# Traditions Archery - Athens GA thoughts?



## The Rodney (Nov 30, 2011)

So I want to buy a recurve or longbow for my son to introduce us both to archery (have been authorized to buy one for myself by the higher authroity).  Has anyone had experience with the folks at this shop?


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## Arrow Flinger (Nov 30, 2011)

Good folks that know their stuff.


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## ranger374 (Nov 30, 2011)

Arrow Flinger said:


> Good folks that know their stuff.



that can depend on which one you talk to.

they don't stock a lot of stuff anymore--especially in the trad stuff.  i went in there a few weeks ago and was kinda dissapointed in their selection.

seems they are mostly geared to trying to sell the matthews compounds now.  

they had about 4 or 5 trad bows--mostly recurves-- when i was in there--anywhere from $200 on up.

but their trad bow selection will also depend on who has brought some older used ones in there for trade or to sell.

if you want one as a starter for your son, i would go the ebay route and find a older bear recurve on there--i have bought a couple off there real reasonablly priced.

wish i could say heck yeah drive on up here you won't be dissapointed, but i can't.  personally, i would not waste the gas to come up there--unless i was going to be in the area for something else and just stop by to see what they got.  also check out 3 rivers website--thats where i and probabally most others on here end up getting most of their trad supplies from.


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## Gordief (Nov 30, 2011)

samick or pse... for your first trad. bow.


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## flyfisher76544 (Nov 30, 2011)

I will second 3 Rivers!!!! If you need to give them a call, they'll go out of thier way to help.


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## T.P. (Nov 30, 2011)

flyfisher76544 said:


> I will second 3 Rivers!!!! If you need to give them a call, they'll go out of thier way to help.



I'll third it.


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## robert carter (Nov 30, 2011)

Trad Gang.com classifieds have super good deals at times.RC


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## T.P. (Nov 30, 2011)

robert carter said:


> Trad Gang.com classifieds have super good deals at times.RC



I'll second that too.


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## Dennis (Nov 30, 2011)

Lancaster Archery has a better selection


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## ranger374 (Nov 30, 2011)

robert carter said:


> Trad Gang.com classifieds have super good deals at times.RC



word of caution--if you go there, stay away from hidden e outdoors.

earlier this fall, they had really good sale prices, so me and my cousin put in a order with them.  a month later, we still had not recieved our order even after talking to a lady there who said our order was sitting in the box fixing to go out.

he finally got in touch with another feller there who said it had not been shipped--to make a long story short, we finally got part of our order a month and a half later after many phone calls and emails.  to their credit, they did credit us for what they did not send.--not worth the hassle of dealing with them even for cheaper prices.  i'll do the rest of my online ordering with 3 rivers.


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## The Rodney (Dec 1, 2011)

Thank you all for the input.  I will call and see if they stocked their shelved for the season.  Three Rivers was great.  Wher is Lancaster Archery?  Web?  Local?  I appreciate it guys.


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## Dennis (Dec 1, 2011)

Lancaster is on the web and they will send you a free catalogue


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## 4x4 (Dec 1, 2011)

The Rodney said:


> So I want to buy a recurve or longbow for my son to introduce us both to archery (have been authorized to buy one for myself by the higher authroity).  Has anyone had experience with the folks at this shop?


I will never step foot in there ever again. All I needed was a few(3) arrows re-fletched. Dude behind counter was more interested in the golf game on TV than talking about archery. He told me it would be 3 days before I got my arrows back. By far the worse customer service I have ever experienced.

So I got a fletching kit at Academy and just did it myself.


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## Arrow Flinger (Dec 1, 2011)

And people wonder why the local shops have trouble staying in business


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## BkBigkid (Dec 1, 2011)

If you want to try a few used bows out for your self, I have several from 45# to 55#, I will give you a good Head start and teach you a few things along the way. I also Have at least one kids bow and a few kids arrows for him to try out as well.


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## dutchman (Dec 2, 2011)

@ The Rodney - Come to the next North Georgia Traditional Archery Club shoot. We're in Gainesville, GA and our next shoot will be hled on January 8, rain or shine. You can see and shoot more bows there in one day that you could in a month otherwise. We're easy to find on the web (http://ngtarchery.webs.com/aboutus.htm) at our site or on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/104225794586/). You'll find directions to our club on either site plus lots of other useful information and photos.


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## robert carter (Dec 2, 2011)

Take Dutchmans advise.RC


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## Jake Allen (Dec 2, 2011)

robert carter said:


> Take Dutchmans advise.RC



I second that.

