The Fort Barrette Archery Range reopened officially Saturday after being trashed severely by vandals during Christmas week.

The reopening was met with cheers by bow-and-arrow enthusiasts of all ages.

Members of the private nonprofit Bushwackers Archery Club, caretakers of the 11-acre range, found their targets thrashed, rubbish strewn about and their sign-in shed destroyed when they visited the range Dec. 28.

But archers who showed up Saturday saw everything back up and running, with practically all signs of damage removed thanks to about 20 to 25 hearty Bushwackers and their supporters, who spent the Dec. 29-30 weekend cleaning and fixing the range.

Club President Craig Sten­strom said he’s seen many acts of vandalism at the range over the years, from graffiti on walls to the theft of sinks.

But nothing prepared him for what he saw most recently.

Picnic tables were damaged and overturned. The club’s sign-in shack was left in splinters, trash was strewn throughout the parking lot and hay bales were cut open.

"It made me really sick to my stomach," Sten­strom said.

The vandals also destroyed or damaged many of the three-dimensional targets scattered throughout the range. Fort Barrette is the only archery facility on Oahu with faux animal targets, and several frequent visitors on Saturday noticed many of them were new.

Among the visitors were 19 students and coaches from the Leilehua High School Archery Club, who held a shooting day at the range and picked up some remaining litter.

When the students first heard about the vandalism incident, "they were rally, really sad," said club coach and adviser Arlene Ogura. The club agreed to help clean on Saturday "to show our support."

Robbie Kanemaru, a senior and a club vice president, said he would have found his way to the range to help clean up even if the club didn’t go.

"Why would anyone do this?" he asked.

Waianae resident Willie Pelayre, 56, was among those who helped with last month’s cleanup.

Pelayre, a weekly visitor, said he and other supporters didn’t think twice about helping: "Without the range, where are we going to go shoot?"

With the range at Kapiolani Park closed indefinitely, the only other sites available to archers are Central Oahu Regional Park and the Koko Head Shooting Complex.

Stenstrom estimated the vandals did about $5,000 in damage. The club spent about $200 on repairs, which included lunch for the volunteers.

"We managed to put things together with scrap stuff and things we had around," he said.

About 40 to 60 archers visit the range on a typical weekend day.