I live in a city and can only practice shooting inside my house. Archery ranges, trailheads, etc are all shut down. Even before the shut downs, I typically practiced shooting in my house on weekdays because the closest range is 30-45 minutes away. I feel like I get a lot of benefit from shooting inside my house for things like practicing my form, muscle memory and development, and mental concentration.
Now that shooting at any real distance is completely out for a while, I have a few questions about shooting at “close” distances, especially ways to make it more applicable to practicing for hunting.
Now that shooting at any real distance is completely out for a while, I have a few questions about shooting at “close” distances, especially ways to make it more applicable to practicing for hunting.
- What distance do you shoot? My maximum is 9 yards.
- What do you use for an aim point? I use 3/4” to 1” dots I paint on a bag target. I feel this provides a good size to test accuracy and consistent form.
- Are there any drills you do? I practice both longer holds and shooting quickly.
- Any suggestions to make it better preparation for hunting? I practice shooting at blank areas of the target or between 2 dots. The idea, in my head at least, is to vaguely replicate shooting at a particular place on a target by using other reference points, like sometimes happens when shooting at an animal.
- How do you set up a safe area? My basement has a concrete wall for a backstop and a door I can lock to bar entry. I also check my bow for functionality before shooting (especially the drop away rest), and make sure the arrow only points at the target from the beginning of my draw until I release the arrow.