Archery in Bend & Central Oregon

Central Oregon is a good place to learn archery, but the options make more sense once you know what kind of shooting you want to do. A first-timer with a borrowed recurve, a teen who wants a team, and a bowhunter tuning broadheads for September all need different places. This guide is built around that: who to call for a first lesson, where to shoot in winter, the public outdoor course near Redmond, and the Oregon rules bowhunters get wrong.

If you have never shot a bow, start here

The fastest way to make archery frustrating is to start with a bow that doesn’t fit you. Book a lesson at a pro shop. As of October 2026, no range around Bend advertises rental bows, and both club ranges require your own equipment, so a shop lesson is also how you get a bow in your hands. Cimarron Archery & Outfitters in Bend and Top Pin Archery Pro Shop in Redmond both teach lessons; neither posts prices, so call to ask about rates and what equipment they provide.

A good first session covers:

• Range safety and the hot/cold whistle commands
• Which eye is dominant (it decides left- or right-handed)
• Stance, posture and a relaxed grip, not a death grip
• Draw length and a draw weight you can pull smoothly
• A consistent anchor point on your face
• Release, follow-through and pulling arrows safely

Do not over-bow yourself

You get no points for struggling to pull a hunting-weight bow. You’ll learn a clean, repeatable shot faster with a bow you can draw smoothly, hold steady and let down safely. With a compound, let-off means you hold less than the peak weight at full draw, but the peak still has to suit your body. With a recurve or longbow, you hold the full weight yourself. Add weight once the shot is consistent.

Pick the range based on the kind of archer you are

Bring your own bow to all of these except a shop lesson. Hours change with the seasons and with leagues and tournaments, so check before you drive.

Indoor range work

Indoors is where you clean up form without wind, bad footing or guessing distance: blank-bale work, paper tuning, sight marks, anchor consistency, trying a new release, and winter leagues. Cimarron has the longest indoor distance, out to 60 yards. Bend Bowmen gives members a quiet 25-yard club range any hour of the day. Top Pin is the Redmond option, and the only one open on Sundays.

Outdoor / 3D work

If you’re aiming at bowhunting or 3D competition, you eventually need to leave the flat 20-yard line. Outside, wind matters, light changes, footing is uneven, uphill and downhill shots change your form, and you have to judge distance. A 50-yard group indoors may not survive the first Central Oregon gust. Rimrock is the public place to learn that, and Bend Bowmen runs outdoor 3D shoots in spring and summer.

League nights

• Cimarron, Fridays: 3D league with 5 pm and 7 pm line times, targets out to 60 yards, open to all skill levels with weekly payouts. Join any Friday.
• Bend Bowmen, Thursdays: indoor target league in three 4-week series, each with a different face; line hot at 7:10 pm. $5 for members, $10 for non-members.
• Bend Bowmen, Wednesdays: traditional and recurve night, back since October 14, 2026. $5 or $10 a night, or a $150 season pass.

What changed from the old Bend archery guide

Cascade Archery is now Cimarron Archery & Outfitters

The Reed Market Road shop and range is still there under a new name. Cimarron says it was Cascade Archery until fall 2025, when it was bought and rebranded. Same address (1320 SE Reed Market Rd #170), same indoor range, same full-service pro shop. Many compound bows on its website are marked “In Store Only” because the shop fits and tunes them to you.

Bend Bowmen is an indoor member range, not a walk-in lesson facility

Bend Bowmen is great for regular practice and community, but check these before driving over:

• Membership is required for normal range use (memberships run October 1 to September 30).
• No day passes and no guests, except during club events.
• Bring your own bow and your own paper targets.
• No broadheads, and no shooting outside except during club events.
• No lessons, classes or rental equipment. The club points people to local shops for those.

Its weeknight target, 3D and traditional shoots are open to everyone, so a shoot night is the easiest way to meet local archers before you join.

Rimrock Archery Course: know before you go

Redmond Rod & Gun Club built Rimrock in 2020 and updated it in 2023. It sits next to the sporting clays area south of Redmond. Here’s what to expect:

• A 3/8-mile course on a leveled gravel path through juniper, sage and rock outcrops
• 11 shooting stands, each with at least three targets
• More than 40 targets from 10 to 100 yards, plus 3D targets
• A 20-yard sight-in station
• Check-in and fees at the sporting clays office. Everyone signs a daily waiver.

Hours: archery follows the sporting clays schedule. Fall/winter hours started October 1: Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, 10 am to 2 pm. Weather can close it, so check the club’s calendar first. Fees: non-member adults pay a $10 access fee plus a $5 target fee; youth 17 and under pay only a $3 target fee; members pay just the target fee. A family membership is $145 a year, and buying a 2027 membership now covers the rest of 2026. The club doesn’t rent or sell archery equipment. The access road crosses private property, so keep it under 10 mph.

Recurve, compound or longbow?

Buying your first bow in Bend

Before you buy, tell the shop:

• whether this is for target, 3D, hunting or a mix
• whether you’ve shot before, and which eye is dominant
• your budget for the whole setup, not just the bow
• whether you want room to add draw weight later

For a compound, the whole setup usually means a sight, rest, stabilizer, peep, D-loop, release, arrows, field points, quiver, case and a target. For a sense of prices, Cimarron’s October 2026 listings had ready-to-hunt packages from about $650 (Bear Pristine RTH, $649.99) and $899 (Hoyt Enduro Premium RTH), flagship hunting bows from about $1,400 to $2,050 before accessories, and Bear’s GameKeeper JR RTH youth compound at $419.99.

