Bullseye Archery, the newest archery shop in Scotts Valley, is the perfect place for hunters and beginning archers to stock up on gear and knowledge of the bowman’s art.
Larry Spittler and Jeanne Burke are the owners of the shop located at 5299 Scotts Valley Drive, which opened on March 1, 2015.
“We do tuning of bows, cam bows, and regular bows, and we sell any kind of bow that you could possibly want,” Spittler said, “plus the stuff to go with it.”
Spittler, an archer of 40 years, said that he started practicing archery in the sixth grade after witnessing Howard Hill’s archery expedition at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco in 1964.
“I did (archery) in college and 40 years later I’m going ‘I think I’d like to shoot a bow again,’ a lot of people do the same thing,” Burke said. “They come in here and they haven’t shot in years.”
Bullseye has a beautiful display of bows ranging from English longbows, Australian Aborigine bows, recurve bows, and compound bows — originally called cam bows — with a small selection of crossbows as well.
“The thing is don’t be afraid to try something new, if you have never tried it before,” Burke said. “Because we are very helpful, we can tell you and offer you anything.”
For those interested in getting started in archery, the two main bows for beginners are the recurve bow — which is curved at the tips — and compound bows.
“(Recurve bows) used to be the fastest bow 30 year ago, (and) then some engineer got the wise idea of putting pulleys and cams on the end of bows,” Spittler said.
Compound bows can shoot longer distances than the recurve bow, and they usually have lighter draw weight. However, the recurve bow is more traditional and much less expensive, giving the bow wielder a sense of the device’s history and beauty.
“If you are going to get started with a recurve with really good equipment then you’re looking at about $300,” Spittler explained, “in your cam bows you’re probably looking at $700.”
Recurve bows are for fun, he said, while the compound bow is all about hitting the target.
The shop stocks bow parts, knives, and throwing axes. It also sells a variety of targets, which are very popular items.
“That’s one of the reasons why (archery is) so successful here, so many people have room to have a range in their back yard,” said Bullseye’s Store Manager Gabrielle Garrett, a regular archer since 2008.
With the start of deer hunting season, the shop has recently stocked up on broad heads and other points and blunts for hunting. Bow hunters typically shoot with compound bows, but some use long bows and recurve bows as well, Garrett said.
Their equipment goes fast and they have bows on consignment and old arrows that have been repaired for $2 each.
“Some people would rather do that — especially for their kids who loose them and break them all the time — than pay for new arrows so we sell a lot of those and we are constantly repairing arrows and making new sets,” she said.
Currently, the shop does not have an archery range or classes.
“Most of the time, I tell people to go to Archery Santa Cruz because they have an indoor range and walk in instruction — or to go to the Santa Cruz Archery’s Club, but then you have to have your own equipment and they only teach classes once a month,” Garrett said.
Spittler said that they would eventually like to have a shop with a range, but in the mean time he directs most people to the range at De Laviega Park, which is open to the public on Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 5 p.m.
Bullseye Archery’s well-organized shop is open from 3 to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday. Those in need of equipment or archery advice are encouraged to stop by.
