Archery with limited space....

[cvandervort]

I wish I could step outside and fling some arrows at 50yd blocks, but I live in a *gasp* postage stamp neighborhood! Any advice for those of us NOT blessed with not a lot of room to practice, but still want to get into the sport?

[HighCountryHunter88]

Make a smaller target? 

[cvandervort]

I suppose my garage is 10 yards...

[elk247]

Kenmore range is near you. I've never been there personally, but im sure a few on this site have. Or drive yourself to the boondocks and shoot that block up. You could go to the nock point and ask those guys?

[bobcat]

Ten yards is better than nothing.   

[cvandervort]

Yeah, I shoot occasionally at the Kenmore range...great place. I'm just hearing a lot of guys on here going on and on about having to shoot dozens and dozens of arrows every day to keep sharp....that's my sticking point. Is shooting a couple of times a week enough?

[Sunbkpk]

I shoot in my backyard with a 1/2 sheet of plywood against my house as a backstop. I can squeeze in 20 yards. Much better than nothing. Yet to miss the target and hit the plywood. Kind of hard for the neighbors to complain if it is my house at risk.

During the summer I take my target and bow to the woods with me and practice the longer yardage.

[earlmarne]

i think that is a personal question you must ask yourself.
i go back and forth.some days i shoot hundreds of arrows,others i shoot 20 or 30.
sometimes i take a few days off.i try and let my shooting guide me.ive been told perfect practice makes perfect.so i try my best to stop shooting when my shooting starts falling apart.sometimes i cant help myself n need a few broken or lost arrows to tell me it is time to quit.
if i was in your scenerio i would get myself a 5 spot face.

[cvandervort]

Thanks guys, great info. Sunbkpk- that is what I'm most worried about....EVERY house adjacent to mine has children,  AND backyard play structures! Well, plywood's cheap enough...thanks again guys

[Johnb317]

I had to patch a couple holes in the house early on.   
In the city the legality is questionable so I try to keep a low profile.
Max I get is 25 yards. 

[owmygulay]

I live in a pretty tight neighborhood too. Do not shoot outside if there are other houses around. Even if you are the best shot, equipment can fail and cause a flyer that can hurt someone. I go to the range 2-3 times a week when the weather is good. When it's not I pull the car out and shoot in the garage. You can always shoot short range in the garage to work on your anchor, work on form and build muscle. Just getting the action down will help. Doesn't always have to be long range. I used to have a nice shot down the hall, down the stairs and into the dining room, until my wife came home from work early and I hadn't picked up the target yet.

[Pigfuz]

Now that is funny.  I am very glad that I have plenty of room to shoot

[SemperFidelis97]

You don't have any friends with a couple acres outside of town?  If you do I am sure they would gladly let you fling arrows a few times a week if you asked.  If you lived in near me I would let you unfortunately I am quite a drive from mill creek.

[elk247]

i think that is a personal question you must ask yourself.
i go back and forth.some days i shoot hundreds of arrows,others i shoot 20 or 30.
sometimes i take a few days off.i try and let my shooting guide me.ive been told perfect practice makes perfect.so i try my best to stop shooting when my shooting starts falling apart.sometimes i cant help myself n need a few broken or lost arrows to tell me it is time to quit.
if i was in your scenerio i would get myself a 5 spot face.

Very Radsav-esque. Great advise!

[earlmarne]

i think that is a personal question you must ask yourself.
i go back and forth.some days i shoot hundreds of arrows,others i shoot 20 or 30.
sometimes i take a few days off.i try and let my shooting guide me.ive been told perfect practice makes perfect.so i try my best to stop shooting when my shooting starts falling apart.sometimes i cant help myself n need a few broken or lost arrows to tell me it is time to quit.
if i was in your scenerio i would get myself a 5 spot face.

Very Radsav-esque. Great advise!

lol i guess some of his advise is sinkin in.

[bowpredator]

Usually I will hit the range once a week, but other than that most of my practice is in my garage at my black hole block 3/4 times a week at 20/30 shots a session . It's the form practice that's most important to me. If my form is good at a 10 yard shot, then it will be good for a 50yrd shot as well.

[Special T]

In your case you need to think about the KIND of practice you are doing. Go ahead and shoot at 10 yards. The goal shouldn't bee to shoot tight groups, but working on the mechanics and form you use. Archery is all about repeating the same motion OVER and OVER the same everytime. One drill you can do is draw, aim, then close your eyes. At first you can just open them back up to see if your on target, after a little practice you can shoot with you eyes closed...  FOCUS on form in your back yard. Have fun out on the range! 

Also Don't forget the Knock Point has indoor shooting Just off the Mount Lake Terrace exit. 

