Archery Training Center provides recreational and competitive lessons for all ages (Credit: Archery Training Center)
Austin has its fair share of activities for locals and tourists: kayaking, hiking, bar hopping, concerts. But if you’re looking for something out of the ordinary, then take up a bow and arrow (a dream come true for a medieval bookworm like myself)! Keep reading to discover six places in the Austin area where you or your kids can learn archery.
1/ Archery Training Center
Located in south Austin, Archery Training Center is dedicated to creating an inspiring training facility for both Junior Olympic Archers and Fédération Internationale de Tir à l’Arc (FITA) archers. This local business provides a variety of lessons in both recreational and competitive archery.
Archery Training Center has two ranges, one indoor and one outdoor. The inside range can accommodate classes of 10 beginning archers. Once archers progress to shooting outside, they are taught to shoot targets up to 70 meters away. The training center also offers private lessons, group lessons, and team building events.
You can shoot for free at the facility if you’re able to maintain an average monthly score that’s equal to USA Archery’s JOAD or Adult Bronze Olympian award level. Time to start practicing!
10203 Old Manchaca Road – Website
2/ Archery Country
Archery Country offers an archery shop and indoor range for use (Credit: Archery Country)
Head up north to check out Archery Country, where you’ll find a pro archery shop where you can buy all the necessary gear for your hobby. The staff can also help with maintenance or tuning, if your bow needs a little bit of work.
This location has an indoor range for guests to practice form. The range is well-lit and tournament quality, meaning it’s a great place to practice for competitions.
Archery Country offers group beginner and intermediate classes for kids on Saturday mornings. Adults can sign up for private lessons, but are able to pay for range time to practice anytime during open hours. Either way, you can rent equipment or bring your own. Classes are cash only.
8121 Research Blvd. – Website
3/ Pioneer Farms
Step back in time at Pioneer Farms. This history park and museum is located on 90 acres by Walnut Creek. There are a variety of sights to see, such as an 1841 Tonkawa Indian camp, the 1853 Walnut Creek greenbelt, an 1868 German emigrant cabin, and more. Pioneer Farms also offers a variety of workshops and seminars that teach fun skills like archery, blacksmithing, sheath construction, dutch oven cooking, and much more.
The archery class at Pioneer Farms is taught at the range on the banks of Walnut Creek. Archers can either bring their own equipment or rent. The class size is fairly small, only accommodating eight people at a time. Classes are taught on the second and fourth Saturday of each month.
10621 Pioneer Farms Dr. – Website
4/ Austin Archery Club
Austin Archery Club brings the archery adventure to northwest Austin. As a nonprofit club, it is open to archers of all ages and skill levels. Available memberships are for the family, so they include a spouse and any children under 18 years of age.
The club has a range where members and guests can practice archery in a forested area. There are 14 field targets and a variety of animal-shaped targets for bow hunting. Archers can also participate in tournaments hosted every second Sunday of the month.
Training is available to members, but smaller groups are preferred due to a low quantity of equipment available for use. Attendees are encouraged to use their own equipment.
Austin Archery Club also helps promote archery events that occur locally at Sherwood Forest Faire and Austin Celtic Festival. Sherwood Forest Faire had two competitions each weekend of the festival, on Saturday and Sunday. You can even take advantage of merchants, such as the Longbow Shop, where you can stock up on gear.
1770-1792 City Park Road – Website
5/ Double G Archery
Double G Archery has an indoor range that can accommodate up to eight archers at a time
(Credit: Double G Archery)
If you live in Georgetown, you don’t need to travel far to get to a training ground of your own. Double G Archery is a one-stop shop. It has a full-service archery shop to purchase bows, arrows, and all the other necessary accessories you might need. It also has a well-lit indoor range that accommodates up to eight archers at a time. You can shoot targets up to 20 to 30 feet away. Pay for range time or check out some of the lessons provided by the USA Archery Level 2 instructors. Lessons are cash only.
Double G Archery has several leagues you can join to have some extra fun. League nights are from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. on the following nights:
- Tuesdays – Ladies Night
- Wednesdays – Open League
- Thursdays – Traditional League
4185 TX-29 B, Georgetown, TX – Website
6/ Archery Battles
Play archery tag with foam-tipped arrows at Bubble Battles (Credit: Bubble Battles)
If you’re wanting to take your archery lessons and turn them into a game, then there’s a fun place in Austin where you can book group events for archery battles and archery tag. You’ll get a bow with foam-tipped arrows to aim at opponents, fairly similar to a game of dodge ball.
There are three different packages for archery battles, ranging from eight to 30 players: stealth-shot, curve shot, and super-shot. You can also reach out to the company to set up a custom package that allows for more players.
2014 East 51st St. – Website
@theAustinot wants to know:
Have you gone to any of the local archery ranges in the Austin area?
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