I told you earlier this week that I finally broke down and bought a new 3-D archery target. I also wound up having to buy some new arrows.
Those were a couple of expenses I hadn’t planned on. But I went out to shoot my bow last weekend to get some practice for the upcoming archery antelope season, and I ruined not only my target, but also several arrows.
If you have a 3-D target, take care of it. I took good care of mine for a long time, but I started to get careless with it. The more dilapidated it got, the less I did to preserve it, and that led to it getting more weather-beaten.
Instead of keeping it inside when I wasn’t shooting at it, I just left it out in the yard. I figured if I didn’t have to move it in and out of the garage when I wanted to practice, I’d practice more. That didn’t work out, though, and to make matters worse, the weather chewed that target up.
My first shot at the target after weeks of not practicing went much farther left than I wanted it to. I hit that target right in the nose, and the nose of the antelope-shaped target vaporized. The arrow kept going and ended up somewhere in the juniper windbreak. I still haven’t found that arrow. And the target now looks more like some mutant alien monster than an antelope.
But I kept shooting, and I got dialed in pretty quick. I sunk my remaining five arrows in what I think was the vital area, though the weather has erased all the lines showing where I’m supposed to hit it. It was a pretty respectable group, and I was pleased with myself. Until I tried to pull those arrows out.
They wouldn’t come out. At all. I pulled, twisted, yanked, and finally gave up. I drove to the sporting goods store and bought a new target and a dozen new arrows.
Take care of your target. If you don’t, it’ll cost you.
