Going For The Three: Bodie Turner Speaks

In the world of professional archery, there are 'veterans,' there are 'rising stars,' and then there is Bodie Turner.

Walking into the 2026 Vegas Shoot, Turner carries a resume that most archers wouldn't collect in a lifetime. Still just 18 years old, he is already a two-time Vegas Champion: a feat that began with a historic win when he was exactly 15 years and one day old. In 2026 he has a chance to do the nearly impossible: win back-to-back titles in Championship Compound Open.

Turner started shooting at 10 months old. "I’ve always been good with a bow, but I shot longbows or compounds without sights and recurves forever," he said. "I didn't even put a sight on my bow until I was 10 years old! Then, I won Vegas five years later."

"It means a lot to me just because of what it did for me. It got me on the scene, got me known. I got sponsors that would help travel and equipment, and it made getting into it a lot easier just because of the value that was able to be put onto my name."

That instinctive foundation might explain why Turner remains so calm under the stage lights. While he acknowledges that his first Vegas title made the difference professionally, he points to the 2021 Rushmore Rumble as his true psychological turning point. Shooting in the Young Adult category, he posted a score that would have placed him second in the Pros. "That was really what got me into it," he says. "I loved competing, and I realized I could do this at the highest level."

Last year, the stakes were higher than ever, after the championship moved to the PH Live stage. "It was a surreal experience," Turner says. "You shoot, and if you're in the final couple, you can just look up and see where you hit on the screens. You don’t even need binos. To be on a stage that was built for that level of performance... it meant a lot."

In the 2026 event, the shootdown game has changed again. The 2025 'Inside-Out Showdown' has evolved into the introduction of new target faces featuring 1cm and 1.5cm center dots. While some archers worry about the transition, Turner is direct and unfazed. "It specifically focuses on the skill side of it. This will reward people who shoot a lot of middle. Nobody has to switch setups or worry about building a skinny-arrow rig. You just shoot the setup you’ve had the whole time."

Turner noted that some of the world’s best, like Chris Perkins or Mathias Fullerton, have shot "dead middle" in the past only to be hindered by the nuances of inside-out diameter rules. "It'll be nice to see that rewarded," he adds.

Only a handful of compound men in history have managed to come back the next year and defend a Vegas title. For Turner, the 2026 shoot isn't just about the prize money; it's about cementing a legacy that is already unprecedented for his age.

"To go back-to-back... it’d be awesome. To my knowledge, it's only been done once or twice," Turner says. "But then again, it’s Vegas. You’re shooting at little tiny dots. Anything can happen."

(The back-to-back feat was last achieved in the Championship Compound Open by Kyle Douglas in 2020 and 2021, and by only two other men before that: Chance Beaubouef and Terry Ragsdale – although it's more common in the other championship divisions).

Whether he leaves with a third title or not, Bodie Turner has already proven that he isn't just the future of archery -he is very much the present. "I'm excited to put work into it as well," he said.

"It would mean a lot."

Want to see if Bodie can make history? Follow the live scores and updates right here on the official Vegas Shoot website.