Western New York’s Largest Bowhunting Festival
The 16th Annual Western New York Bowhunting Festival at Swain Resort, presented by Lancaster Archery Supply. Activities for archers of all types; uniquely situated on 200+ wooded acres. The festival offers attendees a variety of participatory experiences, including Compound Archery, Traditional Archery, Trapping, Tracking, and more.
Quick links:
- Schedule – coming soon
- Course Map – Coming Soon
- Competition Rules
- Accomodations
- Sponsors
- Pricing
Activities:
- Four 3D Archery Courses
- Practice Shooting Range
- Kids Shooting Range
- Balloon Shoot
- Competition Shoot-out
- Door Prizes
- Lift Chair Rides
- Scenic Views
- And more to come…
2025 Schedule – 2026 coming soon
Friday
1pm – 7pm: Registration
1pm – Dusk: Lower Archery Course | Swamp Trail
1pm – Dusk: Practice Range Open
Saturday
7:30am – 5pm: Food and Beverage available in the main lodge
7am – Dusk: Archery Courses Open
8am – 5:00pm: Ski Lift Open
8am – 3pm: Competition Course – Card needs to be turned in by 3:30
12pm: Kids’ Balloon Shoot at Kids’ Range
4pm: Competition Shootout – Between the top 4 scores in each class (pro, hunter, traditional, women’s, & youth)
Sunday
7:30am – 3pm: Food and Beverages available in main lodge
7am – 4pm: Archery Courses Open, (8am—3pm Ski Lift Open)
8am – 11:30am: Competition Course – Card needs to be turned in by 12:00pm
10:00am: Kids’ Balloon Shoot (at Kids’ Range)
12:30pm: Sunday Competition Shootout – Between the top 4 scores in each class (pro, hunter, traditional, women’s, & youth)
Door Prize Drawing (Must be present to win)
Directly Following the Sunday Shoot-out
Competition Information
Shoot just for fun, or to compete in the shoot-out! There is a $10 registration fee for a competition card. All competitors are entered to win grand prizes. You can purchase a competition card to enter to win grand prizes, and decide not to compete.
How it Works
Check in at the event hub to register. Head out to shoot on the competition course during the scheduled times listed below. Turn in your competition card to be tallied by staff at the event hub at the scheduled time. If you’re in the top 4, you will be called to compete in the shoot-off. You can compete both Saturday & Sunday, but must turn in a new score card for each day.
Scorecard Hours
Saturday: 8am-3pm
Cards due by 3:30pm
Shootoff: 4pm
Sunday: 8am-11:30am
Cards turned in by 12pm
Shootoff: 12:30pm
The competition course takes about 2-3 hours to complete.
Rules & Shooting Classes
Pro Class – All shooters qualify for this class. Shooters may use range finders. This class is for the best of the best and will shoot from the red stake.
Hunter Class – Fixed pins must be used, crosshairs or circle style pins without lens or magnification. If circle-style pins are used, all circles must be the same size. Sights may not be adjusted after entering the course. Stabilizers may not be more than 12 inches long. Shooters may use range finders and will shoot from the orange stake.
Traditional Class – Longbows, recurves, flat-bows, and self-bows are allowed in this class. Take downs are allowed. Any arrow material may be used. No sights or pins may be used. No elevated rest. All arrows must be shot from the shelf, and they will shoot from the blue stake.
Women’s/Youth Class – This class is for women and youth (12-16). Any bow of choice can be used, and they will shoot from the blue stake.
Shooters must touch the stake with their front foot.
Scoring
Point system
11 for the center circle
10 for the next ring out
8 for the outer ring
A miss is scored as a 0. Hits anywhere outside the kill zone are classified as wounding the animal, and are scored as a (-5).
Shoot-off
Scorecards must be turned in on time for the opportunity to compete.
To make it to the finals, a shooter must score in the top four of any given class. If a tie occurs, we will use the total score of five targets, which we feel are some of the more challenging targets. If a tie is still present, we will count the number of elevens. Any ties after that will be settled by a sudden-death shoot-off. If you made it in the top four, you will get a phone call. If you don’t answer or are not on-site, it will move to the next person.
The shootout consists of three targets at different ranges.
No range finders are permitted during the shoot-out.
Arrow needs to be inside the line to count for a score. ie. If an arrow is touching the 10 ring but most of the arrow is in the 8 it counts as an 8.
Grand Prize Entries
You can enter to win the grand prizes just by registering for the competition. If you compete and win, you get additional entries into the pot as follows.
Register for competition = 1 entry
1st place in shoot-off = 5 entries & award
2nd place in shoot-off = 3 entries
3rd place in shoot-off = 1 entry
4th place in shoot-off = 0 additional entries
Compete and win on both days to earn up to 12 entries.
Event Pricing
Shooting Passes – all shooting passes include a lift ticket
Weekend Pass | $40
Friday Only | $20
Saturday Only | $30
Sunday Only | $30
Extras
Competition Card | $10/day (available day of)
Kids 11 & under shoot for free! (adult supervision required)
Spectators are welcome at no cost, but will need a lift ticket to ride if desired
All Day Lift Ticket | $5
Weekend Lift Ticket | $8
Accomodations
Primitive Camping or on-site lodging options are available. Whether you have a group of buddies or just want a bunk room for the weekend.
Camping – $7 per person, per/day. RV’s are welcome.
Sponsors
Presented by:
Please email [email protected] if you are interested in being a course, target, or door prize sponsor for this event.