Introducing X-Treme Hunting Products

Special to Emmaus Patch By Chrissy Cilento, Emmaus High School Senior

X-Treme Hunting Products
4972 Chestnut St.
610-967-4588
www.xtremehunting.com

Owners: Edward and Diane Felegy

Hours: Winter - 7 to 10 a.m. and 3 to 7 p.m. weekdays; Saturday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Summer - 6 to 10 a.m. and 3 to 8 p.m. weekdays; Saturday 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

What you sell?
We sell PSE bows and crossbows, hunting and fishing licenses, fishing supplies and live bait, hunting scents and urines, and we do camo dipping and work on all bows and crossbows.

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Why did you choose to locate your business in Emmaus?
We had a shop in town near the high school three years ago, but we wanted to move more in the country, so we relocated here -- still Emmaus, but more scenic.

How long have you been in business?
18 years. 

What inspired you to start your business?
Our love of the outdoors. We both bow hunt and we both fish, and just really appreciate the outdoors. 

What makes your business different from the competition?
Our service. We like to see what people can afford and try to stay within their budget. When we sell a bow, we put the accessories on for free and we also give instruction, which a lot of other places don’t do or charge extra for it. Also because we hunt we know turn around time -- we try to get a product turned around as quickly as we possibly can. If we can do it the same day we’ll do it the same day. 

What is the most rewarding part of your business?
Meeting new friends. 

What’s the hardest part of your business?
It’s really grown, so it’s taking up a lot more of our time than we expected it to. We were only kind of part-time, and when we moved up here, things kind of exploded. Sometimes we want to get out and go hunt and fish, but we can’t get out of the shop. 

Where do you hope to see your business in the future?
We’re both retired and this is our part-time thing, so eventually we’ll be wanting to truly retire. That said, we’re not looking to go out of business soon and we don’t know at this point where exactly the business is heading. 

What’s the best business advice you’ve ever received?
We were always wanting to start this business, but we were a little leery about it. Our uncle always used to say to us “sometimes you just have to go out on a limb and do it” -- which we did and it’s paid off!

What business advice would you give to someone else?
If you’re looking to go into this line of business, you’ve really got to get schooling, because the bows get so technical. It’s good to have some sort of mechanical background or a knack for technical things, because otherwise fixing materials will be difficult. 

Do you have a role model for what you do?
I think we were more inspired by the outdoors than any one person. What people don’t understand is that even though you may be hunting, you don’t necessarily have to harvest something. We can still come back to the camp and say “Oh I saw an owl today” or “I saw a mother with three cubs.” It’s all just nature -- it truly inspires you.

What do you do when you aren't working? 
Well, we’re either hunting or fishing or we’re with our grandchildren.

Chrissy Cilento, a senior at Emmaus High School, plans to study journalism in college. She is a periodic contributor to Patch.