LAST UPDATED: May 1st, 2015
My sister’s passion for the outdoors is just as strong as mine. We’ve both followed right along in our Dad’s boot tracks since we were five years old. We started out with .22 rifles and have worked our way up through the years to bigger guns and even bows (and not the kind you put in your hair). My little sister, Adriana, and I have always loved shooting our bows. When we were little, we began shooting the toy bows (with no sights) at targets in the yard. Through the years we have both worked our way up to compound bows and crossbows. Adriana just turned twelve and she loves shooting her Mission compound bow, especially at 3-D targets. She practices year round and we often have friendly archery competitions and she can definitely hold her own.
If you’re looking for a good way to get your child into the outdoors before they are ready for a standard bow, take a look at the crossbow.
Adriana is a great shot and would love to archery hunt here in Illinois but she can’t quite pull back the required poundage yet. Luckily, Adriana got a Mission MXB-360 crossbow before deer season this past year. She loved getting it sighted in and trying something new, since she had never shot a crossbow before. Adriana loved the crossbow and was thrilled to find out that starting last fall, after the second shotgun season, she could go deer hunting with her crossbow. She practiced more and more with the crossbow as soon as she found out; in hopes that she would make a perfect shot on a deer in the fall.
The crossbow is perfect for her to hunt with and since she had it, she could continue to hunt through the rest of archery season. Using a crossbow has opened up a new door of hunting opportunities for Adriana. She enjoyed having a longer season than what she is used to because before she could only shotgun and muzzleloader hunt. This amount of time isn’t very long compared to the amount of time that is allowed for archery season. Crossbow hunting is also more challenging for her because the deer have to be closer than when hunting with a gun. Since she had practiced so much with her crossbow, she also improved her shooting skills for gun hunting.
I really enjoyed spending time with my sister in the blind as she tried to fill her crossbow tag.
After many early morning and cold evenings, Adriana never got a chance at the buck she was hoping would be her first with a crossbow. Adriana never gave up though. She was a trooper and was in the tree stand at times when even some grown men wouldn’t be and she was more than happy to be there. Although she didn’t shoot a deer with her trusty MXB-360 she drilled a coyote while he was sneaking by her tree stand one evening.
Although it wasn’t a buck, my sister couldn’t have been happier after tagging this coyote with her Mission MXB-360.
I think she was just as happy with that coyote as she would have been with a 150-inch buck! She couldn’t wait to show him off and tell everyone the story. All of her practice and time she had put in paid off for her. She was proud to have him and we were happy to have one less deer and turkey predator on the farm. There is no telling what Adriana will have shot in a year’s time with her crossbow. I can’t wait to see.
