Archery | Target Materials

[@felixmoch117]

Cardboard targets are awesome! I use to make my targets out of cardboard waste that I get it for free from my work place. My first cardboard target was a cardboard box stuffed with strips of cardboard strips and pieces, that I roll or fold, all with the "edge" facing to the front. If you surround the box with tape, you can easily stuff a lot of cardboard inside without braking. If you can get a bunch of identical pieces of cardboard, you can also tape a stack of them together with tape under pressure. Just add a back and front plate of cardboard and it's ready to be used. Maybe the best thing about them is that they can be repaired extremely easily. Just open it at the front or the end, look for regions with low resistance and add or replace the cardboard. Put a new front and/or back panel on, fix the entire box again with tape and that's it. I've shot >2000 wooden 8mm and carbon 5,xmm arrows with my 30lbs recurve from about 20m distance at my 40cm deep target so far and there is no end to be seen. Very durable, very gentle to the arrows (0 damages so far) and very easy to retreive the arrows from it. And after all, dirt cheap! If you get the cardboard material for free (workplace, shops, ....) you jsut need to invest a little time and some tape. Highly recommended! I don't think I'll ever buy a target again, since I figured this method out.

[@przemysawchudzik9977]

Thanks man, thought about using cardboard, but now I know it works ^^

[@Amorwel]

I lose my arrowhead in carboard target..

[@felixmoch117]

@@Amorwel I've never had this problem. I use arrows with a glued-in tip that has the same diameter as the shaft. Do you use corrugated cardboard for the target?

[@Amorwel]

@@felixmoch117 I reciclated old carboard ,and i have too, glue tips,probably i have low quality arrows, i.m gonna change this type of arrow.

[@yussofross1417]

Same here, man. The only problem with cardboard is that they're so loud and my arrow heads keep dissappearing when I pull them out. I might change to PE foam soon.

[@MasterDashMD]

You are looking for an inexpensive solution, I Have been using the insulated covers for hot tubs and spas for a few years. They are made of a high density polystyrene and you can get the pads from spa and pool service stores as junk. The companies service the spas etc and bring the old, cracked, faded pads back to the shop, where they pay to have the trash companies to collect them. You can get these for free (take them! We don't have to for their collection!) or for a minimal cost. They have a vinyl cover, and are wrapped. Folded in half along its spine and the apparent thickness is doubled, also larger than a standard door and even -- in my case -- spread them out wider to catch stray arrows. They can be easily rotated and are weather-ish proof. A little susceptible to intense sunlight. one caveat is that the pads have a metal spine- at least here they do. I shoot some moderately heavy bows and it stops them. Some cleaning now and again on worn pads as they shed bits of expanded polystyrene. I have kept the costs to a minimum doing this. But then, I also wrap my bag targets in cling-wrap to hold colored squares of paper in place. Just some thoughts. Save $$ and spend them on bows, strings, arrows and other things.

[@ilovebeer74]

A material that hasn't been mentioned here is neoprene. I got a cardboard box (tea chest size from a Storage King $6) and filled it with off cuts of neoprene. I got the neoprene offcuts from a wetsuit manufacturer. I puts hundreds and hundreds of shots into each side of the box till its stuffed, then I just go and buy a new box. Cheap. Stops arrows from my compound and recurve. Arrows are easy to pull out. Neoprene doesn't wear out.

[@user-bo8yt4uc8b]

I love that easy pull foam target at 70m. You can hear all the bad shots, since the sound of the arrow hitting the black foam is so different than the sound if the arrow hitting the easy pull material in center.

[@stoutlager6325]

I've tried all the DIY materials for homemade targets. Over the years, the most cost effective option for me has been to use a DIY target as a backstop with a commercial crossbow discharge target hung in front of the center where 90% of my arrows are going to hit. Current setup is insulation foam with compression (block of wood top and bottom with ratchet straps on the sides) as large back stop, commercial 8" x 15" Morrell Yellow Jacket crossbow discharge target in the center. I cannot say enough good things about Morrell's targets. They stop extremely well and last for many thousands of shots. Since I use the smallest one they make, price is about $20-$25 each depending if there is a sale or not.

[@JoshuaCairns]

Where I live bails of hay are readily available, and they can be purchased compressed and even wrapped in industrial plastic.

