Common sense is invaluable. I own 22 acres of heavily forested land in Texas. I was out shooting one of my pistols. A neighbor and his friend came out to see what I was up to. After talking for about five minutes, they proceeded leave the area by walking down range. Basically, they left in the exact direction I was shooting. That was that. I knew they were out there and I couldn't see them, so for safety's sake, I stopped shooting. Common sense, folks.
Wowwwww!! So theyre walking towards or in the direction of your targets saying, "Bye, see ya. Bye-bye" and never thought, "maybe we should walk that way" Lmfao! So much stupidity out there.
Where the fuck were they going? Assuming you're shooting away from people's houses, why would they leave in a direction away from their house? The fuck
I've had arrows bounce or skim off a target or back board and then go flying up into the air, resulting in the arrow landing in neighbors gardens. I now fire into a shed, at a target inside.
Anedime Gaming - to add to what you're saying, it's still never a bad idea to plan for freak accidents. Sure, a heavier draw weight or hay bale backdrop may reduce the bounce percentage to 1%, but that can't beat the security of just shooting at indoor targets (if you have the option, as OP does).
Same happened to me (new archery here) when I was trying a new carbon arrow. It went way high, skimmed off of a wood compression board, doubled it's normal flight range ending up in my neighbors yard. Scared me to death.
To add onto this, you can create a projectile curtain to help catch wayward arrows. Get a yoga mat and put it up onto a frame. Make sure the top is secured, but the rest of the mat is unsecured. When the arrow hits it, the mat moves, which absorbs some of the energy of the arrow. If an arrow makes it all the way through, you have your backing material as a backup. In addition to this, it all but eliminates the chance of a ricochet.
This is a really good advice. You can do this with old blankets (if they are thick). My set up is: I'm shooting toward my terrace. I have a thick blanket lowered from under the gutter, target set up front of it. So if I miss the target the blanket will stop the arrow. If I miss the blanket the arrow will hit the wall of the terrace 2 meter behind from the target so ricochet is no problem. (but it also mean I missed the target by 2 meters to the side which is pretty unlikely from 5-15 m distance.
What I used to do when I lived in a house with an empty 10 meter long room. I had a foam block, like yours, and behind it I had a cheap carpet hung over a coat rack. I was using a 40lb long bow with field points, and with the carpet folded over the coat rack, arrows never went further than about 8-12" deep. For a $25 investment from IKEA, it's not too bad.
"Someone on reddit posted a freak-out message where they shot an arrow over the fence... for the second time" Obviously they didn't learn their lesson the first time. The fact that the person shot an arrow in to the neighbour's house, accidentally or not, is bad enough when it happens once. Any more than that and I'd consider that wilful and gross negligence and disregard for others' property, health, and life. You can actually kill someone like that.
I remember the first time shooting in my back yard. Little did I know, my cat was hiding in a shrub off in the back drop, and I only missed it by about a foot after going off target. It was quite the shock for both of us. I never shot arrows in my backyard again.
Imagine being some old ass guy who lived his life for 80 years dodging death through out them just to be nailed to your porch by a zoomer with a bad shot there's something morbidly silly about that
My older brother made a crossbow from a railway sleeper, car spring and wire cable. He made an arrow in woodwork class. He thought galvanised iron enough to stop the arrow. When launched, the arrow pierced the iron, crossed the yard, through the fence, across the neighbour’s garden and through their other fence, and stopped in the street adjacent. My mum then pulled it apart.
I love it that I live nearby open fields of NOTHING but grassland. Clear field, huge visibility and I even have a rived dam to stop arrows. Nothing could go wrong :D
I envy you. I have nowhere to shoot, unless I go out to the range which is way out in the boonies & I don't have a car. So I don't get to go often. Wish I lived out in the woods.
Same ^^ I even live next to an open field where it's cut grass. So you will never lose your arrows (or spend minutes searching for one). But i also live in Sweden so in 3 months there will be snow (if it's a snowy year). And finding arrows in the snow is.... Not that fun.
I shoot in my backyard, you have watched my video of me speed shooting like bo krause, you commented on it! it was the most exiting comment I ever got because you are like the go to archery guy on youtube
I had my first archery lesson yesterday. Everything went pretty great, but I managed to accidentally hit a tree (it was a 3D-parcour). I was using a beginner's recurve bow, max 18". The arrow ricocheted, flew 15 feet to the side and still had enough force to get stuck in another target. I am glad this happened to me right at the start, because now I have great respect for the sheer cinetic force of a stray arrow.
