GREAT Bow Shop in ALbany Area ... new bow

[ship of fools]

Well i broke down yesterday and bought a new bow.

I have been using my neighbors for the past two years while he was a civilian contractor in Afghanistan ....  but he is back and wants his bow 

I had a friend who suggested Point Blank Range in Esperance... about 45 minutes from Albany. I called a couple of weeks ago and talked to Joe... and asked about used bows...  he told me he didnt have any but then remembered he was taking one in on trade...  and then told me the guy was nuts for trading it in but the guy buys a new bow every year.

He was buying a 2011 Martin FIrecat ... and trading in his 2010 Martin Firecat ....  his trade is my gain.... and all Martin bows are guaranteed for life    ... so i should be set for quite a while.

I have been looking at ebay and craigslist and wasn't comfortable because i just don't know enough about bows to make sure i buy the right one.... and figured i was better off paying a reputable shop a little extra rather than spend $300 or $400 on a bow that didn't fit.

So i spent an hour yesterday with him, sized everything up and he is now mounting the sight, rest etc .........  then when i pick it up he wil fine tune it and tweak my shooting form if needed...  all included with buying the bow.....   i couldnt have been happier walking out of his shop.

Anyway ....  if anyone needs to find a shop with an honest owner who will treat you fairly i highly recommend Joe at Point Blank....   he is located west of Albany so any of you Central NY guys aren't that far away.

Can't wait to pick it up next week! 

[upstatehunter]

Congrats on the new bow SoF!! Sounds like a good deal. Plus it's always nice to have a shop you can trust to do right by you.
Hope you get to take one with it this year!!

[ship of fools]

Congrats on the new bow SoF!! Sounds like a good deal. Plus it's always nice to have a shop you can trust to do right by you.
Hope you get to take one with it this year!!

TRUST  was my #1 concern ......  their is a shop 15 minutes from my house... but i have heard horrible things about them

they sold my friend the bow i was using... a martin saber ....  which he paid $800 for  .......  i was told it was at least $200 more than it should have been 

[drobertsinMaryland]

Good deal Ship of fools. I currently have two bows by Martin, a Bengal and Rytera Alien X. Both have been great bows. The only thing I would be worried about is Martin's warranty. To my knowledge the Lifetime Warranty it is not transferable.

[ship of fools]

Good deal Ship of fools. I currently have two bows by Martin, a Bengal and Rytera Alien X. Both have been great bows. The only thing I would be worried about is Martin's warranty. To my knowledge the Lifetime Warranty it is not transferable.

the bow shop guy told me it is....   Martin doesn't care who owns it ....   and in my research i found a couple of examples where they stood behind their bows

one guy bought one off ebay, from a dealer that was a fraud ... and martin made it right

time will tell 

[drobertsinMaryland]

the bow shop guy told me it is....   Martin doesn't care who owns it ....   and in my research i found a couple of examples where they stood behind their bows

one guy bought one off ebay, from a dealer that was a fraud ... and martin made it right

time will tell 

Here are some pics of my owners manual and yes I have met Laura Francese. Since you are buying it from a shop any warranty work required he will probably call in. 

[NorthvilleNewbie]

I took my bowhunter's safety course this weekend at Bowhunter's Plus in Amsterdam, NY. Staff is friendly, instructor was knowledgeable. Plus, they teach the course on the upstairs range, so you're not packed in there like sardines like during most safety courses, all elbow-to-elbow. The owner also bought pizza for lunch for everybody, which I thought was nice. I thought we would get the opportunity at least to shoot a compound bow under instruction, like we shot .22's during the regular hunter safety course, but we didn't. (I've never fired a bow before, only in the virtual game, "the Hunter," but never in real life. I went downstairs, and looked at a couple of bows and YOWWW. I realized the hobby is expensive, but certainly one I can't afford right now. I'm sure its the same everywhere else though. Pro-shops are a bit more pricey, but im sure to have a proper equipment when I throw down the money at some point.

