# A safety backstop that won't damage arrows?



## Les K

Hi All, 

I was wondering, if you shoot in the backyard, what is a good way to safely stop your arrows just in case something happens and you miss your main target. That is without damaging them of course. 

I just bought a Block 4X4 Elite (I know, I know, some love 'em and some hate 'em) and although it's large, I know that stuff happens and there will be arrows that will stray (I've missed wildly when my arrow falls off of the rest just before release :embara. So to protect the general public, I need something in the back. I shoot X-10's with tungston points, I have about 34 pounds on the fingers, and I will be shooting at 18 meters. As you can imagine, I would not like to damage these arrows in the event of a miss so what would you use? would plain plywood harm the arrows? how about a softer wood such as redwood? I was also thinking of the plywood with layers of rubber or carpet glued on? Any advice is appreciated, and TIA

Les.


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## dkard

*Carpet*

make a frame or put up a cable and hang carpet off it.

I use 4 layers of hanging carpet as my target. Stops 50#+ arrows till the center get soft. If it is just for safety, 2 layers should work. The fletches stop most of my arrows even with the soft center. 

Carpet is cheap and seems to hold up to the weather well.

dave


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## Serious Fun

I have seen people make big 2x4 frames and hang carpet or an arrow curtain.
There are a lot of arrow points left in wood and plywood behind targets.
But what I see most often is no back spot at all with the archer shooting blank bale at a close distance.
A 52” target shot at 2 to 4 meters seems to be a popular blank bale set up. 
Buying a 52” whitetail target matt is less expensive than building some sort of large backstop structure.


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## voxito

you could get hay bales and throw a tarp over it. You can get any kind of the plastic or even some erosion-control silt fence and wrap around the bales to keep them together.

My mom and dad build houses, and they started using a different kind of silt fence that's closer to felt and is 3 feet wide. If you could get some of that and wrap it around almost anything soft and it would be a good backstop.

The carpet layers would wok fine though, unless your neighbors might have problems looking at that. Some do; I had a halfpipe for skateboarding in my backyard that the neighbors thought was ugly, so. . .


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## Dave T

You might take a look at what these folks offer:

www.bupsports.com/products.cfm

Dave


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## Serious Fun

Dave T said:


> You might take a look at what these folks offer:
> 
> www.bupsports.com/products.cfm
> 
> Dave


We use 36”x36” versions of these as backstops behind our targets to prevent pass throughs.
Our 8 layer backstops were made by DMY Designs. They help to make the matts last longer.
Danage targets consider the fabric backstop behind their target as an integral part of the target matt system.

Anyway, nice source Dave. 
I would like to hear comments from BUP Archery backstop users.


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## Les K

Folks, 

Thanks for the responses and suggestions. I have a few ideas to consider. 

Les.


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## blindbat

I have been testing the BUP 4X4 as a back up for some Hipps 48" targets this summer. They work-but they are quite bulky and cumbersome. We were testing them to use at our state indoor. They appear to be too bulky for our needs (storing 40+ of these would be a chore as well as a space eating issue). They do work. We have only been using them for a few days shooting. BCY makes a very nice backstop for a butt but it is really pricey (and this is not the same as their backstop netting). 
In short, the BUP material would be very good for an emergency stop.


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## Les K

Blindbat, 

Thanks for your impressions of the BUP. At this point, I don't think I'm looking for a curtain type backstop to hang in the back of the target, but rather something a bit more compact to mount onto a rolling platform along with my main target. If I ever get this thing figured out and built, I'll try and post some pictures. Right now I'm leaning toward a plywood substrate to which I would bond layers of tough rubber to equal about 1" to 1.5" thick. It would seem to me that rubber that thick would slow the arrow quickly and mostly without damage before it hits the plywood substrate, and even if it did hit it, it would have dissipated enough energy that the arrow shouldn't sustain damage. This rubber that I'm looking at is from a local company that uses recycled automobile tires to make the rubber mats, and we know how tough this rubber is. This way, even if these rubber layers won't stop the arrow, I can simply bond another layer of rubber on, or bond on a layer of this carpet tile that I found laying around in the garage which in itself has a very tough rubber backing on it. The only issue here is weight, the rubber is very heavy so I'll need to rely on the wheels to move it to different locations, and forget about popping this thing in the car. Still thinking about it; who knows, in the end I might scrap the whole project and get the Danage Domino and be done with it. It's certainly nice and light, and large enough to be safe. 

