– Bill Rautenstrauch

The Observer

In the age of the Big Box and the World Wide Web, this much at least is true: small independent shops offering well-honed expertise and top-drawer customer service still have a fair chance of survival.

Just ask local archery dealers.

Three little shops in La Grande Phil’s Outdoor Surplus and More, Alpine Archery and Ben’s Archery are flourishing these days. With the current archery season just under way, the owners are as busy as they can be.

"This year, I’ve broken every sales record I’ve had since I’ve been in business. It’s been out of this world," said Phil Gillette, owner of the outdoor store that carries his name in Bearco Loop.

Ron Babcock of Alpine Archery at the corner of Fir and Jefferson, and Ben Ward of Ben’s Archery on North Spruce Street, say they’re working hard as well.

All three dealers have this much in common: they’re longtime outdoorsmen filling a niche that’s been growing steadily over the past decade or two.

Archery is popular everywhere. In some eastern states the number of bowhunters tops 300,000.

Estimates vary, but in Oregon there are somewhere between 25,000 and 50,000 archery hunters these days.

That’s due to changes in Oregon hunting regulations in recent years, said Babcock.

"The lack of availability of tags has pushed a lot of people to shoot a bow. Once they see some animals, with less pressure, they switch," said Babcock.

All three dealers sell compound and recurve bows, plus accessories. They mount sights and repair and tune bows. They give advice and even instruction; Gillette has an indoor range in his shop.

It’s service not normally found in a discount store.

"I’ve taken bows apart and repaired the axles and replaced broken strings," said Ward. "I’m really kind of service oriented. I believe you’ve got to cater to the people."

Ward, an archery enthusiast since childhood, opened his shop in 1989, thinking it would make a nice little sideline for his retirement.

He hasn’t retired yet and doesn’t know when he will. Ben’s Archery is a year-round enterprise.

"I’m pretty busy eight months out of the year," he said. "Things slow down in October, and then I start thinking about finding and ordering products."

Ward said he opened his shop out of a concern that new bow technology wasn’t available locally, that "people weren’t being taken care of."

Bow technology is always emerging. He strives to keep up with it, but he’s found some archers can’t be sold on more speed, more power.

"Some people like to try something new, but then for others, getting them to change a bow they’ve had for 10 years is like pulling teeth," he said.

Babcock and and a partner bought Alpine Archery in April 2006, but the partner later sold his interest.

For Babcock, the shop is not a sole source of income. He also works as a physical therapist at Mountain Valley Therapy.

He said it makes for a busy life. Off-season, Alpine Archery is open 25 hours a week; as bowhunting’s opening day approaches, the hours expand.

"We’re open about 36 hours a week then, and in the evenings we work making arrows," Babcock said. "We put in another 15 hours doing that."

He said he has discovered that customers’ needs change as the season wears on.

"After the season starts, we kind of change our focus to accessories, sights, sight rests, arrows and other things," he said.

People who shop his store may find themselves spending a little more money than they would at a discount store, but Babcock believes that price can’t be everything.

Good customer service is a must, he said.

"I can’t compete with the big stores price-wise. I have to bring in things they don’t have," he said. "Ten to 15 percent of our business is custom orders. If we don’t have it in, we’ll get it."

Gillette’s store is a little less specialized than those of Babcock and Ward.

He caters to hikers, backpackers and rifle hunters as well as bowhunters. He plans soon to expand his product line to include hunting rifles.

"I really look forward to hunting season," he said. "Between archery and the rifle hunters, it accounts for about 15 percent of my total year’s sales. When we add firearms, it’s going to open a whole new horizon," he said.

Gillette, like Babcock, said he believes most outdoors enthusiasts are willing to pay a higher price to get what they want.

"I try to cater to the higher end, and I’m finding people are receptive to the quality," he said.

All three retailers well understand that bowhunting is only one part of a big picture.

In the end, archery is a sport to be enjoyed any time.

‘We want people to see it’s a year-round, all-season sport," said Babcock. "It’s not only for hunting, but there are club shoots, tournaments, leagues. It’s a great sport for the entire family and the cost is relatively reasonable."