CAPE MAY COUNTY ARCHERY ASSOCIATION

The archery range was made possible through the cooperation of the county government working with us to bring affordable field archery to county residents and visitors. Cape May County Archery Association offers competition archers and bowhunters a 2-D field archery range with two 14-target circuits. For Tri-County Archery Tournaments the target distances are from 10 to 60 yards. For NFAA the distance is from 10 to 80 yards.

It also offers a seven-target lighted practice range with targets at 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 50 yards. In addition, the club has a lighted 15-foot elevated shooting platform for bowhunters to sight in at average tree stand height.

In addition to monthly Tri-County Archery Association and NFAA Tournaments, the club has bowhunter two-man team league shoots, one that begins in early spring and another that starts in mid-summer. The leagues run for 12 weeks and start at 6:00 p.m. on the lighted portion of the range. There are 10 targets with two arrows at each. The circuit of 10 targets is shot twice. A handicapping system is used so all participants have an opportunity to win.

The club holds an annual 3-D/2-D shoot and barbecue on Labor Day. The first circuit has fourteen 3-D targets at unmarked yardage. The second circuit has fourteen 2-D animal targets at marked yardage. This event has grown from 30 participants in 1995 to over 80 in 1997. The theme is family fun. In 1997 over 25 children participated in supervised shooting at balloons tacked to a target.

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Location

Located in the northeast corner of the Cape May County Airport, the club is accessed from the gate on Fulling Mill Road. It is open to the public for all tournaments; otherwise, only members are permitted on the property.

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Membership

Membership costs $70 per year, which includes a family membership for spouse and children under 18. Applications can be obtained at any tournament or meeting. They are also available at Fletchers Corner in The Delaware Bay Trading Post and Tuxedo Junction, 801 Bayshore Road, Villas, NJ.

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Schedule of Events

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Field Archery

Mention archery to someone who isn't into it and it's likely their immediate thought is Robin Hood vs. the Sheriff of Nottingham or the colorful round Olympic target lining a field. Field archery is different. First, it's seldom practiced in a field. Second, instead of the archer shooting at one target, field archers shoot four arrows at each of 28 targets at distances that varies from 10 to 80 yards.

A field archery course consists of two circuits of 14 targets each. It's similar to a golfer going from hole to hole. While a golf course is laid out with fairways and greens, a field archery course is usually laid out in wooded terrain with shooting stakes, a cleared shooting lane, the target and finally a path to the next target.

The usual targets black or and white round circles or 2-D animals. The longer the distance, the larger the targets. Some of the targets are shot from a single shooting stake. Other may be four separate stakes, each one being closer to the target.

While golfers try to shoot the lowest possible score, archers strive for the highest. Field archery scoring is five for the center and three for the rest of the target. One hundred-twelve arrows are shot making a perfect score 560.

For tournaments, archers are graded by ability with a class system or a handicapping system. Either system is used to give each competitor a chance to win against others within his class. Additionally, in NFAA tournaments, men and women compete separately as do cubs (bantams) and youths.

Competitors are further separated by the kind of equipment they use. Bare Bow archers do not compete against competitors who use sights. Below is a brief description of the different styles:

• Freestyle
  Any kind of sight, release and stabilizer may be used.
  
• Freestyle Limited
  Same as Freestyle except a mechanical release can not be used.
  
• Freestyle Bowhunter
  Sight can not be movable (fixed pins), stabilizer can not be over 12 inches, a mechanical release may be used.
  
• Freestyle Bowhunter Limited
  Same as Freestyle Bowhunter except a mechanical release can not be used.
  Same as Freestyle, except a mechanical release can not be used.
  
• Bare Bow
  No sights are permitted, nor marks or blemishes on the bow's riser. No mechanical releases. Stabilizers are permitted.
  
• Competitive Bowhunter
  Almost the same as Bare Bow except the stabilizer can not exceed 12 inches.