TRAD archery shops.

[Steve56]

There are no trad shops near me. Archery Traditions in Athens, GA is an hour away. But it is by no means even close to the shop Mr. Dan Quillan operated so many years ago. Not sure why they keep the name. Big Jim is 3 1/2 hours away and I have made that drive and will do it again. However, my stuff is usually bought online.

[LostNation_Larry]

Wooddamon and Bladepeek, I also was sad to see Black Dog close their doors.  I bought a few bows from Tom last week but I will miss having him around as a co-petitor.

We operate Lost Nation Archery out of our house to keep expenses down and as everyone said, it is hard to make a living selling trad.  The good news is we have been at this over 11 years and we plan to continue as long as possible.

We have no other archery shops within 10 miles and we have had the very amusing situation happen where somebody walks in with a compound bow and says "there is no shop around here that carry the archery stuff I use."  If you live in Sturgis, MI, you can find a trad archery store but you can't find anybody to work on your compound.

Anybody looking to move?  We would love to have you as a neighbor.

[2fletch]

It's a fact that the market for traditional is not as large as it is for compound, nor as profitable. Wheelies buy everything from the shop, whereas a large percentage of traditionalist will try to figure out how to make their own equipment. They don't just want to buy it and shoot it, they want to make it and shoot it. I can't blame them for that because I feel the same way.

To make the point, we had 10 guys at the (EFA) shop last night for our weekly shoot. Two of them had longbows that they had made themselves, and which I might add shot and looked very well. Also, one of the guys had made a pocket quiver which looked pretty good. We had about 20 pocket quivers in the shop that were well made and reasonable priced, but there is just no substitute for using something that you made yourself.

To be successful today as a small traditional archery shop you need to give quality service, be innovative with new products, have a good website, probably go to a lot of events, host a shooting league and, or teach archery. One last suggestion is to get to know the Wheelie shops. Most of them don't really want to deal with traditionalist and will be happy to send them to you.

[Chez12]

removing link back

[stagetek]

The few shops in my area carry some trad gear but not much. I understand that. Probably makes up only 5 or 10% of their business. Most of their staff are high tech guy's, interested in the newest and the fastest. That's where the money is. When I need stuff. I go to the Footed Shaft, 3 Rivers or Big Jims. All have provided excellent advise and service.

[bear mike]

I can say I am very lucky to only be 15 minutes from LOST NATION ARCHERY They have a good assortment and Larry and Janice are two of the most honest people anyone will ever deal with.