Archery practice backstop advice

[ljsommer]

Hello there,

   I recently bought a house and have plenty of room (up to 60 yards) to build an archery range. I have two young boys and a third on the way, and would like to build a safe place for them to practice without errant arrows zooming onto my neighbors property.
I was thinking of building a backstop, something like some 4x4 posts setup in an 8'x8' square, but I was wondering if anyone wanted to share any brilliant ideas on their backstops.

Considerations:
Mobility (moving it around would be nice, maybe rugged multi-directional wheels?)
Wind (if I use plywood layered with rubber, is this going to be a problem in wind storms?)
Cost (any way I can keep this under $200?)

[92xj]

My insulated garage wall will stop my 490 gr arrow at 270fps at a distance of 10 feet at half draw at the fletchings while the rest of the arrow is stinking out above the master bath.
 

[vandeman17]

My shed works well. Few holes in the door but that just improves ventilation

[Seahawk12]

Stacked hay bales.
They are cheap and can be moved. Though, I wouldn't want to move them often.

[Special T]

what are you shooting? how old are the kids? if they are young kids then a hanging piece of carpet would work. it has just enough mass to catch and slow down a arrow from a recurve or a youth compound. Ive seen a white fine cloth mesh used as a backstop in archery ranges that could be used, but im not sure where or how much it is.

[bigdub257]

Rubber horse stall mats work great!  Quite heavy though, so not very mobile.

[pd]

Stacked hay bales.
They are cheap and can be moved. Though, I wouldn't want to move them often.

 

Less than $100.  Find an old pallet somewhere.  Level the ground.  Stack 4 or 5 straw (not hay!) bales on top of each other.  Place 1 bale in front of the 5-stack.  You don't need any back stop beyond this.  Use a simple target block, just place it on the first straw bale.  That is about $50, depending on your straw bale cost.  The only other thing you should do is build a simple rain/snow cover over the straw bale stack--if you do so, the straw will last for 2 years.  Otherwise, if you have a lot of rain, it will just last 1 year.

It is not mobile.  Sorry.  But, this will stop any arrow you throw at it.

[Mudman]

http://www.shopmaninc.com/foam.html

[Fozzie Bear]

I have 6 bales of scrap plastic stacked behind my archery target. Lightweight and waterproof. The bales were free from First Due Movers. They have scrap plastic constantly that they make into bales and give away.
 
First Due Movers
206-755-6053

[Remnar]

 Does anybody use cedar bales anymore ? Im sure they are alot harder to come by these days . But they last a LONG time and  weatherproof . Not very mobile though .

[pianoman9701]

My insulated garage wall will stop my 490 gr arrow at 270fps at a distance of 10 feet at half draw at the fletchings while the rest of the arrow is stinking out above the master bath.
 

 
I put an arrow through the wall of my garage one year...the inside wall into the laundry room. I don't shoot into my garage anymore.

[wideleft]

For a back stop I use fence boards.  They're six feet long and I have them set up horizontally six feet high.  For a target butt, I use a burlap sack (used coffee bean bag), stuffed with pallet wrap that I pick up for free at the local grocery store.  This setup stops my 680gr arrows out of my 57lb recurve.  I'll shoot from as far 20yards in the backyard.

[4fletch]

Try a cotton bed sheet held on the corners never tried it.  heard this yrs ago .suppose to flex when the arrows hit it and not go threw. Problem with bales is that u have to keep the rain off of them

[4fletch]

Forgot to include the sheet should be held by the top  2 corners so the sheet will flex

[SteelheadTed]

I built a backstop out of (2) sheets of marine plywood stacked along their long edge and then braced with 2x4's.  I could take photos if you'd like, here is a screen capture from my security camera.  It works real well.

[trophyhunt]

Stacked hay bales.
They are cheap and can be moved. Though, I wouldn't want to move them often.

[Gobble Doc]

My worst arrow launch was when the knot came out of the D loop (installed by a local archery store) when the bow was approaching full draw. The arrow went sailing well over the backstop. My advice would be to make sure there is nothing of value behind the backstop (i.e. neighbor's house, people, etc.) as the arrows that miss the backstop are a bigger problem than the ones that might make it through. Just my  .

[Mudman]

Whats up with hay bales??  All they do is destroy fletches.

[Sandberm]

Whats up with hay bales??  All they do is destroy fletches.

Layer sheets of cardboard on the hay bales till it provides enough resistance that the arrows do not go fletch deep.

Gotta use alfalfa bales, not straw. Alfalfa is much denser.

[Molon5labe]

I set two 4x4 treated posts and hung a rubber horse stall mat from a treated 4x4 running from the top of them.

[Stein]

I only pull a 65# bow, but my field points can punch a hole straight through a weak target and then through a cedar fence.  i wouldn't mess with bales or cardboard.  If you want to reliably stop an arrow, I would use thick wood or a stall mat.

[JJD]

I set two 4x4 treated posts and hung a rubber horse stall mat from a treated 4x4 running from the top of them.

For years, I used 5 layers of old carpeting spaced 3 inches apart.  THEN I got a new faster bow and even field points were not stopped.  I put a sheet of 3/16 fiber board behind that. Stopped the field points but hardly slowed a broad head down.  Only hit it one time with a broad head, operator error, and was luck enough to locate the arrow. 
Do you use just one horse mat, or with faster bows, does it require more than one?

[npaull]

Fill a trashbag nice and tight with other plastic bags (old grocery bags work great).

I guarantee you will NEVER want to use another target. Stops fieldpoints dead, and arrows can be removed with 1 finger. I'm not joking; try it.

NOTE: *Doesn't* work with broadheads!

[3boys]

Fill a trashbag nice and tight with other plastic bags (old grocery bags work great).

I guarantee you will NEVER want to use another target. Stops fieldpoints dead, and arrows can be removed with 1 finger. I'm not joking; try it.

NOTE: *Doesn't* work with broadheads!

I have made a few in our cardboard baler at work. We have tons of stretch wrap we recycle that makes a nice plastic bale. I then wrap it with black stretch wrap. Works amazing as a target backstop.

[bfranklin81]

Horse stall mats are hard to beat.

[robodad]

Fill a trashbag nice and tight with other plastic bags (old grocery bags work great).

I guarantee you will NEVER want to use another target. Stops fieldpoints dead, and arrows can be removed with 1 finger. I'm not joking; try it.

NOTE: *Doesn't* work with broadheads!

I've been doing this for years and it's true the arrows are very easy to remove however I use a duck decoy bag and just stuff it with every kind of loose plastic grocery bags, shrink wrap, dog food bags, etc... And stuff it full as you can then cinch up the top and lay it on the ground and flatten it out by walkin/stepping on it. Then reserve 1 animal feed bag and cut it down one side, open up the bag-o-plastic and lay that one flat with the white side facing out then just spray paint some orange dots and you have a 30x50 target that will last for years. You can buy or build a sort of chicken tractor type thing to contain your targets and put it away when done !

[Merkin13]

I used a 3/4in stall Matt 5x7 mounted on a frame

Stops even small diameter extreme FOC setup




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[Gutpile]

 
That looks good. What did you pay for the stall mat?

[Johnny Doe]

I used a 3/4in stall Matt 5x7 mounted on a frame

Stops even small diameter extreme FOC setup

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Very nice!  This is almost exactly the same as my setup.  It has lasted us 10 years and stopped every form of tip/broadhead/etc.