I was at my sister's house yesterday for dinner. After we ate, my dad & I headed outside to play with his crossbow. (He can legally hunt with it, due to doctor verified disability that prevents him from drawing a conventional bow, but chooses not to. He "thought" about it, but is pretty much a rifle hunter, so he just plays with it year round for kicks. So please, no "anti-crossbow" rants. )

Anyway, we were shooting a styrofoam block when my uncle (my dad's twin) showed up. He said something to the effect of "Can you hit anything with that thing?". I laughed and told him to take off his hat and set it on the bale. He got a bit cocky, set his hat on the block, and said "I'll give you ten shots to hit it!". I looked at my dad and smiled.

He loaded up, aimed, and WHACK, sent one right through the hat, knocking it to the ground. My uncle's face lit up, and he yelled "God d***, that's my favorite hat!". My dad reloaded, and WHACK, stuck it again! My uncle is yelling "That's enough, knock it off!". Another reload, and WHACK! This time it hit sideways right through where the bill attaches, and literally knocked the brim off of the rest of the hat!

By now my dad and I were laughing so hard I don't know if he could've hit it again, but the point was made.

After we picked up his hat, he apparently STILL had his doubts, and asked ME if I could shoot it that good. He was drinking a beer (don't worry, no alcohol was consumed by the shooters), so I took his can and set it on top of the block. Walked back about 20 yards, and proceeded to drain his can through two neat holes, one in the front and one right behind it going out the back!

I think at that point he realized that he would probably lose any other bets he cared to make, so he walked back inside, grabbed another beer, and spent the rest of his time by the pool.

Just having a little fun with my dad... I'm not sure we could go four for four again on demand, but it sure worked yesterday!