Mastering with Equalized Outdoors: How to Buy a Bow — Start with the Right Shop

By Justin “MrJayCam” Campbell — Equalized Outdoors

Why the Right Archery Shop Matters

Walking into a new archery shop carries a certain weight for me. Being a Black man in outdoor spaces often comes with realities folks do not always talk about, and for my own unrelated reasons, I usually walk in with a bit of trepidation. I have lost count of the number of times I have stepped into the archery department at the same big-box retailer without receiving so much as a greeting. Other shops have left me standing alone — waiting for help that never came — so I took my money elsewhere. That pattern happens enough times that you eventually stop expecting much at all.

I expected more of the same when I walked into Legacy Archery for the first time.

What happened next was nothing I prepared for.

A First Visit That Changed Everything

Mr. Roper Wall, who I later learned is the owner, greeted me almost immediately and asked if he could help. The simple act of being acknowledged already set this visit apart. I asked if I could check out a Mathews ARC 34. He said “Absolutely” without hesitation and went straight to work on the setup.

He took a quick look at me and guessed my draw length within half an inch. He read the situation well and set it at seventy pounds. None of it felt arrogant or presumptive — it came across as calm, steady expertise from someone who has done this for a long time and still enjoys doing it.

Real Service, Not a Sales Pitch

I stepped out to grab one of my own arrows and my release from the truck. When I came back in, I browsed the shop for a moment before being told the bow was ready for me to shoot. Not even minutes had passed, and everything was set up like I had been a regular for years.

The staff guided me to the range and stayed patient the entire time. They weighed my arrow and ran it through the chronograph to give me real-world numbers based on my setup. That ARC 34 pushed a heavy arrow north of five-hundred-fifty grains and still showed two-hundred-seventy feet per second.

All of this was done before I spent a single dollar.No pressure.No sales pitch.Just pure professionalism.

The Moment Everything Became Clear

After a few shots and more conversation, I asked about the Bottomland finish. Mr. Wall went to check without hesitation. We talked for a while, and he mentioned that their customer appreciation day was happening the next day. Then he told me to stop by whether I bought a bow or not — a simple invitation that meant more than he probably realized.

I walked out to my truck afterward and sat there without turning the key. Everything about the experience replayed in my mind. The welcome. The attention. The respect. The ease. I was not thinking about brace height or axle-to-axle measurements. I was thinking about people.

That is when I called the bank, let them know a large purchase was coming, walked back in, and bought my new Mathews. Mr. Wall even made sure I left with the Mathews hat — something I did not receive at my last shop even when I purchased a brand-new V3X 33.

Why Legacy Archery Sets a Standard

The truth is simple. I barely talked about the bow because it was not the bow that sold me. The people did. The service did. The atmosphere did.

Legacy Archery gives you six free range days when you buy a bow and a yearly tune for as long as you own it. Benefits like that matter. But the real value came long before any perk or discount.

Legacy Archery became more than a bow shop in a single visit.It already feels like a home — and that is how you know you started in the right place.

One Happy Author