Spot Shooting

With the recent bow season of 2002 slowly fading away and leaving those important memories and lessons burned into our minds forever; we are left with the "off season blues." Now is the time to freshen up a few of our skills while patiently waiting for the next season. Many people hang their equipment up and leave it alone until just before the next season. However, this is when it is a good time to sharpen up on your shooting skills. It will pay off in the future season to come. This may include some 3-D shooting, league shooting, or getting together with some friends in the back yard and flinging a few arrows while telling hunting stories. Although 3-D shooting is hard to beat, if you don't have the time to get away, there are other options. Something I enjoy doing during the off-season is what I like to call "spot shooting." Others may know this as "stump shooting."

This is something I have been doing for quite some time now. I got this idea when I was younger, I would go hiking or go for walks in the outdoors. I got to thinking, "Why don't I carry my bow with me and shoot at different spots while I was out?" This has helped me a great deal with range judgment while out in the field. (Keep in mind this should only be done away from people in secluded and/or designated areas.)

You are offered with many different shooting scenarios in changing terrain. Simply pick out a dark patch of grass, a cow pie (preferably dried up), mounds of dirt, or anything you can find to shoot at. The possibilities are endless! Also just an FYI, rocks are not a good choice for obvious reasons. But no matter what you decide, one does come across patches of rocks that are unseen by the eye. Trust me, you will go through a few arrows but if you pick your spots wisely it will keep broken and/or bent arrows to a minimum.

I have found carbons to be more forgiving for this type of shooting. Aluminum tends to bend pretty easy if the shot did not go where you wanted it, whereas carbon may bend but will not stay that way. The nice thing about carbon arrows is: if they are not broke they are usually straight. I also tip my carbons with 100-grain Zwickey judo points. This will keep your arrows from skipping into the next county. The judo tip usually makes it quite easy to find your arrow after the shot. The tip does not allow the arrow to completely bury itself under grass or dirt. But don't get me wrong; the judo tip does not make your arrow invincible to loss. I have plenty lying around out there as well as many busted arrows to prove this. Despite the loss of arrows, I feel this hobby has helped me out a great deal with range judgment and depth perception as well as different shooting positions and elevations.

So even if you shoot league, go to 3-D shoots, or fling arrows in the backyard, and/or you just simply want to try something different to put a bit of a spin on your shooting, try "spot shooting," it just may be something the "off-season blues" called for...Happy shooting!

Editor's Note: Jared Bloomgren is a Field Staff member with Fishing Buddy Outdoors and is known by many for is ability to seek out and harvest trophy whitetail and mule deer with his archery equipment. Jared is also with the 842nd Engineer Company out of Spearfish, South Dakota. The last time he contacted me his company had orders to join an armored brigade as well as a artillery brigade in Irag to fulfill his duties. On behalf of Fishing Buddy Outdoors we want to wish Jared a safe and quick return.