Hunting Washington Forum

Big Game Hunting => Bow Hunting => Topic started by: Did I Miss? on September 01, 2011, 12:32:06 PM

Title: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: Did I Miss? on September 01, 2011, 12:32:06 PM: Hey all,

I am fairly new to bowhunting and have not found a bow shop that I like/trust with my bow in Spokane. Any suggestions?

Thanks!
Title: Re: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: CedarPants on September 01, 2011, 12:37:03 PM: Spokane Valley Archery

http://spokanevalleyarchery.com/ (http://spokanevalleyarchery.com/)
Title: Re: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: MtnMuley on September 01, 2011, 12:49:55 PM: :yeah:

He opened his shop be for me on a closed day to help me out buying a bow. I was greatful, and would recommend anybody willing to help a guy out like that.
Title: Re: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: Did I Miss? on September 01, 2011, 01:19:17 PM: I have not been out there yet but will definately check it out soon. Thanks for the advice!
Title: Re: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: BULLBLASTER on September 01, 2011, 01:30:00 PM: Whitetail plus in deer park is a great shop with great people running it.
Title: Re: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: newred on September 01, 2011, 02:37:07 PM: Let me tell you a story about Spokane Valley Archery and why the will never see another dime from me or anyone I know. When I was shopping for a bow a little over a year ago I went all over, to Cabelas, to the Sportsman, to SVA, I shot all of the bows from Mathews, Bowtech, Pse, quest, Bear, and a few from Martin, that were available at the shops and near the top of the line. I got a funny feeling when we were in SVA and talked to Josh (owners son and lead mechanic) almost a car salesman type vibe but he didn't seem rude and he was informed. Anyway I ended up choosing a brand they didn't carry and got top notch service from Allen at Sportsmans. About two months later my wife decided she wants a bow. she shoots several models and wants a model that josh at SVA isn't pushing, He wanted to sell us the mission craze it was the only bow he would recommend it felt like a toy is extremely short ata and she didn't like it . her draw length is long enough for a full size bow. We decide on a model and she wants it in black. he was fairly nice through all of this. he offered a membership to his store at a huge discount for the both of us and I ask if he would be able to help with my bow as well he says yes and says they are about helping people there. as soon as the card was swipped through the card machine and charged it was a whole different story. It was like we were scum, we basically were ignored until her bow arrived he called us and said we could come pick it up. we got there watched him unpackage it from its shipping box and handed it to her. Didn't move the peep didn't adjust nocking point, didn't adjust the rest, didn't adjust draw. He just handed it to her without saying anything except your all set. I asked about adjusting it so it shot well like he said he would do. and he told me "they come like that out of the box". Now I know he has been working on bows for a very long time he has probably touched more bows than I have seen and he is lying to me to try to get me out of his shop after we spent nearly 1000 on bow arrows membership. He also recommended ics hunter junior 40lb max when my wife is shooting 28.5 draw and 55lbs of bow dangerous. after arguing about tuning the bow and thats what he said he would do if we deceided to purchase it there he said it was fine and that was it. he has snubbed me everytime i have been in there I have been nothing but cordial and nice i will use the paper tuner with some of the other guys he will give everyone else poiknters except me. it is weird he said he couldn't refund the membership so we are stuck I will never spend another penny there And i urge you to look into other options. Allen at the sportsman ended up helping get my wifes bow in shape. Thanks Allen youre the man..
Title: Re: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: brianb231 on September 01, 2011, 02:46:42 PM: Hello All,

I am sure that all experiences vary, but I had a good experience at SVA. I didnt even buy anything from them. I am left Handed and it is very.....I repeat.....Very hard to find a shop that has more than one or two left handded bows to try out so as a lefty you are very limited. Last year He set up about 8 different left hand bows for me to try. These were all new and top of the line models. I was extremely impressed and he went out of his way so that I could shoot them.

So for me, they had the best selection of bows around and were very nice. Although he did try pretty hard to sell me there on the spot.

