Backyard Archery
By P.J. Reily
Archery is a sport the whole family can enjoy. Whether you have girls or boys, as long as they’re at least 5 years old, archery is something they can do with mom and dad, grandma and grandpa. And under the right conditions, and with the right setup, you can shoot your bows right in the backyard.
So what do you need to have a safe, fun backyard archery range? First, you need for it to be legal in your community. Municipalities and homeowners associations sometimes have rules prohibiting any kind of shooting within their jurisdictions, so make sure it’s allowed where you live.
Next, you need a safe, clear space to shoot. Don’t worry, we can make many places safe, but ideally you’ll have at least 10 yards (30 feet) of open, flat ground. The more open area you have, the farther you can shoot, but 10 yards is about minimum for this to be worth your time.
Whatever shooting distance you have, you’ll have a shooting line at one end and the target line at the other. Behind the target line, it’s best if there is a safe area of at least 50 yards. That is, you don’t want to shoot at your target with your neighbor’s house, car, swing set or anything else right behind it. Making sure the area is clear behind the target is just as important as having no obstacles in front of it.
If you need your arrows to go no farther than a few feet beyond your target, you can hang backstop netting. This is a curtain that will stop arrows that miss the target. Be sure to get netting that’s rated for however fast your arrows are flying. There’s netting rated for 40-pound bows and there’s netting rated to stop arrows flying up to 370 fps. You still want a clear area behind your target, but the backstop is great for keeping your arrows on your property.
For targets, you’ve got a couple choices. If you just want to shoot at bullseyes, there are many bags and foam blocks to choose from. Both are easy to move around and are pretty durable. If you want to shoot broadheads at some point, you’ll need foam. Bag targets are not suited for broadheads.
If you want to get creative with your targets — kids love these — go with 3-D foam targets. You can find all kinds of 3-D targets that look like just about any animal on the planet, or even monsters or dinosaurs. These targets are great for backyard, family fun time. Shooting at dots and circles can get boring for the kids after a bit, but shooting a green goblin, velociraptor or deer never seems to get old.
When you’re shooting in the backyard, especially if you’re in a populated area, make sure everyone on the line knows to avoid sky drawing. This is when an archer points the bow up toward the sky in order to gain leverage when pulling back the bowstring. If the string is released any time during such a draw, the arrow is going to fly off your range. If your bow is always pointed at the target or the backstop, you know the arrow isn’t likely to escape the range.
With a backyard archery range, you can fling arrows with the family any day, any time. It’s great practice if you’re a bowhunter, and it’s just a fun way to kill a few hours at the house.