BY robert mcFarland, Jr.

Delta Business Journal

Slater's in Indianola, one of the top hunting and fishing stores in the Delta, has now started producing their own line of bows and outdoor clothing with other products to be produced in the near future.

Begun with $30.00 three decades ago, Eddie Slater started out producing fishing lures. Now, Slater's has become a full line hunting and fishing store.

About twelve years ago, I talked to my father about putting in a full line hunting store, says Jimmy Slater. That's how the hunting part of the store came about because of my interest in hunting.

According to Jimmy Slater, like many young businesses, Slater's in the early days experienced a few growing pains before the company identified what worked and what did not.

I didn't want to sell items that were popular up north that you read about in all of the magazines, I wanted to sell things that were popular with our people,Ó says Jimmy.

The Slater's participate in hunting expos and wildlife extravaganzas around the south and travel frequently pushing their lines.

Slater's Quality Outdoor Products has also been in the archery business for several years.

We are growing in this area every year and I decided that Id like to come up with my own line of bows with a price more affordable than some of the other big lines, says Jimmy. Some of the prices on these bows today have gotten to be outrageous, so I talked to a couple of companies about making us a bow and we came up with our own model this year which is called, the DeerDuster.

Slater felt there was a need for an affordable bow that was high quality. The company now produces two models: the DeerDuster One Cam and the PSE DeerDuster. Slater's also has an indoor and outdoor archery range.

We now have some clothes made with the DeerDuster label on them, said Slater.

When asked what all the hunters were buying for the upcoming hunting season, Slater says that the new 870 Remington pump that will hold 3 1/2 inch shells has been very popular.

With the new 870, a hunter can purchase one shotgun and it can be used for any season because it can use a variety of shells, says Slater.

In regard to rifles, the Remington 700 Mountain Rifle has also been a big seller for the last couple of years. The .270 caliber has been the most popular and one caliber that is really coming on strong is the 7mm-08 which is great for men, women or children.

As for the future of the company, Slater says that he is considering many possibilities such as publishing his own hunting catalog.

We already have a fishing catalog and I'm researching the avenues of putting out a hunting catalog, says Slater.

I also want to add that I'd like to tell everyone how much we appreciate their support which has been Delta-wide. We wouldn't be here today if it weren't for them, says Slater.

My father has always told me that whatever we did in business that we didn't want to be too small to serve the the largest customer or to large to serve the smallest customer, says Slater. DBJ

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