My :twocents:
Title: Re: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: newred on September 01, 2011, 03:49:03 PM: Sorry for the wall of spelling and grammar errors. I didn't realize how long it was untill I went to proof read it and had to leave for work.what is sad is that I have about five other examples of this same kind of behavior.
Title: Re: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: jgrimes on September 01, 2011, 04:10:48 PM: The guys at SVA will get you set up right. Head in and talk with Josh or Bryan. There is nowhere else in the Spokane area that I would take my archery equipment. :twocents:
Title: Re: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: 724wd on September 01, 2011, 04:36:49 PM: personally Camo'd arrow in chewelah will be getting my money. WELL worth the drive. Lady red and her staff will do everything possible to make a customer happy (and friends in the process) and their prices are smokin' compared to other shops.

I've also had good luck with Whitetail plus.

I've had issues with SVA pushing products i didnt want to buy, even when i told them exactly what i wanted, even the part number. last time i was in i waited 20 minutes to purchase a 3 finger tab. i was at the counter, they told me just a minute. were bsing and doing a little work on a bow. i won't go back.
Title: Re: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: jechicdr on September 01, 2011, 05:02:53 PM: Bough my Mathews Z7 at Spokane Valley Archery and the year membership to the range. They charge you to tie a D-loop on, to put a peep on your bow, and try to talk you into the setup they want to put you in. They talked me out of a tubeless peep, now I have an anchor sight that I installed myself. They set up the dropaway and I think it dropped too soon and was nearly impossible to tune my broadheads to my field tips. Bought NAP Sizzortune and installed and set it up myself and now I can tune my broadheads. Learned to serve my own bow and tie on my D-loop cause I didn't want to go back there. They have a great selection of bows and will treat you right while you are buying the bow, but after that, I'd go to Sportsman's Warehouse. Some guy even called them from Evergreen on his cell phone and asked how much to laser tune his bow..."free". Now one time some kid at the warehouse installed the HIT inserts on my ICS arrows and installed them too shallow (they replaced the arrows and did them right the second time) I think the guy was pissed at the young dude. Do those myself now, too. They installed the peep free of charge on my wife's bow...just need to find a way to get her to shoot it more often.
Title: Re: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: whacker1 on September 01, 2011, 05:07:11 PM: Quote from: newred on September 01, 2011, 02:37:07 PM
Let me tell you a story about Spokane Valley Archery and why the will never see another dime from me or anyone I know. When I was shopping for a bow a little over a year ago I went all over, to Cabelas, to the Sportsman, to SVA, I shot all of the bows from Mathews, Bowtech, Pse, quest, Bear, and a few from Martin, that were available at the shops and near the top of the line. I got a funny feeling when we were in SVA and talked to Josh (owners son and lead mechanic) almost a car salesman type vibe but he didn't seem rude and he was informed. Anyway I ended up choosing a brand they didn't carry and got top notch service from Allen at Sportsmans. About two months later my wife decided she wants a bow. she shoots several models and wants a model that josh at SVA isn't pushing, He wanted to sell us the mission craze it was the only bow he would recommend it felt like a toy is extremely short ata and she didn't like it . her draw length is long enough for a full size bow. We decide on a model and she wants it in black. he was fairly nice through all of this. he offered a membership to his store at a huge discount for the both of us and I ask if he would be able to help with my bow as well he says yes and says they are about helping people there. as soon as the card was swipped through the card machine and charged it was a whole different story. It was like we were scum, we basically were ignored until her bow arrived he called us and said we could come pick it up. we got there watched him unpackage it from its shipping box and handed it to her. Didn't move the peep didn't adjust nocking point, didn't adjust the rest, didn't adjust draw. He just handed it to her without saying anything except your all set. I asked about adjusting it so it shot well like he said he would do. and he told me "they come like that out of the box". Now I know he has been working on bows for a very long time he has probably touched more bows than I have seen and he is lying to me to try to get me out of his shop after we spent nearly 1000 on bow arrows membership. He also recommended ics hunter junior 40lb max when my wife is shooting 28.5 draw and 55lbs of bow dangerous. after arguing about tuning the bow and thats what he said he would do if we deceided to purchase it there he said it was fine and that was it. he has snubbed me everytime i have been in there I have been nothing but cordial and nice i will use the paper tuner with some of the other guys he will give everyone else poiknters except me. it is weird he said he couldn't refund the membership so we are stuck I will never spend another penny there And i urge you to look into other options. Allen at the sportsman ended up helping get my wifes bow in shape. Thanks Allen youre the man..

