Stickbow Target Archery Forums

While I enjoy 3D I like to shoot field and target more. The area I am in has several very nice field ranges but almost no attendence. I am wondering why ? It seems to have dropped in popularity nation wide for some reason that I am trying to understand. Most 3D tournaments are no more a practice for hunting than field ever was and you shoot so few arrows, dont people in general LIKE to shoot anymore ? Where have all the archers gone or is it just the area I am in ?

Hey Longbow - I'm wondering the same thing and I can't understand it. I like to shoot, and crawling through brush and over barbedwire to shoot one arrow at a lookalike turkey just isn't it; and that's 3-D. In the 70's where I live here in Georgia they had a beautiful Field Range which was always crowded on weekends, and even shooters during the week. The only complaint I heard then -- and around the time Compounds came out -- was that the boys with Compounds came out with broadheads and shot the bales to pieces, but certainly that could have been fixed. Anyway a short time later the County did away with it because it encroached on the right-of-way of a new County Drive into the park. Apparently there was no uproar; protest, and the Range just died. I've talked to several people around here and there just doesn't seem to be any interest. I used to live in Newport News, and the City had a nice Range. In fact my son shot his first bow there. That Range I know is forty or fifty years old. I bought a Compound -- one of the first Bear types; as a matter of fact I still have it -- but my interest now is Longbow. We have a small traditional club/range here in town, but they only shoot once a month from Jan to Aug. After they shoot that one day they pick the targets up and store them until the next month, which is understandable because of the cost of 3-d lookalikes, but of course then there is no Range. You know I'm not against Compounds, but if you think back ,Field Archery just went out of sink with the advent of the Compound. I know our Field Range went out of business at the time I bought my Compound, and everyone I talk to relates back to that time. Maybe it's because the Compounders and Traditionalists just didn't want to mingle, and when they didn't that broke the fraternity so to speak. I have the feeling that a lot of people would like to shoot more field archery if they had the chance, but there has to be some voices out there that are heard to bring it back -- I guess. Sorry Longbow, for the length, but your spark lit a fire under me

It's the same here in Michigan. Field archery gets little or no play; it's almost all 3D. But I like it that way 'cause the few field courses are usually empty, which means I can just buzz around them with no waiting. The last time I shot in the Michigan IBO Championship, it took me six hours to shoot 40 arrows at as many targets in the blazing sun and 95 degree heat. Vowed I'd never do it again.

Hey Guys, same problem in England, shot the EFAA National Bowhunter and Field Champs this year each with just five Longbows compared to 100+ longbows at each of the NFAS unmarked Champs, Shooting four arrows on H & F rounds takes a lot of discipline, maybe people just want an easy life and don't want to put the work in.

Same thing here in eastern Pennsylvania. Many field courses have closed and some of the others are used for 3D. As Robend noted, the demise of field archery seems to be coincident with the advent of compound bows. It is hard for me to connect the two except that compounds brought out a different type of archer. One who could achieve reasonable success with minimum effort. Only 20+ arrows in a 3D round – wow.

Last Friday evening a few of our members went to the club to put up the 3D targets for our monthly indoor 3D shoot. A couple of people were shooting at spots. They were asked to help put up the targets in exchange for the entrance fee for the shoot. All packed up and went home without helping. Seems to me that we are in the age of the couch potato and others who want to be waited on and don’t want to help. You can’t run a field course without volunteers.

Another problem may be the long list of classes. I don’t know how many there are but anyone can find a class that enhances their chance of winning. If you only had classes for compounds, recurves and longbows; with and without sights; male/female; several classes based on age, you would still have a load of classes but perhaps more meaningful than the present systems.
I have never been in favor of handicap systems but perhaps one would work here. The large class list could be reduced to kids/adults and men/women.

Ever since I left Florida I have not seen more than five people at a field shoot. Same thing is starting to happen in 3D. No one wants to help set up targets and the people who are doing all the work are getting tired of it. Robend you may well be right about the compounds being a problem but there was plenty of them attending at first. I think the Class problem that Bill mentioned may be a big part of it to, pretty expensive for a club to buy all those awards. Maybe the majority of compounds are so short today that they have a real problem with the accuracy that field demands and only a few can afford two setups. There is a real atitude difference today compared to the sixties and seventies, people seem to want to shoot and go home right away. Very little camraderie it seems anymore. It is a shame that you must go across the country to find a good field shoot or target shoot anymore. Archers, those who love to shoot and shoot lots of arrows are becoming a rarity I fear. Somehow I just cant reconcile that whoever shoots the best twenty arrows today can be called a champion.

The only field range in Anchorage is in jeopardy. Hardly anyone wants to help out and fewer and fewer are showing up for shoots. We're currently going through an insurance crisis with the Muni and may or maynot survive it.
The archery "season" up here is a bit odd with everyone wanting to go fishing and hunting during the warm months and attending mainly 3-D shoots in the winter. There is a macho part to the 3-D too. It seems most in this neck of the woods consider themselves bowhunters and not archers and consider 3-D to be their game and field archery to be someone else's game. Who knows ... maybe things will swing back.

Robend, where in GA are you? The Kennesaw Archery Club, will be hosting the GBAA State field shoot June 5-6 in 2004.

Russn You might check with the NAA. I believe that they have an insurance available to member clubs.

Bill, We currently have insurance through NFAA at a reasonable cost. The problem is the range is on Municipality land and they don't like the idea of range being available only to NFAA and club members but would rather it be open to the public. Hopefully, things will sort themselves out.

The NFAA offers liability insurance for member clubs as well.

The real problem is no one wants to insure the public. If any part of a range is open to the public, there is a direct liability to club officers and members.

Russ, it's my understanding that the NFAA Liability Insurance covers both members and guests that utilize the range.

Jim, I'm in Gainesville, and thanks for letting me know about the Kennesaw Shoot in June. I certainly want to attend that. Would it be any problem E-mailing directions to the Range. I'd be coming down 400. I tried once before to find a range and was told by an Officer of the State Assoc that they had just lost their range and that there was nothing in Georgia at that time. I just let it go after that. I should have recontacted I gues. Thanks again, and hope to hear before you on E-mail. Do you have a good turnout of traditional shooters? End30501@AOL.COM

Floxter, NFAA insurance covers guests who are NFAA memebers, such as during the State Field Shoot, when members of other clubs come to participate. It does not insure the general public who are not NFAA members. I suspect, but don't know for sure, that you can bring a non-NFAA guest to shoot with you. However, I don't think that the same person can shoot on his/her own and be covered by NFAA insurance. As a certified instructor, I teach day-camp kids in the summer and am insured. If Joe Public accesses the range and arrows a local hiker/biker type, the club officers and members will likely be held liable.