# I finally did it! Long lasting, cheap/free target



## El Mago (May 21, 2020)

Excellent target , congratulation


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## Corinth Hunter (May 6, 2009)

Love the antler bow holder!


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## bigten (Jan 24, 2012)

Great idea 

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## BHBadger (Aug 5, 2020)

Simplestman84 said:


> I started a thread many months back where I built a large target housing and backstop. Used antlers for Bow hangers, mounted PVC For arrow holders. And I had come up with a cheap/free target idea. Carpet tiles, I stacked them and they worked well enough. however after time it became clear that it was a pain to remove arrows, They would coat my arrows in melted rubber and it was a nuisance to remove them. I loved the stand/backstop and wanted to keep it, yet I couldn’t come up with something realistic and affordable to put inside of it that wasn’t a stretch.
> 
> Well a month or two ago I realized that the coffee roasters that share the same building as my electrical shock don’t reuse any other burlap coffee bags. They told me I could take as many as I want. There was a very large pile to start, and was able to get 40 to 50 a week. I just stacked them to fit in the frame that I had already built and compress them down with some ratchet straps. They stop my 485 green arrow moving at 491 ft./s no problem. And best of all they pull out almost effortlessly, easier than a hot knife through butter. Plus when I go to get rid of them they are Biodegradable!!👍
> View attachment 7270171
> View attachment 7270172


Sweet idea


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## BHBadger (Aug 5, 2020)

Sweet idea


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## Trackercasey (Dec 15, 2011)

485 Grains at 491 FPS?!?!? What are you shooting?


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## Jlingle (Jan 11, 2019)

That’s what i was thinking. 491 fps is cooking!!!


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## Chris1ny (Oct 23, 2006)

lucky dude


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## coz02 (Oct 7, 2019)

Simplestman84 said:


> I started a thread many months back where I built a large target housing and backstop. Used antlers for Bow hangers, mounted PVC For arrow holders. And I had come up with a cheap/free target idea. Carpet tiles, I stacked them and they worked well enough. however after time it became clear that it was a pain to remove arrows, They would coat my arrows in melted rubber and it was a nuisance to remove them. I loved the stand/backstop and wanted to keep it, yet I couldn’t come up with something realistic and affordable to put inside of it that wasn’t a stretch.
> 
> Well a month or two ago I realized that the coffee roasters that share the same building as my electrical shock don’t reuse any other burlap coffee bags. They told me I could take as many as I want. There was a very large pile to start, and was able to get 40 to 50 a week. I just stacked them to fit in the frame that I had already built and compress them down with some ratchet straps. They stop my 485 green arrow moving at 491 ft./s no problem. And best of all they pull out almost effortlessly, easier than a hot knife through butter. Plus when I go to get rid of them they are Biodegradable!!👍
> View attachment 7270171
> View attachment 7270172


Awesome idea


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## blackhawk68215 (Jun 2, 2014)

This is awesome. Going to have to start looking around for cheap burlap bags.


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## PiranhaPigeon (Sep 15, 2020)

How's it holding up?


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## Simplestman84 (Oct 22, 2019)

Trackercasey said:


> 485 Grains at 491 FPS?!?!? What are you shooting?


oops, 291FPS… And for the record it’s a PSE carbon stealth Mach one


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## Simplestman84 (Oct 22, 2019)

PiranhaPigeon said:


> How's it holding up?


Just finished it not too long ago, and been shooting broadheads with season right around the corner from completion. Been gone the last week hunting so I haven’t had too much time to shoot it yet. I’ll update after a while.


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## Simplestman84 (Oct 22, 2019)

blackhawk68215 said:


> This is awesome. Going to have to start looking around for cheap burlap bags.


 I got them from the local coffee roaster for free


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## ConnorWade (Sep 12, 2020)

Looks awesome! Wish i had the space for something like this!


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## nveley22 (Aug 6, 2016)

Looks awesome!


