# Home Indoor Archery Range Protections



## Ben Pearson (Oct 7, 2016)

I just bought several cheap foam block targets, from Walmart, to put behind my one good block target. I think a sheet of plywood behind that would extend the protection beyond the foam blocks. I didn't put up the plywood and so far I've only put one hole in the wall.
A big consideration is ceiling height. I was shooting down stairs, but the tips of my long bow kept hitting the ceiling.


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## JParanee (Oct 13, 2009)

I have a big shot in my basement that I can use as a back stop


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## fallhunt (Aug 2, 2013)

I use plywood behind the target to protect the wall. So far the plywood has only served to provide peace of mind, but peace of mind is valuable to me. 

Other than that I just place a small light easily movable portable target at a location within my home that provides the farthest shooting distance I can find (8 yards). My arrows whiz past all sorts of things at risk that I would hate to damage. I will probably eventually be burned by this clearly unwise behavior. Zero mishaps have happened yet after daily shooting for over two years.


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## JCoulas (Nov 23, 2015)

Stall Mat with homemade rolling frame behind my tubing target. Saved my wall a couple times. Takes some effort to pull the arrows though. Lol.


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## davidflorida (Jun 21, 2012)

stall mat for me also , they are heavy.


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## Trad.Strong (Feb 1, 2017)

Stall mat or me. It is mounted on the wall framed in roughsawn lumber. I painted a scenery on it...


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## wolfsblood (Jul 19, 2016)

I shoot 11 yards in my basement, using a bag target. I don't yet have a backstop. I figure if i can't hit the bag at 11 yards, I shouldn't be shooting my bow inside the house. I shouldn't have said that out loud... jinxed myself now. Next arrow will probably go through the water heater.


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## Yooper-travler (Feb 28, 2011)

Years ago in grad college I used my wife's washing machine! It's not something I'd recommend. It worked at stopping the arrow...


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## k222 (Jan 16, 2015)

That's interesting. Stall mat and plywood seem popular choices, with bigger target rounding up 3rd. I am surprised nobody mentioned net backstops.

Maybe I am paranoid. I am thinking maybe net backstops along the corridor of the shooting lane. It's not cheap, but in case a broken nock throw the arrow in an unexpected direction.


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## Joe Hohmann (Oct 24, 2013)

I have a 20 yd. setup in my back yard in suburbia. 6 hay bails covered in plastic tarp, with a removable block target in front of that. This is on the rear outside wall of my garage. Unfortunatly, this is the only safe way to go, but it places the sun in my eyes from about 10 am to 3 pm. Since shooting in one's back yard is not legal here, I don't want to give my neighbors cause for concern.


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## JCoulas (Nov 23, 2015)

wolfsblood said:


> I shoot 11 yards in my basement, using a bag target. I don't yet have a backstop. I figure if i can't hit the bag at 11 yards, I shouldn't be shooting my bow inside the house. I shouldn't have said that out loud... jinxed myself now. Next arrow will probably go through the water heater.


The stall Mat catches the possible pass throughs at close range while paper tuning / using chronograph/ modified French tuning. I've had a couple pass through's with my evolve so far.


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## Brian N (Aug 14, 2014)

We use a bag target with a dense scrap foam type material (about 8" thick) around it. The basement range is about a 10 yards. There have been misses, but the foam worked well.


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## wolfsblood (Jul 19, 2016)

JCoulas said:


> The stall Mat catches the possible pass throughs at close range while paper tuning / using chronograph/ modified French tuning. I've had a couple pass through's with my evolve so far.


It's a great idea to have a backstop, for sure, don't get me wrong, it is the smart thing to do.

How did you install the stall mat? Do you just build a large frame for it? Or it is attached directly to the wall?


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## ghostgoblin22 (May 3, 2013)

lets see some pics, I need some ideas for my basement for my new house I just bought


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## reddogge (Jul 21, 2009)

Side protection in your basement is overkill. I've shot in mine 20 years and never hit anything on the sides and I have some tight quarters to go through too with guncases and backpacks lining the way.


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## fallhunt (Aug 2, 2013)




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## rs_hh (Oct 2, 2016)

My current 9 yard range setup in my apartment @home. Using a doorframe pullup bar with a net backstop thrown over it to provide two layers of backstop. My thin carbon arrows will sometimes penetrate one or both layers (my 1714 aluminums won't) but even the carbon needles won't pass beyond the vanes, so I keep the net about 1 yard in front of my entrance door (behind the backstop) in order to prevent passthrus from nailing the door. In this picture the target is a cardboard box tightly stuffed with polyethylene foil and sealed with adhesive tape (excellent, cheap and durable target that makes arrow pulling a piece of cake, btw), and I have used the expander rubber strings that came with the pullup bar to hang the target. I now use another target from time to time (canvas bag stuffed with an old fleece blanket) because the cardboard box makes considerable noise when being hit. Haven't yet got a photo of that, will probably take and post one later.


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## fishnl8 (Mar 15, 2010)

I have a 13 yard range in my heated pole barn. I first hung a piece of 3/8 rubber horse stall mat then added a layer of 3/4 closed cell foam in front of that (I found a bunch of foam butt pads on sale and zip tied them all together). Behind that is a piece of 3/4 plywood. I hung some camo in front of all of it to hide the backstop. Lots of fun in the winter time! Works great. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## k222 (Jan 16, 2015)

I see some folks putting targets on the floor. I am wondering if anyone protect or shot their floor.


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## fallhunt (Aug 2, 2013)

k222 said:


> I see some folks putting targets on the floor. I am wondering if anyone protect or shot their floor.


I have never shot the floor in front of the target. 

It certainly seems a likely eventual outcome. I should lay a piece of plywood over the carpet to put the target on top of that rather than the carpet. But I won’t until after I actually hit the carpet first – LOL.

I initially angled a second identical piece of plywood (which I still have) in front of my dresser drawers prior to each shooting session. But after a time I stopped wasting the time when it did not really seem needed. 

The piece of plywood protecting the wall is always permanently held in place by the dresser drawers, so it is not any additional bother for the added protection. I am not sure that I would want the plywood on my bedroom floor all the time.


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## penumbra (Aug 23, 2016)

Initially I purchased 5 of the cheap foam targets. My thought was to use 4 for a background with one in front. I am instead using 2 of the targets back to back for penetration as foam targets do wear fast. I am not a great archer by any stretch of the imagination, but face it, at my 10 yards how likely am I to miss the target? Has not happened yet after hundreds and hundreds of arrows. I am tearing up #5 target now. After all, this is pretty straightforward stuff ... no trick shooting. If I do miss I hit a block wall and destroy an arrow. I can live with that. If I was shooting with someone else I would probably hang a carpet It would be cheap and effective for the 30 to 40 pound bows I shoot in the basement.
The height of my basement ceiling presents more of a challenge. I shoot at a cant that can handle a 64 inch longbow, though occasionally I bump the ceiling. I can't use my longer bows unfortunately. The constant bumping the ceiling is a real distraction.


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## JCoulas (Nov 23, 2015)

wolfsblood said:


> JCoulas said:
> 
> 
> > The stall Mat catches the possible pass throughs at close range while paper tuning / using chronograph/ modified French tuning. I've had a couple pass through's with my evolve so far.
> ...


Wood frame


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