Most Ranges Make a Point of Mixing Fun, Instruction

William Tell is history’s most famous archer. Maybe. According to the World Book encyclopedia, that tale about him, his son, his crossbow and an apple is just that, a tale.

But ask almost any Swiss or any modern-day fancier of similar weaponry and you get a different story.

You are likely to hear that Tell lived in 14th-Century Switzerland and he and his bow struck a blow for Swiss independence.

In the 1300s, Switzerland was ruled by the Hapsburgs, and, according to the legend, the Austrian bailiff of Tell’s canton (state) had decreed that all Swiss would bow to a hat he had set on a pole in the Altdorf town square. When Tell refused, he was given a choice: imprisonment or proving his skill with bow by shooting an apple off his son’s head.

Tell accomplished his task but was taken into custody anyway. After escaping, he shot an arrow through the bailiff’s heart, an act that led the Swiss to a full-scale revolt.

In this day of automatic weapons and laser guns, the bow and arrow may seem a bit archaic--until you happen upon an archery competition some Sunday in a park or learn that about 7 million people practice archery in North America.

Today’s archers in the main don’t use the crossbow (a bow set transversely on a grooved wooden stock). They use recurve bows, compound bows and straight bows, depending on preference and whether they are target shooting or bow hunting.

Why do they choose archery as a pastime? Because, as one archer said, “It’s hard to do; it takes practice and concentration. But knowing you can put that arrow in a given spot most of the time . . . gives you a real feeling of accomplishment. I feel like William Tell when I face that target.”

Other budding William Tells will be glad to know there are a number of places to learn and practice archery in Southern California. Among them:

Woodley Park, Woodley Avenue (between Victory and Burbank boulevards), Van Nuys; (213) ARCHERY or (818) 782-6455. There is a training range here with target butts set at nine and 18 meters. (Butts are hay bales or other materials on which the targets are placed.) Next to the training range is the main range (marked in yards and meters), which is Olympic size with shooting distances up to 90 meters. Beginner classes shoot each Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to noon. There is open shooting from noon to 2 p.m. Instruction is available Sundays noon to 2 p.m., as well as Wednesdays from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Instruction, under the auspices of the Woodley Park Archery Assn., is free, and a JOAD (Junior Olympic Archery Development) program for young people is offered. If you have your own equipment you can use the range anytime the park is open. The Woodley Park Archery Assn. will provide equipment if you come during instruction hours.

Rancho Park Archery Range, 2459 Motor Ave. (near Pico Boulevard), Los Angeles; (213) 558-8831. No charge. Open every day (except Memorial Day, July 4 and Labor Day) 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. There are 12 targets, set at 9, 18, 25 and 30 meters. Archers with their own equipment can use the range whenever there’s no class or tournament scheduled. If you want to use the range’s equipment--bows, arrows, arm guards--available at the park, the first time you come has to be for the orientation, safety and basic-archery session taught every Saturday at 11 a.m. JOAD participants meet Monday and Wednesday evenings 6 to 8. (Juniors need a parent/guardian to sign when they first come.) Tuesday evenings is a bow-hunter’s class for juniors and seniors.

Whittier Narrows Recreation Area, 823 Lexington-Gallatin Road (near the junction of Rosemead Boulevard and California 60), South El Monte; (818) 448-3711. Open dawn to dusk. No charge. Butts are set at varying distances. In addition, about 50 acres is given over to a field range. Butts are set in different types of terrain--some in low grass simulating desert, some in a jungle-like area overgrown with foliage, some, at the west end of the range, near the Rio Hondo River and called the river range, in a combination of jungle and desert. Bring your own equipment and target faces.

El Dorado Park, 7550 E. Spring St. (near Interstate 605), Long Beach; (213) 425-8569. Open 7 a.m. to dusk. There is a $2 vehicle park-entry fee weekdays, $3 weekends, $5 holidays, $4 for buses. El Dorado was the archery site for the 1984 Olympics. There are 22 target butts. Bring your own equipment and target faces. On Saturdays, there’s a JOAD program. On Thursday evenings, the Long Beach Bow Hunters use the facilities for a club shoot; the range starting distance is 30 meters.

Accuracy Archery, 610 W. Katella Ave., Orange; (714) 771-2660. Range fees: $3 an hour, $6 all day. Open Monday-Friday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. This is an indoor facility with 12 lanes (targets supplied) and a full pro shop. Tuesdays are group-lesson nights ($6); lessons start about 6 and 7 p.m. Hunter league nights are Wednesdays (participants shoot from various distances at targets depicting animals); target league shoots (from 18 meters) Thursdays. Plus private lessons are offered ($12) by appointment.

Mile Square Park, 16801 Euclid Ave. (between Edinger and Warner avenues), Fountain Valley; (714) 962-5540. No charge for archery, but parking costs $1.25. Open daily from 8 a.m. to a half-hour before sunset. There are 10 target butts, set at 15, 30 and 40 yards. Bring your own equipment and target faces.

Orange County Archery, 7426 Orangethorpe Ave., Buena Park; (714) 521-4890. Range fees: $1.50 an hour; after 4:30 p.m., $2.50 an hour. Open Monday-Friday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sundays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Another indoor facility, this one has eight lanes. Most nights are given over to leagues ($5 a night). You’ll find bow hunters Wednesdays and Thursdays; target league Tuesdays. Monday-night group lessons, from 7 to 9 p.m., are $5. Private lessons are available by appointment. Targets (and equipment) for sale.

Santiago Park, 2821 N. Santiago St., Santa Ana; (714) 647-5333. Open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. There are two ranges here; one is lighted. Butts are set at various distances. The lighted range is rented only to groups of up to 50 for $2.50 an hour for Santa Ana residents; $4 an hour for non-residents. After 8 p.m., cost is $5 per hour for residents and $8.50 for non-residents. There is no charge for the non-lighted range. You must supply your own equipment and target faces.

Balboa Park (near the parking lot behind Alcazar Gardens), San Diego; (619) 277-1831. Open sunrise to sunset. This is a field range with 28 target positions (however, because of the locations of populated areas, 14 are locked off except during competitions). The targets are at varying distances. You walk between butts through wilderness terrain--which seems especially wild because it borders the San Diego Zoo on the north. Targets are up hill and down dale. Shooters can warm up before walking the course in a practice area with butts set at 30 and 40 yards. You must have your own equipment; target faces are provided by the San Diego Archery Club, which maintains the range and sponsors a competition on the third Sunday of each month at 9 a.m. There is no charge for shooting here, but you will find a donation box. The National City Turtle Archers sponsor a competition shoot the second Sunday of each month.

Morley Field Sports Complex, Texas and Upas streets, San Diego; (619) 298-0920. Open sunrise to sunset. No charge, but a donation box is available for those wishing to help the San Diego Archery Club maintain the range. There are 10 butts set at between 10 yards and 100 yards, each 22 1/2 feet from another. There is a competition shoot the first Saturday of each month at 9 a.m. Bring your own equipment and target faces.