Years ago, when I still had to go to work every day, a lot of my practice session were at night. I would wrap reflective tape around an old soccer ball. 3 or 4 wraps around the circumference of the ball and then heavy duct tape so that there were square sections of the reflective tape still showing. I'd kick the ball and then shoot it, either while it was rolling or when it stopped. Usually, the moonlight would would reflect enough to see the ball for a shot, but if it didn't, I'd go to the side yard where the neighbor's dusk to dawn lights would be enough. I was shooting heavier bows back then, so the duct tape might not be necessary now, but with a judo poing I was penetrating the soccer balls more often than not! Haven't done this in several years as my kids grew up and I ran out of soccer balls! Great practice for instinctive shooters.
This reminds me.
In the mid 1970s I bought my first Judo Point.
I had an idea, I'll kick the ball to practice for rabbit hunting.
Well that 45# K Mag spit that arrow straight through the middle.
:banghead:
It was a very good leather Socker Ball. :knothead:
I live in Fairbanks, Alaska, on the outskirts of town. In my area, there is no trash collection, and we take our trash to a specified location, known as a "transfer site". There are some 20-30 dumpsters there, and a covered concrete pad in the middle, where people leave their cast-off stuff that they don't want anymore, but others might. I grab old volleyballs, soccer balls, foam yoga rollers, tennis balls, etc, and then assimilate them into the archery universe. One year someone left a large number of large, semi-realistic stuffed animals --- zebra, giraffe, gorilla, bear, and dog -- which turned into a great target range for the kids with rubber blunts. Just last week I grabbed two padded hockey gloves -- very tough -- for shooting around the yard. But back to the balls... I have been shooting them for years with blunts, and they make great targets. You kick, throw, roll or bounce them, and they are a lot of fun. And I fortunately have an endless supply.
My blunt and soccer ball experiment was short lived. Was at a small open field, the arrow glanced off the ball and sailed a looooong ways. One and done!
Quote from: stevem on March 10, 2026, 01:43:36 PMMy blunt and soccer ball experiment was short lived. Was at a small open field, the arrow glanced off the ball and sailed a looooong ways. One and done!
:biglaugh:
The ones I shoot are generally just a little bit flat by the time I get them!
I use a foam soccer ball. Arrows don't take off if you just glance it, and it doesn't pop. I'll kick it across the yard and shoot it as its rolling away.
Mine did not last long either. My second shot I almost reloaded my bow. The arrow bounced straight back and came way too close to hitting me in the face.
:scared:
I have a foam kick target. Square with the each corner point cut off to make it having 18 flat edges. Use it with field points. Careful with shooting more than one arrow at a time at the target. I've had a second or third arrow in it and the whole target flips and breaks one of the earlier arrows that still stuck in the target. Better to shoot one arrow, remove, and kick the target a little further away into the field. Never tried it at night.