Trad Gang

Just curious if anyone has been practicing away and for whatever reason the arrow goes right through that minute split between the hay bails and ends up in a neighbor's yard.   :scared:

Tricia shot one right over the target and then fence into the neighbors yard.  He just happens to be a county sherrifs deputy.  He was nice about it.  She no longer shoots in the yard.

This is why I compress the bail together now with a ratcheting strap. Keeps them tighter and less chance of shooting thru. Plus I stack them were the wide part is up so there is more hay to penetrate than wide side toward me.

When I was young, I broke the rule about shooting into the air...as far as I know, that arrow is still stuck in the roof of the house 3 doors down.  :nono:

I am not ADMITTING I did... just kinda curious... I did shoot one into my own house once... ugh.  Sometimes you just cannot control the ricochet...

Haha, just blame it on the kids.

Oh yeah, I've richocheted one off a tree like that. I apologized to my neighbor who only replied: "Oh please, forget it!-with all the golf balls I've sliced into your yard; I'm surprised you still have windows!    :biglaugh:

QuoteOriginally posted by Curveman:
Oh yeah, I've richocheted one off a tree like that. I apologized to my neighbor who only replied: "Oh please, with all the golf balls I've sliced into your yard; I'm surprised you still have windows!    :biglaugh:  

Hey idea, get some flu flu arrows and shoot the golf balls as they come over the fence.  :biglaugh:

I have a target against the neighbor's fence, with his knowledge and permission.  I always check to see that nobody is in his backyard when I shoot.  One day I was shooting and an arrow happened to go through the fence between the boards.  I looked over the fence, and it was only a few feet away from the fence.  I thought I could get it with my rake, so I went to my garage and came back with my rake.  When I leaned over the fence with my rake, it got the neighbor's dog's attention, so he came over and ran off with the arrow.  I take care of the neighbor's dog when they are gone, so I felt okay about going into their backyard to get my arrow back from the dog.  But the dog had hidden the arrow, and I couldn't find it anywhere.

The next morning, the arrow was on top of my newspaper in my driveway.  Fortunately, my neighbor is also a hunter, and had good humor about the situation.  But I wouldn't imagine that his good humor would last if he found too many of my arrows in his backyard.

Now I have a piece of old carpet hung on my side of the fence, which hopefully will keep the arrows on my side of the fence.  Of course, none of my arrows should ever miss by so much that they should even hit the fence, but shoot enough arrows, and I'm sure it will happen again.

had one go though the bale, between the slats of the fence and land about 2 feet from the neighbors cat. needless to say they were pissed and i had to build a better back stop, now i have 6 bales and mud flaps w/ carpet on the fence. ive made up with the neighbor and the old man is talking about buying a bow i dont think he likes his wifes cat much either

Long time ago I did shoot over the back stop and figures the arrow went right between the slits in the 6'wooden fence. I quickly retrieved the arrow before the neighbor got home(lucky he had no dogs).

Can't say that I have, but had two consumed by the basement block wall last night.  Just goes to show what a lack of concentration will result in.

I've had two skitter into the street.  One was over 25 years ago when I lived in a developement and I missed the bale and it went through the fence and wound up in the street.

The second last fall and I missed a bag target hung in the woods and the arrow skittered across a country road.

QuoteOriginally posted by brinkwolf:
 

QuoteOriginally posted by Curveman:
Oh yeah, I've richocheted one off a tree like that. I apologized to my neighbor who only replied: "Oh please, with all the golf balls I've sliced into your yard; I'm surprised you still have windows!     :biglaugh:  

Hey idea, get some flu flu arrows and shoot the golf balls as they come over the fence.   :biglaugh:  [/b]

Love it! Byron will retire at some point and I need to be ready!  :biglaugh:

Having done it more than once while living in a neighborhood, I've since become an advocate of using your own house as the backstop. No questions that way.
One of the few constants in archery I've learned is that when you shoot toward other people's property, you'll eventually hit it. If it's embarrassing enough, you won't do it again.

when my wife shot a compound she shot the neighbors house...... Thanks God it was my sisters house. she no longer would shoot in the yard either. "PREMATURE RELEASE"

This is no laughing matter. There is a reason there is a safe distance to shoot from an inhabited dwelling. I made that mistake in my youth and I know of others that have had some close calls that I won't even mention here. I suggest if you live in a populated area to find a better place to shoot.    :readit:     :knothead:

Yup.  I had a running battle with the crowes in my neighbor's back yard.  They are very, very sneaky.  I always shoot in a safe direction.  Can't say I ever shot one over there by accident.  :goldtooth:

Probably not a good idea to shoot in the back yard when living very near other homes. Is the convenience worth the risk of the worst case scenarios? Felonies, people, dogs even children getting stuck with arrows???
What happens when the neighbor who has never hunted gets some kind of bow or projectile launcher and copies you, only he has no common sense or safety training? on and on.

