In less than two weeks, hunters in West Virginia and Ohio will take to the woods for the first day of bow season on Saturday, Sept. 25.
Those in Pennsylvania get an early jump as their season begins this Saturday.
In anticipation of getting an early jump, hunters are making their final preparations, erecting their tree stands, checking footage from game cameras, and formulating their plan of action for the wee hours of that first day of bow season.
They are also making sure their equipment is ready for use. Whether a hunter used a compound bow, a crossbow, or the more traditional recurve or even a longbow, there are certain double checks needed to ensure your gear is in proper working order.
That’s where Jason Bennett can come in.
The owner of Always Be Center Archery in Wheeling, Bennett is a full-service archery shop, specializing in bow maintenance, arrow fletching and cutting, and restringing. If you want to have your bow given the proper once over before taking it out into the woods, then Bennett is your man.
He’s owned Always Be Center Archery for around a year. But his name is known in the local archery community as he used to run the archery shop at Woodbury Outfitters when it was in St. Clairsville.
The best part, while needed repairs to the bow aren’t free, the initial inspection is. If you think there’s a problem or need it checked out, bring it into ABCA, located on Allendale Road in the Mt. Oliver section of Wheeling, right behind Our Lady of Peace School. He’ll check it out for you.
“I’m always offering free inspections because I want to make sure, regardless of what state you are from or hunt in, that every hunter is safe, and everybody has equipment that is functional and safe.
“I’m still a smaller shop, so all I can offer is maintenance, the fine-tuning, the building of arrows, and anything custom. Once I have a brick and mortar store, I’m hoping to explode.”
That’s on the horizon, but for now, Bennett is putting his expertise to good use in this fashion.
Hunting Season Prep
Bennett stressed a number of things to look out for before the season starts but did mention a few major points to look out for.
“There are so many things to check over, but with the last minute, you want to make sure with your equipment, the biggest thing is your string. Make sure it’s properly waxed,” Bennett said. “Also, your sights, make sure they are exactly where you need and want them to be; reassure yourself because you want to make sure you make an ethical kill, as fast as possible.
“Go over the cams, make sure there’s no dirt or anything inside the cams or around the string. Make sure everything is tight and clean.”
Checking your equipment also extends to the arrows and broadheads you plan to use.
Bennett doesn’t build arrows from the ground up, but if the customer has the raw shaft, he can customize them to meet their specifications in a number of ways.
“I can put wraps, custom fletching, whatever they want,” Bennett said. ‘I can cut the arrows down. Whatever their specs are calling for, I can do.”
Bennett ideally recommends the Carbon arrow but admits he can work on any style and that he has quite a few customers who still use the aluminum arrows.
When it comes to broadheads, he sees merit for different types, whether that be the cut-on-contact style broadheads or some of the other options.
“With a lighter-poundage bow, some of those cut-on-contact ones are really nice,” Bennett said. “Then with the chisel tip, it gives you a little more punching power. The Muzzy are tried and true. The Rages, I’ve seen 1,000 good posts about how they are excellent for harvesting deer, and 1,000 posts of people losing deer or having to track one for miles.
“It all just boils down to shot placement. If you get your shot placement, I don’t care what type of broadhead you are using, your animal will be euthanized and harvested ethically and quickly.”
Interested in enlisting Bennett’s services or seeing what he has to offer? The best way to get in contact with him is through the Always Be Center Archery’s Facebook page listed above.
