asked to put a half twist on the string to straighten it up and I was told i just need to turn it by hand each time. I went straight home and ordered a press from LCA and havent looked back since. Got the peep straight and realized it wasn't even timed either. Its also a big advantage if you are going to do any out of state hunts where you may need to fix or replace something so an expensive hunting trip doesn't become an expensive camping trip.

 

[Hoot]

I’ve had a lot of the same experiences, and I also set up my own shop in my basement as a result.

I encourage everyone to learn to DIY, but I also try to help bridge the gap a little. Everyone will become a better archery if they learn to do their own tech work, in my opinion!

 

[5MilesBack]

Heck, when I first started archery, my local shop owner said his goal was to get me to be self-sufficient. He was successful in short order.

 

[Beendare]

I haven’t taken my bow to a shop in over three decades


It seems to me that the shops don’t recover the time they have invested tuninge tweaking and helping guys with their bows. time is money.
They are probably happy that bow hunters are more self-sufficient

....

 

[nphunter]

Shop owners have to deal with a bunch of dumb people all the time, a ton of tire kickers, people who do stupid stuff and mess up their bows, dry fires and the guys swear it wasn’t their fault, bow not shooting accurate, the list goes on and on.

I sat in the local pro shop watching a guy complain about how his bow wouldn’t shoot groups after having it for a couple weeks and wanting the owner to make it shoot again. All the owner could try to do was try to make the customer happy. He would make an adjustment and have the guy shoot, had it shooting perfect through paper. Finally after an hour of back and forth I was feeling sorry for the owner and asked the guy which I’d never seen before if I could shoot his bow. I took the bow and shot his whole quiver into a group with all of his fletchings touching. He apologized to the owner and said he guessed he just needs to learn to shoot and left. The owner thanked me and told me he has guys in there like that all the time.

That particular shop the owner is super helpful and knowledgeable and I’ve learned a lot from him over the years. I buy all my new bows from him but do all my own work, I do feel he does great work but it just take too much time tuning a single bow to fit a person just right that a shop couldn’t make any money doing it.

I would love to see someone open a shooting and setup school or a good shop owner offer classes every now and then to make a few extra bucks. I think it would be great for the archery community. However, it is a pretty big investment of both time and money to be able to do all your own work from start to finish. I mainly started because I have 4 people in my house shooting and it made more since to just buy a press, drawboard, arrow saw and all of the tools just to work on our stuff.

 

[83cj-7]

I worked in a shop full time for several years. I wouldn’t say that working on your own bow was frowned upon at all, but screwing it up and then telling someone in the shop that the bow is garbage is a whole different thing altogether. We had no problem showing someone how to tie a loop, adjust a sight or rest, but it was always with a warning that if it wasn’t done right there could be negative consequences.
Mostly is was the guys that came in saying that some bow shot so terrible and they couldn’t hit a target at 20 yards and somehow it was our fault. I probably don’t need to explain how bad people’s shooting form can be. To some people, it was always gonna be the bows fault.

 

[87TT]

We have probably all had good and bad. Most have been friendly if not always helpful. i did hate it when the tech put one of those split the string peeps on my new bow and when I asked to get the thing to line up at full draw. He just rotated the D loop halfway around the string. I gave up and left. Went home and fixed it myself. And that was before I built a press. Just used a couple of ratchet straps and some paracord loops. Have bought two bows and several strings now without going back.

 

[5 shot group]

My shop was bad enough that it made me buy a press and begin learning how everything works on my bow.

That was the best thing to happen to me in archery.