Still Going Strong After - img1.wsimg.com

You might think an archerycompany celebrating its 60thanniversary in 2011 would be

slowing down. I didn’t get that impres-sion in mid-March, when I spent theday touring the factory and interview-ing three key members of the man-agement team at Martin Archery. Isaw costly new production equip-ment in use, a more efficientapproach to building traditionalbows, and plenty of the innovation inthe company’s 2011 compound bowlines.

I do mean lines, plural. The plantat 3134 Heritage Road, Walla Walla,Washington, is home to both Martinbows and the newer Rytera brand,named for Ryan Martin and his father,Terry.

The Martin Archery brand itself,launched by Ryan’s grandparents Gailand Eva Martin back in 1951, goes on

three dis-tinct bowlines. Thereare the pop-ular tradi-tional bows,i n c l u d i n ghand-craft-ed recurves

and longbows that can trace their her-itage back to 1938 and the founding ofDamon Howatt Archery. There are theMartin Archery Gold Series bows, aline available through all channelsthat this year includes six adult hunt-ing bows. Bowhunters can buy newGold Series models like the Onza 3 JonSilks tested for this issue, the Silenceror Exile at pro shops, but they can alsofind them at box stores and throughthe big catalog merchants.

Still Going Strong After

14

Ryan Martin shows his grand-father Gail the prototype for anew inexpensive take-downbow that will combine a die-cast magnesium riser with limbslaminated from wood and fiber-glass. This will be longer thanthe compact Jaguar take-downand it may include a new ver-sion of the SOS, the StringOscillation Suppressor the com-pany has introduced on its 2011compound bows. Now 35, Ryangrew up working in the businessGail and Eva founded in WallaWalla, Washington. He’s beenwith the company full timesince finishing college.

Tyler Backhaus holds the Tiger compound bow and Ryan Martin has thecompany’s XR Recurve. The company is a major supplier of youth bows,as you can see from the inventory it keeps on hand.

Ryan designed the Tiger with a shoot through riser that captures thearrow so young archers don’t have to worry about the arrow shaking offthe rest or dropping off when they grip the string improperly. The bow’speak weight can be set at 10, 15 or 20 pounds. The XR Recurve has itsown capture style rest and it easily converts from right to left hand byrepositioning a plate and flipping the bow end to end.

Ryan has also designed a new Mantis capture style rest for adult bows.

Jeff Matson holds one of the eccentrics engraved with anew computer controlled laser engraver. Cams and mod-ules now have clearer markings and the process is muchquicker than doing the engraving with a CNC machine.

May11AT014-029.qxp 4/1/2011 12:26 PM Page 14

Martin Archery restricts the fourPro Series models for 2011 to full ser-vice retailers like Walla Walla’s ownarchery pro shop, a business I’ll pro-file in a future issue. That includesnew Firecats in hybrid and single camversions, a tournament readyShadowCat with 41.25 inch axle-to-axle length, and the compact 30.5inch Crossfire.

Even though Martin Archery haslong been offering full service retailerstheir own distinct models, the linebetween Pro Series and Gold Serieshad gotten blurred in their minds andin the minds of their customers.Dealers who didn’t want to carrybrands sold by internet or big boxretailers would sometimes shutMartin sales reps down before theyhad time to present the Pro Seriesbows, Terry Martin told me in his roleas vice president and head of thedesign team. “A lot of dealers didn’tunderstand the different between ourPro Series and Gold Series.”

In response to that situation,three years ago the family-owned firmlaunched the Rytera brand. That pre-mium bow line offered head-turninglooks, strong performance and theopportunity for the full service retailerto make a bigger profit on each sale.

For instance the new Rytera Seeker365 with its unique stabilizer-mount-ed grip is priced at $899 MAP(Minimum Advertised Price). Theelfish-looking Alien X that was the topseller last year under the Rytera ban-ner is priced at $699.99 for 2011. Bycomparison, the most expensiveMartin model for 2011 is theShadowcat priced at $749 MAP in theNext G1 camo. Martin builds a lot ofcompounds that sell for less, such asthe Firecat 400 at $599.99 and theCrossfire at $449.99 or $519.99,depending on the cam style.

