I work with a guy that is a relative(through marriage) of the owner of APA.
He is pretty back-logged with with production and can barely keep up with demand. That says to me he is making money and he has a popular product.
I think APA will be in business for a LONG time to come.
Champion got put out of business because of their name. They copied another companies name too closely and got sued. Was cheaper to close up shop than fight a lawsuit.
Champion made GREAT bows and I never heard ANYTHING bad about the bows or the company. Just an unfortunate set of circumstances put them out of business.
As far as warrantys are concerned a quality bow from ANY manufacturer is not/should not have ALOT of problems. My Mathews is pushing 8 years old now with probably a few thousand shots and the only maintanance I have done is strings and cables.
I do wish APA well, and hope they can keep it up!
FWIW, I was told, by a dealer, that the Champion debacle had all to do with patent infringements and refusal to pay the patent owners for the use of the patented features. Apparently the fellow that ran Champion had run a few different bow making businesses into the ground this way before.
Given that they had a a pretty good thing going with supplying a couple different OEM name bows, (Browning being one, I was told) I gotta think that there was a pretty high level of arrogance and stupidity involved. In any case, it left a lot of guys high and dry as far as any warranty support was concerned.
When I first started shopping for a new bow, the sales guy at WSS Edmonton was pushing the Champion bows hard. I did not find the finish and feel, to my satisfaction, and I really did not give a damn that it was the fastest or the cheapest at that time. The female that used to work behind the archery counter there was another real incentive to avoid the place.<shiver> Used to hear that voice and head straight for the door.
I bought my Pearson after being able to shoot one (it was the tech's personal bow) at Trophy Book. I liked the angled grip, found the bow to be comfortable to shoot, and more accurate than I was, so I bought one.
Archery shops in Alberta. I have dealt with Trophy Book in Spruce Grove, and have been pretty happy. They deal Mathews and Pearson, among others. There is also Sherwood Park Archery (I think thats their name) in Sherwood Park, East of Edmonton.
There are two shops in Lethbridge, aside from WSS, one deals Hoyt, and the other deals Bowtech and PSE IIRC. Both have ranges indoors.
Cheers
Trev