[@hotchihuahua1546]

Joshua Cairns That's what I was using in 1965, works great for recurves and if you had permission from land owners who harvest the hay in large rolls is a cheap 3D course ! 😂

[@fancymcclean6210]

I pack rubberised floor mats into a box. Seems to work quite well and is an extremely cheap option. Like most folk, I won't pay the high prices for the commercial targets- and why are they so expensive? Flaxen Saxon

[@Baldavier]

where do you buy them from?

[@fancymcclean6210]

@@Baldavier I usually get them from 'The Warehouse' or 'K Mart'- but I live in New Zealand.

[@rizzmonster2695]

very insightful video on target materials. ive been using a large cardboard box I bought from a hardware store for about a dollar and a large amount of plastic off a pallet from a grocery store. I pretty much just kept stuffing the box until it was firm and then quickly taped the top before it expanded out of the box. kind of curious to hear about other people's home targets. mine lasts a couple weeks before I need a new box if I am able to shoot every day. still haven't gotten new plastic. it lasts a long while apparently.

[@horrovac]

How about getting several foam mattresses from a recycling yard and layering them? They should be made from the heavy, "sticky" type of foam that should work well. I've just started on archery and have improvised a stopper so I can practice drawing and releasing at home. I have paper in front (old catalogues), about 2cm thick, then packing paper from the box my bow came in loosely folded together to provide a bit of give for the front layer, then several layers of rags (old fleece sweater cut up) pinned to the front of a 15cm thick block of foam I had laying around. The arrows from the 40 pound wooden recurve (samick polaris) punch through the paper layers but not through the fleece rags, and they compress the foam by about 5cm . I think this would be a viable construction. A sacrificial layer of cheap material (cardboard facing the shooter), on a sacrificial layer of elastic material (paper snippets, bubble wrap, plastic foil), followed by an impermeable textile layer on a foam cushion.

[@bowman321123]

A really satisfactory target I made out of a carpet remnant. Layered and bound together or in a frame it stops arrows and is a cheap or no cost alternative to the commercial targets that I have.

[@tyrael280]

at my club we have few outdoor targets with layers of rubber (like your with cardboards, but black rubber form carpets) ; very heavy but great for all kind of arrows. we also have stramit ones for 10/20/30m targets and foam for 50/70m targets

[@YaofuZhou]

10:43 sounds like someone tried to shoot you and missed LOL

[@huyphan2005]

Yaofu Zhou He dodged it ;v LOL

[@TwistedApex]

He was wearing a shirt with a target on the back

[@ketchuppedase2867]

Alhamdulillah this video poped out just when i purchased target butt for my "backyard shooting". usually i use used cardboards stack together for target material but it broke easily after about a hundred shots. now im waiting for my eva foam target to be sent and i hope it is better combined with my cardboards. thanks for your info sensei.

[@gglovato]

"Due to popular demand, we take a look at our butts." OH MY :3 *snerk* i love descriptions that can be taken out of context

[@calimero5216]

Guillermo Lovato Fan tas tic...!!😂😂🐥

[@bobl.1044]

There's nothing quite like a good double entendre!

[@cameronstewart6636]

This video (and others) has inspired me to make a how to on the targets I build. Rant warning: I have used several types throughout the years for myself and my club. my abbreviated story: I have used commercial bag targets, hay and straw bales, DIY clothing/plastic boxes (both cardboard and wood frame), and commercial foam. I find that in the targets I've used, there are pro's and con's. Commercial bag targets have given me trouble because the sun and arrows give the polypropylene covers a beating from which it doesn't recover. I used to combat this by getting the $40 youth targets in December when they were on sale for $30, then after a year, I would sell them for $10-15. You can buy replacement covers for $20, but it is some work and you lose some "beauty". I also acquired about 2 dozen straw bales for free, through serendipity about 2.5 years ago. The drawback to them is: they are biological; weather, animals, and arrows eventually destroy them. I would be surprised if they last another year. DIY targets I make now are some wood frames, a thick layer of plywood on the back, thinner. often 1x4 wood on the other four sides and cardboard on top to hold it all in; minimally screwed in. A third frame of 2x2's (important) protects all of this and adds another layer of cardboard. As I've recently learned, plastic/clothing can be added between cardboard layers if desired. I have yet to find any arrow/bolt not work well with it. Arrow removal varies from not too bad to almost incredible. This is my favorite, but it can weigh enough to have movement be a pipe dream... or a forklift dream. Commercial foam is great, but like polypropylene, doesn't last against the sun forever; I have more experience with the

[@georgeemil3618]

I'm saving my pizza boxes, old magazines and annual corporate reports. Might get heavy but when you pull out your arrow, you'll get pieces of paper instead of plastic and foam rubber.

