Archery

Archery in Orange County

What kid doesn’t want to try bows and arrows? There is one outdoor range where you can shoot, but you have to bring your own equipment. Another option is to go to an archery store that offers an indoor range. They usually have instruction and equipment that you can borrow. It’s a great way to try out archery. Many of them offer birthday parties and scout badge programs too.

Although we usually do not list activities outside of Orange County, we’ve included El Dorado Archers in Long Beach because they’re the closest outdoor archery range to Orange County that offers instruction and the use of equipment.

Boy Scouts runs archery programs locally too. There is an archery range at Oso Lake in Mission Viejo and one at the Outdoor Education Center in Orange. Other organizations can make reservations to use the facilities there too.

Oso Lake also hosts events that scouts and their parents can attend without their pack. More information is available at Oso Lake’s website.

Each Boy Scout district in Orange County holds a week-long Cub Scout Daycamp in the summer, and archery is included in their programs.

Traditional Archery

Archery is a very old sport, and it hasn’t changed much. Most beginners learn with an old fashioned recurve bow, using just the strength of their arm to make the arrow travel far enough and just distance with the naked eye.

Bows and Arrows

While most bows and arrows today are made of more modern materials, they behave just like traditional archery equipment. In fact, many archery clubs give kids the opportunity to make their own strings and arrows.

Youth Archery

Junior archery is alive and well as a competition sport. Local archery clubs in Orange County offer coaching and tournaments. There are even a few indoor archery ranges where kids can practice when the weather is bad, not that it’s necessary very often in California.