target

[jerv]

I'm going to try to make an archery target for a forty to fifty pound bow. I might try to make it like a deer (roe) or boar shape with all the bones (bad) and vitals (good) marked out. any suggestions on materials or sizes. thanks

 

[stovie]

Chickenwire and straw come immediately to mind. Then wrap the whole thing with brown cloth. But with a hefty 50lb draw you will have to pack it tight.

Another idea is stuff old pillows in the chickenwire, they absorb the impact quite well. But don't do what I did....sorry love

 

[Grooveski]

Been thinking of trying to do the same thing. Spotted a cheap plastic deer model in the local market and was toying with squirting it full of cavity wall insulation(at my work they use another type of foam for temporarily filling big cracks in concrete - similar but tougher when hardened).
Could maybe even use the model as a reusable template to make paper maiche shells to fill.

Was wandering round a garden centre last weekend. They were selling all sorts of christmas decorations...
...including life-sized reindeer .
(Crazy prices though, nearly as much as a proper 3d target ).

 

[Carcajou Garou]

In my youth we made our own backing targets out of 2" x 4" and construction tentest boards. The tentest comes in 4' x 8' x 1" (particle sheeting with a tar coating) was cut in 6" strip x 4' long. This gave you 16 pcs per sheet and 16" of target thickness per sheet, you need average 4 sheets per backing board depending on you needs. Once the strips are cut, lay out a hole location 4-5" from the top and bottom of each strip and drill a hole about 9/16" so you can later pass a 1/2" threaded rod through. Cut a 2" x 4" x 4' (2 per side) and also drill out a 9/16" hole in the same location as the tentest. Get some threaded rods (2 per target) 1/2" dia x 6' long and align the tentest strips edgewise with a 2" x 4" on either side; thread the rod (with a large washer & nut on one side) through the assembled tentest and wood and install a large washer and nut on the opposite end, snug the nut down not tight yet. Now insert the second threaded rod through the bottom holes and repeat with washer and nut, now thighten them both compressing the tentest board as you go. This board needs good compression as it will grab the arrow as it goes through your target; now you are ready to make a stand to support your backing board. This system is rather heavy it is good for a fixed location. Another way is to take closed cell foam and layer it with glue inbetween sheets till you get a desired effective thickness depends on quality of closed cell foam make an appropriate stand to hold all of it together. hope this helps. CG :yo:

 

[jdlenton]

lots and lots of card board boxes opened out and laminated in to about a 3 to 4 inch thick

James

 

[Snufkin]

My target is a strip of carpet doubled over and laced up the sides to make a pocket. I stuff the pocket loosely with rags. The carpet is stiff enough to hold its shape and the rags absorb the impact well. It takes a while for the target area to get shot out (especially if you shoot as poorly as I do ).
I'm sure with a bit of imagination you could modify this design for your purpose.

 

[C_Claycomb]

check out http://www.quicks.com/pdf/quick_59.pdf.pdf

I would second the use of lots of cardboard laminated. I have been at a bunch of shoots where the official targets are made that way.

 

[bilko]

When using firearms in an inside range we sometimes had great piles of newspapers as backstops. If you start collecting now it won't be long before you get a decent pile ( ask the neighbours as well ). Then i would simply buy or draw the target of choice and glue it to cardboard.
(sorry for the hijack but i don't want to use a seperate thread ) Can anyone give me a breif rundown on these draw weights?. I take it that a 50ib draw will take 50ib to draw the bow back and get a powerfull shot. Decreasing in weight and power thereafter?
Also how does one measure the draw weight?, Do you all have little weights to hang on the string or something? ( probably not but i can't imagine how it's done ).
Thanks

 

[Snufkin]

When using firearms in an inside range we sometimes had great piles of newspapers as backstops. If you start collecting now it won't be long before you get a decent pile ( ask the neighbours as well ). Then i would simply buy or draw the target of choice and glue it to cardboard.
(sorry for the hijack but i don't want to use a seperate thread ) Can anyone give me a breif rundown on these draw weights?. I take it that a 50ib draw will take 50ib to draw the bow back and get a powerfull shot. Decreasing in weight and power thereafter?
Also how does one measure the draw weight?, Do you all have little weights to hang on the string or something? ( probably not but i can't imagine how it's done ).
Thanks

Draw weight is indeed the weight it takes to pull the string back a given distance, for example 50lbs at 28" (which is a pretty standard drawlength). The same bow would of course require more weight to draw the string back to 30" and less for 25".
To measure the draw weight some people use scales similar to those used by fishermen. I use a bathroom scale and a stick marked in inches, I place the stick on the scale put the bowstring on the stick and pull down until I reach the required drawlength, then I just read off the weight on the scale.

 

[stovie]

I use my fishing scales (well, I don't catch many fish worth weighing on them....Do you hear that, Maver...I don't catch many fishhhh )

 

[bilko]

Why didn't i think of that?, thanks snufkin. Btw that's a nice bow stovie

 

[AUSSIE]

Go to an industrial estate and grab one of the huge square wool bail type bags they use for packing bulk waste such as plastic wrapping film or industrial offcuts / waste in, we call em wool packs here! Pack the thing full of scrap plastic, shopping bags, rags etc till it is absolutely stuffed full! It will way around 200kgs but you will have a target butt that will stop any type of arrow you shoot into it! Matter of fact even broadheads will only penetrate about six inches even out of 70 to 80 pound bow! The good thing is you will not damage arrows like you will with wads of board or cardboard etc.