[@williamwarren9672]

😊

[@ericsimoneau4818]

I wonder if xps insulation sheets would be good. Cause here in canada you can get 4'×8' by 2inch thick sheets for not to much money.

[@ssevikeroutdoors7706]

Thanks all the info! I use old cotton pillows stuffed it cartoon boxes. Works with my 60 Lb compound bow up to the point where cotton pussed out to other side. Then I rearrange cotton and the box. Thin layers of floor isolation foams work too.

[@PhotogNT]

I use one of the 1 metre x 1 metre Eleven targets with a 20cm yellow centre. As you said the yellow centre is reversible. In home practice use I would expect this target to last me many years so the cost works out quite economical in my situation. One thing you may be interested in if the dark foam surrounding the yellow centre gets shot out you can buy an oversize yellow centre, the regular centre is 20cm the oversize centre is 24cm so you just lay the oversize centre mark out where the new centre will go and cut the dark foam out to fit.

[@LOFIGSD]

I use cardboard, thought about hay/straw, but live in Countryside so too many mice around, if arrows stick, some vaseline in the Quiver tubes, makes them easier to pull out.

[@carsonhastie4771]

Where we live we can easily get coconut leave targets also known as cogon , where it is rolled up and formed as a circle target which is fine and can fit a big target face and if u cover it from the rain it will last for more than 3 years, eventually the center will get soft but what we did is just but a little foam at the back and its fine, the cool part is when you break in the center it will sound softer and you will know that you hit center, so to summarize: it lasts long as long as you cover it, its cheap, its always available(depending on where you live) and its easy to push around.

[@ToshioThunder]

Around here we use bales of hay.

[@darquesand]

I'm curious about your target mount/stand. Looks like a DIY item.

[@johnbarron4265]

NUSensei, would you consider doing a comparison of target face materials: such as ordinary paper, Tyvek, spunbond polypropylene, and Ultraflex vinyl? I've been wondering which material is most economical in the long run.

[@More-Space-In-Ear]

One thing you can do with that last target, the foam one, is when the black starts getting bad, you can just push the gold level with the back and turn the whole board around...

[@SLASHERamc]

Can I use a foam bed?

[@kyy7944]

Seems that there's a lot of stuff I don't know about butts

[@OriginalMudSlinger]

clay blanket clay blanket clay blanket clay blanket clay blanket board keep damp and covered cheaper and saves damage to your arrows and you can easy make right with a simple plastering trowel and a flannel to wipe of your arrows

[@NakedUndone]

Do different targets require different points? I have some arrow tips that look like target points, but they're quite sharp. They work great for the dense, cardboard target I'm using, but I'm using an old house (which I want to tear down) as a backstop so if I miss, the arrows embed themselves three or four inches into the wall and are very difficult to retrieve. I'm thinking blunter tips and a styrofoam target would cause me less grief.

[@GaryLiseo]

If you get a target made of medium- or high-density foam (styrofoam and low-density foam aren’t very effective at stopping arrows) you should be fine to keep using your sharper field tips. Where are arrows stopping at the house? If they’re hitting something too hard and stopping too quickly it can cause cracks or other damage (more common on carbon arrows) making your arrows dangerous to use

[@serhiiromaniuk2431]

In our club, we always use (both for static and dynamic targets) the "expanded polyethylene" material. There are a lot of types, though for archery we normally use 100x100 cm square blocks, 10 cm in depth, placed one after another in a row (forming 20 cm depth). It costs like ~17 dollars each piece (at least in our country), and it's extremely good for the archers' purposes. It does wear out, naturally, but it lasts quite for a long time. It looks like this: lukpro.com/uploads/images/articles/2017/Feb/15/%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%BD%20%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%BA%2001.jpg lirida-shop.by/images/stories/virtuemart/product/isblock3_cr.jpg

[@rexromana]

what filling would you recommend for a 150lb crossbow? I'm thinking of cardboard and plastic with a cork-board backing to prevent over-penetration. wanting to shoot in the backyard.