Thanks for scaring the crap out of me 😱😲..... But that is what will keep us from setting up for a backyard shoot that could ruin someone's day completely. Good no nonsense explanation Thank you 👍 👍 👍 👍 👍
I always shoot towards the brick wall of my house, when I first started shooting I use to shoot at the ground and the arrow deflected of a rock and went into the neighbours fence.
Sound advice about everything mentioned. Especially thinking about selecting a shooting lane way. I once lived in a city in Ontario Canada. A young man was shot with an arrow by friend when they were messing around with a bow and arrows. At that point the city made it illegal for anyone to shoot any type weapon within city limits. This included air weapons and bow and arrows including crossbows. Always know the law, always know your backstop and what is beyond it. It is a weapon not a toy.
One of the absolute safest set-ups is in my basement with a particle board backstop as it's a closed lane with the only entrance being behind me and nothing of value I could hit.
wife..." why are these holes in the car and wall of the house?" well, because the hallway inside the house wasn't long enough, of course! Good video, shooting a bow requires a measure of common sense, thanks for explaining the process.
I built a wooden frame that hangs 3/4 rubber mats for horse stalls from it and it works like a charm. It's 8 feet tall and 8 feet wide. Lumber cost and stall mats combined cost me around $200 used
I have a scar 5mm above my right eye, in my eyebrow, from shooting a youth bow at an inflated wagon tire when I was maybe 13. The arrow bounced directly back at me and the nock split the skin. I thought for sure I shot my eye out. Do not mess around with safety. Do not let ignorant children shoot without observation.
I have a fence which is ok at stopping low arrows. I reccommend your target have some sort of wall with it. And some thick soft material to prevent arrows from bouncing.
I needed this! I was going to set up shooting in my backyard. My neighbours have just built an extension so now between our properties is a wall instead of a fence and at the bottom of my garden is a factory wall, I was contemplating setting it up to shoot, I would put up an extension that could be removed when not in use to make it even higher but as it goes towards the garden end is a wooden fence so would have made a change to that too but as you mention you can't stop people from going in the path, we'll that bit I can as I own my house and live alone but I can't control any cats coming into my back garden and that is enough for to not do it! I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I hit a cat! Only need to look at my user name to know that. You have good advice where others may or will over look. I will be moving in about a year and this will be one more thing to add to the list of requirements, a big enough garden where I can have a something organised for shooting in safety. Thank you
I agree with all you say here. I cringe when I watch RU-vid archers in their backyard shooting a target bag against a fence and the fence is about 10 feet tall max. A decent archer won’t shoot over it but in a freak accident it can go over or thru and hit someone. It’s like the fence you have towards the end of the video. Fences with busy streets or houses behind them. Not worth taking the chance. I shoot in my backyard but the arrow path goes parallel to my neighbor’s house so I am not going to hit their home. The back stop if it goes thru is similar to your setup toward the end of your video with your block target on your trash can. Very safe.
use a backstop behind your target, cheap cardboard and a thick cotton blanket will deal with ricochets. The arrow will puncture the cardboard and finally stopped by the blanket. Still, never shoot towards a living being.
Thanks! Very important video. The most convincing aspects of your video were the practical examples of what actually had happened, like the video of the guy that got a bouncing arrow coming back at him, and the story about your arrow finding that tiny hole and almost going through except for the feathers. Great video!
It is just common sense. Consider the bow as a weapon shooting high velocity projectiles that can potentially kill someone even if legally this is not the case. As yourself this question: can I potentially kill someone even with a fluke accident someone nearby? If yes: don't shoot there, if no: go ahead. Simple.
