Question About Target Material

Zak

New member
The local club I used to go to made their targets out of a certain material. I haven't been able to get a hold of them to ask them what they used. When they replaced the targets, they were pre-packaged in cardboard (1500x500x100mm?). But when they were all shot up, they felt like wood chips when I ran my hand over it. I remember when the targets were replaced the material sticks to the arrows. I am wondering if they used pre-cut boards of MDF or plywood? I am not too sure. Any suggestions? What would you use?
 

Rik

Supporter
Supporter
In the UK, foam or straw. The foam can be blocks, or layered sheets.
In the US I've heard of, in addition, rag bags (loosely filled with bits of cloth), carpeting, and something which was referred to as "plasterboard" or "wallboard", in layers, but isn't the same as the use of the term in the UK... UK plasterboard has a layer of plaster on it, which wouldn't work at all.
 

Zak

New member
In the UK, foam or straw. The foam can be blocks, or layered sheets.
In the US I've heard of, in addition, rag bags (loosely filled with bits of cloth), carpeting, and something which was referred to as "plasterboard" or "wallboard", in layers, but isn't the same as the use of the term in the UK... UK plasterboard has a layer of plaster on it, which wouldn't work at all.
Hmm.. Would particle board work? I could imagine the dust shooting at plasterboard. All I know about my old club's targets is that they came in slats and packaged in cardboard. To me it seemed like some form of wood after being shot up.
 
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Raven's_Eye

Active member
Ironman
Hmm.. Would particle board work? I could imagine the dust shooting at plasterboard. All I know about my old club's targets is that they came in slats and packaged in cardboard. To me it seemed like some form of wood after being shot up.
Compacted cardboard/newspaper? Interestingly would that actually work? Use on of those compacters you use to make the "logs" from those slow burning logs from old newspaper. Kinda like a paper mashe thing........anyone tried making a target out of paper mache? Any good?
Probably not but could make some fun targets with them.
 

Bald Eagle

New member
Cleadon Archers in DNAA had a whole wall of plasterboard sheets, end facing and every 4 feet were 2 pieces of wood with chocks hammered in to compress the plasterboard! When it was shot out, they removed the chocks and wood, replaced the plasterboard and then put back the wood and banged in the chocks! I seem to remember they shot like that for years, only down side was the dust on the floor after shooting. Now, the same wall, is covered in Danage.
 

Zak

New member
There is so many types of board! Plasterboard, MDF (fiberboard), particle board, paperboard, boards of plywood. I don't know what would be best/safe to use. I wish the guy would answer my email!
 

JohnoFon

New member
I would have thought that any sort of board that's strong enough to be structural would make a very hard target.

What I would think of is something that's essentially soft so that the arrows are slowed down by friction and are therefore easier to pull out. Ideally you want a material that can heal itself to some extent and not leave visible holes.

The standard always used to be bosses of tightly packed straw, but increasingly we're seeing blocks or layers of foam material.

I did an advanced search on 'target materials' and found a thread from last year that might help. It's at http://www.archeryinterchange.com/f...arget-board-please-share-how-you-made-151279/ and I'm sure there will be others.
 
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Zak

New member
I would have thought that any sort of board that's strong enough to be structural would make a very hard target.

What I would think of is something that's essentially soft so that the arrows are slowed down by friction and are therefore easier to pull out. Ideally you want a material that can heal itself to some extent and not leave visible holes.

The standard always used to be bosses of tightly packed straw, but increasingly we're seeing blocks or layers of foam material.

I did an advanced search on 'target materials' and found a thread from last year that might help. It's at http://www.archeryinterchange.com/f...arget-board-please-share-how-you-made-151279/ and I'm sure there will be others.
(Bear with me, my "Enter" key doesn't work) | I tried stacking cardboard like a sandwich and compressing it but it didn't work out too well because of some design flaws and the fact that its in a difficult position to fix (On a steep slope, need a ladder). I was thinking using a bale of hay, sandwiching it between two pieces of wood then use ratchet straps to compress it further. I wasn't too sure about the fiberboard because of some crap with formaldehyde and being toxic when particles are released. My old club's targets get replaced once a year, that's with 4 people shooting every Saturday with a minimum of 90 arrow shoots. That means it withstands a minimum of 18720 arrows a year before it needs to be replaced. I might try the hay, I might not. I still don't know what exact material they used. :whiskey:
 
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