Sales in this 60th anniversaryyear have gotten off to a strong start,Terry told me. For one reason, retail-ers seemed to have cleared their wallsof bow inventory that were a drag on2010 sales for this Washington staefirm. The company requires dealersto accept new models but it can’tforce them to display and sellthem: Terry said he knowssome dealers who got theirfirst Alien X told him it would-n’t go on display until theywere able to clear excessinventory in other brands.“They didn’t dare, or theywouldn’t be able to sell thoseother bows, not with what the

Alien X offered their customers.” Another reason sales are surging

for Martin is the firm is offering betterlimbs, strings and riser designs thanever before. I was shown proof of thatthe morning of March 15 during anextended factory tour with RyanMartin. Ryan is an important memberof the design team but these days healso is the manager so he was the per-fect one to demonstrate this compa-ny’s drive toward the future.

Power Tough LimbsLet’s start with the Power Tough

limbs going on every Martin andRytera compound hunting bow for2011. Years of research and stress test-ing are behind a limb designed specif-ically for today’s parallel limb bows. Anew hinge profile or “working section”was designed to allow a heavy limbload to be dispersed over a greater

Sixty Years in ArcheryBy Editor/Publisher Tim Dehn

15

Andrew Mings demonstrates the operation of thecompany’s new waterjet, which using a high pressurestream to cut five compound limbs from the profiledplates of fiberglass from Gordon Composites.

May11AT014-029.qxp 4/1/2011 12:54 PM Page 15

16

area, while a re-engineered yokeensures stability. Martin Archery hastested these limbs, Ryan told me, byrigging bows with shorter cable sys-tems so the limbs already are flexed ata dramatic 45 degree angle. Then itpounds them on a draw cyclemachine that mimics the effects of200,000 shots.

Like most bow manufacturers,Martin depends on the premium fiberglass produced at the GordonComposites plant in Montrose,Colorado. Gordon produces the limbmaterial as plates that are ground inits plant to provide the curved thick-ness Martin requires for each limbdeflection value. After being shippedto the Washington plant, the plates areplaced on a new waterjet machineinstalled within the last year. Themachine uses a thin stream of waterlaced with garnet grit, a stream mov-ing at three times the speed of sound,to cut five limbs from each plate. Thelimbs are tumbled to remove thesharp edge, then sent through thepaint shop to receive a heat-set epoxycoating to help lock down the cutfibers.

That’s as far as I was able to followthe Power Tough limb productionprocess, as Martin Archery prefers tokeep additional lamination and fin-ishing steps confidential. “We do addadditional layers to our limbs, but Ican’t tell you how,” Ryan apologized.

Hammer Head StringsRyan did show me the changes to

the string production process. It’sbeen a common practice for somedemanding archers to buy a new bowand immediately upgrade with a set ofpremium after-market strings. Thegoal for these Hammer Head strings isto give the customer a string and cableset that won’t stretch and that willallow a properly installed peep sightto come back straight every time.

“We switched to BCY’s Trophystring material because this had thebest feel of the materials we tested,”Ryan said. The two color bundles ofstring material are prepared undermoderate tension on high speedmachinery that Gail Martin developeddecades ago. They are then trans-ferred to new massive steel A-frame

racks. A precise number of twists areadded and wax is rubbed in. Thestrings are then stretched under airpressure at the maximum pressureBCY recommend, as more wax is mas-saged into their fibers. After goingthrough this timed cycle, the stringsmove to another rack where they aretensioned again and spun mechani-cally as a worker guides the servingonto them. The serving itself isapplied under high pressure and thestrings will soon be under pressureagain on a completed bow.

Every adult compound built atthe Martin factory is getting the newHammer Head strings, Ryan said. “Ifsomeone takes these new strings offtheir bow and replaces them, it will bea complete waste of time,” he said.

