Trad shop in Jacksonville Florida

[Eric in FLA]

A friend is receiving his first Trad bow today. Does anyone know of a good trad shop in the Jax, FL area?

[countrygirl]

Hi Eric,

There really isn't a good trad shop in the Jacksonville area.  There is Ft. Caroline Archery which caters mostly to the wheelie guys...you can get aluminun and carbon arrows there...there is Gander Mountain...off I-95 on the Northside near the airport...Thom Rogers is running the archery dept there.  For many years Thom ran his own archery shops in Hilliard and  Callahan, Fl.  He closed down when Gander Mountain open up this year.  It is a pretty good shop and has a nice indoor 3d range.  If he is looking for some... one on one assistance I would say go to the Northside Gander Mountain.  (FYI I have never seen any wooden arrows there) There is also a smaller Gander Mountain store in St. Augustine, Fl it also has a nice indoor range....caters to the wheelie group has few feather but they are all right wing.  Great for targets etc.  There is Dicks Sporting Goods at the town center mall...but well...it is more a scoccer/kayak yuppie type store with a teeny tiny token amount of hunting stuff...nothing really for the archer.  On the west side near Cecil Field is Green Acres Sporting Goods ...again this caters to the wheelie set...and we stay clear of this store...don't like the pricing etc.

Finally there is my house...with buckets of arrows of all types, sizes and lengths and a range on the side of the yard.  If he needs help setting it up...figuring arrow flight or arrow selection give Tom a call 904-285-3113.  Now Tom can't string a bow yet due to his heart surgery....but he is the best teacher for archery around!  

There are no wood arrows in J-ville...we usually get our wooden arrow shafts from 3Rivers or custom made from Hawk Arrows in the Carolina's....they are great...straight...beautiful arrows at a good price.  What kind of bow is he getting?  Dina

[Eric in FLA]

Dina,
Thanks for the offer and the information. I have sent your information along to my friend in Jax.

The bow is a Jeffrey TD recurve purchased from the classifieds here. He received it today and I am anxious to hear how he likes it, first impressions... . If all goes as planned he will have a chance to use it on a late season deer hunt in Ohio.

I let him shoot my Schafer several weeks ago and that was all it took. After that he knew he wanted a bow. I am looking forward to watching him enjoy this new endeavor.

After the holidays let's plan on getting together, always good to meet the other TG folks.

[alligatordond]

Eric,

Get him Brian Sorrell's book, I think titled" A Beginner's Guide to Traditional Archery" or something like that. Might help shorten the learning curve for him.

And bring him to the TBOF shoot this March. I'll be glad to show him what plucking the string, collapsing the shoulder, dropping the bow arm etc all look like. Then I'll conduct my world renown excuse seminar.

DonD

[gregg dudley]

There is a good archery club in Jax isn't there, Dina?  North Florida Archers?

[countrygirl]

Hi Gregg; yes that is our club but is quiet  now because everyone is still hunting.It will pick up in Jan. We look forword to seeing you at the charity shoot,Dina.

[Zmonster]

Dont mean to hijack this thread, but is there anything in the Tampa area? I remember years ago (15) there was two shops owned by the same people called Arrowhead Archery. One in Tampa and the other in Zepherhills area. Im planning on heading to Tampa next week. I only get to make it down there once every few years.

Casey

[countrygirl]

I am sure some of the South Florida boys will chime in soon.

[RC]

Thom is a good guy. I have done business with him often when he had ACE Archery. I know there has to be something going on down there because the best and most consisant shooters I`ve ever seen live down in Fla.RC

[Christopher Horsman]

Arrowhead archery is in Seffner near Tampa show grounds. They are under new ownership but continue to support TBOF and in particular Boggy Creek


 Never miss a chance to mention Boggy Creek,  I say. Now everyone will ask about Boggy Creek and I can tell them all about the fabulous raffle we`re havin. And then we`ll sell all the tickets and thats what it s all about. But it`s all good `cos I`m going hunting at Don`s and he don`t even know it yet.........  

[alligatordond]

Chris, You are most welcome as my guest to come shoot some pigs. We'll set something up after deer season and probably well before the TBOF spring shoot.

DonD

[Christopher Horsman]

I`d be truly honored to relieve you of a little porcine protien.

We killed 4 in front of the dogs just north of Okechobee two weeks ago. I think Hank finally learnt he ain`t got the stones to catch. He gradded a 250# boar and got his you know whats handed to him. Luckily he only got away with a small cut on his shoulder. The same boar ran little old me slap over. Its never a good sign when you stick you head in a palmetto thicket and see dogs running towards you  :D   That same pig took 3 arras before he laid down......

[Eric in FLA]

Christopher is correct about Arrowhead. It has been some time since I was there but unless things have changed drastically, it was like most shops, oriented more to the cmpnd shooter.

[alligatordond]

I don't want to see the hog that ran Chris over.

Forgot to mention Accurate archery in Melbourne , about 2,5 hrs south of Jax. Though they cater to wheel guys, Jim is knowledgeable on trad and can help with wood arrows and such. They carry a small selection of recurves and longbows, from Tom Allen and Fedora I believe.

DonD

[Eric in FLA]

Update on getting my buddy's new bow set up - First, thanks to LowCountryArcher - Geoff, for a good deal on a good bow. We took the bow to Arrowhead archery in Tampa and tried a couple of different shafts, found the ones that worked well, purchased an extra string and a bow stringer. Our numbers have grown by one. The look on his face when that first properly tuned shaft went downrange was great. Lots of practice to come but looks like I have another new hunting partner.

About Arrowhead Archery - Yes, the business was recently sold yet the previous owner is still involved to insure a smooth transition. Same good people, good place ( only one in this area ) to get what you need.

I will reach out to some of the Jax archers after the 1st to get together.