Hi, I am Justin, and here is my story. I grew up in a small town about 30 minutes northwest of Charlotte, NC, called Denver. We call it "Denver of the East." Like many good southern boys from small-town USA who grew up in the '80s and '90s, I spent most of my time outdoors. When I wasn't in school, doing chores, or working, I was in the woods. From a young age, I loved the woods. Back then, our parents wouldn't let us stay inside if it was nice out, and we didn't want to be inside anyway, so we’d leave the house at sunup, hit the woods, and not come home until dark.

I was fortunate enough to grow up with a father, grandfather, and uncles who hunted, and they all loved archery. My dad’s family is from Ohio. My grandfather, in my eyes, was the greatest man I’ve ever known. He was an avid deer hunter and a competition archery shooter. He passed the love of hunting and archery down to my dad and his brothers, and then he passed it down to me. Fortunately, I've passed it down to my son, daughter, and many of their friends, whom I consider my "gift kids" because I’ve had the honor of getting to know them through my own children.

Anyway, back to archery… My grandpa was an amazing hunter, and as of today, February 3, 2025, he’s still alive at 90 years old. He hasn’t hunted in the last 10 years and hasn’t shot a compound bow in probably 15 years. I see him a few times a year, and we talk about four things: God, work, family, and hunting.

My grandpa was the president of an archery club in Ohio for many years. When hunting season came around, all he did was hunt—primarily with a bow. When hunting season wasn’t on, he competed, judged, or hosted shoots. Grandpa came up in an era when the compound bow was being developed. He started with a longbow, then a recurve, and when the compound bow came out, he made that transition. Ironically, I have his very first and very last compound bows. They’re hanging in my shop now, and they are amazing conversation pieces. Man, the deer those things have killed.

Being involved in archery as much as he was, Grandpa got to know pretty much all the archery reps in his state and the neighboring states. These reps would visit archery shoots, observing how people modified their bows for better performance, control, and precision. He still tells me the story of how a rep kept asking him about the rest he used, how he mounted it, and why he was using an arrow that was 8 inches shorter than anyone else’s. It turned out that my grandpa designed and built the first overdraw anyone had ever seen in that area. Grandpa said that the very next year, Precision Shooting Equipment (PSE) came out with an overdraw for the compound bow.

Man, what a time that must have been, when necessity was the mother of inventions. Naturally, my dad learned everything he could from Grandpa, and my dad, who is still one of the best archery shooters I know, passed down that knowledge to me. I also have his first compound bow hanging in my shop. I remember being a kid, watching my dad and his buddies shoot archery in the backyard, talking smack to each other, and having a great time. Little did I know, I was learning so much from them, little by little.

Back then, there weren’t many youth bow options. You pretty much had to wait until you could pull back 40-50 pounds before you could think about getting a compound bow. And if there were any youth options, they were so expensive that parents couldn’t justify buying them. I was probably 8 years old when my dad bought me my first compound bow. I got it for Christmas in 1989. It was a Fred Bear Whitetail, a 55-pound bow. My dad backed the limb bolts out as far as he could, bringing it down to somewhere around 45 pounds. He set the bow up for me, but the draw length was probably two or more inches too long for me back then, even at the shortest setting the old wheel pulleys allowed.

Now, keep in mind, this was a time before trigger releases were really popular, and peep sights were mostly used by competition shooters. I shot with finger tabs and only a kisser button, along with a 4-pin flat staggered sight bracket that had four individual pins, each screwed in through two slots, with a Berger button and a flipper rest. I used 2117 Easton aluminum arrows and eventually transitioned to 2216 Eastons. To shoot like that today, most people wouldn’t have a clue how to aim or release properly. 

I couldn't pull the bow back by myself, but I figured out that if I knelt down and set the bottom pulley on the ground, I could use the ground as leverage to pull the bow back. So, that’s what I did. I shot every day, every chance I could. It didn’t matter if it was hot or cold; I probably spent the first 6 months shooting at 10 and 20 yards only. My dad didn’t let me move beyond 20 yards until I could pull the bow back without having to kneel down for leverage. I shot that old bow from age 8 until I was 21. I killed a ton of animals with that bow, but never a deer. If I ever work on a bow for you, ask me how that bow helped me earn the respect of my father-in-law, and I’ll tell you a story.

The mid-'90s changed everything in archery. A little company called Mathews came on the scene, and between Mathews, Hoyt, Bear, Darton, PSE, Parker, Martin, and a few others, things started innovating fast. I had learned everything I could about my old bow, but by then, it was really outdated, so I upgraded. I bought my first solo cam bow, a Bear TRX32, which was Bear’s flagship bow for that year. It was the same bow that Bill Jordan shot for Team Realtree—his signature bow.

I was a good shot with my old bow, but I had a huge learning curve when I moved to that solo cam. It was a 32-inch axle-to-axle, too short to shoot with fingers, and it was a 70-pound bow. I had to learn how to shoot with a D-loop and trigger release, and how to use a peep sight. It set me back probably four months, making it feel like I was starting over. However, it also taught me why it’s so important to understand the science behind the bow and its geometry and how to work on and tune this "new style" bow.

From that moment on, I became a student of the mechanics of archery. I’ve worked on bows ever since. I’ve owned many bows and I love all brands, well almost all brands, lol.  If I had to pick one manufacture that I favor over others, it is Hoyt.  My current primary hunting bow is a Hoyt, however I have 3 Mathews bows as well, two of them I still hunt with, a Mathews Switchback one of my favorite bows and a Mathews Lift.  I also have a Mathews UltraMax solo cam, I don't hunt with it anymore, but it still shoots great.  For me Hoyt just has the best draw cycle, best rear wall, and honestly just holds on target the best, that is just my opinion.  But again, I love them all.  I have had PSE and Bear bows, Carbon and Aluminum as well, all good bows.  I started both my kids on Bear Archery Products.  My daughter still shoots a Bear.  My son has moved into Hoyt and for him he has had the same experience with Hoyt I have.  

Throughout my archery journey I have taught people how to shoot, hunt, and kill effectively with archery equipment. Over the years, I’ve bought all my own turning equipment and can do everything from rebuilding, restringing, and retuning to building arrows and teaching lessons. For the past many years, I’ve been helping people pick out the right setup for them, ordering it, setting it up and helping them sight it in. Truely that is the part I love about this more than anything, walking a customer through the picking out, ordering, setting up and then sighting in phase.  Then the best part is when they send my pictures of what they killed with it.  

For me I am just over what is likely the mid-point of my life and I have decided to turn my hobby into a business that hopefully by the time I am 55 I am able to make this into a full-time job.  You could say I am working on my retirement project.   

I look forward to hopefully meeting you, sharing stories, and building what I’ve found to be some of the best relationships I’ve ever had—all over a stick and string. Much love,

Justin