Moscow Archer Hits It Big As The King Of Strings

A former tournament archer, Earl Dorsey of Moscow, Idaho, naturally fell into building his own bowstrings. Then the inevitable happened, friends began asking him to build strings for them.

He began with a homemade jig C-clamped to his kitchen table. From there Dorsey Archery Company snowballed into what is today the fifth largest bowstring manufacturing business in the industry. With four types of strings representing only one product, Dorsey is among the top three independent bowstring makers in the world.

Brownell & Co., the nation’s premier cord manufacturer, developed and named a special string just for the business, the Dorsey-Fast Flight.

“I have no distribution system, no retail sales to worry about, and I’m constantly turning down business” said Dorsey, who also works as a postal clerk and installs sprinkler systems on the side. “Right now I employ four people and myself, but they do all the work.”

Each year, Dorsey’s modest Moscow plant turns out up to 80,000 bowstrings. Sales are to five bow manufacturers only: High Country, Clearwater Archery, Alpine, Oneida, and Stacey Archery. He sells the strings for $3 to $10.

Dorsey employs people with an eye for detail and a willingness to work. Workers are paid by the piece earning up to $11 an hour.

“I’ve never had an employee I didn’t give a set of keys to and let them come in and work when they want,” he said.

Each string begins as a series of loops taken on a hand-cranked spindle that can be varied to match the length specified by the bow manufacturer. From there, protective wraps are put on the ends and where arrows are nocked. Each machine in the plant was designed and built by Dorsey.

The finished product is strong, durable, and consistent. Under normal use, a Dorsey bowstring will last two to three years.

“Bowstrings are the most personal part of the system,” said Dorsey. “You touch them every time you use the bow. I like to say our strings are as good as toilet paper but last a lot longer.”