Clark County Archery Range offers area sportsmen a faux animal-filled 3-D course

Foliage partially concealed the wild pig, and Chad Hammond eyed it carefully. He notched an arrow, drew it back in one fluid motion, sighted and released, striking the beast with a killing blow in the center mass.

The scene was the Clark County Archery Range, and the wild pig was made of polystyrene foam, which produces some of the world's worst-tasting bacon. So Hammond simply retrieved his arrows and went on to the next target.

The archery range is one of the county's lesser-known amenities tucked down a dirt road at 6800 E. Russell Road east of Sam Boyd Stadium.

For the many archery enthusiasts who show up in droves Wednesday afternoons, it is about the only place in town where they can practice their sport in a realistic outdoor setting.

"I come out here Wednesdays and have things set up by 4:30 (p.m.)," said Gabe Bozarth, owner of Pacific Archery at 4084 Schiff Drive. "I set up the 3-D range with 15 to 20 targets, and we're here until dark."

The 3-D range opens in May, typically running during daylight saving time. In the fall, the range is closed during hunting season. Bozarth generally shuts it down in the dog days of summer, too.

"It gets too hot because the temperatures get up to 100 and stupid," Bozarth said. "We usually take the last three weeks of August off."

Pacific Archery has an arrangement with the county where it provides upkeep on the hay bale targets and sets up the 3-D range in the bushes and trees of the archery range. Bozarth said most of the $10 fee adult archers pay to use the 3-D course goes to upkeep and replacement of the targets. Archers 15 or younger can shoot free with adult supervision.

The park also provides free dawn-to-dusk daily access to a simple range featuring bales arranged at an assortment of fixed distances from the firing line. But it's the 3-D range that makes the Clark County Archery Range unique in the valley.

Archers walk the course and stop at numbered target ranges. Typically they use a monocular or binocular rangefinder to get a better view of the target. But most make the shot with their naked eye.

With the area's rocky soil, it behooves the archers to hit the targets. Bozarth said the hobby is a fairly inexpensive one, once you get past the $400 to $2,000 initial costs for a good compound bow and equipment. As long as you hit the hay bale or the foam target, you can reuse the same arrows for a long time.

The range is used by archers from across the valley. A recent visit found archers from Henderson, Summerlin and the Whitney Ranch area, with many native-born and longtime residents on hand.

Ongoing construction of a weir that cuts off the east end of the 3-D range had some of the archers concerned, although county officials say there are no plans to further reduce or eliminate the range.

"We've got to let everyone know how important this is," said Henderson resident Luke Milansi. "There's a lot of people who use this, and there's no place else like it in the valley."

For more information about the range, visit clarkcountynv.gov or call 367-1505.

Contact Sunrise/Whitney View reporter F. Andrew Taylor at ataylor@viewnews.com or 380-4532.