Viking Archery Inc

Best fun I've had shooting. Owners were nice and patient. Saturdays are a bit crowded, went on a Tuedsay, it was completely empty. more

I got hooked on archery in 2004 because I took my kids to Viking in Houston to shoot a cheesy Academy bow they received as a gift. I, myself, had no intention to shoot. The staff was great with my kids and they encouraged me to me try out several bows - by the end oft he afternoon I knew we'd be back - and not just for my kids enjoyment. Eventually my whole family bought equipment - all of which we were able to try out to our heart's content BEFORE purchasing. I tend to shop stuff to death and Viking's prices were competitive with everything I could find in other shops or on the web (short of used equipment on EBAY). We started shooting regularly and started competing and have bought more equipment over the years. Their bow techs are first class and have always put in whatever time and effort has been needed to get and keep our equipment in peak condition and tune - and they are happy to teach you everything you need to know in order to do it yourself if you choose. The staff has also always been helpful and knowledgeable on improving archery skills. And though their primary business is bowhunting, those of us interested solely in target archery are just as at home there as the hunting crowd. Kevin, Scott, Rick and the rest at the Houston Viking shop are the greatest. more

I won't go into details about my 3 experiences with the owner, Tim, but all I can say is how the heck is this store still in business with such a rude and horrible people person. The store manager is great and very knowledgeable but because of Tim, I will NEVER send any business there. I'm an archery enthusiast and have dealt with most the archery stores in and around San Antonio. They don't get much worse than this. If you happen to go there and Tim is not there, you will have a great experience. For anyone that deals with this guy, WATCH OUT!!!!! more

This story takes place 10 years ago, and if that guy Tim has left, then the store may be safe to go back to. At the age of 16 and my brother was 15 Tim kicked us both out of his store on a saturday with no explanation whatsoever. We tried to return another time with our mother and he kicked all three of us out of there, saying ""Those boys know what they did"". The day we were kicked out the owner's son helped my brother for free with a technical issue on his bow, and the owner was pissed that they were busy and his son was giving free help....that is all i can speculate. I was a 16 year old kid that was not going to stand up to a man who I had heard ran people out of the store at knifepoint. As long as he works there, or benefits from the store, they will not get a nickel of my business. All this happened despite the fact that my family spent about $1,500 at his store, and our close family friends that turned us on the store spent about $10,000 there between the 6 people in the family they had shooting bows there. People that have had positive experiences say what you will about them being great people, they were to me to once, but the minute you catch Tim on one of his bi-polar days he won't care how much money you have spent there. A sure way to get kicked out is to prove him wrong in his store i've heard, so anyone giving them a positive review. I implore you to prove Tim wrong on the most minor of things in his store....enjoy. Pros: Very knowledgable staff Cons: The owner, Tim something more

I was almost put off by some of the negative reviews here, but when I went to Viking, I was met with an enthusiastic and knowledgeable staff who were quite willing to spend a lot of time with my girlfriend and me. They walked us through the product selection process and gave her a free abbreviated lesson. They have a great indoor range at $5/hour. The trip to this store was a very pleasant experience and is bolstering her desire to learn about archery. Pros: Very helpful staff; competitive prices; indoor range more

I recently purchased a mathews from another archery shop. when going into viking with my bow to shoot it, they started talking about how mathews bows are no good and that hoyts are better. Then I wanted to make sure my bow was tuned. the first thing they did was to say that my carbon express arrows were no good and they wanted me to shoot the brand they sold. I went ahead and bought some arrows from them and they would not tune. they told me to take it back where I bought it and have them fix it. I took it back to the Bow Zone and they informed me that the QAD rest likes the cock vane straight up and after one adjustment the bow was shooting great. Viking is close to me but they trash talk customers bows that dont come from them. This dosnt happen at the place I bought my bow. Pros: knowledgeable Cons: bad customer service more

I was referred here by my uncle a couple of months ago. I could of been happier once I went into the place. As soon as I walked in, I was greeted by the staff. I had a problem with my bow, was shooting low, I took it to them, they balanced the bow and fixed the problem with no cost. I recently just bought a new bow and took it in there to get it setup and it was very quick and painless. They helped me sight it in and within an hour and a half I was walking out with my new setup and never happier. Pros: Knowledable, helpful, peacful more

