Capital Sports — Local services in Helena

Great Service - updated 3/3/23

During November 2022, my wife recently purchased a bow(my first one) for me for my birthday. Being avid rifle hunters for years neither of us had shot a bow or knew much of anything about the equipment or technique for shooting.

Upon entering the bow shop at Capital Sports, we were greeted by Dan who on the first meeting took time to assess my interests and needs and give me a 101 intro into this sport. Since that first meeting, I met with Dan at least two more times, one of which involved him setting up a couple of bows for us to shoot, providing quality instruction. During the whole process he was never pushy on making a purchase. Rather he was more interested in sharing his love for the sport and ensuring I understood what we were venturing into. I can't remember the last time I had received this quality of customer service on a major purchase (very refreshing).

Once I decided on a bow and accessories, the big day had arrived when the package was ready for pickup. Instead of just handing off the bow and sending us on our way, Dan again took the time (at least two hours) to go over use of the bow, explain the components as well as pick out the arrows which he assembled that evening.

Before departing he gave me another hands on assessment with my bow where he watched me shoot a dozen arrows or so providing constructive feedback on my technique and adjusting the sights for 20 yards. Dan's coworker, John also stopped in to share his love of the sport.

As I left that evening headed home, I was still at awe at the fabulous customer service. I still feel a little overwhelmed with all that is involved with this new sport but have comfort in knowing I can always return for some guidance and assistance from Dan and the other team members to include Jeff, a manager, who was also instrumental in ensuring our needs were being met during this process.

Thanks Dan and Jeff for making this a pleasant experience! You both are top notch!

Following the above, we have visited Capital several times to make purchases. During February 2023 we were in need of backcountry skis to replace our 20 year old models (also purchased from Capital Sports) that no longer had any camber stiffness! We were in search of a multi purpose ski with a metal edge that would perform pulling a pulk sled as well as glide efficiently in a two track.

We met with both Eric and Jeff (store manager) who provided friendly service and detailed information regarding our options as well as their individual experiences. During the process neither were pushy only interested in ensuring we had all the information to make an informed decision. We ultimately decided on the Rossi BC 65! After our first ride we knew we had the right skis. Thanks Eric and Jeff!

Like the purchase of my bow above, selling wasn't their priority but ensuring we were getting what we needed. I can't say enough about the team at Capital - true professionals. Other companies could learn alot from this team on proper...

I entered Capital Sports hoping that they would be able to do a transfer on a suppressor (silencer) from a ClassIII FFL in Oregon for me. Since Capital Sports is an SOT holding FFL that regularly performs sales of silencers I figured they would have no issue helping me. Unfortunately I was wrong.

The staff who assisted me were highly professional, but to my dismay, they informed me that store policy prevented them from performing the transfer. I don't mean to sound too harsh in this review but what they told me seemed to defy all logic. A transfer of a silencer is a fairly simple process for FFLs on an ATF Form3, especially with two FFLs using ATF eForms (as would have been the case here).

For an FFL to have an SOT but to not want to perform NFA transfers with it seems to me that they don't want to make easy money, for reasons I can't explain. I've never encountered a ClassIII dealer or a ClassII manufacturer who would not perform NFA transfers.

Ultimately I took my business to Range 406. It was easy to start the transfer process with them and the FFL back in Oregon. I like the setup and staff at Capital Sports and I really would have liked to have given them my business. Moving forward I will be working exclusively with Range 406 for anything NFA related (Range 406 also has a Silencer Shop Kiosk).

I give Capital Sports three stars. The staff is delightful to work with and I really do enjoy the setup of the store. They even sell real black powder and not just the smokeless substitutes. However, their bizzare business practice of refusing to take easy money leaves me feeling that the ownership/upper management is concerned more with maintaining some strange (frankly inexplicable) status quo as apposed to working to meet the needs of customers.

Teddy the golden retriever who hangs out in the store of course...

I recently purchased my husband a bow for hunting at Capital Sports and was very impressed with the customer service.  Since neither my husband or I were familiar with bows we went in together. We were greeted by Dan in the archery department who was extremely helpful and explained all the components of a bow and also provided us with familiarity in shooting a bow and shared in his experience. He provided his knowledge in giving us the pros and cons of the different bows and the components needed.  This was a several week process and Dan never lost his enthusiasm.

Several times Jeff, a manager, checked in with us to make sure everything was going well.  While in the store I observed him having conversations with other customers and appeared very genuine in wanting to meet their needs.  The whole experience was terrific.

This is actually a 2nd review for Feb 23, 2024. Last year about this time we purchased a pair of back country skiing and boots. We love the set up but kept getting blisters from the boots over the course of 6 outings. We stayed in touch with Eric in the ski shop keeping him informed to include photos. We returned the boots Friday and Eric assisted us with his excellent knowledge of skiis and boots and willingly exchanged our old boots for a different pair. Additional Ed, an owner took time to chat with us about hunting adventures and was extremely helpful in providing knowledge on hunting boots and spent about 30 minutes answering our questions. Capital Sports is the best and really does strive to take care of...