Generally speaking, a person choosing to practice archery on their own property is their business either way.  It is the responsibility of the archer to choose a safe place to shoot and take into consideration what is behind the target.  In my case I have hay bales set up, a plywood board and a throughway with a stone wall dividing my property from my neighbor's.  I've made the mistake of sending arrows or riccocheting them into the throughway.  That said I never shoot in the direction of people in their yards.  Ever.  And I usually aim down (my house is on a slight hill).  I think practicing in one's own yard is perfectly OK and leagal.  We just need to be responsible, which most of us are.  I was just curious if folks have lost and arrow and what they did about it.  I doubt if anyone would fire a bow in the direction of kids in a backyard playing regardless of what barriers would stop the arrow.  Just plain risky and irresponsible.  My sessions have been ended early a number of times for that reason.  All that being said I always feel better shooting at the range, but can't always get there...

Beginners are amazed at how much force and travel an arrow has.
I put one into the rear quarter panel of my wife's Taurus some years back. Uphill shot, missed the target, cleared the bank, hit the driveway and skipped up and into the panel at about 60 yds distance. 40# bow. She still wonders how she got the hole in the car.

Another hit the top of the target frame, veered up and through the line of trees between my house and my neighbors, trees are about 30' wide so amazing that it didn't hit anything and got through although I thought an arrow could never do that, and landed upright in my neighbors lawn. Over 75 yards away. 50# bow.
Could not make that shot again if I tried.

I don't miss the target anymore, but I place them in a way that they cannot leave the yard and usually with a bank or a shed behind them.
Be careful. Accidents happen. And the bow has more force than people give them credit for. Someone commented recently that you can take any animal in NA with a 25# bow. Believe it.


sam

Go out to an open field and shoot your arrow for distance.  Step it off and that is how far your arrows are deadly.

One lapse in form, one missed shot, one skipped arrow -- one small kid you don't see or don't think is there -- several ruined lives.

Your arrows will go a lot farther with deadly force than you think.

my ex boss had a new neighbor across the street. He saw him looking for something in the grass, not knowing at the time it was an arrow. Next he was in my ex bosses yard looking in the grass. My ex boss being the inquisitive type came out side to meet his new neighbor and inquire what he was looking for.

the explanation was he was shooting his compound bow and had lost an arrow. The search ended when the arrow was found stuck in my ex bosses front door about 3 feet up.  :knothead:  

"Priceless response" " I guess I ought to shoot the other way.."  :bigsmyl:

Erik, Not starting any thing with you. I would like to be the one deciding if I can shoot on my own property too. How ever, I think local law enforcement might not be so agreeable.

There was a fox preying on my pets, and I caught him in daylight in the back corner of where my neighbor's yard and my yard come together. (No houses behind us at all). I took 2 shots with broadheads and missed them both. The arrows slid under the grass, and I could not locate them, which is bad since her grandchildren sometimes play back there. It all ended well, because it gave me the perfect excuse to buy a new metal detector. I finally got the fox with a load of buckshot.

That is one of the reasons I don't have neighbors. I can shoot where and when I want.

Yep, was living in a "zero lot-line" house and had an aroow go into the neighbor's back yard.  Saw the arrow lying there next to their Pit Bull's dog house.  I knew the neighbor would be REALLY hacked off if he saw it so I had my wife go around the block and make noise in the front of their house.  The Pit Bull tore off to the front & I jumped the fence to the back.  Dog heard me & came running like nobody's business.  I made it make over the fence with a whole 2 inches between my feet & the dog's teeth.  Never shot that way again.

What arrow?

I had an arrow skip off the back of a 3D target and fly over 70 yards into the neighbors yard.

QuoteOriginally posted by Jerry Jeffer:
Erik, Not starting any thing with you. I would like to be the one deciding if I can shoot on my own property too. How ever, I think local law enforcement might not be so agreeable.

