I remember as a kid reading about fancy indoor archery ranges in " The Archers Bible". These ranges were like bowling alleys and often had pro shops and coaching on site.

Do any of these commercial type ranges still exist?

SD

I belonged to a club like that when I was young, I think it might have been a bowling alley at one time. It was Lincoln Bowmen in Brownstown Mi. There was maybe 50 or more people in the league, and I was one of the youngest, and there were people 80 yrs old and everything in between, shooting almost all recurves, a few longbows, alot of men and women couples. It was a blast. Way before 3D was a thing. Sorry no pics back then, no cell phones and didnt have a camera.

We have a couple here in Broome County NY

Mostly compound and crossbow shooters

When I was a young teenager there was an indoor range/retail store/ pro shop. The range had automated targets. Press a button to either send target down range or back to the shooting line to score and pull arrows. Max distance was 20 yards or so but you could stop the target any any spot in between. Probably 150- 200 recurves for sale . I got to see in person the bows from the archery magazines. Lots of arrows and a little of everything else . I think it was called the Bow Rack and located in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. Now 50 + years later I don’t know of an indoor range within an hour’s drive.

Mike T, I remember shooting at Lincoln Bowmen, those were great times

Yes a couple near me one in elbridge ny old school range.

Had one here in 60’s and early 70’s. Had a bowling alley in one side of the building , and archery lanes in the other. Pre 3d and compounds. Indoor leagues, pro shop, the whole set up. Oh those where the days.

I’ve heard about those ranges, but never saw any as a kid. Must have been nice.

The real question is why did they go away?

I'm surprised the lady in the photo wasn't wearing ear muffs. Those bowling alleys can generate some noise. And the archers retrieving arrows would distract the bowlers.

Used to be some around my area years ago, indoor 3D n Dart System i believe it was called.

whats up with her boobs

Even had an organization....Archery Lane Operators of America (ALOA).

Wow pretty neat,that would have been alot of fun. Thanks for the pics.

We had a very nice 50 yard indoor range in town. No stickbows at fifty not tall enough. Cbows only at that distance. Took my son there for JOAD shoot, at twenty yards. That's as close to any league activity as I have been.

AS an aside here, the 'official' outdoor range built by the city of CO Spgs. was built from the range plan in Fred Bears, 'The Archers Bible.' First time I set foot in that range I thought it looked familiar, and the light bulb went on. "Well I'll be danged." A GREAT range it is too. I've enjoyed shooting there over the last twenty eight years.

I have been to some nice ranges over the years, I remember one in Minnesota that you could call the targets back with a switch. They were mounted on tracks above I think. I believe that range was part of the Archery Lane operators association or something like that...

I remember a range in the Dearborn area in Mich. They had the return targets, Equipment rental, was a cool place.. And the Lincoln Bowman range mentioned above.. You guys remember the pro shop? I believe that the fellas name was Marv Long.. They even sold beer for a while..

There was one near me, growing up in the 50s-60s. Wolfe Archery, it was there about 20 years ago when I drove through the area.

There was another I recall that lasted through the 90s. The parking lot was then used to store boats and campers.

Both were nice, evening classes and matches. I was just more into 3-D shooting at the time and the bullseye matches didn't hold that much appeal, plus I wasn't that good a shot to be competitive.

There was one near me, growing up in the 50s-60s. Wolfe Archery, it was there about 20 years ago when I drove through the area.

There was another I recall that lasted through the 90s. The parking lot was then used to store boats and campers.

Both were nice, evening classes and matches. I was just more into 3-D shooting at the time and the bullseye matches didn't hold that much appeal, plus I wasn't that good a shot to be competitive.

There was one in Chicago and another in Joliet, IL. Both I believe started life as Bowling alleys.

Back in the 1960s & 1970s (perhaps the 1950s also) George Levitt had Archery Sales & Service in Chicago; I used to order tackle from him then. I am not certain but I think his operation was also an indoor shooting lanes, perhaps a Leatherwall member from the area will know. And in Madison, WI Ivanhoe Archery Lanes opened in the spring of 1964,...an indoor automatic shooting lanes and archery pro-shop. In September that year Gordon & Mimi Bentley purchased the business and renamed it the Archery Center Of Madison located at 437 West Gilman Street (this location put it in downtown Madison and just a few blocks from the University of WI campus). It was an indoor 20 yard automatic lanes and a complete archery pro-shop. Gordy offered customers winter and summer leagues consisting of a PAA round, hunter's round, and/or what was called then an indoor American round. I do recall occasionally the Flint Round was also shot. There were 12 shooting lanes and each featured a target bunker mounted on a cart which was pulled back and forth by 1/4" steel cables. You stepped to the shooting line, shot your end and then turned a dial mounted on a lane control panel to bring the bunker and your target (with arrows) back to you. You pulled and scored your arrows. No walking involved. Then you turned the dial again to advance the bunker and target out to the distance you choose to shoot,...up to 60 feet. It was all very easy and convenient. During leagues there were target bunkers going back and forth constantly. You got used to the distraction and we all loved it! Some guys shot two or three leagues per week! Leagues lasted for up to 17 weeks. Gordy also had a complete pro-shop with scores of the latest bows on hand for archers to try. Bear. Wing. Hoyt. Browning. Howatt. Shakespear. Pearson. Coe. ...and a few lessor brands. The business evolved to where his wife (Mimi) ran the lanes & pro-shop and Gordy was on the road all over the mid-west selling arrows the shop produced. Easton. Micro-Flite. and Port-Orford cedar. All were made in the back room of the shop. Dipped in lacquer. Crested. Fletched & burned. Cut and points installed. I was working for Gordy during summers between semesters at the UW. One summer I fletched close to 15,000 cedar arrows! I could go on & on with stories about the Archery Center and some of the things that happened then & there. Good times. Recall them well. A glorious time, archery in the sixties! Gordy and I stay in touch, he's now in his nineties. At the 75th anniversary convention banquet of the Wisconsin Bowhunters Association I introduced Gordy and read his induction into the Wisconsin Bowhunters Hall Of Fame. A fitting honor for a fellow who put archery and bowhunting in southern WI in the forefront of outdoor related activities over a half-century ago.

TTT

Casekiska......what a fantastic post. Thank you.

SD

West Coast Engineering set up automatic return archery lanes in bowling alleys, starting in 1960. Their company didn't last very long but it seems like some of the lanes did. I never saw one but here's a photo of one in Alameda, CA.

They had their own logo put on equipment they sold to customers at the lanes. Bows made for them by Bear, Howatt and others. Supposedly the creme de la creme. They sold arrows also with their label.

These are the arrows that were in the box.

These are the arrows that were in the box.

Around NYC, there's at least one indoors range in Queens, and one in Brooklyn.

They have kind of been replaced by smaller ranges in smaller shops.

Archery Country in Austin, Texas has a nice indoor range that about always has a mix of compound and recurve shooters in it.

Double G Archery in Georgetown, Texas does as well.

There is a really nice shop up close to Canton, Texas that gas a very nice indoor and outdoor range.

In Jamesburg, N.J. there was an indoor range operated by Dick and Peggy Renner, who owned Renner's Sport Center just up the Street on Railroad Avenue. Both the shop and the range are long gone, but I miss them, and the Renners.

Metro Archery sounds familiar, thanks!

Is this an archer mixed in with the bowlers? Yikes

There's another guy in there 3 lanes down from the lady.

I can see at least two more guys shooting. Guess we know what happened to that indoor range. :)

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