I read the other ratings before making my first trip to Viking today and was skeptical due to the number of negative ratings. I received a couple of personal references from trusted sources hence the reason I gave them a shot. Giving online recommendations is not something I normally do however I spent a couple of hours with these folks, and found them to be extremely friendly and knowledgable. My sense is that the negative reviews are from people with hidden agendas (PETA for one) and I find this type of activity insulting enough to write a glowing review for Viking Archery. \r \r Event though I'm an avid hunter, this was my second time to ever shoot a bow and they treated me with respect. I'm definately going back and will use Viking for all of my archery needs. Pros: Knowledgable, friendly and helpful more

The negative comments about Viking obviously come from recreational archers. Viking is tailored to the serious bowhunter, and everything in their shop is geared toward making you a better bowhunter. They are the only people I let touch my bow...period. Pros: Bow tuning Cons: Wait times more

I have shot a Mathews bow for many years and before that I had a Browning and a PSE and a Pearson. I have had many good bows and Mathews is a fine bow! But not according to the owner of Viking in SW Houston he told me that Viking bows were better and out performed Mathews he tried to tell my wife this she was wanting to buy me a new bow for a present that he would make me a custom bow that would not cost as much as a Mathews and the bow he made was better. So I called him and questioned him he was very RUDE and talked down to me as if I knew nothing about archery when I started asking knowledgeable questions he didn't want to talk to me anymore I had heard a lot of bad things about this man before I called and I found out it was all true. If you have had a bad encounter with this place don't let that turn you away from archery find another place to go to! There are a lot of good archery shops and a lot of good people running them this just ain't one of them! I don't know how they have stayed in business for so long. The owner sure doesn't care about his customer""s and the place is over priced too!! Pros: This is the worst archery shop in town!!! Cons: The owner trys to sell his own homemade bows and bad mouths more

I was a patron of the Canyon Lake store for almost two years, shot in the league and spent lots of money in the shop. The owner was always rude and degrading to me and my wife. He took something we enjoyed doing together and ruined it. He ran off the only good help he had, and now he is losing customers because he is just a rude, mean person. Cons: Rude, demeaning, degrading more

I went there because some said they were the best!\r Went in for new strings and a rest.\r This is where it goes from bad to worst.\r Ask to set the bow at 55 lbs. with a new rest.Can you wait or leave it over night?\r I'll wait.They come back out and say I'm puzzled your bow is a 40-50 bow not a 50-60.50 is the most we can get out of it.Now I've shooting this bow for 2 years at 55lbs.\r Went in the range and shot it.After the first 10 arrows the rest fell off.They forgot to tighten it?\r What about the strings and the pull?\r The string was short and the buzz was long,\r the string was wound way too tight.So much for custom strings!\r Don't know what the specs. are for a bow?Must be a lighter bow.Waiting for the specs. from BEAR?\r We think your bow is out of spec.Every excuse but not their fault?2 days and miles of driving.\r Had to go somewhere else to straighten out this mess out.\r They might have been good or even the best at one time but they are the worst of the worst now.\r Do yourself a big favor stay away from these guys they are a mistake waiting for you to come in and take your money and only offer you excuses for what they did wrong that will cost you time and money at their lack of knowledge and customer service.\r Simple you want to keep your bow shooting good take it to someone that knows how to do a simple thing like put a rest on and strings.BASSPRO or GANDER.\r You want to listen to excuses and be treated poorly while you spend your hard earned cash in the process,bring it to these assclowns and let them insult you with the over priced bill too. Pros: good indoor range if you only shoot 20 yards Cons: poor customer service,lacking of knowledge,lacking in skills! more

I came to houston 6 years ago and hated it, customer service is bad especially in SW houston. My daughter who made a bow and arrow one day out of branches wanted to try archery for real. I went in saw animals on the wall and it was scary but the guys were really nice, told us about the free lessons for kids on Saturday. We did it for about 4 months. It was great, they were great, all of them. There was not alot of diversity so we stood out like a soar thumb and they could not have been nicer. I have not bought a thing except arm guards but my daughter still wants a bow and the nice ones cost a good amount. I going to invest this year for Christmas, by the way the arrows are expensive too. Maybe parents should look into this investment instead of letting their kids vegitate on the DS nintendo and the computer. I love going there just to look. Pros: They really do know what they are talking about Cons: needs diversity more

