Most archers are in clubs where you have little chance of losing arrows, but some people are lucky enough to have a big garden or farmland where they can shoot just for fun. The problem is, they can lose their arrows pretty quickly, which takes the fun out of it. We like you to lose your arrows eventually, otherwise we will go out of business, but we want you to have many hours of fun with them first.

If your target is on a level piece of grass, any arrows which miss the target will disappear into the roots of the grass and be very difficult to find. When you start shooting, push a small piece of wood into the ground where you are standing, and when you shoot an arrow which misses the target, keep your eyes on the spot where you saw it land, walk up to that spot and push another arrow upright in the ground there. This will give you a straight line from where you shot the arrow to where it landed, so by looking in the grass further along this line you have a smaller area to search in. If the ground is dry, you can take your shoes off and do a little sideways walk behind the marker arrow, because your feet will feel the straight line of the lost arrow which you wouldn't notice with shoes on. When you find lost arrows in the grass, don't lift them straight up, which may snap them, but pull them backwards in a straight line until they are clear of the grass. If the fletchings are buried, find the point of the arrow and pull it forwards, which will prevent damage to the fletchings.

If your grassy area is on a slope, put your target so that you are shooting uphill, not downhill, which will mean that arrows which miss will be at a greater angle to the ground. Best of all is if you have got a mound of earth or bank somewhere which you can put your target in front of and which will catch any misses. This is what the "butts" were, a mound of earth behind the targets, not the actual targets. If you have a stream on your ground, the opposite bank makes an excellent butt for your arrows. The best advice on not losing arrows is to ask yourself before each shot is, where will it go if I miss?

If you have got a sufficient area of ground, then "clout" shooting is great fun. Put a coloured piece of card on a stick and push it upright in the ground. Walk away for about 130 yards, according to the strength of your bow, and then shoot back at this marker so that your arrows drop down around it. This is how the archers in medieval times fought their battles. It can be very difficult to get near the marker at first, but you get better and better with practise, and the arrows will be sticking upright with no chance of being lost.

Of course, you must always be sure that there is no danger to any person or animal when you are shooting. When I used to practise in my own back garden I used to shoot from the bottom fence back towards my house, not the other way. My target was in front of one of my windows, but it was my window. All the while your arrows land on your property you are fine, but if they land in your neighbour's property, you are in real trouble.