Backyard Archery: 5 Tips to Make it Better

Backyard Archery: 5 Tips to Make it Better

Backyard archery is any kind of shooting that you do at home.  Most people shoot in their backyard so that’s why I call it backyard archery.  Shooting in your backyard can be awesome.  It will be as much fun as you want it to be.  Let me share some tips to make your backyard archery range the best it can be.

Shoot down on the target

Most people have a flat backyard.  The number one thing that will make your shooting experience better no matter where you are or what you do is to shoot down.  Missing the target means you can lose your arrow and it can go really far if you don’t have a proper backstop.  A fence is not a proper backstop.  If you can elevate yourself as little as 1 or 2 feet, your arrows will bury in the ground faster and that means a lot less time looking, damaged arrows, and damaged fences.

Shoot with a buddy

Shooting with a friend is always more fun.  You can hang out, play shooting games, and more.  Sometimes it can take a while to find someone to shoot with near you, but over time I found a few people who liked to hang out and shooting at home was easier than loading stuff into the car and driving to the archery range.

Make a game of skill

Archery is a sport of accuracy, which is why it also pairs with darts.  Any kind of dart game that you know of can be transferred to archery.  You might not have a dart board, but you do have a target and if you print off some numbers or put some playing cards on the target, then you have a game.  It can be more fun and feel less like your practicing sometimes.

Shoot from different positions

Most people spend all year shooting from a standing position, then when they go hunting, they shoot from a sitting position.  You want to be sure and practice the way you will be shooting.  If you’re at a competition and you shoot from standing, then practice that.  If, however, you’re going to be bow hunting from a tree stand, then you really want to practice shooting from an elevated sitting position.  If you want to stalk game, then practice shooting from a kneeling position and through bushes or tree branches if you can.

You only get one shot

In both a competition and hunting, you only get one shot (normally).  If you only give yourself one shot to hit your target before shooting from a different spot, you’ll recreate some of the importance and training to help you shoot better.

After you take your shot, go retrieve your arrow and walk to a different spot.  Somewhere that’s at least a few feet different from your last shot.  You not only get a little more variety, but you also train for the fact that you don’t ever have the same shot setup

I hope that these tips will help you to have more fun in the backyard.  It’s convenient so  most people spend some time shooting, but they run out of ideas and don’t know what to do and that normally means that you quit shooting.  We don’t want that, nope, you need to have fun so I help this helps you have more fun shooting your bow.

How to Find an Archery Range Near Me

How to Find an Archery Range Near Me

One question that I have been asked before is, ” How do I find an archery range near me?”  It’s a big question, but if you live close to a good size population, then there’s really good hope for you.  I’m not trying to ignore people in a small town, it’s just that the smaller the town, the fewer the options.

I’m going to answer the question with another question.

Do you want to find a place to shoot your bow by yourself, or are you looking for a place to shoot your bow with other people?

If you are just looking to shoot your bow by yourself, then an archery range is the ideal spot.

An archery club is a group of people who either shoot together or by themselves.  They normally have their own range set up for members to use when they want.  This is my preference if you can’t tell.  Walking around doing 3D target shooting and getting to hang out and ask any question you want is pretty amazing.

 

archery range

Archery range

Where to look

My Archery Range and Archery Club List–  this list contains over 2000 archery clubs, ranges and sportsmens associations .

Looking in person

Outdoor stores and archery shops are the two best places to check out.  You normally find a board of people posting their latest hunts or other information.  I’d even recommend asking the staff.  Don’t get mad if they don’t know.  They are a retail sales employee and not an expert in the entire archery field.  They normally are really helpful though.

Other spots to consider are any kind of hunting stores.  If you’re in an area that has a lot of hunting, you’ll also find feed and supply stores that sell deer corn, stands, and etc.  These are decent spots to check out too.

I’ve also seen a lot of gun ranges that have an archery section.  So if you get stumped looking around for an archery range near you, then try going to a gun range and seeing if they know anyone.

Searching online

You can of course Google archery ranges and archery clubs online, but sometimes that won’t get you everything you’re looking for.  Here are a few other places to help you find what you’re looking for.

USA Archery – They do olympic shooting, but it’s always worth checking out to see if you happen to be near one.

3Dshoots.com – They have a huge list of archery clubs all across the US

I had a rough time finding clubs internationally, at least all in one website, so you just might have to search by country if you’re somewhere else in the world.

 

Don’t forget you can shoot at home

Most of the time, you can still shoot at your home or somewhere very close as well.  It’s a lot of fun to go out and shoot other places, but don’t forget your own backyard.

Go have some fun.