[drobertsinMaryland]

I took my bowhunter's safety course this weekend at Bowhunter's Plus in Amsterdam, NY. Staff is friendly, instructor was knowledgeable. Plus, they teach the course on the upstairs range, so you're not packed in there like sardines like during most safety courses, all elbow-to-elbow. The owner also bought pizza for lunch for everybody, which I thought was nice. I thought we would get the opportunity at least to shoot a compound bow under instruction, like we shot .22's during the regular hunter safety course, but we didn't. (I've never fired a bow before, only in the virtual game, "the Hunter," but never in real life. I went downstairs, and looked at a couple of bows and YOWWW. I realized the hobby is expensive, but certainly one I can't afford right now. I'm sure its the same everywhere else though. Pro-shops are a bit more pricey, but im sure to have a proper equipment when I throw down the money at some point.

Glad to hear you got the course under your belt. That is strange you didn't get to fire a bow at the course.

Yes unfortunately our hobby is expensive. Starting out you dont have to buy a new bow. I am sure you could pick up a nice used bow for way less $. If the proshop is a reputable one they will be happy to set that bow up for you.

[ICE4ME]

northvillenewbie,
 You might want to go on line to hunter's friend. they have bow packages that are reasonably priced. not cheap, but i picked up a martin sabre package for about $500 with everything you need to get started. also look around at local shops and you can find some decent deals. buddy of mine owns a gun & bow shop and has a few in the $200 to $300 range. if your interested pm me and I'll give you his info.

welcome to the sport and good luck. your wallet will never feel heavy again. 

[ship of fools]

northvillenewbie,
 You might want to go on line to hunter's friend. they have bow packages that are reasonably priced. not cheap, but i picked up a martin sabre package for about $500 with everything you need to get started. also look around at local shops and you can find some decent deals. buddy of mine owns a gun & bow shop and has a few in the $200 to $300 range. if your interested pm me and I'll give you his info.

welcome to the sport and good luck. your wallet will never feel heavy again. 

You're in my area ....  the package noted above would be right around $500 at Point Blank... plus he'll make sure everything is sized properly ... and you can shoot it and have local support.

STAY AWAY from the place you took your course...   they just sold someone a brand new bow that didn't fit...  when she took it back they told her they would sell her new cams to make it fit right... it was BRAND NEW .....  call Joe at Point Blank

Also... i have a really old Browning bow that isnt worth much ... i want to keep it for bowfishing some day but you are welcome to borrow it for this season ... my brother lives in northville and i can get it to you ...

[major257]

You're in my area ....  the package noted above would be right around $500 at Point Blank... plus he'll make sure everything is sized properly ... and you can shoot it and have local support.

STAY AWAY from the place you took your course...   they just sold someone a brand new bow that didn't fit...  when she took it back they told her they would sell her new cams to make it fit right... it was BRAND NEW .....  call Joe at Point Blank

Also... i have a really old Browning bow that isnt worth much ... i want to keep it for bowfishing some day but you are welcome to borrow it for this season ... my brother lives in northville and i can get it to you ...

That is funny, I bought a new bow there this spring and the guy set up 2 different bows and let me shoot until I was happy before I made a decision. Also the last bow I had they changed the cam, put in a new peep, reset the bow to spec and I shot for over an hour for $20.

[Deposit]

I bought my mission eliminator at bow hunters plus and thought it was not to bad price wise! Nice place there and will definitely do business with them again!

[ship of fools]

Fair enough ..... i didn't deal with them but have heard a couple of bad stories...   

[drobertsinMaryland]

Probably depends on which shop technician was in that day. I have been to a few shops were the person working on the bow had no idea what they were doing. That's when I went and got my own bow press.

[Inwellb4light]

Fair enough ..... i didn't deal with them but have heard a couple of bad stories...

Theres a lot more than a couple floating around out there...

On the upside Joe at point blank is a close personal friend of mine and he knows his stuff for sure.  Great guy who stands behind his gear and doesnt beat around the bush.