Has anyone succeeded in a home-made target board? Please share how you made it.

SchattenMann

New member
If you truly want a "free" target that it will last you forever use archer_dk idea with cardboard. that's what i have and it's been used for a year already, 2 archers firing 2-3 days a week. Cost me around 20€ to buy the threaded rod, 4 wheels and some small pieces.

Whenever the arrows start punch to deep i just put more tension on the thread rods and thats it...

PS: for a "inside home" target i would use a cardboard full of old clothes though.
 

Stubbsy

New member
Anyone just used layers of cardboard? - was gong to look into splicing something together over the weekend so I can do some paper tuning! I have literally tons of cardboard lying around the place (I buy a lot of stuff online), but no newspapers, sods law, I just took two bin bags of old clothes down to the Charity shop too so none of those lying about either! Might have a small piece of hessian backed carpet to put at the back of the target though!

So - How many layers of just cardboard do you reckon? (28lb recurve) - The target only has to last maybe 10 arrows, my garden is like a pocket handkerchief so im not planning on practicing at home, just want to do some tuning by shooting into the garage!
 

SchattenMann

New member
I just cut the cardboard in 120 cm * 30 cm rectangles and pile it till im tired....

I can't tell you how many layers i have...that would be impossible to count lol

keep in mind that, for a properly "stopping power" the cardboard will be under a huge pressure and that means something like +/-35% decrease in height...i probably had 210 cm tall pile before i started tighten the target. It does give you a lot of work (took me around 5/6h) but its free and it last forever...

I can post some pics if you want
 

SchattenMann

New member
210cm?????????????? :jaw-dropp

yes please to pictures if you get chance SchattenMann!
all depended on how tall you want it to be. i wanted it to be +-150 cm so a lot of cardboard is needed.

what i used:

  • 200cm 4 thread rods
  • 16 nuts
  • 4 wheels
  • 4 steel bars
  • 2 wood boards
  • lots of cardboard






 

Craftsman

New member
I've described it before but I used a large cardboard box, about 4' square and filled it with layers of scrap cardboard and carpet.

Plenty of parcel tape to hold it all together.

It stopped anything I shot at it, from any distance,,,,cost???,,,,,,Almost nothing!
 

Stubbsy

New member
Got it SchattenMann, So infact you are shooting into the side of the cardboard instead of the face! That makes sense! Now I understand why you need a 210cm stack of cardboard!
Sorry, just me being stupid!
 

SchattenMann

New member
Got it SchattenMann, So infact you are shooting into the side of the cardboard instead of the face! That makes sense! Now I understand why you need a 210cm stack of cardboard!
Sorry, just me being stupid!
if you shot the cardboard face it wont take long until you have to replace it...this way it takes at least a year without any maintenance
 

Gee Emm Bee

New member
I had a try with cardboard. I cut it ("across the grain") into strips just under 5" (120mm) wide and started rolling it tightly in a spiral fashion outwards from the centre. I brushed diluted PVA glue on it as I rolled it.
It took a few hours to get it out to where I wanted - about 2ft/60cm in diameter as I'll only use a 40cm or at most, a Portsmouth face on it, but apart from the cost of the PVA it cost me nothing as I had some very big cardboard containers from a recent delivery.
Knowing that PVA dries quite hard I didn't use any on the first inch or so of what would be the front face of the target - now I wish I had as it would have stiffened up the target a bit more. As it is, my arrows (ACCs) punch through about 5 or 6 inches from 18m/20yds.
It looks like this --- (without the Photobucket logo!)


 

upinsmoke

Member
Hi i use feed sacks stuffed with wool. I have plenty sheep and loads of wool, though for crossbow i use feed sacks stuffed with old clothes i dont have a lots of old clothes as im a sheep farmer and wear my clothes till they fall of my back.
 

Stevec1960

New member
I tried cardboard which works for a while then falls apart and makes a real mess. The best target I have found is easy to make and virtually everlasting. 4 pieces 12mm ply or chipboard approx 60cm x 30cm ( but size to suit you) . Screw the 4 pieces to make a square - take some chicken wire, stretch tightly over the back of the square - stuff the target with plastic sheet ( I use old pallet covering) then staple more wire over the front face. Then get on old 1ton gravel/sand plastic weave bag used for building materials and cut 2 squares and staple these front and back over the wire. This will stop pretty much anything including crossbow bolts and lasts for ages. When the faces or stuffing eventually wears out they are easy to replace.
 
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