In my backyard, and my neighbor's, there is no fence between the two and our driveways are connected. Going from west to east, I'd say that the combined driveway space is about 7 to 9 times as much width as your driveway. I also have a few options for backstops already present. There's a concrete or cement wall, which, given the space available to me, I can put a lot of distance between the target and the wall. The wall's about 7 or 8 feet tall and, if I manage to shoot over it, then the arrow's gonna get lost under my deck, but it won't leave my property. There's also a dirt hill that's steep up to about 5 ft, at which point it becomes a shallow slope up another foot or two over a longer distance, and then there's a 6 or 7 foot tall wooden fence back there. Should the arrow go through the target in front of this hill, then it'd partially bury itself in dirt. Now, going north to south instead, that'd be shooting towards the neighbors behind my house, who seem to be racist. All that divides our yards is a chain link fence. As far as I can tell, their kids grew up and moved out quite a while ago and never visit, but they still have dogs and shooting that direction would be a bad idea because I might hit the dogs, so I'm not really considering this direction. Another issue with it is the very uneven terrain, and the distance available to me is relatively shorter than if I were using the driveways. The reason I'm not considering south to north is because I don't own the house yet, and I'm not considering east to west because that's downhill past the driveways and going through three neighboring yards with only chain link fences dividing them.
When I was a kid, I tried my very first bow in our back yard. (No supervision those days) i missed the target by a large margin, arrow went over my skate ramp and into the neighbors yard, I looked up and my neighbor stood up in her garden at that exact moment. Scared the recklessness right out of me
I recently shot at my club's local indoor tournament, where a freak shot of me passed through the edge of the foam target, through the edge of the wooden stand, through the arrow net and stuck in the wall of the hall. I have only a 28# bow, so better be safe.
there's an article by Bega archery club that at least in NSW it is not illegal to do archery in public land, provide reasonable and adequate measures have been taken to ensure safety.
Lots of really good points, some I haven't thought about. As someone who is about to start learning thumb draw this summer and wants to set up a short range practice line in the back yard, this is very helpful.
I have found that old carpet works well, I have a 50lb bow and 2 layers of thick carpet stops the arrows and they only get about 3-5 inches of penetration, so it is probably safe to say that 4 layers of thick carpet with a little gap between the layers would be pretty solid so long as the carpet is still in decent shape.
For residents in Utah, USA an advisement. I asked an officer about the regulations regarding this. The law states that it is illegal to shoot a bow within Salt Lake County city limits. In other words, any urban or suburban areas it is technically illegal. HOWEVER, the general practice is that they only care if they are called out about it and/or you do something stupid. If they get called out about it then they will judge it based on your safety precautions and what fail-safes you have in place. If they judge that you've done your due diligence in preventing a possible accident then they'll likely just give you a warning and let you go about your day. However, if you go outside of city limits then you're fine. Again, so long as you don't shoot like an idiot and injure somebody.
I'm very nervous to shoot in my garden as I have a lot of pets and I also live next to a sheep field and I am so so scared of accidentally missing the target and backdrop and hitting an animal
I second this (I'm also in australia, Adelaide to be precise) Not even a week ago, an arrow from my 70lb compound went through my target, through 10cm of styrofoam, and buried itself 90% of the way through a 3mm thick corrugated iron fence, only being stopped by the fletchings (which were half torn off) and it took both me and my back neighbor 15 minutes to get the arrow back though the fence (he knows I shoot in my yard he lives alone, and is ok with the risks) And although I like to fire heavy arrows because I use my bow for hunting, you have to be very aware of what is behind your target, as even lightweight arrows can and often will go through even those older heavy duty fences that would seem damn near impervious to anything short of a nuke I have since placed some 4 ply plywood behind my target, to reduce the chance having a repeat of that experience
I live on a farm and shoot all most every day I have a foam target the same size you get at most clubs and i have had bad shots when setting up sites and otherthings bounce off the side and go 60 to 80 meters to the SIDE of the target. I'm on a farm and i have 200 meters all round clear so I can do what I like but no way in hell will i shoot in a small back yard with a modern compound bow. just look at any indoor range and see the crazy placed arrows have hit! we have holes in the roof walls and even the back wall from when someone was checking draw length and had a misfire.
I live in Alaska, where most of us have a few acres. I was thinking of purchasing archery cloth to hang outside, mostly because that's a lot of land to be looking for lost arrows in. Do you have any advice or things to know about it. Maybe you could do a video on that stuff. I've seen it online, but I've never had a lesson, or been to an archery club. I will soon, though.
What if i direct my shots inward? I.e. in my room, there are two doors, one of them goes into my bathroom where no one but me goes in anyways, with an empty wardrobe with a cemented wall as its back. Will that suffice if i stuff that cabinet with unused pillows and shoot it from the other side of my room?
You don't "accidentally" fire a bow. Never point it towards a living thing, and never draw it until you're ready to fire. The kid was most definitely being reckless.
