Yes, I bought my six year old son a beginner compound bow and arrow set off amazon. I know you all probably think I’m crazy, so did Jennifer. She is convinced a future post will be regarding “emergency room tips and tricks”…or perhaps “what to do when you become impaled by an arrow.” No worries! I got this! 😛
Anyway after a bit of shopping on Amazon, primarily based on price then reviews as a secondary, I settled on the Bear Archery Scout Bow. After a little instruction Tristan was up and shooting at a cardboard box in the backyard. Tristan really dug shooting the bow and arrow but we soon damaged one arrow and broke another by bouncing them off our concrete retaining wall. The next day I went a local feed and tack store called Fox Feed located on Sierra Highway and bought three straw bales for targets. When I got home I decided that just throwing the straw bales in the grass wouldn’t be the best idea so I started to draw up plans for a wood L-shaped target that the straw bales could stack upon. I decided I would make a 4’x4′ back that rested on a 4’x3′ base.
My plans called for
- 6 – 2x4x8
- 1 – 4x4x8
- 1 – 4x8x3/8″ Plywood Sheet
I had Lowe’s cut all my wood into my designed lengths and took the pieces home for assembly.
Yes, that is a Harbor Freight nail gun. Here is my theory on Harbor Freight…if it costs as much to rent the tool from Home Depot as it does to buy it at Harbor Freight, its worth the risk to buy and if it still works by the end of the job…YOU WON!
My sandal hit it’s limit on this project, next stop Ross for another pair. BTW Nothing like using a nail gun in flip-flops…Like I told Jennifer, its not like my tennis shoe would stop the nail any better. Also, look at it this way, if I do hit my foot they won’t have to ruin my shoe by cutting it off.
Here are the individual wall and base being made.
Here are the base (left) and wall (right) I carried them to the back before final assembly.
Here is the finished project. The based where the straw bales will rest is 2×4′ and the back is 4×4′
With the 3 straw bales
Tristan using the new target.
Total project cost:
- Straw – $30
- Lowes – $40