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## Kcarat (Sep 6, 2020)

Simplestman84 said:


> I started a thread many months back where I built a large target housing and backstop. Used antlers for Bow hangers, mounted PVC For arrow holders. And I had come up with a cheap/free target idea. Carpet tiles, I stacked them and they worked well enough. however after time it became clear that it was a pain to remove arrows, They would coat my arrows in melted rubber and it was a nuisance to remove them. I loved the stand/backstop and wanted to keep it, yet I couldn’t come up with something realistic and affordable to put inside of it that wasn’t a stretch.
> 
> Well a month or two ago I realized that the coffee roasters that share the same building as my electrical shock don’t reuse any other burlap coffee bags. They told me I could take as many as I want. There was a very large pile to start, and was able to get 40 to 50 a week. I just stacked them to fit in the frame that I had already built and compress them down with some ratchet straps. They stop my 485 green arrow moving at 491 ft./s no problem. And best of all they pull out almost effortlessly, easier than a hot knife through butter. Plus when I go to get rid of them they are Biodegradable!!👍
> View attachment 7270171
> View attachment 7270172


Looks good!


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## bankey (Jan 15, 2017)

Looks good


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## Fmstrength (Aug 30, 2020)

Awesome thanks for sharing


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

Good looking setup.  It will serve you well.


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## everydayarcher (Aug 16, 2020)

Looks great!


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## Zem (Jul 14, 2017)

Never thought of making my own target, but now I am!


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## Simplestman84 (Oct 22, 2019)

PiranhaPigeon said:


> How's it holding up?


Ended up moving right after elk season, took a little bit to get it set back up. Been shooting it for a while now, holding up great!


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## 814chase (Sep 8, 2013)

Pretty sweet set up


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## Ches (Aug 3, 2009)

Simplestman84 said:


> oops, 291FPS… And for the record it’s a PSE carbon stealth Mach one


Wow, you had me going. Guess I will stick with my DNA EC. Again, great builds.


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## Simplestman84 (Oct 22, 2019)

Ches said:


> Wow, you had me going. Guess I will stick with my DNA EC. Again, great builds.


Ha... Thanks!


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## String Bender (Feb 1, 2020)

That is a nice target set up ! Nice work !


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## Wade-Booth (Mar 2, 2021)

Simplestman84 said:


> I started a thread many months back where I built a large target housing and backstop. Used antlers for Bow hangers, mounted PVC For arrow holders. And I had come up with a cheap/free target idea. Carpet tiles, I stacked them and they worked well enough. however after time it became clear that it was a pain to remove arrows, They would coat my arrows in melted rubber and it was a nuisance to remove them. I loved the stand/backstop and wanted to keep it, yet I couldn’t come up with something realistic and affordable to put inside of it that wasn’t a stretch.
> 
> Well a month or two ago I realized that the coffee roasters that share the same building as my electrical shock don’t reuse any other burlap coffee bags. They told me I could take as many as I want. There was a very large pile to start, and was able to get 40 to 50 a week. I just stacked them to fit in the frame that I had already built and compress them down with some ratchet straps. They stop my 485 green arrow moving at 491 ft./s no problem. And best of all they pull out almost effortlessly, easier than a hot knife through butter. Plus when I go to get rid of them they are Biodegradable!!👍
> View attachment 7270171
> View attachment 7270172


Very cool! Looks awesome


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## VinCan (Dec 24, 2020)

Have you tried shooting outsert into it yet? I’m curious how the burlap will work when using micros.


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## DragondadB (Nov 27, 2020)

The reason you had trouble with the carpet is the backing. I use jute backed only with no glue. Got clean cutoff pieces leftover from carpet installation company. They come out clean and easy. I shot close to 8000 arrows before I had to replace it. This is the side of it.


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## Simplestman84 (Oct 22, 2019)

VinCan said:


> Have you tried shooting outsert into it yet? I’m curious how the burlap will work when using micros.


Yep, I shoot GT pierce platinum & Sirius Orion into it and they pull out just fine, occasionally you can feel a slight catch to it, but never anything significant. Now the time or two I had a bad release at long distance with a broadhead and accidentally stuck a Broadhead into it now that definitely was it PITA 😂 The full metal jacket‘s definitely pull out A little smoother, but again nothing that is that much of a concern or an annoyance about the shooting outserts or sleeves into it.