Fair enough.  In my town in CT, there is no ordinance about archery and shooting distances etc... In fact, if in season, I can shoot deer and turkey on my 2/3 acre property with a bow.  I hunted a friends backyard to attempt to remove some does that were eating his plants.  That was a 2 acre piece.  I could see the neighbors preparing dinner in the tree (not a fun hunting situation really).  I agree that accidents can happen and arrows can go all over the place... but, I still like being able to shoot in my backyard.  I do take every precaution possible as most of us do.

From this discussion today I actually change my targets around a bit so that IF I missed, it would hit hay, and IF that did not stop the arrow it would hit plywood, and IF I missed that it would go into that pass through wooded area.  Previous I was shooting more in the direction of the neighbor's yards but had 1 or 2 barriers in place.  I do not like losing arrows and I do not want to cause problems nor draw negative attention, but I still love to shoot my bow and am not always able to go to my gun club to do it.      :archer2:

I was teaching my wife to shoot in the back yard and she over shot the target so far it stuck in the neighbor's barn across the street. I decided then I better train at the range from then on.

I had a scary one many years ago. . . I lived in  a major city and shot into my garage.  One day I was just ready to release the string on a shot when my, then 2 yr. old son wandered underneath me in line with the lower limb.  I did not shoot but slowly pointed the bow towards the sky. . . and my fingers slipped. ..  Oh Crap.    :scared:    :eek:    :banghead:    

The aluminum arrow took off.  I was freaking out as there was a sub power station just a block away, let alone house after house- city living!  I was sure something was going to blow up or I was going to get in trouble.  Well- the next day I happened to look at my neighbors house behind mine and there just above his back door on the roof lay the arrow tucked up under a shingle!  Apparently when the arrow took off it hit some of the limbs of the big elms in my back yard deflecting the arrow down on the roof.  I quietly jumped the fence and knocked on the door. . . no one home- I reached up over the edge of the roof and retrieved the arrow.  Whew!!!     :pray:

These misses into neighbor's yards are giving me the hebejebee's.

30 some years ago my friend and I were practicing in his backyard and one of us sent an arrow into the neighbors house.  The neighbor and my friends dad started giving us a good talking to and ended up shooting the bows.  The neighbor even hit his own house.  
He then told us we could use his cabin up north in Michigan for the archery deer season.
That miss turned out to be a perfect shot.

BigArcher

I hit the broad side of a barn once.....

Almost bagged the neighbor's porsche when I slipped one thru one of the cracks in the wooden fence that seperates our yards. A 4'x 8' sheet of marine plywood is now attached to that fence.

I confess, I think there is one of my nice pine arrows buried in the grass next door under the woodpile at the end of their yard... I scoured that yard with my binos looking for that thing... couldn't find it... but neither did the landscapers in the Spring so it's gone.  We get along with those folks so I might as to look for it one day...

I now shoot at a target leaning against my minibarn.  But a long time ago, shooting compound against an unbacked foam target, I skipped a broadheaded arrow straight up off the top and listened with horror as it landed in my neighbor's roof.  It was a very embarrassing but fortunately not injurious lesson.

BTW, someone showed me a way to look up if shooting is legal in your municipality.    Municode.com (http://municode.com/)   Most places it's not so be careful.  The law is probably not on your side if you live in a municipality.

Thanks John,

I could not find Manchester, but I do remember asking a certified DEP Instructor if its legal, and it is.  Not firearms, but there is no land restrictions pertaining to archery.

But, reading all these stories is making me wanna start using the range again to practice...

those stories make one wonder.. I nearly skewered my Dad all of forty eight years ago with an itty little 30# Pearson bow... He was working behind a hedge and just shrugged but I could see a really angry Dad behind those eyes..tough Ex fighter pilot ace but kind enough to spare me a thrashing I deserved. He accepted my squeal of fright as a proof of a genuine error, those errors can be fatal.  I don't want to make that mistake again. I am almost paranoid about where the arrow lands ever since.
The Japanese kendo archers shoot from a covered barn to another covered barn,I saw a wonderful series of pictures from somewhere in USA once of the construction of such a range. Beautiful and safe. I shoot with a thirtyXtwelve foot brick wall backdrop that just happens to be alongside my yard  but I still have a wooden shed and backstop behnd the target. We use conveyer belt strips here, they are amazingly tough but also 'rubbery' enough to slow down ricochets.
chrisg

yes

 :rolleyes:

QuoteOriginally posted by mrpenguin:
In my town in CT, there is no ordinance about archery and shooting distances etc... In fact, if in season, I can shoot deer and turkey on my 2/3 acre property with a bow.