Reinforced RiserMartin Archery runs its machin-

ing centers 24 hours per day to pro-

duce the eccentrics and risers for itscompound bows. Most companies arecutting risers today from profiledslabs of aluminum. Martin cuts its ris-ers from short solid blocks or “billets”of aluminum, then pins and screwsthem together. Cutting an entire riserfrom a billet, particularly the large bil-let that would be required for thereflexed riser designs popular today, isoften cost-prohibitive both inmachine time and in the amount ofaluminum chips that would pile up inthe recycling barrels. Some in thecompany believe its better not to talkabout the modular approach to build-ing risers, since it is not apparent oncethe risers are dipped in their finishcoats. Ryan doesn’t see it as a negative.“After all, bow risers became ‘modular’a long time ago when separate limbcups came along. The process we useallows us to use solid blocks of alu-minum, which makes our risers

Hammer Head strings startwith the new Trophy bow-string material from BCY. Atright, these bundles of stringmaterial have been preparedon high speed windingmachines invented by GailMartin. Gail’s string buildingprocess was so efficient thatMartin at one time suppliedall the strings used by BearArchery, as well as supplyingreplacement strings to manyarchery retailers.

Strong new racks hold strings as they are twisted and then stretched by the pneumaticcylinders seen at the right. They are also under high tension when the serving is appliedby Claudia Negrete (along back wall). The trio twisting up and waxing the strings include(left to right) Ramona Moreno, Blanca Gutierrez and Cena Arbuckle.

May11AT014-029.qxp 4/1/2011 11:53 AM Page 16

17

straighter, stronger and stiffer.I photographed Roy Cantu using a

hand press to drive polished steel pinsinto the joints above the arrow passand below the grip. Next to him

George Contreras used a ratchet gunto drive in the retaining screws. Thosescrews are treated with a permanentLok-Tite. Their function is only to holdthe joint tight: The strength and align-

ment are provided by the crownedsteel pins. On one side of the two menwere three stacks of components forthe Exile risers, on the other werecompleted risers that would be

Most manufacturers are machining risers from profiled slabs ofaluminum. Martin believes the better way is to machine risers fromsolid rectangular billets of aluminum, so the grains of the alu-minum are aligned along the length where strength is more criti-cal. Martin can do this in a cost effective way because instead ofusing a huge single billet, it machines risers from three compara-tively small billets and then uses steel pins and screws to join thembelow the grip and above the sight window. Roy Cantu is using ahand press on the five pins, so he can feel if the fit is perfect. In thebackground, George Contreras uses a power ratchet to install twoscrews that have been treated with a permanent Lok-Tite.

May11AT014-029.qxp 4/1/2011 11:53 AM Page 17

wheeled to the film dip area. If I hadn’tjust seen them come together, even inthe bare metal stage it would havetaken some time to find the hairlinejoints. “In testing we crushed our ris-ers and found the steel-reinforcedjoints are the strongest part, not theweakest as they are in a conventionalriser when the aluminum steps over,”Ryan assured me.

Completed risers are de-greasedand acid-etched before getting theirspray-on base coat and one of six film

dip finishes. The fact that MartinArchery operates its own film dip tanklets it offer the wide choice of NextCamo, Bonz Camo, Skulz Camo, PinkCamo, Leopard Skin and HunterBlack. The black is actually a carbonweave pattern, and like all the otherfinishes it is applied by a double-dipprocess. “You can make the film wraparound the part, but then you end upwith more stretching of the patternand a sharp seam on the back,” Ryanexplained.

I watched Kent Garner lower arack of risers through the floating film,then twist the rack under the surfaceto tear the overlapping film free in thewater. Once that side was rinsed cleanand fully dry, the rack came back toget the same treatment on the other

side. “This process allows us to get adarker, truer pattern and a nice blend-ed overlap on the edge,” Ryan told me.

Martin Archery uses that samefilm dip operation to offer the optionof “cloaked” cams, TRG and SOS.“Cams” are pretty obvious, but whatdo I mean by TRG and SOS?

The first acronym refers to theTorque Reducing Cable Guard. Likeother manufacturers, Martin haswanted to reduce the side load on itseccentrics caused by having thecables held off to the side to clear thefletching. The TRG allows the cables tomove along an angled plate and stillbe confined at both ends of the drawcycle. Correctly adjusted it gives fullfletching clearance as the stringapproaches brace height, but at fulldraw the cables are close to the stringalignment.

