How to Make a Cheap and Fun Archery Range
Practice is needed to hone your archery skills, whether for the sake of preparing yourself for competition or readying yourself for a crack at bow hunting. However, safety must remain a paramount concern for anyone interested in setting up a convenient archery range on the old back forty. With common sense and a little use of terrain, you can build a fantastic site any bow shooting enthusiast would love to have.
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Instructions
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Locate an area that provides natural backstops by the shape of the terrain. Placing your targets before a hill is the ideal situation in order to ensure no arrows fly beyond the confines of your archery range.
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Purchase freshly baled hay bales from the local feed store to serve as your target fixture. Old bales can become loose and not function well, allowing shots from heavy draw bows to slice through the fixture.
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Buy targets designed to fit on a flat surface and fasten them securely to the hay bale. For those interested in a cheaper and more entertaining target, consider inflating a balloon and placing it on the center of the bale.
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Limit your shots down range at one time. Keep safety in mind. The more arrows sticking out from the target, the more likely you are to strike a nock point, damaging an arrow and risking a ricochet.
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Cut away any overhanging tree branches that might interfere with your arrows' flight. This too reduces the risk of an unpredictable ricochet, increasing your range's safety.
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6
Run a clothes line across your backstop, elevating one side to a height of ten feet. By greasing the line lightly you can hang an old stuffed animal by a coat hanger and let gravity move it across the backstop. By attaching a light rope that fastens to the stuffed animal you can draw the target back and repeat as much as desired.
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Tips & Warnings
When employing the moving target, a block and tackle rig can greatly increase your efficiency.
