An indoor archery range with foam targets is part of the property at Archery Country.
BUSINESS FEATURE
Tyler Vanderkolk (pictured) has owned Archery Country along with Brendan Hansen and Alan McGraw since 2016.
A full draw refers to when the archer fully draws the arrow before releasing it.
PHOTOS BY SUMAIYA MALIK COMMUNITY IMPACT
Archery Country Shop provides equipment, services for hunting season
TYPES OF BOWS
Archery Country o ers three di erent types of bows for archers.
Compound bow Compound bows use a system of cables and pulleys to bend the bow limbs. Recurve bow A recurve bow has limbs that curve away from the archer when unstrung. Longbow A longbow is a type of tall bow that makes a fairly long draw possible.
I n preparation for the Texas hunting season beginning Oct. 1, steady streams of customers waited in late September to check out at Archery Country, a store carrying archery gear and accessories. Located near US 183 and Lamar Boulevard, Archery Country equips licensed hunters who use archery on hunting grounds for deer or game in the hunting season as well as those who enjoy the sport for shooting competition or casual fun in an indoor target range. The store has been in operation for about 40 years. “The one thing that kind of sets us apart from everyone else is we have way more inventory than most other archery shops, and the other thing that everyone comments on is our customer service,” said Tyler Vanderkolk, one of the three owners of Archery Country. Vanderkolk has owned the store since 2016 alongside six-time Olympic medalist Brendan Hansen and Alan McGraw, the former three-time mayor of Round Rock. A customer who has no experience or equipment can come in the store and try archery in the indoor shooting range attached to the store. Sta will BY SUMAIYA MALIK
provide recurve bows and arrows for a fee, give pointers on how to shoot and then let customers start shooting in the indoor range, Vanderkolk said. “If you really get into it, then you’ll want to come back and buy something, or if you don’t, you can just want to come back for fun,” Vanderkolk said. Customers can walk in with their equipment or set an appointment to shoot at compacted foam targets starting at $15 a person. Group reservations and memberships are also available. The biggest followers remain the committed hunters who are in it for targeting game for meat on the hunting grounds, Vanderkolk said. Many advanced archers have previously tried ri e hunt- ing and switched to archery for the challenge. The store carries a variety of top brands of bows, with recurve, long, compound and crossbows. Additionally, di erent types of screwable-head arrows are available. Although the store only sells new equipment, Archery Country o ers repair services and advises customers out of courtesy if they wish to buy a used archery equipment from outside the store. “We are killing it; we are doing really good,” Vanderkolk said. “This year is probably going to be our best year ever on record.”
Archery Country 8121 Research Blvd., Austin 512-452-1222 www.austinarcherycountry.com Hours: Tue.-Fri. 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m., closed Sun.-Mon.
183
RESEARCH BLVD.
ANDERSON SQUARE
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NORTHWEST AUSTIN EDITION • OCTOBER 2022
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