SOS is Martin Archery shorthandfor the String Oscillation Suppressoravailable as standard equipment onall but the lowest cost models. Thedesign team developed it with the aidof a new high speed camera that firstphotographed how strings behavewhen they strike the lower mount STS

18

Martin’s in-house film dip operation lets it offer a wide rangeof finishes, including this carbon-fiber effect Hunter Black(above) and a Pink Camo for the little Tiger. Kent Garner floats afilm dip on water at right, and after an automatic arm appliesactivator, he can finish six risers at once. The open door in theright side of the photo is part of the spray booth where the ris-ers go through a 20 minute rinse before drying and redipping.

Aaron Hamilton, Ken Melhus and Ryan Martin teamed up for the design of a new SOSString Oscillation Suppressor they say is more effective than the popular bumper-equipped units. In this design the string is trapped and held till the residual energy isabsorbed, then the jaw opens to release the string.

Kent Dillard presides over the paintroom. These compound bow limbs will geta coating of epoxy before beginning along journey through a heated secondstory drying chamber.

May11AT014-029.qxp 4/1/2011 11:53 AM Page 18

May11AT014-029.qxp 3/29/2011 12:42 PM Page 19

damper the company hasbeen using. Moving that stop-per toward the bow’s midpointsettled the string sooner, butthe string still bounced off thesoft rubber damper. Ryan saidhe, Ken Melhus and AaronHamilton collaborated on anew type of slotted bumper.The slot opens as the stringcontacts it and closes momen-tarily around the string, thenreleases it an instant later. Theaction is too fast to see withthe naked eye, but the newcamera documents the action.“With the SOS the string does-n’t hit and bounce,” Ryan said.

The SOS mounts on the same car-bon rod that supports the TRG. MartinArchery recommends the SOS overthe older STS, but is happy to sellretailers bows either way. “If anyoneshoots the same bow both ways,

they’re going to want the oneequipped with the new SOS,” Ryanassured me.

In the bow assembly area, Ryancontinued to point out changes on the2011 models. Martin Archery ownsthe patent (one of 25 Terry Martin has

received) on riser-mounted vibrationdampening systems. This year thecompany has a new version of theVibration Escape Module or VEM. Itcombines a vortex-shaped rubbercone with a central bullet weight, andvery much resembles the intake on a

20

PHOTO ABOVE: Tyler Backhaus has his own assembly and packaging area forthe company’s metal risered Jaguar Take-Down, since it sells in big quantities.You can order it in a hunting kit or in two different fishing kits, one with aspool, the other with the AMS Retriever reel.

PHOTO RIGHT: Jon Cade assembles a compound, guided by the long tag itcarries that list all its specifications as well as who the customer is.

Attractive hang tags and labels now spell out many ofthe features of bows from the Martin factory. Theyhave been located in such a way that they don’t inter-fere with someone drawing the bow or even shootingit on a dealer’s range.

Rhonda Walters holds a Martin Exilethat she has mounted a sight andrest to, as well as nock set and peep.Martin offers two different packagesand both feature this Mantis capturerest Ryan Martin designed for saleunder the company’s WildMan acces-sory brand. The rest has a internalframe that is over-molded with thecompany’s soft VEM coating. It has aquiet loading door and Teflon coatedlauncher arms are the same springsteel favored on lizard-tongue targetrests. This rest offers full capture, fullfletching clearance and no speedloss, the designer says. Walters is oneof many long-time employees, with27 years in at Martin Archery.

May11AT014-029.qxp 4/1/2011 12:11 PM Page 20

21

jet engine. Instead of sucking in air, itsucks out vibration and noise.

Most bows today offer a steel sta-bilizer bushing so stabilizers can bemounted and dismounted withoutstripping out aluminum threads.Martin Archery ditched the bushing infavor of a steel barrel bolt that fits in arecess cut in a boss projecting fromthe riser. Once you thread a stabilizerinto the barrel bolt, you can removethe same by loosening it a partial turn.Casing the bow is that much quickerand easier thanks to this simple inno-vation.

