Sometimes all we need is to make a connection with nature. There are plenty of outdoor activities for that purpose. One of the most fun and beneficial activities is archery. A sport that has been around for centuries, it was practiced initially for survival. Today, people still opt for it as an outdoor hobby. It’s a good one if you’re trying to have a healthy lifestyle, while also looking very cool! Here’s why archery could be your perfect choice for an outdoor adventure. Are you looking for another excuse to go on outdoor adventures? Here are seven reasons to do archery as a hobby
Reasons Why Archery is the Ideal Hobby for Your Outdoor Adventures
You Can Start At Any Age
You need to be fairly young to start playing many of the famous sports like football and tennis. However, you can pick the bow and the arrow at any age and start enjoying it. There are tournaments held for kids and adults. There are even categories for people aged 60 to 70. If you don’t like tournaments and competitions, you can still just do it as a recreational activity.
You Can Pick Your Style
You can go to a forest and aim at a real game. Or you can play with one of those 3D foam animal-like targets, which is called 3D archery. There are many different types of archery. With field archery, you usually use compound bows, but some also use longbows or recurve bows. The target in field archery is a paper or bag target.
Target archery is a tournament that can be held outdoors or indoors with different types of bows, and the targets are large and round. There’s also traditional bow hunting, bow fishing, mounted archery, and 3D archery. Mounted archery is a very interesting type, as you get to do archery while riding a horse. It is as difficult as it sounds and you need to train the horse very well.
It’s important to know which bow works for which type of archery. You can also learn what additional gear you need for each type. The outdoor bloggers at https://tacticalhuntr.com/archery/ state that a bow sight will improve accuracy and increase your chances of hitting the target when deer hunting with a compound bow. You can find online more about bow hunting gear in dedicated outdoor websites.
It Has Mental Benefits
Nothing beats the feeling of hitting a target. It will increase your self-confidence. If you don’t hit the target, you will get resilient and work your way to hitting it next time. Archery also gives you feelings of calmness and self-motivation. You need to have patience, precision, and endurance to make hits. Moreover, you need a good focus to silence your surroundings and focus on the target. When you gain good focus from practicing archery, it will help you in different aspects of life.
It Has Physical Benefits As Well
Archery helps your hand-eye coordination. And the need to be still while aiming makes your body more in balance. It’s more physically demanding than it looks. It improves your hands and fingers’ strength as well. But you’re not only using your hands. You’re using your whole upper body like shoulders, arms, chest, and core. The activity is similar to lifting weights at the gym. So, archery is similar to exercising your upper body.
Anyone Can Do It
Yes, it is physically demanding, but with practice, anyone can do it. Doesn’t matter if you’re old, young, slim, heavy, tall, or short. There are even Paralympics for disabled people who excel at archery. You just have to develop a technique, and then by time, you will be strong and more fit.
You Can Discover New Places
To be an outdoor archer, you need to pick different spots for practice. This way, you will find out about various places and enjoy what nature has to offer. Got bored? There are always more places to discover. You can travel and take road trips to remote places.
Meet New People
Getting to meet new people comes with going to new places. You can befriend other archers at the hunting spots and the tournaments. If you’re in a team, you will bond with your team members and learn teamwork too. Being confident will inspire you to be more friendly and outgoing.
There’s no wonder archery never went out of style. It’s a sport anyone can pick up, and anyone will enjoy it. Apart from the fun, it’s really good for your mental and physical health. Making it a great choice if you want to change your lifestyle for the better. Hate gyms and prefer outdoor adventures? Archery is perfect as an exercise that burns calories like lifting weights. Except that archery is more calm and serene.
