I’m not a “hard core” bowhunter. I dabble. I have chased javelina around several seasons with a bow, but haven’t gotten one yet. Did the archery deer thing once or twice with identical results. That being said, I enjoy shooting bows and hope to someday have some success in the field. I recently received my new Xception bow from Xpedition Archery and needed to get it set up. I asked some questions in a local Facebook Group and Junior Jean from Timber Mesa Outdoors reached out to me right away and offered to help.
Timber Mesa already has shops in Show Low and Mesa, but they just opened a shop in Queen Creek; their new shop was only 5 or 10 minutes away from my house. After one false start (the bow was shipped with the wrong draw length set up and I needed to order a different module), I stopped by one night after work and watched as Junior worked his magic. I had a stabilizer, rest and sight that I needed to have installed. I also needed to add a D-loop and peep.
Timber Mesa is a full-service archery shop, complete with a shooting range. From their website: “We do one thing at Timber Mesa Outdoors and that’s Archery. We eat, sleep and breathe Archery. Timber Mesa has been in the archery business for over 23 years! Our staff all shoot and hunt with stick and string. The staff at Timber Mesa Outdoors is dedicated to helping you reach your archery dreams. Whether you’re chasing the buck of a lifetime or shooting for a spot on the podium, let the staff at Timber Mesa Outdoors help make those dreams come true!”
Junior is not only very technically capable when it comes to working on bows; it’s clear he is passionate about helping people get set up in archery. He detests poor customer service and shops that do sloppy work. From start to finish, Junior went through the work on my bow. He didn’t try to up-sell me on anything (I did buy a new sight) and he explained every single step. He was very thorough and detailed, but not so focused that he couldn’t chat while he was working.
He installed the new module and set my stops exactly to my draw length. He checked the draw weight. He installed the D-Loop, and then the rest. He installed my new sight and then paper-tuned my bow. It barely required an adjustment; I think even Junior was impressed! Then we went to the range and he helped me make sure the sight and rest were adjusted properly. He was insistent that I didn’t leave the shop with a half-done bow. He wanted it as set up as possible, by the time I left.
For all that work, the price Junior charged me was beyond reasonable. I am extremely happy with my bow and I think Junior thought that the Xpedition Xception was a pretty well-built bow. I can’t wait to hit the range and start slinging arrows!
Timber Mesa is a great place to buy your archery products, and they have online shopping as well.
Still deciding on what bow to buy? Check out their great Choose The Right Bow page.
As stated at the start, I don’t go into a lot of bow shops and the ones I have been into generally have left a bad taste in my mouth. That was not the case with Timber Mesa Outdoors. Their staff are friendly and knowledgeable. Not only will I continue to spend my archery dollars there, I would highly recommend that you do as well.
Interested in learning more? Follow them on Facebook.
I don’t know if all of TMO’s staff are as friendly and professional as Junior Jean, but it sure seems like they might be close. Seems like the kind of outfit that would want to make sure that kind of knowledge and friendliness was consistent throughout the organization.