P[hit any particular ring] = area of that ring / area of target, so

P[hit inner ring] = 1/9
P[hit middle ring] = 3/9 = 1/3
P[hit outer ring] = 5/9

If you can’t hang targets, "for sale" signs work pretty well as a way to hang up paper targets (which are, by the way, perfectly fine for an outdoor range). If not, paper plates are also good targets.

Another good target for further out (75 to 100 yards) is taking empty plastic water bottles, filling them with water, adding a drop of red dye to each (so that you can see the color downrange) and capping them. This way, you can tell if you hit it without having to check your target (if it’s red, the bottle’s intact, if it’s clear, you’ve made a hole in the bottle).

I advise against using anyone’s mother as a target, as that is generally frowned upon at most ranges.

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Before investing in archery equipment with the intentions of hunting, you should first check your state or province hunting regulations to see what is required. Most of them have a minimum standard of what is or is not allowed for legal hunting. In every instance, I think you will find the lowest allowed to be much higher than the draw weight of beginner sets or starter bows intended for youngsters. I would not consider hunting ANY game the size of deer, etc with a bow which has a draw weight (amount of pounds pull it takes to pull it to its full length) less than 40 or 45 pounds. Even at that, your shots will be limited to very close ranges and the risk of only injuring an animal rather than killing it increase dramatically. And after you have determined the legal draw weight, then you may want to decide between recurve bows versus the more efficient compound bows with their space-age pulleys and weight-reduction technology. There is a LOT to consider. Don’t rush the selection by wasting time and money on something that will later prove insufficient. The best place to find the answers you should prepare yourself with are at your local archery dealer of archer club. Check the yellow pages for the closest one to your area. Best of luck!

Thanks, Matt

Ninja Bow

Each bow is rated for how much force is needed to pull the string back to a specific point — i.e., "40 lbs @ 28 inches" means it takes 40 pounds of force to pull the string back 28 inches. As long as your aim is spot-on every time you send an arrow towards the target, it doesn’t matter how "powerful" the bow is. **For all those who say that a "kid’s bow" doesn’t have enough power to send an arrow more than 10 yards — I have personally witnessed a 40-year archery veteran using a 60 pound-draw compound bow lose out to a 15-year-old using a 20 pound-draw fibre-glass longbow — at 30 yards; yes, the kid really was that damn good, and he really was using a REAL BOW. I’ve seen a 20 lb bow send arrows more than 80 yards, and with a fair amount of accuarcy, considering.

Now, before you go out and buy yourself a bow, you need to check with your local authorities as to whether it is legal to practice archery in your yard/garden (go to the County courthouse/City Hall/Mayor’s Office/etc – don’t ask only the police, because they don’t like to do the paperwork and they might just say "no" regardless). If you live in a city, it will most likely NOT be legal.

IF it is legal for you to practice archery in your yard/garden, I suggest that you start with a low-poundage bow, around 20 lb draw; regardless what others might say it is much easier to learn on a light-weight bow than on a heavy-weight bow — simply because the light-weight bow is easier to control (if you can’t control the bow, you won’t gain any real skill as an archer). As you gain strength and skill, you can increase draw weight (easy to do with a compound, but you will have to get another bow if you decide to get a "traditional" bow – a bow without "wheels").

Beware of using only hay bales or straw targets — arrows have a nasty habit of passing clean through them due to "soft spots" in the bales. You need to have a good backstop BEHIND the bales/target; the target is attached to the "front" of the bale(s). A good backstop can be made by hanging discarded carpeting between the bale(s) and the fence; do not attach the backstop to the fence, or it will never keep the arrows from hitting the fence; tightly woven carpeting has been known to stop even broadheads. (Don’t hang it tight, hang it loosely; the carpeting will "catch" the arrow, absorbing the impact, and allow it to simply drop to the ground). Wooden fences generally do not make good backstops, by the way, because the arrow can break when it hits the fence; metal fences NEVER make good backstops, for what should be a very obvious reason.

Targets can be made out of cardboard boxes, stuffed with more cardboard or plastic bags; pre-made styrofoam cubes sold in archery shops; burlap bags stuffed with plastic bags and/or paper bags; paper plates; a piece of cloth; etc. If it can be placed in front of or attached to the target butt (the hay bales), and it won’t damage your arrows as they enter/pass through it, it can be used as a target. If you keep the target(s) low to the ground, you won’t have to worry too much about arrows going too high — but sometimes arrows will "skip" when they hit the ground, too, so be careful; about stomach height is good for placing the target(s).

Now, for those who say that a huge amount of space is required for archery (no matter how "powerful" the bow is), it is more than merely possible to practice indoors at home — say, in an apartment; just hang a tight-woven blanket in a doorway (fasten it down ONLY at the top, leave the sides/bottom loose – just like with the carpeting backstop above) and use blunt-tipped arrows (rubber blunts work really good for this). You shoot at the blanket, the blanket "catches" the arrows — and the arrows drop to the floor. Yes, it really does work……

In all cases, make sure it is SAFE to practice archery. Be sure of what is behind the target/butt at all times; one of the worst experiences in life is to kill someone — perhaps a child — because you didn’t bother to make sure it was safe to shoot. If you use the blanket-in-the-doorway method, use a doorway that you KNOW will not be used while you are practicing — and when in doubt, ***block the path to the doorway*** on the other side of the blanket. SAFETY — FOR YOURSELF AND OTHERS — SHOULD ALWAYS COME FIRST IN ARCHERY.

Make sure it is legal to practice archery in your yard/garden first, and if it is — have fun.

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