Wilderness Archery Inc. — Attraction in Rocklin

My first time at Wilderness. I am a lifetime traditional archer having taken the second title on a traditional longbow in the 2003 nationals. I still have a few archery students and I know what to look for in a pro shop both in terms of gear and personnel. I currently live in Georgia where Archery is abundant with plenty of pro shops and knowledgeable service, so again, I know what to look for. I was here on business and wanted to help a friend, who lives locally, get outfitted on a vintage traditional bow that she purchased. Upon walking in, I will say that this is one of the best outfitted pro shops that I have ever seen! We were not greeted right away and ended up standing for about 15-20 minutes. But there was a really good reason for this, all the staff was extremely focused on the customers that were there as the store was crowded. Listening askew to the advice that was given by the staff to the customers, it was easy for me to recognize that it was all honest, straightforward and helpful and professional. When it came time for us, we were actually approached by two people. Ben and Dylan. Both were great and Dylan ended up spending easily a good hour with my friend. He was knowledgeable, friendly, patient, helpful and offered great guidance and instruction. I was intentionally watching so as to judge the overall experience. After reading all of the negative reviews, I can say that my experience and our experience was completely the opposite. The staff is incredibly knowledgeable, they are very friendly and spend an over abundance of time with us. Eventually I met Lisa who is extremely friendly and knowledgeable. She showed me around the shop and bragged on the best 3D targets I have ever seen. We also met Bruce in the Range who was very welcoming and inviting. Being a professional musician I’m used to negotiating a lot of delicate and fragile egos and people that really deserve to be slapped and not coddled so I am used to high maintenance customers. I also expect good customer service backed by knowledge and humility and this is exactly what I found here. Rest assured if you are involved with any type of Archery, you are gonna be hard pressed to beat this pro shop. It’s certainly worth a drive if you’re anywhere...

Customer Service - A+ Price - A to B (fair) ** Overall Score - Excellent! - Best Archery Store in CA.

The Reason....... I searched for the "right" bow for 18 months, saved my $$$ and shot alot of them, ultimately deciding on a yet unsee, new for 2013, PSE-Hammer. Ordered in January, awaited delviery from PSE & picked it up in April. For 12+ weeks Andy, Mike, Steve, & crew all took my calls and replied to many/all emails, about everything (arrival updates, component choices, and arrow selection). The thoroughness and personal attention was refreshing and the real reason to buy from these guys. Yes you could save $$$ by buying online or from discount shops, chucking stuff out the door for a quick buck.... then you end up at a place like Wilderness Archery to assist your fit-n-finish details and make your bow "dialed in". Save the hassles, shipping worries and driving around shopping for a bargain. Call or just drop-in to talk to this crew, buy from them directly and get a package discount and start shooting better today. I travelled 130 miles from the bay area to buy from them. Their personal attention allowed me many hours of in-store shooting, swapping components and ultimately choosing the perfect bow. I tried Bowtech's Assassin, Diamonds' Outlaw & Fugitive, the PSE EVO and Vendetta, but my final favorite is the PSE Hammer; a 335ft/sec tack driver, that shows my limitations of being an average/good shooter & bowhunter (the bow is better than I am). Setup to shoot 440gr CarbonForce Hunter400's @ 305 ft/sec, via 29.5" draw @ 73lbs. & includes/highly recommended SpotHogg Hunter sight, QAD HDX Ultra-rest, and Stinger stabilizer. No buyers remorse here. It is a bow I can be happy with (learning to master) for many years. Kudo's to the Wilderness Archery crew, who spent the multiple hours on answering my emails and providing the in-store personalized service & bow setup to provide that "intangible" value added to my purchase. It is money well spent in my book. - your loyal & future...

A friend of mine just told me a story of a recent visit, and because I'm so utterly appalled by what happened to him I told him I would write a review about this business on his behalf. I've never even had the chance to step inside this business yet, and I guarantee you that I will NEVER shop here for this one reason alone: dishonest business practices. My buddy broke his foot late last year and needed some quick cash. He had a very beautiful but used recurve bow (retails brand new for about $600) that he didn't want to sell but was forced to in order to make ends meet. He came to this business with hopes that he'd get a good price for it. They insisted that they could only give him $180 for it and refused to work with him when he asked for just $20 more to round it up to $200, ended up regretfully selling it to them for $180 anyway. Fast forward a few months to this week. My buddy went back to this same store to window shop. He noticed that his bow was still up for sale and inquired about it, not revealing that it was a bow he had previously sold to them. The salesperson lied about it's condition by saying it was new. My friend asked him if he was sure about that and pointed out a distinctive scratch that existed way before he ever sold it to them. The salesperson responded, "Stuff happens." and went to explain that no one wants to buy it because it's $600. That's a $420 markup on a USED item that is being marketed and sold at a NEW price!!! I don't know about you but that makes me wonder about their other items and how many of their allegedly "new" items are in fact used. To say I'm completely blown away by the total dishonesty and attempt to rip people off is an understatement! They certainly won't be gaining my trust or business with practices like...