Stump Shooting...Small Plastic Water Bottles

[tippit]

I don't like shooting targets...but love to bow hunt. My practice routine is to put out those small disposal plastic water bottle around my farm. I'll place them in high grass, under tree limbs, between small tree stumps...tight places that you are always fearful of taking that shot while hunting. Most of the time I can't even see the entire bottle but see the glint of the sun off the bottle like the eye of your intended prey. I tend to shoot 5 to 35 yards but never pace off my shots. I use those 200gr hex blunts as I hunt with 200gr broadheads. For me it is an extremely cheap target and the best hunting practice I've ever shot.

Small target/small miss...it really teaches you how to pick shooting holes, mentally block out a tree right next to the target, and there is instant loud sound gratification then you nail a plastic bottle! It helps to have a 15 acre field & woods practice course though...tippit

   

[KyStickbow]

Good idea! And Im with u...I love to bowhunt but not a big fan of shooting targets.

[Tony Z]

X 2 on the blunts and bottles. Got the idea from my buddy Sean B. I just throw a few around my yard and shoot at 'em where they land. TonyZ

[ronp]

I gotta try that!  And basketballs filled with spray foam insulation.

[dragonheart]

I enjoy roving along a creek bank and finding that area that just looks like a critter, maybe an area with no leaves, or a rotten log, and shooting one right in the middle of that area!  Many times, sadly, you will also find plenty of trash including the "water bottle critter" to punch holes in.  Awesome practice for the bowhunter...

[Jerry Jeffer]

Bueno!!!        

[Hackbow]

Tippit, many moons ago I was fortunate enough to be invited to a regular weekly "bowshoot" set up on some guy's farm in central IN. It wasn't a club, there was no scoring or scorecards of any kind. Just guys walking the trail in the woods shooting at plastic bottles from gallon size down to pill bottle size. Some were weighted down and set on the ground, some were impaled on sticks and many were tied to strings and were hung from branches. It was a great use of trash and an awesome way to practice - especially when shooting a pill bottle swinging at 20 yds.

[meathead]

Jeff don't your horses drop enough targets for you?  Lol

[mcgroundstalker]

Put a few small rocks in the bottle before you throw it... That will help (it) go further and sometimes stand right up when landing on the ground...

But then, natural poop is hard to beat as targets.  :rolleyes:

... mike ...    ...

[tippit]

meathead,
My Wife's horses have bull's eyes on their sides for my rubber suction cup arrows  

[stykbow67]

Stuff those bottles full of those plastic bags you get from the grocery store and put a few wraps of duct tape around them and they'll last quite a long time. Works really well!

Steve

If you are shooting your yard or near anything you do not want to hit, be careful of deflections when shooting different stuff.  There is a painted over arrow hole between my two upstairs windows on the bow shooting side of me house. There is a garage 20 yards away that completely failed to try to stop an arrow that skipped off a quart chocolate bottle. Those windows are 6 inches apart. My son thought an empty quart plastic bottle was close to a turkey size and would be a good practice target. We don't want to talk about the other hole where the power lines come from the house to the garage.

[tippit]

stykbow67,
Good idea...but my wife likes bottled water so our supply is limitless.  No need to do anything more than take the label off.  Once shot up, there are 10 more ready to replace it.

[Slickhead]

I use those all the time
Free and easy!
Stuff with some pastic bags and cover with an old grey sock
= squirrel!

I also like shooting smaller targets. Have a hard time focusing on a bag.
Plus these change it up a bit.
If you have a dollar tree store near you they have nerf type balls for a buck
Colorful targets.

[mcgroundstalker]

This thread reminds me of another I read some time ago... "How Not To Teach Yourself Traditional Archery" aka "Honey, I Think We Need A New Garage Door!"

... mike ...    ...

[maineac]

That would probably help prevent hitting the mistaken maple, not fir, stump, or piece of granite that eats arrows.  I walk around my property with the dogs a lot though, and the sight of bottles laying in the woods would bother me.  I guess I m to lazy to set out a bunch and then pick them all up every time I shoot.

[nineworlds9]

Been using bottles like this for a while.  Good chit.

[dragonheart]

This reminds me of when I was 12 years old we had a "jug course" at the Boy Scout Camp.  It was gallon milk jugs with a small piece of rope tied to them and then just staked to the ground.  We had a blast shooting rubber blunts and "knocking" the jug around...

[Archie]

In going to try Ritz crackers this year.  Minimizes cleanup and it will make the squirrels happy.

[tippit]

What you need to realize is this is on my private little horse farm.  The bottles are pretty much hidden until you walk up on them.  Down here in Aiken, SC it's all sand like Cape Cod not granite like the rest of New England.  I wear out feathers before breaking arrows!  When I get back to Boston, I'll be shooting foam targets again...that is once I hear the snow is All gone