I didn't spend near as much money, but I felt the same way. I have an old Jennings Bow - I bought a new site and a new rest from them. The rest never aligned correctly, but I didn't know any better at the time. There just wasn't enough adjustment in it for that old bow is what I determined later. Anyway, I bought this stuff and a dozen arrows and got snubbed when I asked for help.

It took me until last year to go up to Whitetail Plus on recommendations from people from this site. They have been nothing but helpful since that time. Got a rest that actually works for the bow, and it paper tunes and shoots better than I have ever had it shooting.
Title: Re: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: Did I Miss? on September 01, 2011, 05:18:52 PM: Thanks for your advice guys. It is much appreciated indeed!!
Title: Re: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: turkeyfeather on September 01, 2011, 08:06:35 PM: I also had terrible service from SVA, I didn't want to spend $1000 so I wasn't worth their time. After having trouble fine tuning my myself I took it to Whitetails Plus in Deer Park. They got it tuned up great. I came home after they were done shot some arrows and robin hooded an arrow on the third shot at 20 yrds. I'd say they got it right. Wholesale Sports does a pretty good job, but just didn't get it as good as Whitetails Plus. :twocents:
Title: Re: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: sebek556 on September 01, 2011, 08:33:02 PM: Bought my new bow last year from SVA, first off I shot every top of the line bow they had, hey i only buy a bow every 5-10 years so I want the best I can get when i do. the guy at SVA kinda got bitchy after I told him the Hoyt he was trying to sell me did not work for me and that I liked the mathews monster the best, after that the arrows i got there kept blowing off the fletchings, and were not the right spine for the bow i was shooting. I will not be going back, plus charging for paper tuning a complete new bow set up someone is buying is cheesy, I can see if they just bring it in to charge but if someone is buying everything don't charge for tuning it.
Title: Re: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: high country on September 01, 2011, 09:15:26 PM: I have done a lot of business with sva over the years. Josh and mark learned the fall away from Dan evans when he was working for peanuts at outdoor sportsman. I had my last trip in there a year and a half ago. I wanted some feather fletched arrows for my longbow. I had some from cabelas that were too stiff....I knew that, hence me coming for arrows. Mark went high and mighty on me bitching about my outfit and that I should be shooting a bow he carries....blah blah. I just want some arrows. I had enough and left. I stopped by the trophy hunter on sprague east of Sullivan and he fletcher me up a dozen for less$ than mark wanted for 6 out of the box arrows and would not take my $ till I picked them up the next day. I don't know how they are at tuning, but they sure do not give me the all knowing bs when I ask for something. The guys at sva do know a bunch about everything excluding how to make you feel like coming back.
Title: Re: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: jnevs23 on September 01, 2011, 09:23:48 PM: SVA will push their most expensive stuff and that is it. Want a $699 bow? they will try to convince you that there is noway you can walk out the door under a grand with all their accessories...and thats before they push their membership. I had a sight and rest that was only a yearold that they tried to convince me needed replacing. I walked out and bought a more expensive bow at wholesale/sportsmans warehouse. The guy at SVA also wanted to charge me 15 bucks to shoot at 7:45 pm a month ago. I would suggest wholesale myself
Title: Re: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: Fishhunt223 on September 02, 2011, 10:56:20 PM: I wouldn't give any bow shop in Spokane my money. For the major stuff I now take my bow up to red at the camoed arrow. You will save time and gas driving up there and having it done right the first time. I won't go to sva for the reasons stated above. Wholesale sports is okay for the little stuff but I had them change a set of limbs for me earlier this year and had nothing but problems afterward. I was in there atleast a dozen times because they could never get it right. My idler wheel was leaning so far that my rest had to be positioned off the shelf. Obviously could not get my sight to go that far to the left. I took it back to him and he says "I guess that's what you get for shooting a spott Hogg". On another occasion I wanted to have a longer cord put on my rest because the shorter one was getting sucked in to the cable spreader dealy (g5 expert pro that works on the upward moving cable). He was not familiar with so he wanted to look at it when he wasn't busy. I left the bow and a week later he calls and says the bow is ready. I show up to pick it up and he didn't replace the cable. I could go on and on with these stories but won't bother. I ended up getting my own press and made a paper tuning stand so I can do just about everything myself. My bow has never shot better and I love being able to work on it myself.
Title: Re: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: PA BEN on September 03, 2011, 04:30:16 AM: Bought my first Darton at the old General store, being from Chewelah it was a long drive out into the Valley so never shopped out there. Bought my next Darton from Whitetail + in Deer Park back in 2000. They are great and fixed my bow up. :tup:
Title: Re: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: wayner on September 04, 2011, 12:50:53 PM: Quote from: BULLBLASTER on September 01, 2011, 01:30:00 PM
Whitetail plus in deer park is a great shop with great people running it.
\
:yeah: The guys there will take the time to set you up with the bow that fits you, not the bow they want to sell you. I would suggest taking the time to give them a try. You wont be disappointed.
Title: Re: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: wackmaster on September 04, 2011, 07:10:14 PM: I have bought 2 bows from sva and have always been happy with there buisiness. Sorry you guy's feel that way but I would go back for my next bow :twocents: .
Title: Re: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: buckfvr on September 04, 2011, 07:29:43 PM: The last bow I bought I was undecided, thought I might try a Hoyt.....called SVA, full mfg list price, no dickering......thats all it took for me. Ive never paid full bore, and dont intend to start now. All I ever do in a shop is take it out of the box and make sure it isnt dmaged, and away I go.....do my own set up and dont worry about all the BS. If you are really in to archery, it only makes sense to tool up and do your own work. :twocents:
Title: Re: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: buck man on September 05, 2011, 11:53:25 PM: :yeah:
Quote from: 724wd on September 01, 2011, 04:36:49 PM
personally Camo'd arrow in chewelah will be getting my money. WELL worth the drive. Lady red and her staff will do everything possible to make a customer happy (and friends in the process) and their prices are smokin' compared to other shops.