[@ddeboy002]

put in some cheap burbur scrap carpet. I have cardboard, 5" plastic pushed down then carpet in the back. Works like a charm and lasts a long time.

[@PBS-nm1uu]

great presentation, thanks for the info.

[@Shokukumi]

Great! I was just thinking about cardboard as a target. I suppose if you stacked the cardboard horizontally instead of vertically, the surface would be hard as a rock, so you have to layer it vertically, no?

[@felixmoch117]

Everon No. This might be true for blunt projectiles, but since arrows are pointy, they will squeeze inside and between the layers. Your target will last longer this way than if you "punch holes" in vertically stacked cardboard. Just don't compress them with a hydraulic press until the cardboard layers collapse ;)

[@GaryLiseo]

I’d be curious to figure out a target material which equally works well with lighter and heavier draw weights, maybe even broadheads too. This way you could have one target for archers of all skill levels and training with a variety of equipment

[@NUSensei]

Foam is the go-to material for targets. The problem is that broadheads will rip up anything, so anything you shoot broadheads into will have a much shorter life expectancy.

[@KILLKING110]

I use target on a 100 dollar target that can take both arrow head types its a nice target and it has targets on all sides so you can get a good target for a reasonable price

[@mangosap4668]

How thick is the foam?

[@RonKelmell]

A piece of glue backed carpet 2'X12' rolls into a nice animal torso shape. Tied with 550 cord, easy pull, long lasting, inexpensive, hang on a limb or laying on the ground., Rotate as wear becomes apparent. Re-roll starting with the outside end to use the entire carpet. My 50# longbow penetrates 2-3 layers. Rubber backed carpet black stains the arrows by friction/heat.

[@agelette3482]

Is using wooden logs a no-go? I have stacks of them in my backyard and it’s readily available for me rather than having to pay for actual targets, i was planning on just putting paper targets in front of the wooden logs and shoot at that. I’m not sure if it’s recommended because it could possibly damage my arrows....

[@konz2891]

I mean, you can do it. You will need to replace your arrows a lot more though and at that point you may as well just buy a proper target.

[@DarxusC]

You know we'd love a video of you repacking one of your plastic targets.

[@RubbinRobbin]

Would you recommend closed cell foam, and what is self healing foam called, is that memory foam?

[@AG-hw1uz]

Probably doesn't help you anymore but i think its a type of eva foam

[@shamux4043]

I built my own target by sandwiching many strips of used carpet (instead of plastic) vertically inside a wooden frame so that the arrow lodges between the strips.

[@gglovato]

now i want to make cheap foam targets... time to check industrial foam manufacturers in the area and come up with a plan.....

[@thedeicide]

I prefer the stramiet, I think its verry durable. It takes a LOT of arrows before it starts to deteriate. And yes if its new it will be hard to get the arrows out, but after a while its just perfect. But if we have to set up our outdoor target we have made a foam target. Just because of the weight. But the foam target isn't that durable. Already our arrows are comming halfway through it. We dont have a store bought foam target, we want too but its verry expensive. Only a smal group of our club uses the moveble targets, Just a small group is shooting longer distances and thats where we use the moveable targets, we have a big stramiet target (for 10 targets) but its only used for 25 en 18 meters. They are build like a wall and are on wheels and require at least 2 to 4 people to move them.

[@perfectdoll4112]

My workplace throws away loads of cardboard and i might know a source for plastic so i think ill stick to diy for now. Tight budgets and all

[@ee222]

ouch!! at 0:42 , i suppose you guys have it and didn't show it, but those tires have no protection against strays! if you don't have anything, it seems like you should provide some kind of wood protection around the front of the tires.

[@JustNobodyButME]

They are probably never flat tires.

[@ryansy7060]

In aa pinch, I've used stacked banana stalks.

[@Carsgunsnfishin]

Can you make a video on how to use an arrow puller

[@111raybartlett]

Been using stacked old carpet, stops my 45# nicely.

[@jeffreysever5210]

What about sand enclosed in box frames, and filled from the open top for non-movable targets, with replaceable canvas front?

[@NUSensei]

I wonder what happens if you put sand in a container, and then put a hole in the container...

