Online at ArrowTradeMag.com May 2015 Bowtech & Excalibur Deliver the Oﬀspring Plus: Advanced Bow Tuning How to Advertise your Store Revolutionary Bow Sights Kinsey’s Dealer Show Coverage Comprehensive Target Review Flagship Bows go Head to Head May15cover1.indd 1 4/1/15 12:24 PM May 2015 Volume 19 Number 4 Read ArrowTrade online at ArrowTradeMag.com or ArrowTradeMagazine.com 10 COVER STORY Bowtech & Excalibur Deliver the Stryker Offspring Online at ArrowTradeMag.com Crossbows have two major subassemblies. One is the stock, which houses the trigger and holds the rail that guides the arrow; the other is the prod that incorporates the limbs, riser and, in the case of a compound crossbow, the cams. Now that they're under common ownership, Excalibur is building the stock and Bowtech is completing the Offspring. Our interview with Excalibur's president sheds light on the joint venture and lays out the potential this new model has for raising the Stryker brand's position in the crossbow market. May 2015 Bowtech & Excalibur Deliver the Oﬀspring Plus: Advanced Bow Tuning How to Advertise your Store Revolutionary Bow Sights Kinsey’s Dealer Show Coverage Comprehensive Target Review Flagship Bows go Head to Head May15cover1.indd 1 4/1/15 12:24 PM 6 From The Publisher Why one website just isn't enough. 8 Product Showcase A neat new approach to dragging out deer. 18 ATA News Brief How we're doing on the recruitment, retention and re-engagement that is vital to the industry, plus an introduction to new and returning ATA board members. 22 Advertising to Support Your Retail Shop Every business needs some sort of marketing to drive sales. Business Editor John Kasun's succinct article will help bowhunting retailers develop their first advertising plans or help them fine-tune the ones they already have. As detailed in the Product Showcase section, the Hooker Deer Drag provides the leverage and upright stance a hunter needs to more easily drag and load deer. 2 May15AT002-007T-R.indd 2 4/1/15 5:03 PM EXPERIENCE THE HALO EFFECT Success always starts with sighting ‘em in. Halo’s all-new XTANIUM series rangefinders provide pinpoint accuracy, offer 8X magnification and feature bright red OLED displays for optimized visibility even in low light. See how accurate distance readings can extend your hunting success. XTANIUM 1000 ™ 1000 YARD RANGE XTANIUM 600 ™ 600 YARD RANGE 3 May15AT002-007T-R.indd 3 4/1/15 5:04 PM 28 Behind the Counter T Randy Booth offers a perspective on how to balance a customer's excitement over a potential new bow purchase with the need to outfit it with quality accessories. I 30 Revolutionary Sights Premium bowhunting sights today offer a level of precision once found only in comparatively fragile tournament sights. Pat Meitin explores the latest models like this AccuTouch from Axcel (at right) that allows you to dial in ranges as you refer to the scale or allows you to move the pin to detent settings while your eyes stay on the quarry. 42 Stopping Their Arrows This comprehensive review of your options in targets spans 20 pages and covers all the major brands. By Mike Raykovicz. 62 Factory to Field: Athens Archery A background in machining precision automotive components helped Athens Archery get established as a bow builder. By Jason Herbert. 68 Tuning Twin Cam Systems Larry Wise shows you how to tune the various forms of twin cam systems that power most of today's compound bows. 90 Testing the Stealth FX4 96 Flagship Bows Go Head to Head How can you know the strong points and tradeoffs offered by today's top hunting bows? Anthony Barnum offers an unbiased evaluation of six new models, with objective tests of four key areas of performance. DA 112 Industry News 75 Product Directory Learn what it takes for your store to qualify as a NABA member. 76 2015 Kinsey's Dealer Show 122 Lighter Side: They Come as a Set John Kasun brings you details of the 2015 Kinsey's Dealer Show, including information on the distributor's latest dealer education efforts. RA Jon Teater tests the latest Stealth crossbow from TenPoint, which earns top marks in three categories. RO An outing to give the "puppy" more socialization turns into a test of marital relations. PA JA NEW 4 May15AT002-007T-R.indd 4 4/1/15 5:05 PM THE IN INDUSTRY LEADER BOWSTRING TECHNOLOGY Shoot with the Best™ RALPH & VICKI CIANCIARULO FRED EICHLER NICK MUNDT, MICHAEL WADDELL & TRAVIS “T-BONE” TURNER DAVE COUSINS JEFF FABRY ROB MORGAN TIM BURNETT ROBERTO HERNANDEZ RUBEN OCHOA LINDA OCHOA SHIMADA TAKAYUKI PAUL TEDFORD ALBINA LOGINOVA ROD MENZER ANDREA GALES JAMIE VAN NATTA KRIS SCHAFF JOSH SCHAFF JOE KAPP NEW FOR 2015 If it needs strings or cables, WE BUILD THEM! TM STRING CUSTOMIZER AVAILABLE ONLINE AT WWW.FIRSTSTRINGUSA.COM May15AT002-007T-R.indd 5 FOLLOW US 5 4/1/15 7:15 PM