Bay Area archery clubs take on a more urban style than clubs in other parts of the country. The focus is less on hunting and fishing archery and more on target and field archery. Still, bowhunters will find plenty of archery companionship in the Bay Area. Like clubs everywhere, those in the Bay Area sponsor practice shoots and host tournaments. They maintain ranges and promote the sport of archery.
Ranges in the area can be fun to shoot and a good workout because they are in hilly terrain.
San Francisco Archers
The San Francisco Archers Club has more than 170 active members. The club is open to all archers of any age and level of skill. You can stop in each first and third Sunday mornings of the month to the club's Archery Outreach Program to get information about archery and the club. Members of the Sand Francisco Archers can enjoy the club every day. The club has two ranges, a hunting range and a target range, each with 28 targets. The target range has a site where you shoot across a lake.
Redwood Bowmen
The Redwood Bowmen Association is a prominent archery club in the Bay Area. It has a 35-acre range that can be used by members and the public. Located in the Oakland hills, the range has three 14-target courses, each stretching about a half mile. These are challenging courses because of the hills, with the highest elevation on a course found at 1,820 feet. So for archery with a good hill climb the Redwood Bowman is a good club.
San Francisco Muyoshingetsu Kyudo Dojo
Though archers have hunted animals and battled one another for millenia, in Japan archery can also be a Zen spiritual practice. The large, wood and bamboo bow used in Japan is very supple. Practitioners of an archery discipline called Kyudo, the Way of the Sword, come together in a "dojo" (practice place) in San Francisco. The San Francisco Muyoshingetsu Kyudo Dojo follows the teachings of Satoshi Sagino Shihan and his grandson Michiya Sagino Shihan. They believe that practicing Kyudo is a path to self-discovery.
Kings Mountain Archers
King's Mountain Archers is a club founded in 1956 and affiliated with the National Field Archery Association and the Mission Trails Bowhunters Association. Members are both bowhunters and target shooters. King Mountain has a range in Huddart County Park in Woodside which they maintain for county. The club and public both use the range. A clubhouse is also located near the range. Tournaments are held monthly on the second Sunday. A 15-target 3-D shoot takes place every first Saturday.
Briones Archers
Briones Archers has a 42-target range in Briones Regional Park about 20 miles east of San Francisco. Field, hunter and animal rounds are shot every second Sunday. The club hosts an annual tournament with 28 paper animal targets in a wooded setting. Club members also hold their Bear Creek Unmarked event with 32 3-D targets and their annual Briones Big Game Open tournament.
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