[GrouseDogMan]

I am interested in competing in archery competitions. What kind of bow and other equipment is needed? What are the most popular events? What distances do you have to shoot at? Are there any local clubs in Montgomery County, PA?

 

[jimsdad]

Try Stowe Archers or Lower Providence. Long bow, compound?

 

[RayRay]

Do a search for 3-D shoots at Bowsite or the UBP site. They will list all the local ones. Go to a couple & see what everyone is using & ask questions. Most are willing to help.
Some clubs do field , 3-D & spots. Spots is 20 yards, 3-D is usually out to about 45 yards & feild is out to 80 yards. Hope this helps.

 

[JD3]

Not sure what your experience is with archery or what you are looking to do.
What I can tell you is that I shoot the Vegas 3 Spot targets and they are shot indoors at a distance of 18 meters or about 20 yards and you shoot 60 arrows and get a score out of 600. Twenty ends would be shot and it is 3 arrows per end and you have 2 minutes to shoot your three arrows. Can also shoot 30 arrows and score out of 300 - I will often practice just shooting 30 arrows. Outdoors I shoot at I think it is a FITA target face and we shoot 72 arrows for a score out of 720. Twelve ends are shot with 6 arrows per end and it is usually four people per target shooting. The distance outdoors from what I understand can vary but what I shoot is 70 meters or about 77 yards. Certainly you have 3D type shoots for indoors and outdoors and indoors there are also 5 spot targets which I don't know much about but I know some people shoot them.
In regards to what equipment you can just go and shoot the bow you use for hunting or you can buy a bow for target shooting. A target bow is going to have a long axle to axle length and also a longer brace heigth. I would recommend talking to an archery shop about a good target bow. Hoyt seems to be the popular choice for a target bow but Mathews has some choices also and there are also other bow brands out there you can look into. As I mentioned before you could shoot your hunting bow and be considered a bowhunter competitor meaning that you are shooting a bow with pin sights and also a stabilizer shorter than twelve inches. Competition or target type bows typically have scopes and long stabilizers. I use my hunting bow and with my quiver for my belt I just have an arrow puller and an allen wrench. I don't have much equipment but I don't really need much more. Binoculars or a spotting scope can be useful for when shooting outdoors.
I think something useful if you want to do a lot of shooting is to learn how to do some basic work on your bow. Knowing how to tie a d-loop or serve string can save you the hassle of going to an archery shop and also save you money.
Might want to look into reading some on ArcheryTalk.