This reminds me of a story - long time ago - in the 1980's I worked up around Greenwich, CT one year - doing carpenter work. We stayed in a condo outside of Norwalk, and in the complex we had about 4 or 5 condos in a row that were all guys from Louisiana up there to work.

After the first guys stayed there a while and saw the area was overrun with deer, they went home and came back with bows.

The way the condos were set up, one would have a back deck, and the next one a balcony, etc. The woodline out the back door was about 20 yards. So two balconies became deluxe platform deer stands for all practical purposes. I won't say my buddies broke any kind of laws, but we ate a heck of a lot of venison.

Luckily I dont have neighbors to worry about. It is probably close to half a mile to the nearest house. But I have sent a few arrows off that if I did have neighbors they would probably be upset.

Amazing with all the yes answers that no one has been hurt. Of course those would not be "funny" and admitted to so openly. Easy to understand why most municipalities have regulations prohibiting it - there are plenty of cases right here to support it it and I'm sure they are but a fraction of the real number.

I am guilty... In a residential neighborhood, back when I shot wheels, but still had trad in me.. Shooting a carbon shaft with a 190 gr Grizz, brass insert, steel adapter,(been reading and studying Ashby) Anyhow shot a 18-1, ricocheted thru the wood privacy fence and into the neighbor's heavy shrubbery. Looked from the street couldn't see it, trespassed into neighbors yard (didn't know her from Adam) and the PETA loving , sandal  wearing lady appeared on the porch, "what are you doing?" I confessed and she turned around without saying a word. I never did find that arrow, probable still there someplace. I quickly took down all of my target/ archery evidence and watched for the cops for a few days. Luckily nothing. I learned my lesson from that experience.It could have been really bad.I thought I had it all under control but obviously didn't. Now I do.. S*it happens.

This was in Escondido Calif. I never checked the city ordinances but I'm pretty darn sure they have one..?

I once took a shot at a bird passing overhead (I used a flu-flu AND had a rubber blunt on) anyways, the arrow carried over the neighbours yard and ended stuck upright amongst his flowers less than 5 meters from where he and his wife was sitting!! Luckily neither of them noticed it..later just after sunset I went over the fence and quickly grapped the highly visible flu-flu back...
I no longer shoot at birds overhead...

These stories are amazing... truly.

I skipped on off the top of my foam block and it made it to the neighbors yard. I heard it hit plywood. It was the bass of his greenhouse about 4 inches higher it was broken glass.

I had a nephew that was shooting in his yard and had one get away from him. It went in the side of the neighbor's house. He snuck over and pulled it out. I few days later the cops were over there examining the hole and looking for the spent 357 bullet in the room. I don't think he ever told them. Gary

We won't go there.  After a couple of visits from the local Deputy Sheriff I no longer shoot towards the ditch in the back yard.  There are homes the other side of the ditch.  I managed to miss the target a few times, please don't ask how many, and they penetrated the plywood I was using as a backstop and ended up in the backyard of a neighbor across the ditch.

I now have my targets up against the back side of my brick home.  I don't shoot back there very much because my old body just can't handle the heat and humidity anymore.

Bill

Yep done it, AND STAY AWAY FROM HAY BAILS! If you want a cheap target that STOPS arrows stuff a burlap sack with plastic bags. Haven't had to walk to the neighbors with that guilty look in quite some time.

Never put one IN the neighbors yard, but did stick the fence between us.  After that, I started using my own metal shed as a backdrop.  It was already beat to heck, and I don't think the 3 or 4 extra holes I put in the door made much differnce in appearance.  I don't live in town anymore, and have quite a bit more room to play with, but still have the wide open neighbor lawns behind me, no fences.  I checked first, and they're all OK if I do plant one over there, and I won't ever shoot if anybody/any pets are out.

A couple of years back a kid put an arrow dent in a garage that had a hole rotted through the roof big enough to drop a cow through.  the city manager and one of his police buddies used it as an excuse to tell me in a a very rude and big mouthed way that I would be prosecuted if I ever shoot in my yard again.  I use my garage as a back stop and have never lost an arrow off of my own property.  He stuck a copy of the ordinance in my face, I could plainly read that I was not in any violation what so ever. Since I was the only person given the warning, I declared that they were singling me out and practicing social discrimination.  I talked to my lawyer and he said give them 24 hours to apologize, before we take them to court.  
 The chief of police, (compound shooter) who has lost arrows in his neighbor,s yard and a longbow shooting officer went to bat for me and put the fear of God into the city manager.  Early the next morning I got my apology.

