I wish I had more time to run off to the woods and hunt but out of normal season it's tough to arrange the time to make the trip to go chase hogs. But, it's not to tough to steal a few minutes each afternoon to fling a couple of arrows if only for the pure pleasure of watching them fly.
I love shooting at critters, and I love 3d but danged if I don't have a lot of fun whacking stuff most people throw in the garbage or use for other purposes.
For me, nothing gives instant gratification like the crunch of a coke can. I shoot them till they literally fall to pieces...then shoot at the pieces. I've got a medication that comes in a super tough bottle of heavy plastic...sucker will take a bunch of punishment before giving up the ghost and makes a challenging target. The smaller gatorade bottles bounce around the field really nice and make the most pleasant "WHUMP" when whacked with a blunt. Bottle caps hung on a string are a great target for humbling you on those days when you think you can't miss. Having a bunch of rescue dogs mean we have those solid rubber "Kong" toys...they go "WHOP" when you hit em, they bounce away for a follow up shot and I've yet to tear one up with anything short of a broadhead...and they'll take those pretty regularly too!
So, outside of stumps/leaves/3d targets, what targets do you use just for fun...for the pure sake of giggling like a kid when you hit it?
The plastic baseballs without the holes in them...always fun for me
Shooting glow stick at night is a riot, and the loud smack of a Hex Head on the hard bottom of a soda can is pretty fun too.
Hey JC, haven't seen you in a while, hope all is well!
Now to your question. One thing you didn't mention is empty plastic water bottles. My boys and I like to hang the small ones from their "necks" on our target stand with a piece of bailing twine. You know when you've made a solid hit by the sound and they stand up to a lot of abuse. After enough hits, the bottle will usually tear away from the bottle opening, and then we try to shoot through the ring left hanging there. You can also hang a bunch of them from low hanging tree limbs in the woods for an improvised "3D" course.
Have fun!
Speaking of instant gratification, popping balloons is hard to top. My buddies and I secure several (sizes and colors) and backoff 40-50 yards and call our shots. If you hit, shoot again. If you miss, next archer shoots. Keep score with the loser buying the diet pepsi.
Another game is shooting aerial targets. We use gallon milk jugs with enough rocks or sand in the botton for easy throwing. Using flu flu arrows make for easier retrieval.
Old broken small appliances such as coffee makers and radios make good targets. I've also shot up rap CD's and naked Barbie's. :)
Tennis balls thrown arround the yard last a long time before they are un-usable.
Little plastic practice golf balls. Hard to hit, fun to crunch and cheap.
i had (!) old small plastic dinosaurs from my childhood days, they were fun too
I'm lucky to have lots of natural targets around my woods, but I do collect a can or bottle now and then. Especially fun with an old classic recurve like this Bear Polar.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v134/oldearcher46/redstag013.jpg)
Masters of the Barebow III DVD has a cool idea:
1 Liter plastic coke bottle on a fishing line and reel. Have you buddy or significant other throw it out on the lawn and slowly reel it in. Great practice on a slow walking deer.
I also throw out those orange or yellow foam practice golf balls all around the yard and try One Shot at each. Then I know if I hit the deer, bear, hog, or whatever on the first shot or go home with my tail between my rump :knothead: Doc
QuoteOriginally posted by Jason R. Wesbrock:
Shooting glow stick at night is a riot, and the loud smack of a Hex Head on the hard bottom of a soda can is pretty fun too.
Great idea im going to try that tonight.
As for me when im in the yard I shoot at polo balls, flowers, leaves, bees the list goes on.
Brother Joe,
Mason and I started four years ago with two 2 liter coke bottles about 20yds apart filled with some gravel to keep them from blowing across the yard in the wind and to help them stand up. We would shoot at the first one about 20yds away while standing at the other one. We would go retrieve our arrows, stand the bottle back up and then shoot back the other way at the second bottle. Back and forth for hours ! We had trad fever so bad that sometimes we would only have 10 minutes of shooting light when I came in from work in the winter. Mason would meet me in the yard with my bow and I would go from the vehicle to the bottles without even going in the house first !
We have some soft golf balls that we stick into our target butt and see who can hit the ball first. We love to stump our way back to our trail cams to check pics and fill the feeder. Guess who carries the feed and who carries the bows, haha !!! We usually shoot judos, but bought some of the hammers from DW and Sky and love them ! Recently started shooting ballons tied to the target butt and we try to shoot each other's ballon first. I used to do that drill when shooting pistols, too much fun !!!
And the most fun of all....... ? Climbing a white oak in the yard in August and doing some real life practice on a 3D deer target mounted on a stand with wheels. One shot only from each new position of the target, just like the real thing !!!
p.s. The running bear / hog at the Coot's Cabin !
nocams :jumper:
Medication bottles filled with baby powder go POOOFFFF when ya hit'em wid a blunt !!!!!
I like bustin' my buddies arrows. :rolleyes:
... mike ...
