Desert Archers - Club History

HISTORY OF THE DESERT ARCHERS

Residents of Pima County, have had a long relationship with all facets of the archery sports. Key to this history, were the two active clubs in Pima County. La Quache, which hosted events on National Forest property at the base of Pusch Ridge. This club was disbanded, due to the loss of the use permit from the National Forest Service. The other club was the DM Arrow Benders club. This club was also a very active club, with a long history and did much to foster the sport. For years this club promoted archery events on the range at Davis Monthan Air Force base. Security concerns after 09/11, left the DM Arrow Benders with no place to hold public shoots, consequently the club was disbanded. The core members of the DM Arrow Benders realized that without a club to promote 3D archery in Pima County, our families and children would not have the rewarding experience we all loved and enjoyed. Long on drive and purpose, but short on money, the search was on for a facility to continue our shooting heritage. Thus was born the Desert Archers.

In October of 2002, after a long search, the Desert Archers reached an agreement with Pima County to conduct 3-D events at the Tucson Mountain Park archery range. With targets donated by the DM Arrow Benders, we conducted our first 3D shoot, the first local shoot in over a year. Since that humble beginning, the club has worked hard to continue the promotion of archery and the outdoor heritage we work to foster and protect.

We have hosted over seventy five 3-D shoots at the Tucson Mountain Park range. Each year, for the last six, we have promoted events for local charities and will continue this tradition. We have had over 1,000 different shooters, from all over the United States. One of the highlights of our 2003 season, was being lucky enough to meet with members of the Archery Trade Association, during their tour of clubs throughout the United States. After a tour of our facility, they told us they felt our set up was exceptional and that we had one of the most beautiful ranges they had visited during their tour.

With a structured program of allocating all of our Associate Members dues to our target fund, we have been able to spend over $15,000.00 purchasing new targets in the last five years. In addition to our North American 3D animals we have added an African 3D series and the "Arizona Big Ten" 3D series. With our commitment to continue this program, we are working towards other specialty 3D animals for future courses.