About your favorite shooting spot shown near the end of your vid--if someone walks from around the corner behind and to the left of your target, they could be skewered. You wouldn't be able to see them coming until it was too late. My wife, a teacher of academically gifted children, says that "Common sense is the NEW gifted." They actually say that at her school. Also, in my seaside town very near a major metropolitan area, you can't get away with much of anything--unless you are a bum. Recently bums living on the beach, behind my house in the alley, and elsewhere, are harassing citizens passing by and telling them to "Get off my property." Seriously. By the way, I learn a lot from your bow vids. Thx!
I live in NSW and shoot in my back yard. My target is inside a shed with a backstop of blankets, boxes, and a mattress. The arrow would have to travel through all that, then a layer of tin then the wooden fence (that is about the same height as the shed), if it were to be a threat to anybody's safety. My neighbour once complained but i take care not to shoot anything besides the target, in the shed, with a very solid and huge backstop. Like you said, unless sky drawing i feel like its safe. Oh yeah, id usually shoot at about 10-12 metres and going to a range isn't An option for me at the mo-Jo.
Yesterday I shoot in my backyard , the arrow hit the wall and come back to me so fast.It fly away 1 feet from my head.God save me. I just learning to shoot the bow and thanks for your clips.
I have no choice but to practice at home as there are no clubs anywhere near me. Luckily I have a drive leading into a 6m wooden garage which gives me up to around 15m to the target with brick walls on both sides. The target is a big cardboard box stuffed solid with more cardboard which sits on a heavy wooden box to get the right height. Behind the target box is a straw target and behind that a full size 25mm thick wooden board then the garage wall. This stops everything! Any rebounds which are very rare are kept within the garage. Also as I only shoot at home my bows are only 30and 35lb- more than enough for home practice. Oh yes, both my neighbours are happy for me to practice...I think they find it quite amusing! Good video keep up the good work!
I want to get into archery, and already paced out a shooting range in our backyard. 70 meters fits nicely, if I make something behind the target so any stray arrows don’t go over the road. But when googling for the nearest archery club, I realised that any stray arrows may even land on the grounds of that club! These guys need better advertisement!!!
My backyard range looks a bit like 15:22 but the wall is a tad bit higher, out of brick and the clothesline rope thingy is a pergola with fairly thick bars from which I suspend a curtain behind my target block. It's a thin curtain and only slows down arrows somewhat but prevents ricochets. _Behind_ that wall is a small and not busy parking lot. But, come spring, I will probably try to set it up in the other direction, towards our house.
With the death of my beloved grandpa this January my parents inherited a big plot of land, so as I'm a teen living with my parents I have been blessed with a pretty big range to drive and shoot. Here in the Netherlands it's totally legal to do that on your own property.
The knots in the fence is VERY common. I've been shooting 2 months and already hit 3 of them. Luckily, the first one was the only one facing another property
@11:16 WOWWW!! A friend told me, about a few years ago she was in the city pumping gas in her truck when all of a sudden... WHACK someones mishandled arrow shot her in the thigh! 911, cops, ambulance the whole sha-bang shows up but besides address her wounds theres nothing they could do. ...of course not. What could they do? Lol
common sense.....if you have one of those small fenced in suburban or urban backyard, I would say too risky. If you have a very large yard and your neighbor behind you is a distance away, go for it. You can generally shoot in your backyard in most U.S. Counties.
After this video I am so glad to see how immensely safe the shooting place is. Shooting at a distance of up to 30 meters, behind which is a 15 meter high hill. Shoutouts to my dad living in a former mill.
If anyone is wondering... Whether an arrow can go through a metal colourbond fence... I can confirm that a 30 pound recurve bow can put an arrow through a fence with no problem. Luckily the fletching stopped it from going all the way through and no one was on the other side of the fence. So be careful. (I missed my target don't judge)
for me, I live In the countryside, next to a river and some empty fields, that no one owns, and nobody walks down the riverside, worst-case scenario an arrow go in the water and I can't get it back or the second scenario is I get stung by a few nettles retrieving my arrow and spend the next few minutes treating My nettle stings and trust me I'm 27 and I have lived in the area for 27 years by the off chance I hear somebody walking I will stop what I am doing I never shoot If I hear somebody,
In the uk we have no laws on a bow apart from bow hunting that’s illegal since 1965 but everything else is fine you can have a bow and walk in streets caring it also have no law on where we can shoot unless you shouting in a park or pubic place but if no ones around you and there’s no danger to the public you can shoot wherever I wanted to know because I don’t drive so when I join a club il have to carry my bow to the club
i really want to practice archery but there are no lessons avalibla near me witch means my family would have to drive like a hour to the location witch is not the problem the problem is that to go a hour away for a day may cost a 100 dollars just the food the toll and the lessons its too expensive. if anyone has recomendadtions I'd appreciate it.