If you are changing the drawlength on a 2011 model from this fac-tory, you’ll note how easy it is to readthe adjustment marks. They are nowbeing burned through the anodizeinto the bright metal through the useof a laser engraving machine, anothercash purchase Gail Martin recentlyapproved. Jeff Matson demonstratedfor me how quickly the machineworks as its laser danced across abank of modules under a protectivetinted plastic cover. “Now it takes usfour minutes and five seconds to do30 pairs, versus the 1 minute it took tomachine the marks on a single mod-ule, and this looks better,” the bowassembly supervisor said.

A simple addition to the Martinand Rytera bows for 2011 is a heavyduty reusable zip tie connectingcables and string. The zip tie carries alabel that warns customers againstshooting the bow without an arrow.Dry fires had accounted for at leasthalf of the warranty issues MartinArchery faced, Ryan told me, andreturns for that reason have droppeddrastically. This simple change provedso popular when bows began ship-ping with it in mid-2010 that some

dealers ordered the zip ties in quanti-ty so they could equip their entire bowinventory. Because these zip ties arereusable, it’s a simple matter to releaseand remove them when a customerwants to draw a bow or shoot it on therange, with the dealer’s knowledgeand supervision.

Compound bows coming out ofthe Walla Walla plant have so manynew features that dealers may needsome help explaining them all.

They’ve got that help in an array ofhang tags and stick-on labelsdesigned with the aid of graphics whizKen Melhus. Bows shouldn’t look likea “Christmas Tree” festooned withdecorations, Ryan commented, sothese Point of Purchase materials aresized and arranged so you can stillshoot the bow without removingthem. Care also went into making surenone of them mar the bow finish: Thelarge label on the upper limb, for

By adding a heavy duty zip tie and warn-ing label Martin has dramatically reducedthe chance a customer will dry-fire anddamage a bow. The zip tie is easy tounlock and replace.

May11AT014-029.qxp 4/1/2011 11:54 AM Page 21

instance, is held in place by two smalldots of acid-free adhesive, the sametype a scrapbooker might use tomount a treasured family photo.

Other labels, like the ones thatcarry bow specifications and UPCcodes, are affixed permanently to thebow. Those label were generated

when the order was placed and theyfollow the bow through the produc-tion process. Part of the label stripgoes on the bow to identify the modeland characteristics, and that portionalso has the dealer name and address.

Before the bow gets packed, how-ever, a new quality control checklist

has to be completed by thebow assembler and finalinspector. Both add theirnames at the bottom of thecard, which accompanies thebow until it reaches and isremoved by the end user. Tokeep people focused on quali-ty, management periodicallysends through coded testbows that have a single minorflaw. Judging by the reportsposted in the bow assemblyarea, in almost every case thebow flaw is being spotted andcorrected before the bowreaches the packaging stage.

Jeff Matson, the bowassembly supervisor and Ryanhave been working on anadditional pre-packaging step

for Rytera models. “When the newRytera catalog comes out, we’ll adver-tise that we now have someone shootand tune each bow before it goes outthe door,” Ryan said. “Then they willfill out a form attesting to that. We’llprobably move that over to high endMartin models later.”

Up to now, all the improvementsI’ve written about concern compoundbow production. Martin has also beenbusy on the traditional side, where itsroots stretch all the way back to 1938and the founding of the DamonHowatt brand. Gail Martin andDamon were friends and Gail for years

People take the company’s new quality control checklist seriously in part because man-agement periodically tests them by sending a problem bow through. Ryan Martin (atleft) has the test results posted in the bow assembly room. Above right, Kathy Troutmakes sure a bow is set to specifications called for on the order tag. Photos at her sta-tion identify other key areas to check before signing off on the checklist and releasingthe bow for shipping. At right Trout’s name joins that of the bow assembler Jon Cade.

22

Martin’s selection of hand-fletched arrows includes these cedar shafts thatcarry Trueflight feathers. Running the Bitzenberger jigs is Judy Mayberry, a 27-year veteran of Martin Archery.

May11AT014-029.qxp 4/8/2011 1:15 PM Page 22

This partnership is well beyond the standard vendor-dealer dynamic. In Brunton country, this is a handshake that means “we’ve got your

back”…looking out for your business and your customer with the most comprehensive support program in the industry. Our Full-Line

Partners have the confidence of knowing that they’ll be featuring items like our new Icon Series Optics exclusively, their margins are protected and unprecedented among industry standards, and the

dedicated attention they receive from Brunton Hunting is unmatched.

