Is your New Year’s Resolution to put in more time at the practice range this off-season? If not, perhaps it should be. Letting arrows fly on a regular basis is the only way to stay sharp for when it truly counts.
Fortunately, there is no shortage of opportunities to mix up the practice routine through interactive 3-D archery events all across the country. Whether attending for fun, competing for money, or simply dialing in your shooting form, this year’s lineup of the nation’s biggest and best 3-D archery events surely has something for everyone.
Don’t miss out on these extreme archery challenges coming to a course near you!
Rinehart R100 Tour
Eufaula, AL: February 25-26 Ft. Lauderdale, FL: March 11-12
Homer, GA: March 18-19 Roanoke, TX: March 25-26
Fresno, CA: April 4-9 Moberly, MO: April 29-30
Staunton, VA: May 6-7 Coshocton, OH: May 27-28
Mt. Airy, NC: June 3-4 Alloway, NJ: June 10-11
Sturbridge, MA: June 24-25 Shartlesville, PA: July 1-2
Wabash, IN: July 8-9 Hutton, IL: July 15-16
Sparta, WI: July 29-30 Saginaw, MI: August 5-6
Fayette, IA: August 18-19 Calhoun, KY: August 26-27
Come shoot the big bucks at the R100!
The Rinehart R100 tour has been dubbed “the greatest archery shoot in the world.” This traveling sensation features an incredible assortment of 3-D targets ranging from dinosaurs and bullfrogs to giraffes, elephants and more. 67 of the 100 targets come directly from Rinehart’s 3-D product line, while the other 33 are custom-made targets, designed specifically for the tour. Shooters can register online to shoot 50 targets in one day or opt for a discounted 2-day pass, which is good for all 100 targets. Novelty and competition shoots are included.
ASA Pro/Am Tour
Hoyt Archery Pro/Am- Foley, AL: February 16-19
New Breed & Black Eagle Pro/Am- Ft. Benning, GA: March 9-12
Easton Southwest Shootout- Paris, TX: April 6-9
Leupold & AAE Pro/Am- Augusta, GA: May 12-14
TRU Ball/ Axcel Pro/Am- London, KY: June 2-4
Mathews Archery Pro/Am- Metropolis, IL: July 23-25
McKenzie ASA Classic- Cullman, AL: August 3-6
McKenzie’s ASA Pro/Am Tour repeatedly draws the biggest sponsors and best shooters in competition archery, with last year’s tour setting an all-time record high of over 11,000 competitors. This year’s tour offers over 40 shooter classes, ranging from pro to youth, and includes compound, traditional and crossbow categories. Each ASA Pro/Am tournament consists of two rounds of twenty individual 3-D targets contested over a one or two-day period as determined by the tournament director.
OPA Summit Invitational
Farmington, PA: July 21-23
3D archery is one of the best things a bowhunter can do in the off-season.
The brainchild of 10-time ASA Shooter of the Year, Levi Morgan, the newly formed Organization of Professional Archery’s Summit Invitational has been likened to golf’s Masters and hockey’s Stanley Cup after its debut in 2016. Morgan and his wife Samantha established the event to elevate the focus on professional archery and give back to the sport they love.
Presented by Mossy Oak, the 2017 tournament will bring together the world’s best competitors from every platform of archery to compete on a level playing field. Prize money is up for grabs, and while this tournament is invite-only, spectators are welcome to attend free of charge. Expect some big names from the industry to be in attendance. There is also a manufacturer’s category to prove which company has the best shooters. Now that’s bragging rights!
Prime Total Archery Challenge Tour
San Antonio, TX: May 5-7
Seven Springs, PA: June 2-4
Boyne Mountain, MI: June 16-18
Terry Peak, SD: June 23-25
Salt Lake City, UT: July 14-16
Big Sky, MT: July 21-23
Challenging shots put the shooter in a realistic hunting scenario. That’s the fun of 3D archery.
Total Archery Challenge (T.A.C.) is the premiere outdoor sporting event in the United States. Think Tough Mudder or Spartan Race meets backyard archery shoot. T.A.C. combines the draw of an archery expo with the fun of non- competitive 3-D archery shoots. T.A.C. provides individual archers of all skill levels with an unforgettable experience shooting 3-D targets at the nation’s best venues with scenic views and natural obstacles. Prizewinners are drawn from an attendance raffle and from various novelty shoots. This is one event that will test your nerve, challenge your skill and leave you begging for more!
Spring 3-D Bowhunters Festival
Brickerville, PA: April 8-9
The Spring 3-D Bowhunters Festival is cooperatively hosted by Big Buck Archers and Big Chiques Bowmen at the 1,000-acre J. Edward Mack Scout Reservation in Brickerville, PA. Benefitting Boy Scouts of America, the festival boasts five different ranges, including the “Hammer Course,” which is an advanced distance and obstruction course certain to challenge even the most talented shooters. Novelty stations include flying fish, floating ping-pong balls, the bionic buck and a 3-D “Coon Shoot” after dark. Camping arrangements can be made in advance, and all 3-D targets are auctioned off at the close of the festival.
I.B.O. National Championship Triple Crown
1st Leg- Pipestem, WV: May 19-21
2nd Leg- Bloomington, IN: June 16-18
3rd Leg- Tionesta, PA: July 14-16
Created in 1984 by a group of passionate bowhunters, the International Bowhunting Organization (IBO) annually hosts its Triple Crown of Bowhunting, consisting of three national tournaments hosted in separate states. Utilizing identical rules and classes, the Triple Crown culminates with the crowning of national champions of various age, gender and equipment classes. The series continues to expand each year and has become the undisputed indicator of the best individual performers and equipment in the sport of 3-D archery and bowhunting.
Pennsylvania Bowhunter’s Festival
Forksville, PA: Sept. 15-17
“The world’s largest (and oldest) archery event” has been held at the Sullivan County Fairgrounds every year since 1957, except when local flooding forced its cancellation in 2011. The three-day event offers a wide variety of entertaining activities to prepare bowhunters for the fall seasons. The Festival features the famous “Forksville Running Deer” target, mechanical bear and turkey targets, pop-up and moving small game targets, a timed clay pigeon shoot and three game trails with all 3-D targets designed to simulate bowhunting in a northern hardwood forests. It is timed perfectly as a precursor to the Mid-Atlantic fall seasons.