I recently went to Viking to purchase a new bow and I couldn't disagree any more with some of the reviews I've seen here. They may have a very laid-back attitude at the shop, but they do a great job of making sure you are treated great and that you don't waste your money. The staff really knows what they are doing and gladly explains things in layman's terms for rookies like me. Maybe I just got lucky and had the right guy helping me (Rick), but I really thought the place was great. Pros: Knowledgeable Staff. Selection. Fletching services. Range Cons: Location(but it is the closest to the city I guess). No matthews or bowtech to compare against more

I Used to take my son there. the owner was very rude. They only became nice when I spent Quite a lot of money. and when I Purchased every thing my son needed and was only going there for target practice they became rude once more. The only reason they are open is because they are the only one around. Pros: only one Cons: Horrible more

Had a great time - very knowledgeable and friendly staff. Honeywell branch is wonderful - don't recognize the descriptions some people have said. Like being a kid in a candy store - great!\r \r Look forward to coming back next time I visit Houston. Pros: Great range - helpful staff Cons: none for me more

For the past 16+ years I have been buying bows and archery equipment from Viking. You will not find any shop that is more informative on the ins and outs of archery and the history of the sport. They have been there for myself, my friends, and my family and they are the only pro shop I trust to touch my bow. PERIOD! I used to drive 3 hours to their shop in Houston but now have them 30 minutes away in Canyon Lake and it is a dream come true. If you are an expert or beginner you can benefit highly from Viking and they will always have my business. Pros: Excellent Service, Extremely knowledgable staff, there for the customer more

I was looking for a place to shoot in the Houston area when I found Viking Archery...The folks there are great and will bend over backwards to get you set up...They are a busy place and it is obvious why, as they know what they are doing... The folks that work there are easy to get along with and treated me like family for the 3 weeks I stayed in Houston...\r For those that comented above about poor customer service it must have been when they are busy..If they are busy I can assure you that it will be well worth the wait... I have even seen them keep the doors open after closing to help folks out that got caught up in line...Archery is a sport that when you are about to drop a grand on equipment , you want that equipment to be right...These folks make sure that when you walk out of the shop you are totally satisfied with your purchase...I have also seen folks come from hundreds of miles away to have thier equipment worked on as the folks at Viking Archery are the only ones they trust...Now thats impressive...\r As far as inventory, I have never been to an archery shop that has a bigger selection of Bows and accessories in my life...Not even in the major sporting good chains...And thier prices are hard to beat...I will reccomend this place to anyone and everyone I know that lives in or is about to visit the Houston area...I would love to take these guys and thier store back to Idaho with me...Thanks Viking Archery for keeping our sport alive Pros: Archery Only Store, Great inventory, Knowledgable Staff, Great Atmosphere Cons: They dont have a store in Idaho, All kidding aside, I see nor have I experianced any cons more

I stopped by on a whim one day. I love archery, and have been doing it off and on recreationally for about 10 years. So I stopped by, and was greeted by friendly staff, who treat you like they really know you. They really know what they're doing, and are more than willing to help you out. I make my way down there when I have time to go shoot a few rounds. Their prices for the range are affordable, and it's never really too crowded, so you have a nice shooting atmosphere. Pros: friendly people Cons: could use more parking. more

My experience was extremely positive. On my first visit to Viking I met several employees, the owner, and was introduced by the employees to several customers. I shot my bow on the shooting range, all my arrows were renotched and properly tipped. Since my bow was not strung properly, the owner restrung it. I observed the owner giving a family on 4 their first archrey lessons, at no cost. And was invited to sign up for there Tuesday night larchery league. \r I have since referred several family members, friends, and business associates. All giving me good to excellent feed back. "" I guess you can't please everybody: is a good idea."" Pros: they are the real deal in American Archery Cons: there going to need more parking more