Hey Heartofgrass. I am a range officer at Wapiti Archers of Fort Washington and if you are in West Philadelphia we should be no more than 1/2 hour drive for you. Would love to have you come out and visit the club. Wapiti took two big hits this past year within a couple months time. Storm one got us at the end of the summer with straight line winds in excess of 80 mph took out over 60 mature trees and took out 4 of our power poles on the road up to the clubhouse. With the help of a lot of club members and even members from surrounding area clubs we were back up and running within a week. The second storm was Ida and Wapiti along with the surrounding neighborhoods took a direct hit with winds over 100 mph we lost all our power poles again and over 400 trees across the property. First day we actually considered that the club of over 60 years might be done. With ALOT of help from our great membership and some amazing archery clubs in the area we have rebuilt and reopened the target range and both 3D courses. New backstops on every target has made the club extremely traditional friendly especially for new archers and new members. Unfortunately B&A archery in Philadelphia has closed their doors but sent most of their customers out to Wapiti and in the last 2 year (since Covid) our membership has tripled. This surge in membership has allowed us to make some improvements to the club and recover at a very quick rate.There is still lots of work ahead of us in this coming year including replacement of our garage that was crushed in the second storm but each week the club gets closer and closer to full recovery. We can’t replace the trees that were lost but we have created new 3D courses that are getting great reviews from the membership of being even “ more challenging “ than before the storms. As far as other clubs in the Philadelphia area, within a one one drive of Wapiti there are at least 9 other archery clubs that I know of , so no shortage of great places to shoot. Shout out to Cloverleaf archery club in the Quakertown area who’s membership not only showed up in force chainsaws in hand, but collected donations from their members to help in Wapiti’s recovery. Can’t say enough how much we appreciate the help. And there have been plenty of others also. So personal invitation to you or anyone else that has not visited Wapiti archers to contact me personally through PM and I’d love to give you a tour of the facilities. Our club membership is split about 50/50 between traditional and compound shooters with a recent increase in “new” archers (people looking for an activity outdoors for their families during Covid) that tends to favor the traditional side of things based on the lower start up costs I would guess.
Wapiti has a 2 sided target range with one side being bag targets 10 yards - 50 yards placed at each 5 yard increment. Facing the other way on the target range is our broadhead range with 15-20 3D targets placed out to 45 yards. Between the two ranges in a raised shooting platform at 12 and 15 feet levels which multiple people can shoot at the same time. Then there are the two 3D walking courses. Each about 1/2 mile walk…upper course is hilly and the lower mostly flat. Targets are out 365 days a year and each course has 15 targets this time of year. From April through the end of October each course has 20 targets for a total of 40. Traditional and Compound stakes at each target and a lot of the shoots incorporate the natural terrain. Membership gets you a key to the gate so you can come and go as you please sun up through sun down 365 days a year. Hope this answers most of yours or anyone else’s questions about “Wapiti” If not them PM me and I’d be happy to give you the info you need.
Doug Bruestle