I've also had good luck with Whitetail plus.

I've had issues with SVA pushing products i didnt want to buy, even when i told them exactly what i wanted, even the part number. last time i was in i waited 20 minutes to purchase a 3 finger tab. i was at the counter, they told me just a minute. were bsing and doing a little work on a bow. i won't go back.
:yeah:
Title: Re: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: starr on September 14, 2011, 12:10:16 AM: Wholesale sport in the valley mall area, I'm still fairly new to the bow hunting community, and I went to Wholesale after a terrible first experiance rifle hunting here in the Spokane area, (scouted for about 2 weeks preseason got the perfect spot, then opening morning the entire country side was speckled with blaze orange, I had found a good spot, that everyone else liked too.) Anyway i went to this shop just to check stuff out, explained my situation to Allen who gave me a Bowtech Guardian to try, it was a discontinued model so it was cheaper and already set with pins,arrow rest and everything else. had to buy a quiver. stabilizer, and arrows. He took me in the back little range area, taught me how to shoot, set the bow for my draw length and everything, replaced the peep, and told me the only repair he would charge me for was if he had to cut the serving string. At the end of the day I walked out ready to hit the arrow block (needed form practice before deer season or i would have been ready to hit the field) and didnt feel like i had been robbed by the cash register. I believe under $600 for bow, pin sight, arrow rest, peep, 6 gold tip arrows, field points, release, stabilizer, quiver, and most importantly a few hours of Allens time giving me the know how to atleast not tare up my forearm and hit the target.
Title: Re: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: huntnnw on September 14, 2011, 12:22:57 AM: Whitetails plus in Deer Park... More to just knowing your chit at a shop... SVA might know his crap..but has horrible customer service with a know it all menatlity.
Title: Follow up
Post by: Did I Miss? on September 14, 2011, 11:43:12 AM: Thanks for all the input guys!

Just to follow up.....I ended up going out to Whitetail Plus in Deer Park. Long story short, i was very impressed. Jim took all the time that we needed to help set up the cheap old hand-me-down bow that my Dad will be shooting this year in his first year of archery hunting. He even gave my old man a quick shooting lesson. I intentionally did not mention that I was considering buying a new bow because I wanted to see if we would get decent service without the mention of spending a lot of money. As I said before, I was very impressed. When I do pull the trigger on a new bow, it will be from WP!

Thanks again for all the input.
Title: Re: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: whacker1 on September 15, 2011, 05:59:29 AM: Quote from: Did I Miss? on September 14, 2011, 11:43:12 AM
Thanks for all the input guys!

