The Hoyt compound bow
I enjoy marksmanship, in many forms. There is something
magical about projecting an object with pinpoint accuracy, the problem is I
live in a city, and people with badges and hand cuffs come to your house when
you shoot guns in the back yard. My dilemma is not that hard to solve, c02
pellet guns, airsoft guns (though not very accurate) cross bows and bow and
arrows are all good options. I went for the latter. I know better than most
that shooting a compound bow is not very similar to shooting a gun. It is in
fact a completely different skill set, but it is also a form of shooting and as
such I was drawn to it. I got my compound bow from my brother in law. He got it
as a Christmas gift years earlier, and played with it in his back yard some
before leaving it when he went off to college. When he gave it to me, it had no
sights, no release loop, or release, it was rusty, the string was desperate for
a wax, and the arrows were junk. I took it to a shop and had them completely
redo most of the bow. It took a while to get the new sights sighted in; I went
for a 3 pin fiber optic front and a red rear ghost ring. I also got the draw
set at 27.5” and the weight set to 55lbs. I got some cabalas brand carbon fiber
arrows and a cabalas release (trigger mechanism) and my wonderful neighbor
brought me a 3’x3’x5’ solid cube of Styrofoam, to use as a target. My yard is
only 28 yards across, but once I warm up I can usually group 6 arrows into a 2
inch circle.
For a surprise my wife bought us a “groupon” to a local
archery range that included one hour of instruction 2 hours of range time and
rental of 2 release bows. We both had a great time, and by the end my wife was
hitting center at 10 yards and I was doing the same at thirty. We both had a
great time and even toyed with getting her a bow of her own (though she said no
in the end)
I have learned a ton throughout this little adventure, I don’t know how much has translated to my firearm skills but either way I do enjoy shooting in my back yard.