When I first started shooting (wheelie bow) I came home from college.  My mom wanted me to get rid of a couple of rabbits that were destroying the garden. Low and behold an hour later there is one of the little buggers in the back yard on the property line.  No fence just a row of spruce trees. I got up on the roof and shot down at the rabbit.  First shot missed.  Second shot hit it and it did a back flip and took off into the neighbors yard with the arrow.  Never found the arrow or the rabbit.   :dunno:

Few years ago my wife and I rented half of a duplex from an older couple.  One afternoon after work I went in the back yard to shoot and the fella asked if he could watch.  No problem.  Second shot zipped through the bail and stuck into his wooden shed.  
First thing I did was go to the store for some wood filler, second was to put up a plywood backstop!  Great guy, he just laughed at me.

lost one in a water heater once...

Nope... Lost one in the neighbors cat one time though.... LOL

Not only did it go through the neighbors yard, it went across the road, up the drive way and in the neighbors steel garage door, good thing none of the neighbors were home as they were not the type that like hunting..................

I think we can all see that caution is needed.
My dad, rest his soul, was a marksman with rifle and pistol. Learned to shoot as a kid. Took a ton of awards during WWII and there were a lot of guys shooting back then. He also did some marksmanship on live target in battle, but he never talked about those. Not about the medals either, except when I asked what they were.

He would sit outside and clean his guns. Now when he cleaned his guns I mean he laid out a towel and took the entire thing apart clean, adjusted etc the things. No patch down the barrel and you're done cleaning. I recall I was about 11 and I picked up the frame a PPG and he chewed me out. "Never point a gun at anything unless you mean to kill it"  I argued it was only the frame. But it made no difference to dad. It seems to me the more experienced the shooter the more cautious they are. It seems from these stories most of them happened when we were less experienced.

The best we can do is to teach safety to our kids and other new shooters so they understand what we learned the hard way.

Good stuff guys. I love that about this site.

sam  :pray:    :pray:    :pray:

What I mean to say is when you point a bow in a direction, you need to think that it will kill anything in that direction if you miss or ricochet (which seems worse to me than a bad shot) etc. Plan your targets accordingly

Sam

I learned respect for arrows while shooting with wheels many years ago.  We were having trouble with hawks and young Australian Shepherds we were raising.  I would scare the hawks off with flu-flus.  One day I didn't have a flu-flu handy so grabbed a practice arrow.  I aimed out over our pasture and put one through the hawk's tail -- he didn't even wobble.

I walked in a straight line out to the end of our pasture, over 300 yds, but could not find the arrow.  I finally shot another at the same angle, still could not find it.  I wound up shooting 5 arrows at that angle hoping to see where in the world they were going.

I finally walked the straight line through our pasture, across the country road and into a wooded area across the road ( we had no neighbors anywhere at that time).  I finally found all 5 arrows in about a 20 foot circle.  My bro-in-law and I measured it off -- over 460 yds from where I shot.

That made us both respect the power of a bow a lot more!

had a misfire with a release back in my old compound days, shot one up in the air. scared the c--p out of me. I had to drive around for about 20 mins making sure I had not impaled someones kid playing in there back yard. never did find the arrow!

The empty lot beside me has maybe ten or so arrows lost there. Broken or otherwise couldn't find.

ssamac, I agree, enthusiasm is great but inexperience can be lethal. My dad was the same, cleaning guns meant all and any ammo was locked away, no pointing 'empty' barrels at anything except the sky or ceilings, and we always checked the barrels from the breech end dismantled ones too- we had shot guns of course. He said the same thing exactly, and the old rhyme "never ever point a gun...", that morning back when I was nine was one I wont forget.

