Target Ideas

[Esquire]

I have recently had a variety of youth and adult bows donated to me, in various conditions, along with some arrows, arm guards and leather for finger tabs.

The purpose was to get a mess of neighborhood kids shooting, by providing opportunity. I now have (or soon will have) enough stuff to host a small archery club for kids.

I'm going to need to make some targets. I am soliciting ideas and links of all sorts related to creating some economical/durable/enjoyable targets for kids (and maybe some adults, if I can get their parents to join em) to shoot at.

I apreciate any suggestions you can make.

Mike

[mysticguido]

cardboard lots of it.. stack it flat so it looks like the block target. Make a wood frame to hold it tight, 3Rivers Archery has U-stuff-em targets- stuff them with anything.

[Esquire]

Shoot into the edging of the cardboard?

[Viper]

Esquire -

Yup, shooting in to the corrogated egde. For indoor shooting we used to use 18" sheets stacked about 6' - 7' feet high. Rotated the shot out part once a year or so. For out door stuff, used 8" wide sheets, but they were compressed with a wood frame and hydrolyic car jacks. Not sure what the current price of sheet cardboard is.

If you can make a frame, about 18 - 24" deep, with carpet on the back, and a plastic mesh screen in front, you can throw old rags in to it, filling it to he top, and tack a flat piece of card board in front of it. The rags dissipates the energy of the arrows and the cardboard holds them in place. Depending on who well the kiddies shoot, you may have to replace the card board face often.

Viper out.

[tuffshot]

We had a wall made of cardboard and it lasted for years at our old indoor range. With the youth bows, recurves and longbows, you will be surprised how durable it is. It needs to be laying flat so that the arrow enters the edge of the cardboard, with the two sheets and the corragation in the middle allows for expansion of the material as the arrow enters.

[DAS]

Esquire,
A local recycler might be a good cheap source of lots of cardboard. They might even give it to you free if you tell them about your youth program!

[Viper]

Gents -

Oh yeah, just forgot. One downside to the cardboard. It's pretty much unidirectional, so arrows always go in straight, or relatively so.

Viper out

[Heathen]

The cheapest targets that I have found is, buy the empty bag targets from an archery dealer and fill them full of srcap material (old insulated parkas work good) or those wretched plastic Wal-Mart bags. Stuff as fulll as you can and then add 10% more, and hand stitch them closed.
I buy the large replacement bags for $8 and the small ones for $5. I usually buy the big ones they give you more room for error. :)

Jim

[Scooter]

What Heathan said only I use shrink wrap for filling. I work in automotive and our warehouse throws tons of the stuff away. Small favor to have the guys set some aside for me. :)

I've also used this stuff as a filling for a target like Viper recommends and intend to make a 4' by 4' version this spring.

I would imagine Home Depot or Lowes probably has a lot of shrink wrap that they throw away.

[Heathen]

Forgot to add I buy the cheap(about $1 apiece)4' rebar like fence posts at Home Depot or Lowes and weld S hooks on them to hang the targets.

Jim

[Esquire]

Thanks guy for some good ideas. I think I can find plenty of cardboard. In fact I just left a message at a local recycling center. Walmart has tons of boxes that they will let me scavenge also. I imagine I'll throw together several targets of different types. I like the stuffings idea as well.

[danosage]

My favorite is to take a cardboard box and stuff it with plastic grocery bags. Cheap, durable & works great.

[the other DWS]

My current outdoor target is a variation on the bag type. I scrounged a "bulk bag" from an agricultural seed dealer. these bags are at least 5x4x4 made from the same fabric as the bag targets--but toughr and have very heavy duty woven nylon handles. in their intended use they hold about a ton of corn or soybeans so they are real heavy duty. they have a drawstring arrangement to close top and bottom. I took mine to a local lumber yard and had'em stomp all their shipping shrink wrap into the bag, it took a couple of months to fill it. down side is it weighs about 200 pounds and is a bear for one person to move and hang up---tip use a pickup truck--not a van. but it was all free and it'll last a lifetime

[Stick'em]

Esquire,

I applaud what you are doing for the sport.....thank you! :cheers:

[Torsten]

Esequire,
I think the background is well done now but like to suggest something funny for the kids to shoot at:
Empty coke cans (they give them a 'noise bonus' when hit), old plastic toys (every kid can bring his own favorite). Teddy bears not to be allowed.....

The kids should be able to concentrate more on single spots and have fun at the same time.

Have a lot of fun there

[BowDonkey]

I second the stuffed toys. Whenever the wife and kids are gone, I'll get out the longbow and some heavy blunts and stumpers. Grab a couple of the less popular ones, ie. ones that are less likely to be missed, and let drive. It really knocks the stuffing out of them. Lotsa fun watching little muffie explode.

[Heathen]

Tortsen,

I use the 20oz or 1 litre soda pop bottles. I take a broken arrow (which I have plenty of :) ) I stick the arrow in the ground and place the bottle over the arrow. Step off 30-50 yds and fire away. I use judo points for this, it saves time looking for arrows that miss the targets. Water balloons are fun to shoot also except for the wet fletchings. :shooting:

Jim