Bow tuning: when the shop matters

If your groups are all over the place, don’t blame the bow first. Form problems cause a lot of “tuning” problems. Once the shot is repeatable, a pro shop can help with:

• draw length and draw weight adjustments
• cam timing and center shot
• rest setup, peep height and paper tuning
• broadhead tuning before the season
• arrow spine, point weight and fletching clearance
• string and cable replacement

Cimarron in Bend and Top Pin in Redmond are the specialty shops; Top Pin services any make and replaces limbs and cams. Sportsman’s Warehouse on Hunnell Road cuts arrows and tunes bows in a 12-yard lane. Book August and early September well ahead, because that’s when every elk hunter in town shows up.

Bowhunting in Oregon: two rules people get wrong

Bowhunter education is voluntary in Oregon

ODFW says you don’t need a Bowhunter Safety Education certificate to hunt archery seasons in Oregon. Several surrounding states do require it, and Oregon’s certificate is accepted in every other state and Canadian province. ODFW also says certified bowhunters are more successful at taking deer and elk. The course is online ($30 through Bowhunter-ed.com), followed by a field day for the permanent card. That’s separate from hunter safety education, which every Oregon hunter under 18 needs.

ODFW hunter and bowhunter education

The 2026 big-game minimum draw weight is 40 pounds

ODFW’s legal-weapon rules set a 40-pound minimum draw weight for longbows, recurves and compounds used on deer, pronghorn, black bear, cougar, elk, bighorn sheep and Rocky Mountain goat. Also:

• Broadheads must be non-barbed and at least 7/8 inch wide. Mechanical heads whose blades fold back when withdrawn count as non-barbed.
• No device that holds the bow at full draw.
• No electronics on the bow or arrow, except lighted nocks and cameras that only record (no rangefinding).
• Traditional-bow-only seasons allow only longbows and recurves.

Don’t rely on an old forum post. Check ODFW’s legal hunting methods and weapon restrictions before each season.

Archery for kids and teens

There’s no Bend Park & Recreation archery class on the schedule this fall, so kids learn through the clubs:

• Bend High Archers is a coached high school team hosted by Bend Senior High that practices at Bend Bowmen. The competitive team is for grades 9–12 from high schools in Bend, Redmond, Sisters, Prineville and Tumalo, with a Thursday night league, tournaments and a state championship in January. The non-competitive team (ages 13–19) costs less and skips tournaments. Tryout week is November 2–5, 2026, 6–8 pm, $20 cash; nobody is cut and loaner gear is available.
• Bend Bowmen supports youth programs, including National Archery in the Schools and S3DA, and its weeknight shoots are open to non-members. The club lists ages 8 and up for its Thursday 3D night. Bring a bow that fits your child.
• Rimrock waives the access fee for 17 and under (just a $3 target fee) when they shoot with an adult.

For a kid’s first bow, go light. A child who can draw smoothly and hold steady learns far faster than one fighting a bow they’ll “grow into.”

Can you shoot a bow in a Bend park or backyard?

Not in a park. Bend Park & Recreation District rule 10.4 bans activities with airborne projectiles that could hurt people or property, and it names archery. A big backyard doesn’t automatically make shooting legal or safe either, since an arrow that misses the target can carry far past a fence. Use a range unless you’ve confirmed the local rules and have a real backstop with nothing behind it.

On the Deschutes National Forest, the Forest Service lists shooting closures at Horse Butte, China Hat and along the Deschutes River corridor, plus a forest-wide ban on exploding targets. Check the current closures and forest orders before practicing in the woods, and never shoot across a road or trail.

Range etiquette that makes everyone like shooting next to you

• Never nock an arrow while anyone is downrange, and follow the hot/cold calls.
• Don’t walk forward early just because you finished first.
• Know which points are allowed. Broadheads wreck range targets, and Bend Bowmen bans them.
• Keep the bow pointed downrange, and never sky-draw a compound.
• Stand to the side when someone pulls arrows.
• Flex-check carbon arrows and retire damaged ones.
• Never dry-fire a bow, and ask before touching anyone else’s.

Nobody minds that you’re a beginner. People mind if you’re unsafe.

A simple first-month archery plan

1. Week 1Lesson + easy equipment. Shoot close. Learn safety, stance, grip, anchor and release. Don’t chase tight groups yet.
2. Week 2Repeat the same shot. Aim for a boring, repeatable process. If the shot feels identical, you’re learning, even if the arrows wander.
3. Week 3Fit/tune the setup. Buying your own gear? Get it set up now that you know what feels wrong.
4. Week 4Stretch distance slowly. Move back only while groups and safety hold. Missing at 60 yards isn’t practice if you can’t center at 20.

Week 1: lesson + easy equipment

Book at Cimarron or Top Pin. Ask about rates, what bow you’ll use, and whether you can keep shooting the range afterward.

Week 2: repeat the same shot

Shoot short sessions often. Twenty good arrows beat a hundred tired ones.

Week 3: fit/tune the setup

Have a shop confirm draw length and weight before you spend money on accessories.

Week 4: stretch distance slowly

Try a Bend Bowmen shoot night or a Saturday at Rimrock to shoot with other people.

Before you drive to a range

• Check today’s hours or the event calendar
• Public, or members only?
• Bring your own bow (no local range advertises rentals)
• Field points only, unless broadheads are allowed
• Do you need your own paper target face?
• Cash or card for fees, plus a waiver to sign