We will love to have ya'll come and shoot, socialize and 
eat with us.


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## BigJim Bow (Dec 3, 2011)

I have over 100 used trad bows and 110 new bear bows on the way. Just sayin. 

bigjim


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## gtfisherman (Dec 5, 2011)

Personally I wouldn't buy a first bow again without shooting some stuff. I learned a lot. With mine. But I followed the best advice I could get. I bought a Bear Grizzly at a medium weight and it worked but not as well as some others I've shot since. 

My two cents... Quillans isn't worth it anymore... Go see Big Jim or find someone's to shoot first.


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## Etter2 (Dec 5, 2011)

My best advice is to stay online.  Do not go to a bow shop.  For your first bow, I cannot speak highly enough of the samick line.  I have shot dozens of custom bows and have a very nice damon howatt monterey, but I don't think I've shot a smoother bow than my samick red stag.  They make it in recurve and longbow and the sage is even cheaper.  You can get them shipped for about 160 bucks and they are just fantastic.  I hunt with mine as much as my monterey.  Just ask questions on here for tuning advice.  It's really pretty simple.


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## Barry Duggan (Dec 5, 2011)

BigJim Bow said:


> I have over 100 used trad bows and 110 new bear bows on the way. Just sayin.
> 
> bigjim



Yeah, the last time I saw Large, he had one or two bows left. Worth the trip, seeing how you can try out used bows until you give completely out.


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## BigJim Bow (Dec 5, 2011)

Samick's are a good cheap starter bow and are very popular for beginners that don't want to invest the money up front. I even have one used. 
Mostly, after shooting for a while, people gravitate away from them looking for something a little nicer but they will certainly shoot an arrow. 
I can also agree with avoiding "most" bow shops as they have little to no experience with trad and are usually too proud to admit it. 
Unfortunatly, a lot of folks leave the shops feeling a little confused and out a bunch of cash for products that don't work well with there set up.
95% of my business is trad and the rest are items that overlap for all types of hunting. 
I would bet that I help thousands of people a year with there set ups and often it doesn't cost them a thing. 
It's how I roll!
good luck, bigjim


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## Dennis (Dec 6, 2011)

What you should do is go to the southern zone hunt at chickasawhatchee in jan. While your there meeting everybody you could run over to Big Jim's and check out his bows.


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## Arrow Flinger (Dec 6, 2011)

Etter2 said:


> My best advice is to stay online.  Do not go to a bow shop.  For your first bow, I cannot speak highly enough of the samick line.  I have shot dozens of custom bows and have a very nice damon howatt monterey, but I don't think I've shot a smoother bow than my samick red stag.  They make it in recurve and longbow and the sage is even cheaper.  You can get them shipped for about 160 bucks and they are just fantastic.  I hunt with mine as much as my monterey.  Just ask questions on here for tuning advice.  It's really pretty simple.



My advice is to DO NOT buy your first bow online.   A good bow shop and  someone that can get you started the right way is the best thing you can do.  Shoot before you buy!


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## stick-n-string (Dec 6, 2011)

GO SEE BIG JIM!!!!!!!!!!!!
why go anywhere else where they have limited bows and knowledge. Big Jim has plenty of bow that you can shoot till your fingers bleed. Which brings up another fact that Jim has anything and everything you need to go with your new bow without walking funny when you leave. 

Bottom line is don't waste your time shopping online for a bow you can't shoot till you buy and end up not liking when you can go see a man that knows what he is doing and will take the time to make sure your happy!


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## ranger374 (Dec 24, 2011)

ok, here's is an update.

it seems that mrs. santa decided to get me a recurve for Christmas.  she went to archery traditions, and they sold her a october mountain mountianeer bow.  I had told her i wanted a 62" bow, which is what she told them, but the one they ordered was a 60".  So, he nocked off $50 and give her a stringer and a rest plate at no charge.  Said if i didn't like it, i could swap it out on something else.  one of the limbs also had a crack in the wedge in one of the limbs.  they called OMP back and they said they would send a new set of limbs out next week--no problem.

so it seems we got pretty decent service so far.  

as far as trad bow selection goes, they have some of the youth model otober mountain product bows in stock, and some other used bows as well as what looked like some of the dan quillion style bows marked archery traditions.  they also have a custom great plains used recurve in there--i really liked the grip on it, fit by big ole hand really well.

so all in all, i was pretty satisfied with the service.  they do have a target set up against a wall you can shoot at, but it won't be further than about 10 yds.

like others have said it is best to shoot one before before you buy, but out there they told her if i didn't like it i could swap it out, so i was pleased with that.


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