I like to shoot the stuffed animals.. I can buy a garbage bag full at the thrift store for just $2-3.00, and they come in all shapes and sizes(some even as big as 3-d targets)...Oh and I can relate to giggling like a kid thing....My neighbors think Im "sick"
nerf footballs from garage sales
I have two apple tree's in my front yard and me and my son will take turns shooting " or should I say trying to shoot" the apples off the tree's, right now their about the size of a silver dollar! We also atempt to shoot the flowers off the clover and whatever else we can find!! My son is 10 so the little targets make him focus!! :thumbsup: Jason
Arials
(http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r259/Rkyle/Rkyle.jpg)
http://s146.photobucket.com/albums/r259/Rkyle/?action=view¤t=AerialwithOnieda.flv
Beer cans! Every few days, I shoot one so full of holes, I have to go empty another one!!! :bigsmyl:
Lots more good ideas fellers, preshate the input. I've put Miss Kim on alert for any practice golf balls and whiffle balls. I figure I'll skip the barbie...but I did laugh my but off on that one..
Forgot to mention the old standby tennis ball, especially the real heavy ones for dogs. I've found those at tractor supply now and then on sale and after the dogs get bored with them I steal em away. Disposable plastic cups make a good sound on impact; and I get to be green...I get some more use out of them after they develop a leak and we can't use them in the house anymore. Ping pong balls seem to crush too easily.
Never thought of the baby powder in the med bottle, bet that makes a heck of a visual confirmation.
On the more bizarre side: I've tried eggs that were too old to use for cooking, and although really cool on impact, they're too messy. We even tried shooting through the hole of a couple of stale donuts in camp one time...course, you only get one shot. We've done apples and pears off the trees but they are a bit messy too. Potatoes work ok if big enough...but don't ask me about tomatoes :saywhat:
Any other suggestions?
Joe... a buddy and I use to shoot in his little garage (one car) when the snow was piled chin deep in the wonderful Wyoming winter.
Because the range was so short we made the targets small.
For instance we'd hang a 4 penny finish nail from a piece of bowstring material.
Initially we counted how many times in a row we could hit the nail. After a while we'd cut the string and finally settled on shooting the nail while it was swinging.
Sharpens a guy right up.
Out with the grandson the other evening I showed him how to hunt bumble bees. Shot 3 with my first 3 shots... it's important to impress "no limitations" on their young little brains.
Grasshoppers are another favorite.
While the boy is still in his "let 'er rip" stage of shooting he did come up with a quotable after sailing one way past the target. "At least it went a long ways Grandpa."
Charlie, thatn's some darn fine shooting... I'd like to watch the bumble bee shooting... I've swatted 'em with ping pong paddles.. They get pissed if you miss a few times...
We've employed most of the above mentioned. Here's a twist combining plastic golf balls and powder. My neighbor and I fill one of the golf balls with powder then put tape over the hole and put it in a coffee can with 6 others without. Fling the can so the balls radomly disperse. We pick a ball an shoot, but the one who hits the powder ball is the one that supplies the aiming fluid when it gets too dark to shoot.
Paintballs sat on top of golf-tees are a giggle (If a little messy)
I haven't looked to see if you can get them here, but back in The Motherland we used to shoot at Trebor Extra Strong Mints. They're about 1" round & dissappear in a puff of white dust if you hit one wth a blunt!
I'm with "mcgroundstalker" on this one, a buddy's arrows are always great targets, and always worth a few giggles. Just remember that what comes around usually comes back around.
Almost empty cans of "great stuff" - that expanding foam. Super gratifying oozing spray of death! Clean-up is a bear though! LOL
QuoteOriginally posted by champ38:
I like to shoot the stuffed animals.. I can buy a garbage bag full at the thrift store for just $2-3.00, and they come in all shapes and sizes(some even as big as 3-d targets)...Oh and I can relate to giggling like a kid thing....My neighbors think Im "sick"
My kid's got one of those "tickle me elmo" dolls. I don't think she'd miss it (too much). Oh, the temptation! Maybe I should set it on fire first... :help:
Just goes to show how much fun archery can be, great ideas guys .
Charlie , now I feel better about all the misses I have ever made cause my arrow went a long ways as well.
I use Havoline motor oil in all my vehicles. It comes in black plastic five quart flat jugs. I wash them out and stuff them full of plastic grocery sacks and set them all around the yard.
The arrow will penetrate but the bags slow it way down. The jugs fly when you hit them and to me are just like a small black pig. :D
Family left me today to go visit an amusement park and group event..... Me and the little yorkie terrier decided to open our own amusement park in the yard. I threw the tennis balls for her to fetch for a while and when she got bored I threw them out about 15 yds or so for myself and the , " Hammers ". Them things are devastating, even on the heavy balls from the pet store. Already torn holes in them. Sure is fun to watch them tennis balls go flying after hit with a "Hammer "
nocams :biglaugh:
Me and my boy would set up animal crackers in the yard and go on Safari with our Red Ryder bb guns....guess that would work for the bow also!!!
I have chased a butterfly around the yard before.
At night, have somebody hold a laser pointer on something...leaf, blade of grass, tree stump, etc....its kinda fun too
I Use Styrofoam Balls, in Varios Sizes, Painted DayGlow Orange!! :scared:
NOBODY Moves until ALL of the Orange Balls have been Shot!
Terrific Time Killer, and BIG Fun at the Same time!! :archer:
LOTS O' FUN , Especially When The WIND Is Blowing Out on My Uncles Farm!! Ya get Some "Moving Targets" which is a Blast in itself!! :goldtooth:
Nice machine. I know that sad archery range. Marlon