On Monday afternoon, a man and his daughter walked into Steve Chaisson's new outdoors shop in Gardiner and the pair did a double take.

They saw the old bowling lanes in front of them, the worn bench-row seats to the left. Fluorescent lighting hung overhead. Most everything looked just right.

But where the snack bar once resided, a full-service archery pro shop took up space. Where the pins used to line up, targets hung on a freshly built wall.

"Every couple of days, we get somebody who comes in looking for the bowling alley," Chaisson says, laughing.

It's a fitting metaphor. In a lot of ways, Chaisson rolled the proverbial bowling ball down a lane and smashed apart the pins of his life. After 28 years as a faithful employee of Bath Iron Works, the Farmingdale man drew up a business plan, borrowed some money, gave his two weeks' notice at BIW and opened a store he hopes will give people a little something they've been missing.

"We're trying to fill that niche in this area," Chaisson said.

"That niche" is an archery and fishing outfitter Chaisson, 54, calls "Sportsman's BARR." The store, which opened last Sunday and will hold a grand opening this Sunday, sells bows, arrows, archery supplies and accessories, fly rods and flies, ice fishing equipment, spinning reels and hard-bodies lures. There are also ground blinds and portable ice fishing shacks, GPS systems and topographical map software. The shining star in the fold, though, remains the 10-station indoor archery range.

Essentially, it's the one-stop shop for archers and fishermen, and much of what is for sale was made right in Maine. And it's located right were Lucky Strike Lanes spent more than four decades as a Gardiner landmark. "We've already had about a dozen people who've come in and used it," Chaisson said of the archery range.

Chaisson didn't have a lifelong dream of owning his own outfitting business, nor did he spend months and months working out every little detail. A Master Maine Guide, part-time safety instructor at the Great Outdoors in Winthrop and a fly-fishing instructor for six years at L.L. Bean, Chaisson first drafted a business plan last June -- when the rumors swirled that the Great Outdoors was closing its doors.

By the time Great Outdoors did close in August, Chaisson had already been to the bank to work out the financial details. When he got his closing date, he promptly delivered his notice to his superiors at BIW. He closed on Oct. 31. On Nov. 2, he was beginning to renovate the old alley. The range has been busy, too, despite only a couple of sparse radio spots touting the new place -- and despite a few signs loitering around, still announcing the location as "Lucky Strike Lanes."

"You can only really tell that we're open now when it gets dark out, so you can see the lights on inside," Chaisson said. "But it's been by word of mouth, and if you come in here, there's people shooting at different times.

"I wanted to make it a place for people who wanted to shoot. I think they've been having withdrawals -- a lot of people haven't had anywhere to go since the Great Outdoors closed."

Though there is still plenty of housekeeping to be done, both inside and out, Chaisson wanted to open as soon as possible to give archers an immediate local destination for shooting.

Chaisson himself is not a competitive archer. His approach to business, however, suggests that he listens to what outdoorsmen are looking for.

"It's always fun," Chaisson said. "The whole thing is fun. When you're talking with people, you get their opinions. You just look for what people are asking for."

And, in due time, they will stop asking how much it costs to rent the shoes.

Travis Barrett -- 621-5648

tbarrett@centralmaine.com