Jeremy Dugger

Xpert Archery

Farmington, New Mexico

For us, it’s March and July. I believe there are several reasons for the March peak. There is a sort of recuperation following Christmas and New Year’s when people start planning their year. Folks are getting their tax returns around that time. People have applied for and drawn tags for the fall hunting seasons and are excited to gear up for those hunts. It’s also the start of our spring and summer 3-D tournament season. And cabin fever is also a thing. All of those factors create the perfect storm in March to boost our bow sales.

The July bow-sales boost is directly related to the upcoming bowhunting season and the folks who are running around getting things ready at the last minute. We’re located in the Four Corners area, so we service Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. Utah has the earliest archery opener, which is the third week of August. The rest of the hunts in this region are underway by the beginning of September.

Ideally, folks should come in a little earlier to get their bows, but trying to fix that is a pipe dream. I don’t think we’ll ever be able to overcome that tendency. I’ve been doing this for 34 years, and it has always been this way. People are so busy in life that I don’t blame them. They have busy work schedules, and many are running kids around to sports and other activities, and bowhunting preparation gets put to the back burner until the last minute. Or, they procrastinate and time slips away from them.

   

Sam Neal

The Barn Archery Pro Shop

Martinsville, Indiana

Traditionally, August has been the best. When August hit this year, and bow sales were down, I became a little worried. But then in September, my bow sales skyrocketed, and October was really strong, too. It has turned out to be my best year ever. People wait until right around the season opener to gear up, or they’re waiting for the rut. Whatever the case, those two months have been my best for bow sales this year. 

A large percentage of my bow and bow accessory sales were high-end products. That’s the case each year, but this year it swung in that direction even more than usual. Lots of flagship bows. The best sights. The best arrows. 

I don’t take crossbows in on trade, but I allow customers to trade their existing compound bows in for credit towards their new bows. I would say most of my new-bow customers utilized that option this year and traded in their old models. They don’t have to worry about offloading their bows, and I can make a little money by reselling those trade-ins as long as I make a good trade up front. We pull up eBay’s sold listings and show the customer the going rate of their bow, and then I explain I have to make a little on it, too. It works out pretty well.    

Crossbow sales were down this year. I quit carrying entry-level crossbows because I didn’t like to have customers coming back with problems. Still, I had 10 crossbows come in for service to every compound bow. As far as I know, some of the other shops in the vicinity stopped servicing crossbows, so we got slammed this year with crossbows needing service.

Greg Gill

Blue River Archery

Fairbury, Nebraska

We stopped carrying crossbows a little over a year ago. We don’t even work on them anymore. Compound bow sales start to pick up in July and peak out around the middle of August through the beginning of September. We hit another peak in November when all of the new bows begin trickling out. That’s our second-best time. Bow launches get people excited. Christmas is a little spotty, but then March and April are pretty good because of tax season. It just depends on the year. By far, the majority of bows sell in August and September. 

As far as high-end vs. budget bows, my sales are about a 50/50 split. We carry Mathews and Hoyt for high-end stuff, and a lot of the bowhunters who are looking for the latest and greatest bow usually go for the new flagship from one or the other. We have a lot of younger customers who are really into the Mission Archery line for the affordability and vast adjustability.  

Overall, bow sales are great. We did better in 2024 than in 2023, and 2025 was even better than 2024. It’s a good trend to see. During the Mathews Arc launch in particular, orders and custom orders were up over last year. I feel like people are acclimated to the economy, plus Mathews made some subtle changes that have made a difference. It has piqued their interest, and they aren’t holding back. Furthermore, we’re located in a town with a population of 3,900 people, and we’re surrounded by a lot of rural countryside, so we draw a lot of customers from two to three hours away.

When our rural farmers and ranchers do well and have a good year, it reflects on us. A lot of our customers are the same guys who are in the combines and hauling grain.