We all need to be careful to teach the youngsters the safety rules and practise them ourselves. All the new associations and clubs are doing a good job esp the gang! This thread is thought provoking.
chrisg

I know a guy who was shooting his compound in his yard with a new release . . . which turned out to be a bit more sensitive than he desired.  He released his arrow unintentionally before he was on-target and it sailed over the target and over his fence and into the side of neighbor's house.  They were from Viet Nam and he immediately heard some very excited chatter from inside the house.  He jumped the fence and saw about 6 inches of his arrow sticking in the house - the business end came out about 3 feet above the dinner table where the family was sitting.  He said that they were extremely nice about it and he, of course, paid for repairs.  To my knowledge he never shot in his yard again.

yep,  I had a release break while drawing a wheelie when I was broadhead tuning!!  I used to draw with the arrow pointed skyward and then settle in on the target.  Well I found the arrow 3 blocks away stuck in a yard about 3 feet from the house and about 15 feet from a main road!!!!
Lesson learned kinda.  I still shot there but I started drawing with the arrow pointed at the ground and I did my broadhead tuning at the range.

Yikes!  I always learned to draw a compound straight back.  "Breaking it over" usually meant too much weight... I still kinda chuckle at 3D's watching some guys "break" their wheels over while I smooth draw back my 55# longbow (that most of them couldn't pull let alone hold or shoot!).

Shot a squirrel with a feild point a few years ago that ran into the neighbors yard with the arrow still stuck in him . That didnt go to well  :(

QuoteOriginally posted by mrpenguin:
Yikes!  I always learned to draw a compound straight back.  "Breaking it over" usually meant too much weight... I still kinda chuckle at 3D's watching some guys "break" their wheels over while I smooth draw back my 55# longbow (that most of them couldn't pull let alone hold or shoot!).

Erik,  yeah I was overbowed 83# and I hadn't shot a bow in about a year before I got it!      I did learn proper form later but by that time I was already getting back into trad where I belong.  I will say that the 83# made shooting a 50# recurve seem pretty easy to hold after being away from trad for a couple years.

still waiting for the cover of darkness and my ninja suit to retrieve it.

When I was a kid, my brother made a bow out of a sapling. He would shoot arrows into the air, like straight up. At least one came down and stuck into the neighbors roof. I have no idea if he (or my dad) went and got it. At the time we all just ran. We (my two brothers) didn't have any brains back then.
They also used to shoot me with the BB gun.    :dunno:

I never have but my brother did quite a few times when we were kids (sometimes he was not even home when he did it).

A few years ago a Deputy friend of mine was conducting a car stop on a busy road and took an arrow in his calf from a guy who just bought a compound and was shooting in his yard. As you can imagine it took a while for the muscle and bone to heal and the shooter was out a few bucks. Have fun but be careful.

While trying to get rid of a tree rat, I( when you had to put your name on the arrow) shot one length ways, and the arrow was sticking out both ends. The little bugger climbed my fence and climbed my neighbors tree, and died. My neighbor is a Peta person. So that night I had to climb about 30 ft up the tree to get the tree rat so PETA didn't find it!!

That's the best story yet...

Yep and it will stay there unless something digs it up. Could never happen to me! LOL Great thread.

Well I have to say I learned my lesson on this one Sunday.  I was shooting at around 10 yards, hit anchor, cell phone went "WOK WOK WOK WOK" the instant I released, I flinched, the arrow took a hunk right out of the top of the back of my McKenzie bear and went through two vinyl fences next door.  I could have easily killed someone.  Now I have two sections of fence to pay for, and I'm thankful I got off that easy.

Update, it cost me right at $150.00 to replace the two damaged panels in the neighbor's fence and I paid it with a smile.

My first year with a wheelie bow ...i was practicing shooting broadheads in a straw bale in a subdivision. Shot one high and i knew the arrow went into the neighbors yard.....I about crapped when i saw the arrow embedded in their aluminum swing set   . They had 7 kids...no joke.....thankfully, they were not swinging.   :eek:

Nope...but it has nothing to do with skill. We are blessed to live on 14 acres and our nearest neighbor is about 1/4 mile away.

I find a few arrows with the feathers rotted off every year bushhogging. When I have a bunch of kids over it looks like a flock of turkeys took up residence behind their favorite targets  :)

One time while cleaning gutters, I found an arrow stuck in my shake roof, luckily it was there and not in one of the kids. The neighbor saw me and waived, and I thought he recognized the arrow, so I said, did you loose this? The smile wore off and turned to a blank stare, he looked surprised, so I figured it must have been his oldest boy that launched it straight up.

I once had an arrow hit the top of a bale and sail into my neighbors backyard. Now I shoot into a target inside the garage.

Actually, when I was younger, our neighbor's arrow went over his hay bale and lodged itself into the rear quarter panel of my step fathers Suburu wagon. Luckily the side without the gas tank. The neighbor was a member of the local bow club, and he was razzed about that for many, many years.