What do you do?

[Okie in Texas]

Situation is this...

There is a fella standing in the archery aisle at Academy, looking very . He is holding a vintage (if I recall it was a Darton) bow that is not in the best shape, 70 lbs, 30" DL. He wants to buy arrows and a case. Says he got a great deal on the bow and wants to give it to his 14 year old for Christmas. I asked how tall the boy was, and he said about 5'4".

I have no problem setting up a new shooter with an older bow to introduce them, but I just felt like this guy was just setting his kid up for disappointment. The young Academy clerk was happily outfitting him with everything he needed to get the bow RTS, with a price tag of more than the bow was worth...by ever once discussing that the string needed replacing, or that the kid would have an impossible time handling the bow. The guys was about to drop more $$$ on a wall hanger. The problem was, he was very excited that he bought his boy a bow and the kid had been asking for one for a while. I watch...faced with a dilemma.

Not knowing the guy's financial situation...do you tell him what he probably doesn't want to hear? Do you go on about your business and let him figure it out on Christmas morning? Or something different?

I know what I did, but what would y'all do in this situation. I wish I had an old bow to give to the guy on the spot.

[Deb]

It is a tough call. I know for sure that you will be banned from one of the big stores for putting him straight. It happened to me. I'll do it again.

[Jourdan_D]

the polite thing to do would be to give him a heads up IMHO

[18ncs]

Like my daughter says I never have a problem opening my mouth. I would have said, " Just happened to overhear you. Let me give you something else to think about"

[Davoh]

I wish I had an old bow to give to the guy on the spot.

Before I got to this part of the story, I looked over at my wall, at the little hoyt rebel my parent bought me when I was 13. Shot it till i was 15. I gotta say, I'm fairly attached to it, as it has a special place in my heart. Not much from those days I've been able to hang on to. I would probably strike up a conversation, slowly... feel him out... find out how receptive he would be to someone elses knowledge...

If anything I suppose I could "loan" it to him, let his kid see how much he can shoot and hold back.

I definitely have no qualms about letting those academy sales people know what they don't know in front of their customers. It's all about how you present it. The evil-fun part is when it clicks that they know nothing. Sad part is when its not a kid, but a "grown man" trying to sell a gun, when they don't even bother with proper muzzle control... sigh... guess I better not rant too much..

I just hope that kid doesn't get discouraged and give it up.