Check with your local archery shops or sporting goods stores. There are a couple around here that rent out 3D targets to local clubs that don't want to buy 40 of them. You just have to make sure enough people show up to shoot to cover the cost plus some for the club. Hope you can make it work, sounds like a neat club.

you can also bring some good hunters/archers to give some nice intersting seminars and charge attendees a modest fee...make a raffle too!!

Have a car wash and have some nice eye candy washing the cars with nice twins laying on the windshield in soapy water. Works like a charm.

A club i used to belong to had an 8' bear attached to a pulley and cable. they would release it down a valley and the archer would try and shoot a white spot on it as it was moving. i believe it was five dollars a shot and when someone would hit the spot they would get half the pot, and the club kept the other half.
another club holds a shoot that i still attend, seperate from the normal 3-d coarse they have 10-15 targets set up with some unbevable shot angles and distances. you pay to enter and are only allowed one arrow. I believe winner gets a portion of the pot as well, I have never made it thru.

mabey hold a kids day for fun, to try and draw in some interested parents.

I attended a few local 3D shots at some of the local clubs. In addition to the 3D shoot they also had what they called novelty shoots. every shooter is charged a dollar or 2 for one shot. The winner gets half the pot.

Sometimes the target was just a small 1 inch diameter sticker placed on a target. The distanceof shot would be different each time there was a new round. Distances where anywhere from 60 to 90 yds. Closest to the center of the sticker won.

The other I aways liked was a small balloon placed on a 3D deer target. We would shoot across a small pond to the target on the other side. Distance was about 80 yds. It was very hard judging distance across that water for some reason.Each shooter would pay a dollar to shoot one shot. The pot would build and build until someone broke the balloon. The winner would get half the pot also. Then you would just start over with the peg moved to a different location.

I also heard of nite time 3D shoots. They would put thosetacks with reflective tape in the eyes of the deer targets to make them glow.The groups of shooters would have one guy hold the flashlight while others shot. I always thought it promoted poaching and never went but some of my buddies thought they were fun and like that it made shooting funner after being bored with regular 3D shoots.

That sounds like the SURVIVER COURSE a 3D shoot I used to go to had. They set up 10 3D targets in some real thick brush. And did no trimming, you scored same as regular 3D. But you could only take one arrow with you. You shot until you lost it, broke it or made it thru. If you lost or broke your arrow and found another one you could use it too. High score won half of the money.

You wouldn't need many animals to run one of these, and it is a lot of fun too. Just be careful not to break any limbs when you retrieve your arrows. It only makes it easier for the next shooter.

Is your club a 501(c)(3) organization? You gotta be careful with fund raisers such as raffles if you aren't. I've done a lot of fundraising for groups and the quick money is in raffles. Go to a local gun dealer and see if he will donate a rifle or shotgun (scoped rifles really sell tickets around here) or at least give you a good price break. Iapproached one gun store owner and he not only donated a .270 with a Leupold but he sold a lot of tickets right at his gun counter and threw in $250 at the end of the raffle. We made a killing (no pun intended) on that one. One tip on raffles....sell them for so much apiece but give a price break for buying groups of 5 or 10. Instead of selling a lot of single tickets, you'll sell them in handfuls.
As far as the old timers in your group, they are just reacting to the realization that they are on the downhill slide and ain't liking it too much....but they are smart enough to allow new members. I'd just butter them up and let them know their value to the club, seek their advice often, and look to the future. You have something there that many aren't fortunate to have. Ray

yeah, they called this one the smoker round it was very fun.

Atlas, I have two thoughts on this ...

#1 - If your club is not allowing non-club members to come and shoot for a fee, there is one possible avenue for $ ... charge $5.00 an hour. This might require you guys to expand your range or upgrade it a bit.

#2 - We have a place 1/2 an hour from me that has an awesome outdoor 3D set up through the woods .... targets at unknown distances, and lots of 'em. I know you said the monies needed to fund that wouldn't be available, but this course has paid for itself 100 times over ... again, the key is to allow non-members to shoot for a fee .

Good luck Bro ...

Selling guns in pairs???............me likey