Anyone have a good plan for a homemade target?

All-thread,washers,nuts,2x10's,cardboard. :peace:

problem solved getting a big cardboard block from a factory that is pressed together. should be able to take a beating.

problem solved getting a big cardboard block from a factory that is pressed together. should be able to take a beating.

T them can be really rough on arrows,

T them can be really rough on arrows,

make you a2x4 frame and put chicken wire round it and stuff it really full old rags
if you can git some quilted shirt material it will be better,some burlap if possible all mis=xed up in 1' by 1' pieces then top it off with plywood.

I have heard mixed things about the cardboard, i know they can be tough to pull an arrow out of but i thought maybe it would loosen up after it takes a bit of a beating. we toss a lot of arrows in a week and the black holes and such dont last more than a month and they are all shot out. We have a Mckenzie shot blocker that is starting to show wear already and it is only two weeks old. At the moment weve got a Mckenzie a Black Hole a Block 4X4 a Delta Tree Stand Buck and a Mckenzie Buck (large). It all adds up fast quick and in a hurry. Looking to add more 3D targets if the cost of the block targets go down.

get your self some Magicstop Bag targets, and when the cover wears out, get you a new cover.....


the indoor league I shoot in, has card board as the backstop, gets chewed up pretty easy......

get your self some Magicstop Bag targets, and when the cover wears out, get you a new cover.....


the indoor league I shoot in, has card board as the backstop, gets chewed up pretty easy......


its like a 500lb pallet of compressed cardboard well maybe not 500lbs but its not light

its like a 500lb pallet of compressed cardboard well maybe not 500lbs but its not light

yeah you should see how big the back stops are and how much they weigh......and they still get chewed up.....you will see......

im not doubting anyone when they point out the bad things, just trying to shoot without it costing an arm and a leg for targets when anywhere from 2-4 guys toss a hundred arrows each at a target day after day it wears on them fast.

My way is cheap. And you can easily repair it when the need arrives.

gonna try a bunch of different ways bhh i dont care if its ugly or not just so long as it works lol

My dad had a friend of his make us a bear out of some sort of spray foam. THis guy makes fiberglass animals and the foam is part of the process I guess.:noidea: Charged us about 30 bucks. We probably shot it 600 to 700 times still good as new.

My dad had a friend of his make us a bear out of some sort of spray foam. THis guy makes fiberglass animals and the foam is part of the process I guess.:noidea: Charged us about 30 bucks. We probably shot it 600 to 700 times still good as new.

is he interested in selling another one or two targets? pm me and let me know how to contact him if you could.

This may help, although the picture is too small to really appreciate it, and I am tired of fiddling with it. I took this information for making targets from rigid foam insulation off another site. It may be worth a shot and with the threaded rod you can adjust the compression of the foam so that as it gets shot-up just tighten it up. Then once in a while take it apart and replace the foam panels that are completely destroyed.



It is Dow extruded polystryene foam insulation (0.25”x4’x50’)
which is 1/4-inch thick. Dupont also makes EPS foam insulation, but it's pink.
Essentially the same stuff.

You can make a plate by making a 2x4 frame and then sheath it with 3/4-inch plywood.
Threaded rod on all 4 corners, and then compress.

Adjust the tension so that it stops your arrows and doesn't make it too hard to pull your arrows out.

what about hay bales and paper targets?

I was looking into building a large target a few months ago so I could shoot 3 - 4 guys at a time and each have their own target, I looked into quite a few options, my goal was a sub 100.00 4ft x 4 ft target, this would allow 4 5 spot targets to be shot at the same time without overlap and crazy angles. right now I have an Outdoor range which works well for 3 people if you just want to shoot circles, if you want to shoot a 5 spot or 3 spot you cannot do this due to the size of the bale being to small, quickly ruins the multiple shooting at once part of my plan.

keep in mind the depth of the target. Everyone I spoke with said a min of 8" is required, much less than that and arrows will come out the back almost immediately. 10 inches was min recommended.

- insulation targets = very expensive, they have gone up in price quickly as they almost all use petroleum. When I priced out sheets a few months ago for a 4' x 4' x 12" target would be about 150 bucks, before tax and that was the cheapest I found for the foam, also felt fairly weak and "flaked" off easily so there would be a mess from shooting it.

sheets of 4x8x1/2 are about 10.00 each, if I remember the math correctly to get a target 4feet wide and 2 feet tall it was approx 60.00 give or take and 120.00+ for the foam.

** fyi, I was advised the narrower the sheets the better due to arrows sliding between layers... you can do a little better with thicket insulation (ie: 1" or 2" as they are a bit cheaper but they also need replaced much more often). If you use the 2" stuff you can get by for about 1.50 / inch of target height... total being about 75.00 but it won't last very long


- Fiber board is even more expensive, apparently it used to be cheap but it isn't anymore. They also get shot through and burn crap onto the arrows. When looking into this there are 2 options, the soundproof material (forget the name) was close to 28.00 / sheet and I would have needed approx 6 sheets for the size needed. The fiber board was approx 18.00 / sheet however it is thinner and I think I needed something like 10 sheets to meet the size I was looking for. The total price was over 150.00.



In addition the arrow pulling from these things is crap!

- Carpet is a great option, if you can find enough and it works pretty well. Great solution for targets, just make sure you don't have the glue on the carpet as it will make a mess, also I've heard that different kinds of the mesh that the carpet is attached to can cause issues but I haven't witnessed this personally. If you have friends in the carpet business this is the ticket! They throw the old stuff out anyway, may as well recycle it.

- Cardboard... the classic! It works, its always worked, it has so many negatives going for it that I can understand why anyone uses it but I have a stack of board waiting to have more added so I can build mine...the list of negatives is endless. Its heavy, it performs poorly in the cold, it burns onto arrows, easily shot through, insanely tough depending on toughness... but its free :rockon:

what about hay bales and paper targets?

Most hay isn't bound tight enough to stop modern arrows, plus it rots quickly and is to heavy to move easily. Also infested with bugs, attracts more bugs and is generally not a good material to use anymore :noidea:

well i got some cardboard now its time to start tinkering when the weather allows it.

i have lost arrows through bales of hay even the large round bails dont work at all because of rot etc

well i got some cardboard now its time to start tinkering when the weather allows it.

Looks like you have been to my workplace. We have balers that compress and band cardboard just like that.

Got them from an electic motor plant in Black River Falls. The bands are definitely going I am going to use tie down straps the ratcheting cloth ones.

Got Cardboard???

Got them from an electic motor plant in Black River Falls. The bands are definitely going I am going to use tie down straps the ratcheting cloth ones.

Stack the cardboard and use the all thread method w/ 2x6's. It will work MUCH better

Got Cardboard???

think i could swap jcmorgan for a staff shooter shirt? if only cardboard were gold id be a rich man. i sure hope smokes dont notice the back window of my truck he will want to perform an excorscism.

started cutting up bales of cardboard today got all enthused the cardboard was just a flying. chain saw died no more flying cardboard. Have to get it looked at. Maybe tomorrow.