Become a Full-Line Partner today and receive an initial incentive of over $6,000 worth of product and merchandising

support, and let’s hit the trail together. For more information call 307-857-4777 or email [email protected]

®

part·ner noun \ (pärt-ner also pärd)a. one that sharesb. one associated with another…especially in an actionc. a member of a partnership…especially in a business

Riverton, Wyoming, USA www.bruntonhunting.com

THE NEW ICON�. AVAILABLE ONLY THROUGH FULL-LINE PARTNERS

May11AT014-029.qxp 4/1/2011 11:55 AM Page 23

competed with a custom-builtDamon Howatt recurve that com-bined a long, stiff Partridge Wood han-dle with light, short limbs. WhenMartin Archery added traditionalbows it had them built at the DamonHowatt factory. When Howatt wasready to retire in 1976 he sold the

business to his friends, theMartins. The Martins inherit-ed some good designs and

great employees, but they also inherit-ed a logistics problem. As the compa-ny successfully built up traditionalbow sales it had up to three truckshipments a weekrunning the 125miles from theYakima plant down

to the Walla Walla headquarters,where the bows were inventoried andshipped.

Last October Martin Archery shutdown the Yakima plant and beganmoving all the specialized equipmentto new facilities at Walla Walla, where

24

Chuck Jones shapes the limbs of a Howatt Hunter on this largesanding belt (above.) At right, he shapes the riser against this high-speed vertical sanding belt. This “free-hand” approach to buildingtraditional bows is efficient and allows for custom touches, provid-ed you have the confidence and skill that is required to do it well.

PHOTO LEFT: Joe Melander shows me the stack of domestic and importedhardwoods that will be sawn up for risers. The woods include maple and redelm, as well as imported bubinga, zebrawood, rosewood and shedua. The largedoor behind him leads to the chamber where these handle section are mount-ed to a rotating press and then heated to speed the curing of the epoxy.Melander has been building traditional bows for 36 years and is one of six keyemployees who transferred from the Yakima plant to Walla Walla.

PHOTO ABOVE: Laminations stored along the wall have been given a coatingof epoxy by Mike Houfek, who is getting ready to put them in the press. Whenthe press is closed pressure is applied pneumatically via the yellow tubing andelectrical strip heaters are activated to further cure the adhesive.

May11AT014-029.qxp 4/1/2011 12:57 PM Page 24

an 11th addition to the buildingawaited it. By the time of my visit pro-duction had resumed, although therewas still some rearranging under wayto smooth out the work flow. Youcould set up compound bow produc-tion with a single machining centerand a compact bow assembly area:

There are companies that do all theoperations, including grinding limbsto shape, with those robotic cuttingunits. By contrast, the process Martinuses to build thousands of traditionalbows per year requires many special-ized cutting, sanding and laminatingstations. Six key employees had made

the move from Yakima, and oncethey’re happy with the work flow intheir new, more compact home they’llbe joined by new hires.

Those employees will need a dif-ferent set of skills than other MartinArchery bow builders, because thesetraditional bows are built with a num-

Single-Caliper Releases Double-Caliper Releases String Loop Releases Back Tension Releases

606-663-2734 | [email protected] | www.scottarchery.com

Lacey McMillan does final shaping of one of the private label bowsproduced by Martin Archery. The company has recently been select-ed to build a commemorative recurve marking the 50th Anniversaryof the Pope & Young Club.

Don Jewett saws up blocks of wood to rebuild a piece of abow press. The traditional side of the business will be hiringadditional workers once it is satisfied with the layout and pro-duction flow in its new quarters.

May11AT014-029.qxp 4/1/2011 11:56 AM Page 25

ber of hand operations that give themcharacter and allow for custom touch-es like a high or low wrist. “It drives mydad crazy when someone remarks‘Martin makes good traditional bowsfor someone who uses mass produc-tion,’” Terry Martin told me. “We’vegot more hand craftsmanship thanmany of these so-called ‘custom’bowyers. A lot of them are using dupli-cating machines to cut risers and jigsto make sure every part comes out thesame.”