 

[jerv]

thanks for the advice. I just built the target I'll be testing it tommorrow. I made a laminate of cardboard and carpet to about 8cm with some tough foam in the centre (that idea might not last) i used a board to give it some shape. £1 for the board (don't really need it) £3-4 for adhesives and tape £0 for cardboard and carpets. if i work out how to put on pictures i'll post it up

 

[Ogri the trog]

To add some confusion to the draw weight/power discussion, there is a phenomenon known as "cast" to a bow, it is the speed at which it returns to its relaxed state (nothing to do with the power or draw weight) - a bow with a lower draw weight might have a faster cast and so throw an arrow further than a heavier draw bow
A heavier draw bow will need a stiffer arrow, which is more likely to be heavier, so it's not always straight forward.
It is a reason why it is unfair to compare wooden longbows with fibreglass recurve bows.

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[Snufkin]

To add some confusion to the draw weight/power discussion, there is a phenomenon known as "cast" to a bow, it is the speed at which it returns to its relaxed state (nothing to do with the power or draw weight) - a bow with a lower draw weight might have a faster cast and so throw an arrow further than a heavier draw bow
A heavier draw bow will need a stiffer arrow, which is more likely to be heavier, so it's not always straight forward.
It is a reason why it is unfair to compare wooden longbows with fibreglass recurve bows.

ATB

Ogri the trog

Lets throw arrow weight into the equation and really confuse everyone

 

[stovie]

To add some confusion to the draw weight/power discussion, there is a phenomenon known as "cast" to a bow, it is the speed at which it returns to its relaxed state (nothing to do with the power or draw weight) - a bow with a lower draw weight might have a faster cast and so throw an arrow further than a heavier draw bow
A heavier draw bow will need a stiffer arrow, which is more likely to be heavier, so it's not always straight forward.
It is a reason why it is unfair to compare wooden longbows with fibreglass recurve bows.
ATB
Ogri the trog

And there was me thinking it was just two bits of wood (one curved, one straight) some feathers and a piece of string

 

[RovingArcher]

For a mobile target, I would go with closed cell, self healing foam. It is what the new style of 3D targets are made from and they last a long time if properly cared for. You can make the vitals area out of a replaceable module of laminated cardboard or similar, so that you can replace when it's shot to pieces. Metal stakes and bands of steel are tough on arrows, so an alternative may be in order, depending on how you design the target. I bought my 3Ds. Went down to the local docks and bought some of the foam they used in the floating docks. I cut them into 20cm x 8cm discs and threw them about in the field. Even got the wife to toss a few for me and I shot them as aerial/flight shots. For a fixed target, I made up a covered target stand and used 3 hay bails compressed onto a pallet with bands that didn't cross the visible area of the backstop. I placed a life sized cardboard cutout of a deer and had drawn in the vitals. Except for the shoulder, bones aren't really a problem when shooting a deer with a 50# bow. I put a red dot on the spot I wanted to concentrate on.

As far as size goes, I would make it as close to life size as possible, as well as shape. At least as far as where the shoulder, legs and vitals are. If your roe is anything like our deer, it has a vital section that is about 20cm in diameter. From my experience, if you want to keep your shooting realistic, the heart is not a target that a bowman should look at. At least, not as a primary target. A heart hit deer can run an amazing distance before dying on the run. Hit the lungs and they will normally run a shorter distance before dying. Hit the liver or ponch and they will run until they feel safe and then will bed down and die if left undisturbed. Not always leaving an adequate blood trail to follow.

A mature boar is a whole different matter. A mature boar has a shield of gristle from the shoulder to the back of the ribcage that is nearly impenetrable with a 50# bow. The actual spot to sneak the arrow into the animal is behind the ribcage as the animal is angled sharply away. Meaning that the shot must penetrate the ponch/belly, in order to hit the lungs and heart. This makes your actual target spot to be about 8cm in diameter. A younger pig would have a kill zone of about 16cm or so, from the side.

 

[jerv]

when you say "our deer" do you mean mule or whitetails. actually a roe deer is pretty small smaller than those two species. thanks for the info, boars sound pretty difficult to kill

 

[RovingArcher]

Actually the deer we have here on the central coast of California are Columbian Blacktails. A smaller version of the Muley.

I thought your Roe deer were fairly small, so my 20cm/8" kill zone is pretty close for a broadside shot. As they angle away, the shot area gets much smaller.

Pigs can be tough to kill, even with a 30.06 rifle. I watched a seasoned 06 hunter hit a large boar in the broadside chest with an appropriate round for hogs and it knocked the animal down, but as the hunter moved forward to get a second shot if needed, the hog got up and ran, leaving very little blood. I though that he hit the shoulder, but that hog had 4 good legs when he got up running.

 

[jerv]

bloomin 'eck back in the old days when all this was real real real, they used to go after boars on foot with spears. who's gonna try that then?