The Community Outfitter
What began as a little hobby shop has grown into a local staple for everything outdoors.
Words and Images by Justin Hunter
For the past four decades, Pat's Archery and Outdoors in Jasper has functioned as Walker County's proverbial watercooler for hunters, fishers, and outdoors people. It is a place where men and women can tell stories of taking their children hunting for the first time or lament the big bass that got away. It’s a place where folks can share photos as they squat over prized deer, the animal’s antlers in their hands as they smile broadly for the camera. Indeed, the walls of Pat's Archery and Outdoors contain an anthology of Walker County's hunting tradition and deep love for God's creation.
"People come into Pat's to do more than shop for a new bow, rifle, or box of ammo,” says Reed Jackson, current owner of Pat’s. “We live in a great community in Walker County that is amped about being outdoors. Customers come here to share their stories, and we want to be the ones they share them with. It's so awesome to hear about a successful hunting experience that includes items purchased at Pat's.”
The idea for starting an archery store in Jasper didn't originate with Pat and Judy Patton, the founders of Pat's Archery and Outdoors, but rather with Pat's friend and fellow bowhunter Jimmy Lake. Jimmy was selling archery equipment out of his house and proposed the idea of a store to Pat because it was cheaper to purchase bows at a wholesale rate than to resell one.
"The name of the game was if you can buy twelve, it's cheaper than one, and if you can buy twenty-four, it's cheaper than 12. I loved archery and bow hunting, so I told Jimmy I would do it," Pat recalls.
Patton found a location for the business, a small 12x12 storefront in Jasper's English Plaza on Highway 78. He borrowed $5,500 for 90 days from the bank to cover the initial start-up costs. The archery business was booming in the early 1980s, and Patton paid his loan back in only 45 days.
Pat's began as a hobbyist shop with nontraditional hours because Patton was a full-time land surveyor. Amid the boxes of unopened bows and arrows sat Patton's drafting table. He would often go to work in the morning, and he and his wife would open the store in the afternoon. The couple's love brought the archery store to life and caused it to flourish.
Pat's Archery moved several times before finally landing in its present home—the old Sportman’s store on Highway 78.
For thirty years, Pat and Judy nurtured the business into what the store is today, Jasper's premier hunting and outdoors outfitter.
"Judy was the love of my life,” Patton says. “We had a goal of being able to do something together as a couple, and that thing was archery. We loved what we did in running the store together. Judy was fantastic at keeping the books and was amazing with customers. It was the customers we loved most. We wanted folks to come in as customers and leave the store as friends. We made lots of friends over the years."
In 2013, the couple sold Pat's to the Jackson family. Since that time, Reed has expanded the foundation the Pattons laid by enhancing the customer’s in-house shopping experience with excellent customer service, by employing experts in the fields of archery and firearms, by bringing in top-of-the-line retailers, and by securing the store's foothold on the local hunting market.
"What separates Pat's Archery from the competition are our employees, some of which have worked here for over 30 years,” says Reed. “They are the store's core, and our existence is due to the customers. I couldn't appreciate both groups enough. Every day we are working to serve the hunting and fishing community of Walker County.”
Pat's Archery and Outdoors is more than an archery shop, gun store, or outdoor outfitter. It exemplifies the love and camaraderie of Walker County's rural lifestyle. 78