Les.


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## oldreliable67

Old conveyor belt material works really well, though used conveyor belts are not the easiest to find.


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## Les K

Oldreliable, 

Yes, I've also looked at the conveyer belt material as I've heard it mentioned before here, and this same local company that makes the rubber sheets also makes converyer belts with virgin rubber and layers of fabirc sandwiched between. It would be very tought indeed and would suit the purpose perfectly but it's very expensive at about 11 dollars per foot in 12" width. Finding used belt in a suburban area where I live would probably be impossible as there are no businesses that I know of that would use the stuff. Thanks for the suggestion though.

Les.


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## Steve N

Les K said:


> Oldreliable,
> 
> Yes, I've also looked at the conveyer belt material as I've heard it mentioned before here, and this same local company that makes the rubber sheets also makes converyer belts with virgin rubber and layers of fabirc sandwiched between. It would be very tought indeed and would suit the purpose perfectly but it's very expensive at about 11 dollars per foot in 12" width. Finding used belt in a suburban area where I live would probably be impossible as there are no businesses that I know of that would use the stuff. Thanks for the suggestion though.
> 
> Les.


Depending on the width, fabric type, etc, $11 per ft. for 12" wide belt is about the going retail rate. 

Try looking in the yellow pages under "conveyors" "conveyor service", etc. You need to find a service company that changes out the belts for their customers. These are the people who will have access to used belt. You can probably get used belt from them for VERY low cost.

Beware, though, belt can be heavy. Figure 1/2 # for square foot for the lightest. If you get into heavy rubber belts like those used in concrete plants, etc, you are looking at 3# and up per square foot. We just installed a 48" wide x 210 ft belt a couple of months ago. It took 6 guys and a fork truck to install it.


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## Les K

Hi Steve N, 

It sounds like you work with conveyer belts all the time! There are two materials that I was considering: a belt with two layers of fabric and weighs 2 lbs/sq. foot, and a belt with 3 layers of fabric that weighs 3 lbs/sq. foot. either of these solutions would run into the hundreds of dollars for new materials, but if it prevents any passthroughs it might be worth it-if I can't find it used. I was planning on maybe 4 ft wide and 6 ft tall dimensions. These would be 1 ft. wide strips. They would need to hang loose, like a curtain, but at least I would be able to control the dimensions of the end product. It also sounds like this material is so tough, that arrows would probably not even go through and just bounce off? what do you think? Remember, I'm pulling just 34 lbs or so with a tungsten tipped X-10. Not a whole lot of power and speed!

Les.


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## Steve N

Les,

I have seen 3-ply rubber belts stop a field point from a 70# compound at 30 feet cold. I've also seen the tips poke thru, where they had to be unscrewed from the insert to remove the arrow, and the insert stayed in the belt.

Just hold off buying any belt. I was at a customer's today, and they are changing out their belts after 12 years of service. Old belts still look pretty good. I asked them to save me the old belts. I have to go back tomorrow, if I can get them home, I will, and let you know. This is 6" wide 2-ply PVC belting, good for 720# of pull strength. It'll stop your arrows right now. You have to make sure you have a good overlap, so the arrows cannot pass between the strips. 

If I put up a backstop myself, I will nail strips to a 2 x 4 header with roofing nails, and let the strips overlap 1". The bottom of the strips will hang loose, and not be fastened to anything. It will look sort of like a strip door. Should be adequate, unless a shot glances off, and goes between the strips. The material is heavy enough though, that it should stop the arrow pretty quicklyjust by friction on the shaft.


