Archery in Ottawa: Find a Place to Shoot

Archery in Ottawa: ranges, clubs and winter shooting

We list 4 places to shoot in Ottawa, and no two of them are alike. You can pick a self-serve outdoor range that is open every day of the year, a club for Japanese archery, a range at a rec centre that posts its prices to the cent, or a family-run shop whose owner shot at Olympic trials.

Three of the 4 are indoors. That matters here. Winter shuts down outdoor shooting for a long stretch, but the one outdoor range is set up to stay open anyway.

Where Should I Go For Coaching And Gear?

XQuest Archery calls itself Ottawa's largest and newest indoor range. Janice Clark owns it. Her family has run it since 2008. She shot in the trials for the 2012 London Olympics and the 2015 Pan Am Games, and she holds NCCP Competition Development certification. Its classes run from first-timer to competition. NCCP-certified coaches teach them, and they cover recurve, compound and barebow.

XQuest is the only place we list in Ottawa with a pro shop. The shop sells and services gear and rents bows, so it is where most people buy a first bow.

Which Range Posts Its Prices?

RA Centre Archery Club runs a six-lane indoor range inside the RA Centre at 2451 Riverside Drive. A year of membership costs $372.30, or $214.64 for six months, plus tax, while a supervised drop-in costs $16.43.

The rules are stricter than at most ranges. You must take a safety course before you can join, and you bring your own gear. You can book a lane up to seven days ahead, and you get in with a keybox code that changes each month. Compound, longbow and recurve bows up to 60 pounds are allowed, with rounded target points only. Juniors aged 10 to 15 need an adult who is 18 or older with them.

New archers can book a one-hour Try Archery session. The club also runs an eight-week course on range safety, manners, barebow, Olympic recurve and compound. It is the most structured way for a beginner to start in the city.

Where Can I Shoot Outdoors All Year?

Ottawa Archers is at 4075 Twin Elm Road, in the west end toward Richmond. The range is self-serve with no staff on it, and it stays open from dawn to dusk, 365 days a year. You get in and park through the Twin Elms Rugby Club.

Three target butts are marked at 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 meters. There is a 15-lane 3D course with more than one target in each lane, plus hanging targets. A FITA field has butts at 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70 meters. You can shoot a crossbow at the 3D targets and the practice butts, but not on the field course.

Membership costs $100 for the season, which runs from April 1 to March 31. It is the only place in Ottawa with a 3D course or a field course, so go here if you want to shoot at something other than a paper face indoors.

Can I Try Japanese Archery?

You can. Ottawa Kyudo Association practises IKYF-style kyudo. It is Japanese archery with a long bow that is not the same above and below the grip. It meets at the Ottawa Japanese Community Association and at the RA Centre. Patrick Suen, Mai-Linh Nguyen and Charles Dauphinais lead it, and it is the only kyudo club we list in Canada. Kyudo is a practice of form and calm, where the shot counts more than the score. You can only use kyudo bows.

What Is Hard To Find?

Walk-in shooting is the gap. Every place we list asks you to join, except the drop-in at the RA Centre, and the RA Centre wants you to own a bow. No place in the city lets a stranger show up on a Saturday with no gear and pay by card for an hour. The closest you can get is a Try Archery hour at the RA Centre or a beginner class at XQuest, and you need to book both ahead.

Where Should I Start?

If you have never shot and want it to be easy, book a Try Archery hour at the RA Centre. To get good, go to XQuest for the coaching and the pro shop in one place. If you already shoot and want lots of practice, join Ottawa Archers. For something new, try the Ottawa Kyudo Association.