[dreamingbig]

I too live in the cit y but our lot is a 1/4 acre.  I can shoot 30 yards in the back yard and 10 yards in the garage.  I get to the Kenmore range 2x per month or so.

[sakoshooter]

I suppose my garage is 10 yards...

In winter or bad weather, I shoot in my shop. I can get 10yds but usually shoot at about 4 - 5yds at tiny spots just to keep my muscles and form up to speed. Not the most exciting shooting but better than nothing. I can get 65yds in my yard but sometimes its raining too hard or dark out so my shop works for that. Just be safe and have some kind of solid backstop just in case.

[kckrawler]

Im buying an acre of land out in the country so shooting 50 yards should be easy. Question I have is how big of a solid backstop do you recommend for 50 yard shots?

[Lever-Action-Outlaw]

I talked my nieghbor Ito letting me build a gate between our yards! Haha so now I can get a 50 yard shot if my back is against the fence! And I got my neighbor into the sport also! 

[coachcw]

through my yard across thr street into the nieghbors drive way I can get 70 yards ! thats why I'm setting up a course at my property up in the okanagan !

[billdo5]

I guess living on 5 acres is nice... got a whole range... thx dad 

[poopooheaddad]

I grew up in Mill Creek when it was still a Dairy farm, there has got to be a little bit of space out there, time to get in the rig and drive down Seattle hill rd off of Both. EV hwy, head down to North creek,   take your bow to work with you and find a place on the way home and get 20, 30 yrds and fling a few at your spot....good luck

[pianoman9701]

I've known guys who shoot from the road into their garages. Be careful to let your neighbors know what you're doing and to know where the water pipes are and electrical wires are in case you miss. Shooting into the wall and grabbing a hot arrow will ruin your day.

[mossback91]

through my yard across thr street into the nieghbors drive way I can get 70 yards ! thats why I'm setting up a course at my property up in the okanagan !

Wheres your property at?!?! I'll go test your course out!!!

[billdo5]

I've known guys who shoot from the road into their garages. Be careful to let your neighbors know what you're doing and to know where the water pipes are and electrical wires are in case you miss. Shooting into the wall and grabbing a hot arrow will ruin your day.

How about we dont shoot at houses/garages pretty sure that isnt considered safe and is what we were taught at hunter ed... 

[TheHunt]

About 25 years go until about 10 I lived in down town Puyallup.  Small lot.  I built a shed to put my lawn tools, etc.  I put up my back stop and then went the length of the lot to shoot.  I remember standing in the almost across the road to get my 40 yards.  The police only stopped once to see that everything was safe.

[Arrow Head]

I get 17 yards from my living room down the hallway. I have a 50 lb punching bag I use as my target at the end of the hall. I only shoot when my wife is gone and when I miss, I just hang another picture.

[wildmanoutdoors]

I shoot in my backyard with a 1/2 sheet of plywood against my house as a backstop. I can squeeze in 20 yards. Much better than nothing. Yet to miss the target and hit the plywood. Kind of hard for the neighbors to complain if it is my house at risk.

During the summer I take my target and bow to the woods with me and practice the longer yardage.

Many communities and cities have ordinances that prohibit things like shooting bows in neighborhoods. 

Better check it out before you say they cant complain!

[coachcw]

Billdo it's only unsafe if your gonna hurt someone . the one thing I always recomend to people is to draw down at thr ground then raise up. I've seen releases let go a launch an arrow to god knows where , once I saw it at a 3d.

[billdo5]

Anything could go wrong.. like u said

[coachcw]

so shooting next top your nieghborhood sub station isn't a good idea ?

[RadSav]

Form practice is far more important than distance practice.  Sign up for Archers -Advantage and you can print target faces with reduced sizes to represent longer range while shooting at 8-10 yards in the garage.  Dozen arrows a few time a week in the garage and then a day or two at Kenmore per month and you should be fine.  20, 30 and 40 yards doesn't really give you anything you can't get at 8 yards.  Often times it's worse.

First question I ask when giving lessons is, "Do you want to be really good or do you want to have a lot of fun?"  If the archer says "Really Good" we almost never shoot further than 8 yards for the first 21 days.  Heck, the wife didn't even shoot an arrow for the first month as all her beginning training was done using an airbow attachment.  Form is everything!  Just not so much fun as watching arrows arc across the sky then quiver at rest within a far away target

[coachcw]

your right Rav not much bragging rights from ten yards !

[D-Rock425]

I've been shooting about 20 or 30 arrows in my garage at about 8 yards every night.  Just purely working on not punching the trigger even took my sight off so I can't aim.

[coachcw]

you probilly wont be aiming during the season any way