Most people have been exposed to archery in one way or another. Maybe they saw it on TV, or tried it in school, or have a friend that does archery. Whatever the case may be, not everyone is sure that archery is for them.
Is archery a good hobby? Archery is an excellent hobby to get into. It provides exercise and gets you moving. It also helps improve focus, patience, and self confidence. It can be a social activity or you can enjoy it alone. Archery also has a relatively low cost to get started.
7 Reasons Archery is a Good Hobby
I could probably name dozens of reasons why I think archery is a good hobby but I’ll spare you and list the TOP reasons and some explanation behind each.
1. It’s Loads of Fun!
Now of course fun is subjective, there are people that won’t enjoy archery but I’ve yet to meet one. My wife and kids all enjoy it to some extent although none of them are as into it as I am.
One of the great things about archery is there’s a number of ways to enjoy it. You can make it what you want to, here’s just some of the ways you can you have fun:
- Shoot with a Friend
- Join a League or Club
- Go Bow Hunting or Fishing
- Attend tournaments and local shoots
You can be as competitive as you want to be, or not competitive at all. Shoot by yourself and relax, or shoot with another person and have a little friendly competition.
No matter how people choose to enjoy archery, most will agree that they have fun doing it.
2. Helps You Stay Healthy
Without even realizing it, archery can help you burn calories, build muscle, and get some cardio.
When you combine the physical exertion of drawing your bow with the walking necessary to retrieve arrows or move to the next target at a shoot, you’ll be burning plenty of calories without even thinking about it.
Most people realize that shooting a bow requires the use of your back, shoulder, and arm muscles. But may not know it’s also great for engaging your core, especially if you’re focused on having good form.
Bowhunting or attending 3D shoots can add even more calorie burn as you walk through the woods to and from your stand or to the next target on the course.
3. Develops Focus, Patience, and Discipline
To be able to shoot a bow with any type of accuracy you must focus and develop a level of patience. Rushing the shot almost always gives you poor results.
With practice you’ll learn to focus on your form, your breathing, and your target all while being patient until you are lined up properly to fire the arrow.
This won’t happen the first time you shoot, but over time your skills will improve. Included in those skills are focus and patience.
In addition to the development of focus and patience, archery also requires a level of discipline. To achieve the results you desire (repeatable well placed shots) requires discipline. You’ll need to develop repeatable habits and execute them each time.
Things like always using the same anchor point and making sure your form is correct are just a few of the good habits needed for consistently accurate shots. This requires discipline and will develop over time as you practice.
4. Easy and Reasonably Inexpensive to Get Started
It’s really simple to get started with archery, especially if you live anywhere near an archery shop, range, or club.
Even if you don’t, with the age of the Internet you can get started very easily. There’s plenty of information, on this site and others. New and Used bows can be purchased online as can most other archery needs.
In addition to the equipment needed be accessible, there’s a plethora of articles and videos to help you learn what you need to know to get started and improve your skills.
Cost
Many people cite cost as a reason not to join the sport of archery. I’ll be the first to admit, archery CAN be very expensive. That is if you want it to be. It’s easy to drop thousands on just your bow.
That being said, you could probably pick up a used recurve for under $100. Grab some inexpensive arrows and a few bales of hay and you’re ready to get started!
5. Builds Confidence
How can archery build confidence you ask? As you develop your skills and learn to execute your shots well it improves your sense of accomplishment.
There’s nothing better than putting in the practice and then being able to nail the bullseye! Developing the ability to repeat this really builds your self esteem and confidence levels.
6. It’s an All Weather – All Season Sport
There’s so many different ways to enjoy archery that it offers you a chance to shoot any time of year.
Shooting outdoors is definitely my favorite, and I love to attend 3d archery events where you shoot foam animals on a woods course. This is typically a spring through fall type of shooting. Rain or shine of course!
Don’t worry though because there’s plenty of indoor shooting to be had as well so you can stay cool in the hot summer months if you prefer, or move indoors during the frigid winter months.
I even once attended a winter outdoor shoot, it was lots of fun and added some new challenges.
7. It’s a Lifetime Hobby
Archery is a hobby you can start young and continue on well into your 70’s or even 80’s.
My daughter started shooting at age 7 and I could have started her even earlier if I wanted to. On the other end of the spectrum, I’ve shot with numerous bow hunters in their 70’s and it’s not uncommon to see older folks entering archery tournaments.
I didn’t start shooting til I was 12 or 13 but I’ve continued with it for over 25 years now. I’ve admittedly taken some time off here and there but I always come back to it because I find it relaxing, fun, and rewarding.
Just To Be Sure You Got The Gist
Archery is most definitely a good, even great sport/hobby to get into. I’m so glad that I got started when I did, and wish I’d started even younger.
The really cool thing about archery is that there’s so many different ways to enjoy it. There’s really nothing saying you have to hunt, or compete in an event, or even shoot with other people if you don’t want to. You can just plink arrows in your backyard, or you can get serious and still have fun.
Here’s just a few of the top ways you can enjoy this wonderful hobby:
- Bow Hunting
- Bow Fishing
- 3D Archery
- Field Archery
- Backyard Shooting
- Indoor Archery
- Olympic Archery
- Competition Archery
So get yourself a bow, some arrows, and a place to shoot and let’s get started! You’ll be glad you did.