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## Les K

Steve, 

Thanks for the info, but I don't think that I can take a chance on the hanging strips. I know overlapping strips "should" stop an arrow, but I can take no chances whatsoever given where I live. A thin X-10 might just slip through, especially if a gust of wind or something were to move the strips at just the wrong time. Let me tell you what happened to make me rethink this whole thing. At the range today, everyone was shooting away and all of a sudden there was a really loud "crack" sound. An arrow had gotten away from someone and went flying somewhere. I think it hit the cement wall or something and went sliding under the backstop. That arrow was never found. It was a graphic illustration of just how quickly something really bad could happen. In fact, I'm thinking about NOT doing any kind of distance shooting at home and only shooting to work on my form and only from 10 feet away in the garage, and even then with a plywood backstop. It was really spooky and brought home the point that in an urban setting like here in Orange County CA, it simply is not that safe. In just a split second someone could have been hit, and just like a bullet, that arrow can never be taken back. I may change my mind as time goes on, but only if I can figure out a way to absolutely and 100% of the time stop an errant arrow, and the only way an arrow could get away is if the bow was intentionally aimed to miss. Anyway, thanks for your time, and everyone else for their suggestions also. I haven't given up hope of a really safe 18 meter range at home, but I need to think about it some more and be really satisfied in my mind that in no way can an arrow go flying through the neighborhood. 

Les.


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## spangler

http://www.nextag.com/16-W-x-10-579392709/prices-html?nxtg=19820a240536-B2500F1BF4606FB7

You could get some arrow netting.

It isn't cheap, but would suit your needs. That and a couple of 4x4 posts ought to keep the neighbors safe.

I wouldn't use plywood if I were you. It would accomplish the safety aspect for you though


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## Steve N

Unfortunately, the night shift changed the belts and threw the old ones away. You are right about an arrow getting away from you. Always follow the one of the four safety rules in gun shooting: Know your target, and what is behind it.

The plywood will stop your arrows, but I don't think they would be very shootable afterwords.


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## Les K

Hi Spangler, 

Thanks for the suggestion of the backstop netting, and they are certainly big enough and probably light enough to be a very good option. I'm perhaps thinking of the two posts that you suggested, mounted on weighted bases and maybe even wheels too so that they are easy to move out of the way. I'm getting from you and others about not using plywood, and that's sinking in, but it wouldn't have been just naked plywood. It would have been plywood with about 1 inch thick of heavy rubber sheeting bonded to the face (still something I'm considering although it would be very heavy and expensive to build). I wonder if you or anyone know about these nettings: can you leave them out in the weather? or would I have to unmount it and fold it up when I'm done shooting? The sun intensity in Southern California might be a factor......

Les


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## Les K

Hey Steve, 

Sorry to hear about the belts, sounds like you wanted to build a backstop out of it for yourself to try out. It also sounds like you'll have future chances to get a lot more of it though. 

Les.


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## dchan

BCY netting does a good job but as mentioned it's pricey.

I have a 30ft net that I stretch between 2 volleyball net poles when we need backstop safety.

You can't be 100% safe but you can minimize the risk.

FYI if you are building something with rubber, belts, carpet, etc. If it's not attached directly to your plywood substrate it does a much better job of absorbing the energy of your arrow and will make breakage much less of a possiblity. The arrow may poke through but it will generally stop by the time it gets to the fletches or may drop on the other side but without going much further.

The instructions on the BCY netting specifically says do not attach the bottom of the net to anything as this will lessen the stopping affect of the net. You want it to move freely.


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## Les K

Hi dchan, 

Thanks for the info on the netting. Makes sense that you would absorb the arrow energy with the hanging type backstops rather than with "brute force" stopping power of a solid one. You mentioned that you hang the net between two posts when you need it so I take it that you don't leave them up in the weather. I would really like to not remove the backstop and just leave it up so perhaps I'll contact BCY and see what their recommedations are with regards to this. 

Les.


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## dchan

We do take ours down after each session however, The place were I teach a girls camp archery program (YMCA camp ground) has several of these nets. 20ft high and probably 50ft across. Covers the whole back of their range.

They are located in the redwoods near the coast in San Mateo, CA. I asked them and they don't take theirs down all summer.. I don't even think they take it down or store it at all. It's hung between 2 very large trees on steel (probably coated or stainless) cables.

It has been there for at least 5 years and I suspect it get's used a lot during the summer camp season. They are fairly protected from the sun so that may help with longevity.


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