I’ve not lost an arrow during practice in a very long time. To me, losing an arrow is money down the drain. It was one of those things I didn’t see coming.
I’d been practicing at 80 yards. After 30 arrows I moved back to 90 yards. That’s when it happened.
The range is bordered on either side by trees. I keep their limbs trimmed to provide clearance for arrows. The problem with trees and limbs is they continue to grow.
On the very first arrow at 90 yards I heard the slight snap as it intersected with a limb. I then thought I heard the arrow smack into the target. When I walked up to pull the arrows there was one missing. Where is landed I may never know. I searched to no avail.
Behind the target butts there’s a slight natural berm. It is covered with underbrush. You probably couldn’t find a wallet in the ground cover there much less an arrow. Still, I tried. The entire time I looked I was hoping not to find a rattlesnake or copperhead. Last year I shot an arrow at a rattlesnake there in the brush. The snake twisted, squirmed, and slid deeper into the brush. Then, there was silence. I didn’t verify the outcome deciding the arrow, which seemed to have passed through the snake was sacrificed.
I never found it. Money down the drain.