Unlike other major bow compa-nies, Martin Archery never aban-doned its traditional bow line in therush to develop compounds. Todaytraditional bow sales account forabout 20 percent of the overall bowsales, enough that the company con-siders itself the world’s largest produc-er of custom handmade bows. Twonew models are in the works. The dayof my visit Ryan was showing a proto-type of a Saber Take-Down to Gail andTerry. Like the inexpensive JaguarTake-Down that is already in the line,this longer bow will pair laminatedwood and fiberglass limbs with a die-cast magnesium riser. Getting theright limb mounting angle was criti-cal, Ryan explained, because to keep

the price down to consumers hewants to use the same limbs on bothmodels to produce the same drawweights at the standard 28 inch drawmeasurement. While the Jaguar has a60 inch AMO length, the new Saberwill be a few inches longer.

Gail had his own new bow toshow me, proud thatthe Pope & YoungClub had chosen

Martin to build a 50th AnniversaryCommemorative model. That bowwill have smooth drawing bamboobacked limbs and the limbs will befaced with a costly woven glass. Theelegant riser features both rosewoodand bubinga.

Unless they’re traveling, Gail andhis wife of more than 60 years stillcome into the plant most every day.That gave me a chance to ask why thecompany has so many long-time

26

Virginia Harrison says she loves workingwith leather, and has 31 years of experi-ence at Martin Archery. Above, she stampsout adhesive-backed leather saddles forbow grips. That’s her sewing leather arm-guards at upper right. At right, thick sad-dle leather is used to build this traditionalquiver. Starting with full tanned hides, shecan build about six of the quivers in a day.

Gail Martin shot a lot of tournaments using this recurve builtby his old friend Damon Howatt. The long, stiff riser and short,light limbs gave it great speed for its day. The companyfounder still enjoys attending traditional shoots but hasswitched to a compound when he hunts with son Dan.

Carlye Baird is the receptionist in a lobby decorated with gamemounts from around the world. She also is one of the employeeswho provide plant tours to local groups and to bowhunters who visitMartin Archery to see how their bows are built.

May11AT014-029.qxp 4/1/2011 11:56 AM Page 26

©

20

11

N

EW

A

RC

HE

RY

P

RO

DU

CT

S.

B

LE

ED

IN

G

ED

GE

T

EC

HN

OL

OG

Y

���������� ��� ��������������������� ���������� ����������������������������������������� � �������������������������� ��������������������� ��������������������������������������� !���������� ����������"������������������ ����� ���

May11AT014-029.qxp 4/6/2011 9:41 AM Page 27

employees, and how it has survived asa family-owned firm when so manycompetitors over the years had to besold or closed.

“Why do people stay on here? Ithink they just enjoy the work. Ialways had the feeling that they don’twork for me, it’s more like we work onthings together, because I’ve doneevery job here,” Gail said. “We’vealways tried to treat employees theway we’d like to be treated ourselves.You see some businesses where theturnover is very high, and you wonderhow they can even operate that way.”

I don’t think you could call MartinArchery conservative in bow design,but I asked Gail if he’d tried to be con-servative financially. “We’ve tried to beconservative that way. We own every-thing here, and only borrow to coverour accounts receivable. We paid cashfor that new water jet machine and forthe new laser engraver: it’s easier to beprofitable that way.” Gail made surethe plant site was large enough toaccommodate growth and the build-ing was expanded over and over againwhen sales and staffing justified it.“We’ve had 11 additions to this build-ing,” he told me.

It wasn’t easy for Gail to closedown the Yakima plant, knowing thatsome good employees would be leftbehind. “It makes it less expensive tooperate with everything under oneroof. We were shipping bows downhere two to three times a week. Thekey people moved with us, and we’lladd more people to that traditionalbow department,” he said.

