It was my second perfect 60-yard practice shot from my Excalibur Assassin crossbow.
And the minute I heard it strike the big “block” target, I knew it was wrong. The expected thwap of the arrow strike sounded more like a paper tear.
At 60 yards it can be hard to see where arrows hit, so I walked down my back hill to see what happened. The second arrow struck the first.
With guns, you cheer those perfect shots. With bows, you cry.
I sent a picture of the splintered arrow, or bolt as they’re referred to with crossbows, to my deer hunting buddy Paul, who texted back, “$20 down the drain.”
Oh no, I explained, not only is the bolt destroyed but the strike drove the tracking light halfway down, shattering it too.
“So that’s $24,” he added.
Yup, just one light bolt can cost $25. And to that, you add the $12 broadhead. I lost that combo two shots earlier that day when I flinched, and the bolt sailed past the Block and into five inches of grass and dirt, never to be seen again.
At prices like that for mistakes, some might second-guess practicing, but much more so than with rifles, bow hunting requires lots and lots of pre-season shots.
I’ve been bowhunting for about a decade now, egged on by Paul, who got me into deer hunting.
Why bow? In most states, it is the first season for deer, and because they’ve had some months to forget about humans in the woods hunting them since the last season, they aren’t as wary.
My first outfit was a Parker Ultralite made right here in Virginia until they went out of business this year. When we went shopping for a bow, I figured it wouldn’t cost much, certainly not as much as a rifle. How could it? Bows are just plastic and string, right?
A thousand bucks later, I had a bow, sight, arrows, arrow release, and case. And of course I needed something to shoot at, so I got a $100 Block target and an $80 foam deer.
Like gun shooting, I started practicing at short distances before moving back to hunting ranges. I lost a bunch of arrows, but they were cheaper 10 years ago.
Eventually, I got pretty good and took some deer with the Parker.
But each year requires more and more practice and strength to pull it back. Hunting magazines even include special exercises to build up the strength to pull the necessary 60-80 pounds and then hold it for a minute or so, just as you’d do in a hunt.
Some practice year round. But most are like me, practicing for about a month or two before the season begins. Paul even practices in his hunting clothes to give it a realistic feel.
I recently went so far as to use a 12-foot-high tree stand from which to shoot. One afternoon some deer showed up at 10 yards. They didn’t even look up from the acorns on the ground as arrow after arrow hit the foam deer. I don’t think that will happen when the season opens.
While I still use the Parker, I’m shifting more and more to the crossbow. It’s deadly accurate at long ranges, easy to use, and doesn’t shock neighbors with a pow! when I shoot at 7 in the morning during hunting season.
But nailing two shots at 60 yards doesn’t mean an end to the practice. Maybe it was just luck.
So I used some Cabela’s points and ordered up more bolts to shoot in advance of the opening of the early doe season Sept. 7.
And I used some points to get a second Block to get more target space and lessen the chances of shattering another $24 bolt.
Paul Bedard is a senior columnist and author of Washington Secrets.