[@bobl.1044]

@@NUSensei Sand also isn't going to be kind at all to arrows. It's weathered and pulverised rock. I think he should use water instead to fill his target 😉

[@TheNukedNacho]

My local archery ranges uses hay and I think EVA foam

[@social3ngin33rin]

YEAH!!!!! The cardboard one!!!! :D And it's actually biodegradable!!!! :D

[@endurosl20081]

I build my own targets out of cardboard boxes and old clothes. They are not very heavy, but they are extremely cheap and never damage the arrows.

[@MM0IMC]

Thanks for the info! Handy to know...

[@highlander200268]

what about carpet pieces? i have seen many targets with compressed carpet as a target?, it seems work

[@NUSensei]

Carpet works very well. We don't use it because we don't really need to - we have plenty of cardboard and plastic, and we can acquire more foam. Carpet is more popular with backyard shooting.

[@PEPPERS777]

can someone help me out, i'm looking for a strong material to use behind my targets to catch the arrows i'd hang it from the ceiling so a strong kind of canvas

[@anbudrew]

Has anyone tried compressing old clothes in a cardboard box? I only have a 35 lb crimean tatar bow but it works just fine. The arrows have never gone through the back and have never even come close to penetrating the middle layers. I simply layered some old socks and underwear on top of an old shirt and folded it in half. The result was a 3.5-4 inch thick layer of old clothes plus a single layer of corrugated cardboard. I shot it at 10 feet (because i havent set up a proper target yet) and none of my arrows went through. Right now im using the box my laptop came with. Im happy with it because its free. Just wish it was bigger.

[@samuelalbury1151]

my friend does he shoots in his house

[@VincenteCarrizales]

if you have land... Use a comforter or sheet. Paint animals or targets on them. *Only tie 2 sides

[@limki]

How about (multiple) flatscreen boxes filled with PU(spray) foam?

[@felixmoch117]

Ladislav Mikeš Probably works for a while, but as PU foam is usually quite hard once it's set, I guess it will break away quickly in the main impact area. Might still be repairable, though.

[@ayubi2113]

my club use foam but doesn't have that cute yellow dot

[@veteran35th]

Stramit targets suck. Everyone complains about losing points. Our target are outside year round and I'm pretty sure heat, rain, cold etc etc makes it harder over time. Hate it when I'm told to use the stramit targets.

[@stevec5922]

Square wooden frame approx 36" long sides and 12" deep. Chicken wire over the front and back stuffed with old clothes/rags then plastic weave ground cover fabric over the wire. Lasts forever, doesn't leave bits of cardboard all over like cardboard box targets, minimal maintainence - just recover the faces once a year. Downside is that it is heavy but does work very well.

[@medievalterrence9691]

I enjoy your videos very much and you have very good information, but you could edit them so that they are a lot shorter.

[@a-tone2038]

watch them at 1.25, or 1.5x speed. Under 'Settings' you can change this.

[@bobl.1044]

@@a-tone2038 Top Tip Even better; download them, load into a video editor app, set framerate to 100,000 fps and you can watch them in about a second 😉

[@AndrewArndts]

that has come a long way from the compressed bails of cardboard for a target.

[@davidhefner5668]

Hay bails gift wrapped with plastic tarp to keep dry.

[@Marmocet]

Arrows will typically experience ~6000-9000g of deceleration when they hit targets like this.

[@OriginalMudSlinger]

large chainmail net behind target hung like a curtain

[@nowlindventura5015]

The club I go to has a whole wall filled with Yellow Books, not sure how many books wide but considering how paper is similar to Cardboard I guess it's about the same. Cant remember how well it was stopping the arrow. Saw peolle shooting 40lb Compounds at 20Meters and it stopped it fine.

[@adolphstalin9193]

Oh I just get a block of wood

[@georgeemil3618]

Ever hit a wooden fence? Pulling the arrow out is like pulling out a nail. And you can bend the arrow.

[@Baldavier]

Thank you

[@emmanuelperez9490]

My target is simply a pile of books

[@Stayhard21]

Can u diliver me this please donate 🙄🙄

[@konz2891]

No.

[@cykachu8080]

First everything

[@cykachu8080]

Also P.S where is your club Sensei?

[@MrEye4get]

Plastic is cheap and a ecological disaster. Why shoot broadheads at a target? They do much more damage. Aren't broadheads hard to remove as well?