Watching my husband shoot bows with our oldest son, 
Dustin, looked like so much fun that I decided it would be great to join in on the action. I told my husband, Toby, that I was interested in getting a bow and he immediately started doing some research trying to find which bow would be the best for me. It was not long before we were on our way to the bow shop to purchase my bow. After checking out a couple of bows we decided that the best bow for me was a Hoyt.
Unfortunately testing out the bow was not a good experience for me. I had never owned a bow but have been around hunters all of my life so I knew a little about setting the draw length. We had already checked to see what draw length I would need. However, the bow shop 
worker thought I needed a much longer draw. Let’s just say my arm was extremely sore after that first shot and I did not shoot again that day. Anyone who shoots a bow can tell you how painful a bow string burn is. Toby said my bruise was the worst he had ever seen from a bow burn. Luckily, someone else was in the shop to help set things up correctly. My draw was quickly set to the correct length and a few extra items were thrown in, one of those being an arm guard.
Thankfully I did not let that day discourage me from shooting my bow. I was soon joining in the fun as Toby and Dustin shot their bows. It immediately became a passion. Although, we tried to interest our youngest son, Logan, into shooting he had shown no prior interest. We encouraged him to join us but did not want to pressure him. We knew that if he wanted to join in then he would let us know. Logan would sit and watch from the sidelines as we shot our bows and it didn’t take long before Logan started to take an interest and decided he was ready to learn how to shoot. Logan did not have his own bow but he started shooting Dustin’s bow 
with some help from Toby. The decision was quickly made that we would get Logan a bow for his 5th birthday, which was only a couple of weeks away.
After Logan received his bow, shooting together became a family affair. Soon we were shooting our bows together everyday. Toby and I would hang apples from fishing line so they would dangle up and down giving us the opportunity to shoot at a moving target. We would put balloons on the targets so Dustin and Logan could shoot at them which added a little more excitement than just shooting at a still 3D or box target all the time.
Our children are almost 9 and 7 years old and they are always anxious for the family bow shoots. Any time Toby or I ask, “Who would like to shoot their bow?” We hear two excited voices yelling back, “I Do!” “I Do!” It is like music to our ears. We grab the bows and head outside for some family fun.
On a day spent outside recently, we noticed how well Dustin has his posture down for shooting his bow. He looked like a little pro holding his bow as he looked at the target, drawing the bow back, taking aim and finally releasing. He watched at his arrow hit its intended spot on the box target.
Last year, Logan had a hard time pulling the bow back on his own. 
Toby or I would help him get set up for his shot. This year, Logan is inserting his own arrows. He does not need help drawing his bow back and he is doing wonderful as he shoots at his intended targets. It is such a pleasure watching as our children accomplish the goals they strive for.
Although Toby, has harvested several deer using his bow, I have not had the opportunity to make a harvest with my bow yet. I look forward to making that first harvest one day. In the meantime, I continue to shoot my bow, learning and improving on my ability as I go. We know that shooting our bows together is something that will help all of us to improve. There is always room for improvement.
There are days when you will find not only Toby and I shooting bows with our sons but you will also find grandparents, uncles and other family members. They will be right there with us enjoying the day. Shooting bows together has become a family affair. It is something that we as a family enjoy doing and the quality time together is priceless. We still enjoy sitting down to watch a movie or playing a game together but we LOVE shooting our bows together as a FAMILY.
