garden set up advice please!

psychonaut

New member
<p>
hi everyone, hope you are well. i would like to set up a target range in my garden. ive got several ideas - one is to do it down the side of the house and put netting as a back stop and over the top (see pic below)
and the second is to have some kind of hooped concertina tube **WITH STOP NETTING ON IT, NOT POLYTHENE***that i can extend in the garden when i want to shoot, a bit like the below, but without fixed hoops, so that i can collapse them back into each other for storage.
im guessing i need to have a completely covered tube or cuboid? does anyone know of any second hand netting available, or where to get good quality and cost effective netting from, or should i do something totally different to what i have in mind, or not do it at all!? all advice welcomed.</p>
 

LionOfNarnia

Supporter
Supporter
A poly-tunnel might give you weather protection and privacy but would be useless for safety - even a kids bow would go through that and not even notice it was there. You may have height clearance issues if you are using a recurve or longbow too.
 

psychonaut

New member
<p>
hi - i wasnt intending to use polythene....that really would be daft! i would use the heavy duty nylon stop netting. the poly tunnel picture is just to illustrate what i am talking about</p>
 

LionOfNarnia

Supporter
Supporter
<p>
Happy that you realise it would be daft - Not every newcomer who comes on here would. More info would be helpful - bowstyle, poundage, maximum available range length for a start! Also why you feel the need for an urban range - Do you have a club? How long have you been shooting?</p>
 

psychonaut

New member
ive hardly done any archery, but i really like what i have done. ive probably shot 200 arrows in total on all inclusive holidays and activity days.
i have the room for a range, so i fancy making one. i can probably get 15 meters down the side of the house
ive only used whatever the holiday company had - so probably not very good kit, but looks like a recurve.
i havent joined a club yet but i know there is a local one.
 

LionOfNarnia

Supporter
Supporter
OK. It is probably best if you contact your local club(s) and get yourself signed up for a beginners course ASAP then.
 

LionOfNarnia

Supporter
Supporter
I would LOVE to have a home range, but long ago had to accept that it just is not possible to do so here with sufficient safety margin. I know there are some here who do have one, you will have to wait until they chip in with advice.
 

psychonaut

New member
fair enough. i figure if i have stop netting over the top and at the back, possibly even also down the side of the fence then it would be safe?
 

jonUK76

Member
I practice in my garage. It's pretty short range, but good enough for form practise and keeping up my shot count. I can at least guarantee that an arrow can't leave the property. I wouldn't shoot in the garden, I just think it's too risky in an urban/suburban setting. When I think about the worst, most ridiculous misses I've had at the club (since I started) the worst of them would likely have gone well over the fence and I dread to think where it would have ended up had I made a similar shot in the back yard...
The tunnel idea is interesting, but I can tell you that heavy duty safety net (like the stuff we use for the indoor range, which is still vulnerable to high powered bows and skinny arrows shooting through it) is both heavy and expensive and I can't imagine it would look pretty either in a garden.
 

ThomVis

Active member
fair enough. i figure if i have stop netting over the top and at the back, possibly even also down the side of the fence then it would be safe?
You looked at what your netting (these) would cost? How much you need of those, what you need to keep them up, because they weigh pretty much.
 

psychonaut

New member
hi thanks for this.
but if as i said i put stop netting over the top of the side of the house, joing the side of the house to the fence, and put stop netting from that down just in front of the gate, and shoot only from the mouth of the "tunnel" it creates, i cant see how an arrow can go outside of the container? its got house on one side, fence on the other, stop net and gate at the back and stop netting on the roof.

i am happy to spend 3 hundred quid or so on netting
 

brman

Member
I am a beginner and have also wanted to setup a garden range. I have plenty of space (1/4 acre) but am surrounded by gardens and (for the moment at least) I have given up on the idea.
Reasons?
- I have seen a master bowman with over 10 years experience miss fire and shoot an arrow at 45deg to the target. This made me realise I would need to protect pretty much from the shooting line to the target (sideways and upwards).
- I reckon fences would not stop an arrow at close range and brickwork will cause a nasty ricochet which makes the setup more compicated
- From what I have been told the netting (even the heavy duty stuff) is not guaranteed to stop an arrow so I would need double layers if close to a boundary. Plus it is very expensive!
- It would only take one arrow to just land in a nevous neighbours garden to cause me a whole load of grief I don't want.
Lastly, but most important - I have joined a club and I just cannot imagine learning properly without their support and coaching. They also have a range 10 minutes from me that I can use anytime. So, I have come to the conclusion it just isnt worth the hassle.
Much as I understand the desire to be able to shoot at home I would agree with the early suggestion that you should join your local club first.
 

psychonaut

New member
hi, thanks for the advice.
i agree that it should be shielded from bow to target on all sides - and in these circumstances i cant see how something could go wrong unless its deliberate - and you cant mitigate against that.
im thinking that if i build a proper roof then i dont need netting. then i have brick on one side, roof on top, and fence on the other sides. possibly beef up the fence with ply and back stop with netting.
it also doubles as a storage shed.
thoughts?
 

brman

Member
Well, I am no expert but, if you really can make it solid on all sides and arrow proof (ie no little holes an arrow could find) then I don't see why it would not work. My only thought is you probably want more than netting for the backstop? Depending on what is behind it?
 

psychonaut

New member
<p>
the back stop is a big fence gate, you can see it in the picture - and i would want to protect it. i could use 18mm ply or thicker, just attach it to the gate, or make the ply as an extra set of doors that i can swing into place when needed if the ply makes the gate too heavy -  and stop netting as well maybe - that wouldnt cost too much for stop netting for the target area. anybody know if an arrow would likely penetrate ply that thick? or is there a better choice of material? wouldnt want to use hay bales as they are difficult to move. </p>
 

brman

Member
Like I said earlier, I am no expert but I have thought plywood would do a pretty good job but I guess it might depend on whether you are shooting a 20lb recurve or a 50lb compound and what range it will be hit at?
 

ThomVis

Active member
That plywood would need to go about 4 meters (12 feet) up into the air (according to Dutch archery range rules). Now imagine more than a little wind and the giant wooden sail in your back yard.
Your own archery range sounds cool, but only practical (save) when your shooting space is:
- Completely enclosed. So no misses or ricochets can exit.
- Wide open space. You miss the target, arrow hits nothing but grass. Your grass. For about 150 meters. In any direction.
 
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