Along with a 20-yard indoor archery range, The Bargain Hunter in Spokane Valley gives outdoor enthusiasts aim at buying gear for fishing, hunting, camping, hiking, and horseback riding.

The store at 16413 E. Sprague carries both new merchandise and used items under consignment for those hobbies as well as large inventories of archery bows and guns.

Additionally, a section of the 5,000-square-foot store serves as an archery pro shop for repairs and sales of archery equipment from several dealers. The archery bows used for hunting or target-shooting competitions range in price from $78 to almost $1,000.

The Bargain Hunter has an employee who also is an instructor, teaching several archery classes at the indoor range from March through July, says co-owner Jeff Wright. He adds that the instructor, Tony Lubina, has years of experience in the sport, and the classes cost $10 per person for an hour and a half in a group setting. An hourlong private lesson runs $20 per hour.

"We can repair any bow," Wright says. "There are a lot of hunters in this area, but there are also a lot of people here who are part of archery competitions, and they travel around the country."

He adds, "We sell guns and ammo, some fishing and camping equipment, hunting clothing, and some backpacking equipment. We do a lot of special orders for guns and optic equipment for guns."

Wright says what makes The Bargain Hunter unusual compared with other outdoor gear outlets is that it accepts used sporting goods from clients under consignment to sell in the store. When those items sell, the store shares revenue with the original owner, and the percentage that the store keeps ranges between 5 percent and 50 percent depending on the item's value, Wright says.

Wright says the store also handles special orders for customers that come directly from manufacturers. He owns the business with his wife, LaRaine Wright, who occasionally works in the store. He and Lubina are the only two regular employees.

Wright, who declines to disclose The Bargain Hunter's annual revenues, says he decided to open the business in March 2009 after getting the idea from a business owner who had a similar shop in Warsaw, Ind., although Wright has since incorporated his own ideas.

"Basically he's selling this not really as a franchise, but he sells the idea, and he helps you set up the business," Wright says.

Wright agreed to pay the business owner a consulting fee for setting up a store in Spokane Valley that's similar to the one in Indiana. At that time, Wright was facing a layoff while working remotely as an operations manager for Hill-Rom, a Batesville, Ind., hospital equipment supplier.

"I was based here and when the company eliminated my position, my options were either moving out of state or taking a severance package," he says. "I rolled the dice and decided to try something different."

He adds, "I've hunted and fished all my life. I didn't do anything like this before. I thought this is an awesome idea; there's no one else doing this other than maybe Play It Again Sports, and they weren't in business here."

Wright adds that an early inventory of skis and team sports equipment wasn't profitable, so he expanded the archery offerings and outdoor gear inventory.

"What's different is there was no one here who took in consignments on used equipment that's for hunting and fishing," he says. "We've had over 1,500 consigners since we've been in business."

He adds that the store's inventory is evenly split between new and used items.

Wright first launched the business in a different store location a short distance away along Sprague just west of Sullivan, but soon moved it to its current leased space because of better visibility.

He says many of his consignment clients claim to feel more comfortable selling their gear through The Bargain Hunter than through Craigslist or another online venue that would require buyers to come to a residence to view items.

Also, he says, a firearm can't be sold through such online venues. The Bargain Hunter is licensed as a federal firearms dealer, he says.

Wright says the business also secured a contract with Cabela's Inc. in Post Falls about two years ago to handle and deliver handguns purchased by Washington residents. Cabela's notes on its website that federal regulations require that all handguns sold must be transferred from a federal firearms dealer to the customer in the state of the customer's residence.

"I do all Cabela's federal firearm dealer transfers for handguns" bought by customers in the Spokane area, Wright says, adding that he goes weekly to Cabela's to pick up purchased firearms that customers then pick up at his store. "We process all the paperwork for the customers here."

He adds, "We're not really in competition with Cabela's, White Elephant, or The General Store because none of them do consignments," he says. "I send people daily to Cabela's or to Wholesale Sports," if The Bargain Hunter doesn't carry what a customer needs.

LaRaine Wright adds that the store sees a lot of barely touched fishing equipment and guns that the owners intended to use recreationally but never did. She asserts that the store has its fair share of female customers as well.

"We have a lot of women customers who come in here who shoot bows or shoot guns," she says. "Others bring items in to upgrade to something better. We also have estate-related equipment."

Jeff Wright says he hopes to see the business grow a little more, but not too much.

"We'd like to keep this a smaller mom-and-pop store," he adds.