I watched grandson Ryan showGail the prototype for a new recurvethat like the inexpensive Jaguarwould be built around a die-castmagnesium handle molded here inthe USA. Gail offered advice aboutthe bow length but he didn’t chal-lenge his grandson’s reasoning or hisidea to outfit the bow with a new ver-sion of the company’s SOS StringOscillation System. I can’t recall everseeing a string stopper on a recurvebut Martin Archery isn’t afraid tobreak new ground. Many times in thepast, Gail told me, the company bene-fited from being ahead of the marketin design. “Our advantage for yearsand years was to come out with inno-vation that might take competitors acouple years to catch up with. Backwhen it was the four of us, Eva, Terry,Dan and I, we might get together andmake a decision on the direction to

go in the space of five minutes.”These days, it’s Ryan that’s always

working on something new, Gail said.“He takes his laptop home with him.Everywhere he is he can work on aproject that way.” Ryan has gottenMartin involved with the social mediasites, snapping photos during ourproduction tour that a few minuteslater might be on Martin Archery’sFacebook page. Ryan designed thecompany’s two hot selling youthbows, the Tiger compound and XRRecurve, Gail told me. His grandsonworked for two years to perfect thedesign for a new Mantis capture rest,Gail said. That’s under the WildManbrand because the company wantsany dealer or bowhunter to buy it, notjust those that choose the MartinArchery bow brand.

Launching the Rytera brand threeyears ago was another way the com-

28

The lobby at Martin Archery is a feast forthe eyes if you enjoy fine game mountsand archery artifacts. The walls are alsosprinkled with awards the company andits owners have won over the years.

At left, I photographed Gail and EvaMartin by their bronze lion, a 1998 Hall ofHonor award from Safari ClubInternational’s Bowhunters Chapter.

Gail has known Eva since eighth gradebut didn’t start dating her until he washome on leave during WWII from the ArmyEngineers. He carried her photograph in alanding on Utah Beach, through Franceand into Germany. They were married acouple years after the war ended and Evaworked as a nurse until her husband’shobby of building arrows became a fulltime business that needed her talents.

May11AT014-029.qxp 4/8/2011 1:34 PM Page 28

29

pany could extend its reach, Gail said.That gave the firm a premium bowline that it could restrict to a limitednumber of full service retailers. “Onlya limited number of people will beable to buy a bow like that RyteraSeeker 365,” Gail said. “That’s trueeven though we try to be a little moreconservative in our pricing than someof our competitors. It’s not everyonethat wants to pay $1,000 for a bow.”

Terry Martin is responsible foroverseeing the company’s adult com-pound bow designs, which just like inyears past Gail said have been helpingMartin compete successfully withmuch larger firms. His right hand manin that is Aaron Hamilton. Gail saidhe’s also proud of the work Terry hasdone on his own to create and man-age the Archery Talk and ArcheryHistory sites. They started when Terrysaw false information about early bowdesigns being spread through internetchat rooms. Today the two sites Terry

oversees are supported by banner adsfrom most of the major archery man-ufacturers. Volunteer moderatorspolice the sites to keep things positiveand family friendly, and they havebecome a major on-line informationexchange within the sport of archery.“They’re the biggest in the world,” Gailtold me.

What of Dan, the son who retiredfrom the firm a few years ago.? “Dan’smajor role is to figure out places forhim and I to go hunting,” Gail saidwith a smile.

• GrizzlyStik Bows, Arrows & Broadheads• ABS Exclusive! Silver Flame Broadheads• Power Broadhead Sharpeners

Alaska Bowhunting Supply AlaskaBowhunting.com 888.697.9828

Dr. Ed AshbyDr. Ed Ashby

Ken Melhus works with Terry Martin onthe marketing side of the business, par-ticularly ads and catalogs. His talent fordesign also makes him an importantmember of the product design team.

Below, I photographed Terry as he oftenworks from his home. The position helpstake pressure off a neck that was dam-aged when his car was rear-endeddecades ago in front of the Martin plant.Terry attends most meetings by videoconferencing. Here he’s showing mesome of the features of Archery Talk andArchery History, internet sites he found-ed and owns. Terry said Archery Talk hasgrown into the world’s leading on-linecommunity and plays a great service ingetting people accurate information andhelp they need to continue in the sport.The motto “Archers Helping Archers” isan apt description of Archery Talk.

May11AT014-029.qxp 4/1/2011 11:57 AM Page 29