Sniper X
Member
I'll start off. I was ten in 1968. I had owned a couple of the Montgomery Wards fiberglass bows when I was an even younger kid, a 15lb and a 25lb bow. I shot and shot....I loved archery. I started at the ripe old age of 6. I wanted and dreamed of owning a quality bow. I looked at the bows on the racks at the two local bow shops, and both places had stunningly beautiful bows from Bear, Browning, and so on.
The summer I was 9 I decided to save all my lawn mowing money and buy myself a real qaality bow. I remembered a place my buddy who lived across the street from me had taken me here in Albuquerque called Groves Archery Lanes. I went with he and his parents a few times to league nights on Wednesday nights where they shot in leagues just like bowling leagues! I LOVED IT!
I also remembered they sold their own hand made bows there. I talked my mom into taking me there on a few Saturdays to shoot and got a range bow to shoot from the rack. I shot almost all day for a few months thru the summer which was really cheap because the owners were always in the back making bows and not paying attention to how many hours I was hanging out there.
I paid like three dollars to shoot all day. GREAT!
I finally saved up what I though was going to get me my custom bow, and ordered it. Remember everything there was fast and loose so no end price was discussed. I went in to shoot one day and Dickie said Hey Kev, your bows ready! I was so happy I almost couldn't contain myself! I almost busted into tears thinking I was getting my custom bow! When I saw it it was all I could do to keep from crying it was so beautiful and perfect in every way.. Yeah, I'm an emotional sap that way.
I shot it for about an hour and went to the register to pay for it and when Dickie said it was $195.00 I almost fainted! I though it was going to be $140.00 and didn't have enough money to pay for it! I was about to tell him this when he said BUT I'll let you have it for $100.00 since you hang out here so much! WOW! A DEAL!
I had and shot that bow till I went in the Army at 19, and sold it to a buddy who I had taught to shoot. Fast forward to 1995 when I moved back to Albuquerque. My buddy who I had sold it to now owns a Bow shop here in Albuquerque and I walked in after being gone for about 20 years. I saw him and we got reacquainted and I started shooting there and bought a nice compound bow from him. I even was asked by him to make arrows and work around the shop on my time off form my real job and I did.
I got the hankering for another recurve and told him I would like to look at them and asked what he had. He said oh, you know what, if you want it, I still have your old Groves bow! I almost cried! It was there, on the vintage recurve rack collecting dust! I could not believe it! I took it off the shelf at warp speed and have had it ever since. He let me have it too as he said the look on my face was worth every penny he had into it.
I still have my beloved hand made Groves Magnum recurve back and have had it back since 1995 and will never sell it.
The summer I was 9 I decided to save all my lawn mowing money and buy myself a real qaality bow. I remembered a place my buddy who lived across the street from me had taken me here in Albuquerque called Groves Archery Lanes. I went with he and his parents a few times to league nights on Wednesday nights where they shot in leagues just like bowling leagues! I LOVED IT!
I also remembered they sold their own hand made bows there. I talked my mom into taking me there on a few Saturdays to shoot and got a range bow to shoot from the rack. I shot almost all day for a few months thru the summer which was really cheap because the owners were always in the back making bows and not paying attention to how many hours I was hanging out there.
I paid like three dollars to shoot all day. GREAT!
I finally saved up what I though was going to get me my custom bow, and ordered it. Remember everything there was fast and loose so no end price was discussed. I went in to shoot one day and Dickie said Hey Kev, your bows ready! I was so happy I almost couldn't contain myself! I almost busted into tears thinking I was getting my custom bow! When I saw it it was all I could do to keep from crying it was so beautiful and perfect in every way.. Yeah, I'm an emotional sap that way.
I shot it for about an hour and went to the register to pay for it and when Dickie said it was $195.00 I almost fainted! I though it was going to be $140.00 and didn't have enough money to pay for it! I was about to tell him this when he said BUT I'll let you have it for $100.00 since you hang out here so much! WOW! A DEAL!
I had and shot that bow till I went in the Army at 19, and sold it to a buddy who I had taught to shoot. Fast forward to 1995 when I moved back to Albuquerque. My buddy who I had sold it to now owns a Bow shop here in Albuquerque and I walked in after being gone for about 20 years. I saw him and we got reacquainted and I started shooting there and bought a nice compound bow from him. I even was asked by him to make arrows and work around the shop on my time off form my real job and I did.
I got the hankering for another recurve and told him I would like to look at them and asked what he had. He said oh, you know what, if you want it, I still have your old Groves bow! I almost cried! It was there, on the vintage recurve rack collecting dust! I could not believe it! I took it off the shelf at warp speed and have had it ever since. He let me have it too as he said the look on my face was worth every penny he had into it.
I still have my beloved hand made Groves Magnum recurve back and have had it back since 1995 and will never sell it.