Toyota Camry. CLASSIC Asian Car. On a more serious note, yeah I had a 'accidental' discharge once, was so lucky it got stuck on the fence, and then I never shot in my backyard again. It's like the saying goes, you can do something right 1000 times, but there's the one time where you fuck up, and gg your life, over...
Germany is nice, any string weapon as long as they are drawn by hand are considered sport eqiupment, and can be carried and used in most public places, obviosly most would feel uneasy shooting in your local park but for me its not much as an issue as my park contains a hill at wich i can shoot without having to worry much about other people and if someone decides to go there i just take a break. It does scare some ppl though and the cops were called on me a few times but all they are allowed to do is to ask me to do it somewhere else and in that case I just take a break as well.
Shame here in the UK, an object that is strung such as a bow, is considered a weapon, especially in a public environment. The reason it’s this case is because idiots use them for violent use and that’s what the government heavily focuses on, trying to abolish sports such as shooting and archery, shame.
can anyone recommend me a canvas to use as a backstop to catch arrows? i'd hang it from an overhang outside or from the ceiling in the winter it just really needs to stop arrows
The trouble I see with your favorite arrangement is someone could walk out from the other side of the building just as you fire your arrow. Reduce the Hight of your target to avoid a death shot.
Exactly. That's a driveway, and from the street, you can't see that you're walking up right behind a target. Unless he's putting some kind of barricade or caution tape across the driveway, it would be very easy for someone to walk up the driveway and right into his shooting lane. Unless there are other precautions we're not seeing, that's absolutely NOT a safe practice arrangement.
im in Australia Queensland.....dont get caught with a bow ..the cops will have ya ...i once seen a lady get arrested with a fishing knife...and yes she was fishing and yes i was not supersized ...
own acres, nearest neighbor is miles away. I can shoot anything I can legally own, with enough money I can legally own a canon. How the hell do you accidentally fire a BOW. Bales of straw make a good back stop, they are really cheap stack small bales 2 deep and 10 high 10 wide large bales 1 deep 4 high and 4 wide gives a very large backstop, need a forklift to move the large bales though, I have 300 feet down one property line. you never fire any projectile in direction of others that may be in range. use flu flu arrows for practice and lighter draw. Hey if you really dislike the neighbors......
Accidental firing of a bow usually happens with amateurs and beginners. I saw it happen a few times in my high school. A girl who never shoot before came to the session, picked up a 45 pound bow, used it with a pinch grip and the arrow slipped out of her fingers middle draw. She was facing toward the targets, so nobody hurt but it went sideways and hit the side wall of the gym.
Highest risk demographic for accidental discharge is beginner compound shooters. With compound you usually use a release aid with some sort of trigger-style mechanism. These release aids are sensitive by design and do not have safeties. If a beginner, or even an intermediate not paying attention, draws their bow with their finger or thumb in the vicinity of the trigger you can get an accidental shot. When teaching compound, release aid rule number 1 is do not ever draw your bow with your trigger digit anywhere near the trigger. If it's a wrist strap style caliper release, safest way is to curl the fingers aft of the trigger during draw then extend index finger up over the trigger when ready to shoot. For thumb release, make a fist with thumb behind the thumb trigger to draw, extend thumb over thumb trigger when ready to shoot. It's generally discouraged to start compound with a thumb release or god forbid a back tension release as, not only is there the accidental trigger danger, but also the danger of accidentally letting go of the release aid itself prematurely.
Hmm ... what if somebody comes from around the corner ? There's a drive way between the wall and your bin+target ... same problem as the door you mentioned at the start.
I explained this in a deleted segment. There's only two people on property and I am able to notify the other person when I am shooting. Both inside and outside doors are closed (three of them) and the driveway cannot be entered without opening the (very loud) gate, so it is reasonable to assume that it is not an open passage and movement is controlled.