Just to follow up.....I ended up going out to Whitetail Plus in Deer Park. Long story short, i was very impressed. Jim took all the time that we needed to help set up the cheap old hand-me-down bow that my Dad will be shooting this year in his first year of archery hunting. He even gave my old man a quick shooting lesson. I intentionally did not mention that I was considering buying a new bow because I wanted to see if we would get decent service without the mention of spending a lot of money. As I said before, I was very impressed. When I do pull the trigger on a new bow, it will be from WP!

Thanks again for all the input.

Excellent
Title: Re: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: BULLBLASTER on September 15, 2011, 03:36:51 PM: Good to hear.
Title: Re: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: UptheCreek on September 15, 2011, 08:05:21 PM: I am with you guys on SVA. Not a big fan of Josh out there but he does know his stuff. I try to avoid going out there myself, though. I want to get a Matthews Monster 7.0 next year but I don't want to buy it there. Anyone know where else you can get that bow?
Title: Re: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: DBHAWTHORNE on September 15, 2011, 08:33:40 PM: Quote from: UptheCreek on September 15, 2011, 08:05:21 PM
I am with you guys on SVA. Not a big fan of Josh out there but he does know his stuff. I try to avoid going out there myself, though. I want to get a Matthews Monster 7.0 next year but I don't want to buy it there. Anyone know where else you can get that bow?

The Monster 7.0 has been discontinued. I have one. It's a great bow. The newer bow that is pretty much the same bow with a few new features is the MR7.
Title: Re: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: UptheCreek on September 16, 2011, 06:55:19 AM: You are right. It has been awhile since I have been looking at them. Either way they are just out of my price range.....for now.
Title: Re: Good Bowshop in Spokane??
Post by: BAR C3 on September 16, 2011, 07:38:32 AM: Quote from: newred on September 01, 2011, 02:37:07 PM
Let me tell you a story about Spokane Valley Archery and why the will never see another dime from me or anyone I know. When I was shopping for a bow a little over a year ago I went all over, to Cabelas, to the Sportsman, to SVA, I shot all of the bows from Mathews, Bowtech, Pse, quest, Bear, and a few from Martin, that were available at the shops and near the top of the line. I got a funny feeling when we were in SVA and talked to Josh (owners son and lead mechanic) almost a car salesman type vibe but he didn't seem rude and he was informed. Anyway I ended up choosing a brand they didn't carry and got top notch service from Allen at Sportsmans. About two months later my wife decided she wants a bow. she shoots several models and wants a model that josh at SVA isn't pushing, He wanted to sell us the mission craze it was the only bow he would recommend it felt like a toy is extremely short ata and she didn't like it . her draw length is long enough for a full size bow. We decide on a model and she wants it in black. he was fairly nice through all of this. he offered a membership to his store at a huge discount for the both of us and I ask if he would be able to help with my bow as well he says yes and says they are about helping people there. as soon as the card was swipped through the card machine and charged it was a whole different story. It was like we were scum, we basically were ignored until her bow arrived he called us and said we could come pick it up. we got there watched him unpackage it from its shipping box and handed it to her. Didn't move the peep didn't adjust nocking point, didn't adjust the rest, didn't adjust draw. He just handed it to her without saying anything except your all set. I asked about adjusting it so it shot well like he said he would do. and he told me "they come like that out of the box". Now I know he has been working on bows for a very long time he has probably touched more bows than I have seen and he is lying to me to try to get me out of his shop after we spent nearly 1000 on bow arrows membership. He also recommended ics hunter junior 40lb max when my wife is shooting 28.5 draw and 55lbs of bow dangerous. after arguing about tuning the bow and thats what he said he would do if we deceided to purchase it there he said it was fine and that was it. he has snubbed me everytime i have been in there I have been nothing but cordial and nice i will use the paper tuner with some of the other guys he will give everyone else poiknters except me. it is weird he said he couldn't refund the membership so we are stuck I will never spend another penny there And i urge you to look into other options. Allen at the sportsman ended up helping get my wifes bow in shape. Thanks Allen youre the man..
:yeah:
Same thing they do to everyone. Got so pist at Josh I wanted to punch him in his face.
PR is everything in my book. Allen or Al as I know him, is just as knowledgable as Josh. I've known Al for 15 years. I see him with my Mathews and my kids Mathews and he doesn't care what you got. Send all my friends there as well.
I don't buy my bows here. I go to Montana when I visit family and pay almost $200 cheaper than here. No taxes and better prices.
Do not waste your time in Cabelas! My kids know more than some of there Archery guys. :yike: