LONG BEACH — More than 40 archers of all ages descended upon the peninsula for a 3D trophy shoot, held Saturday and Sunday at the Bear River Archers range in Long Beach.

The roughly 30-acre course near Lone Fir Cemetery offered 36 targets, including bear, elk and turkeys, with points awarded based upon accuracy in hitting vital organs. After two days of competitive shooting, Roger Hodges, of Naselle, was first-place winner in the Hunter class, which featured the adult archers.

“It was really a good score, no doubt about it. I was really impressed,” said Bear River Archers club secretary Ruth Wray upon tallying Hodge’s 601-point total.

Archery club revival

More than 30 archers shot on Saturday alone, which included mostly families and a few participants from an archery club from in Grays Harbor.

“It went really well, this was one of our better turnouts since covid,” said club president Arnie Wray, a member since 2010. “The club and all this back here started in the early 70s, but archery kind of died off. But now it’s coming back.”

Wray estimated that there are about 40 members currently in the club, which requires an annual fee — $40 for family or $30 for a single person per year — to use the course and participate in club events.

“We give you a key and you can then bring your family out anytime you want. You can come shoot, make a s’more, go for a walk — the place is yours,” Wray said.

The shoots, scheduled throughout the year, have been the biggest recruitment tool for the club.

“It’s increasing every time we have a shoot, we add five or six members each time,” Wray said. “We’ve had people here from Yakima, St. Helens, Yelm, Ellensburg — we get them from everywhere.”

More families are joining the club than ever before, Arnie said, which has been a goal to broaden the appeal of the sport.

“It used to be a lot of single guys, usually elk hunters. But now we have more families out here. We just added our kid’s shoot in June, and a lot of people join then,” Wray said.

“It’s great because it’s a fun, family-oriented sport. We’re all about getting them family involved in archery.”

2022 Bear River 3D Archery Trophy Shoot winners:

Hunter class:

1st: Roger Hodges

2nd: Jeff Ashe

3rd: Alfredo Barragan

Youth class (up to age 16):

1st: Lyric Barragan

2nd: Martin Barragan

Cub class (Age 8 and under):

1st: Remi Barragan

Traditional Bow class:

1st: Riley Smith

For more information, or to join the club, contact Arnie Wray at 573-308-6952 or Aaron Webster at 360-783-1126