When I was starting to look at bows, I had just narrowed my choices down to Mathews, Hoyt, and Bowtech so I was looking for dealers that carried those. I was going to take off work (I work down in Seattle) and go look around and a guy at work mentioned Northwest Archery. I called them up on the phone to see where they were, and talked to a guy who was less than polite. I told him that I wasn't sure of my draw length, and that I would like to come in and get my draw length measured and look at a few bows he had in stock. He gruffly informed me that he charged $25 just to check draw length! I could get the $25 taken off the price of a bow later if I bought one from him, but not if I bought other stuff. I realize that it might be a problem for people ordering stuff from catalogs after they know their draw length, but it was obvious I didn't have the skill to set up my own bow if I didn't even know my draw length and the two brands I was considering most can't be mail ordered! It only takes a second to measure draw length anyway, so even if I had done that he would have made a good impression for his moment's work and I would have probably come back to buy accessories later. It's a pretty safe bet that my shadow won't ever be darkening the door of that shop.

I found the Nock Point about three miles from my house last night (Saturday) about 5:00pm. I had heard that it had an archery range, but it looked like a fairly well-equipped shop from the outside. The sign on the window said they were open until 6:00 on Saturday and they were already closed at 5:00, probably something to do with the holiday. I kinda feel sorry for the owner, though. Another guy who was wanting to order a bow was walking away from the door as I walked up and started chatting with me. As we got in our cars and drove away, a lady was walking up to the door with a very excited teenage boy who looked really disappointed when the door was locked, liked he missed Santa or something, so I'm betting he was about to get a bow, too.

The most helpful shop around I found was up in Mt. Vernon. I think it's called Riverside Archery. I talked to a guy in there who was very helpful and didn't try to sell me everything in the shop. He explained the concepts behind a lot of the new stuff on the market and what was actually worth using and what was marketing hype. After comparing bow brands and models, I decided I wanted a Legacy and ordered it from him yesterday. It's a fairly long drive up there, but it's worth it to me to spend my money where I think it's deserved. Even if I wouldn't have decided on a bow brand he carried, I would have made it a point to buy some accessories there as a gesture of appreciation for the help he gave me.