One thing to keep in mind as well is the bags definitely seem to have a definite absorbing affect more so than gripping affect one stop in the arrows. So occasionally depending on where they hit and how the material is folded or laid they can kind of kick at a slight angle when they penetrate, something to keep an eye on and keep in mind when shooting groups so you don’t bust any shafts. But certainly not enough of a concern for me too keep from shooting reasonable groups at reasonable distances.


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## Simplestman84 (Oct 22, 2019)

DragondadB said:


> The reason you had trouble with the carpet is the backing. I use jute backed only with no glue. Got clean cutoff pieces leftover from carpet installation company. They come out clean and easy. I shot close to 8000 arrows before I had to replace it. This is the side of it.
> View attachment 7372956


Yep, I’ve seen the targets made with that type of carpet, heard it works good. The carpet tiles that I was using are a different type of carpet… They are a thin dense commercial carpet tile they have a hard rubber base, not the residential type carpet with a fiber weave. I’m sure that works great, and certainly a good choice if that’s what you have laying around. However I am definitely pumped on my burlap target, it is really holding up to my hopes.


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## GlassAlongside (Mar 4, 2021)

This is awesome! Think of all the coffee that was shipped in that target!! Haha.
I didn't see your estimate of the total number of burlap bags. Any idea what the total might be?
I'm gonna make something like this out of cardboard. Not as great, but easier to come by than burlap.


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## Simplestman84 (Oct 22, 2019)

GlassAlongside said:


> This is awesome! Think of all the coffee that was shipped in that target!! Haha.
> I didn't see your estimate of the total number of burlap bags. Any idea what the total might be?
> I'm gonna make something like this out of cardboard. Not as great, but easier to come by than burlap.


 Probably 300-400 bags if I had to guess


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## Potatoo (Nov 6, 2020)

Great idea! Might have to visit the local roaster


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## Simplestman84 (Oct 22, 2019)

Potatoo said:


> Great idea! Might have to visit the local roaster


Yeah, totally worth a shot. People should give it a shot to look up any local coffee roasters. They may not all just give their bags away, but the one I went to was very generous about it.


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## Bowhunter Ark (Feb 9, 2013)

Great idea!


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## Ramey (Aug 9, 2019)

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## RedDogN8 (Mar 22, 2021)

Impressive all the way around! Thanks for sharing.


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## Bullseye217 (Nov 25, 2012)

That's sweet


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## Sridgeoutdoors (Apr 22, 2021)

Copying you on this


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## MR10 (Apr 1, 2021)

Great idea and nice execution! I've been brainstorming to figure out something like this. Thanks for sharing.


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## b0w_bender (Apr 30, 2006)

very nice solution!


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## Shane Dean (Apr 23, 2021)

Simplestman84 said:


> I started a thread many months back where I built a large target housing and backstop. Used antlers for Bow hangers, mounted PVC For arrow holders. And I had come up with a cheap/free target idea. Carpet tiles, I stacked them and they worked well enough. however after time it became clear that it was a pain to remove arrows, They would coat my arrows in melted rubber and it was a nuisance to remove them. I loved the stand/backstop and wanted to keep it, yet I couldn’t come up with something realistic and affordable to put inside of it that wasn’t a stretch.
> 
> Well a month or two ago I realized that the coffee roasters that share the same building as my electrical shock don’t reuse any other burlap coffee bags. They told me I could take as many as I want. There was a very large pile to start, and was able to get 40 to 50 a week. I just stacked them to fit in the frame that I had already built and compress them down with some ratchet straps. They stop my 485 green arrow moving at 491 ft./s no problem. And best of all they pull out almost effortlessly, easier than a hot knife through butter. Plus when I go to get rid of them they are Biodegradable!!👍
> View attachment 7270171
> View attachment 7270172


That is awesome, and if I can find a supply of them around here I’ll definitely build one. I need a large target to put in my shop and don’t want to pay retail... thanks for the ideas!


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## Simplestman84 (Oct 22, 2019)

Well if anybody lives in Washington and doesn’t mind driving to the Olympia area to grab them, I know where you can get them. The other day I saw them throwing a few hundred of them in the dumpster because they save them for anybody who wants them until they just don’t have enough space to store them anymore and then throw them away. If anyone’s interested, I would just Google search for local coffee roasters around them and see if they would be willing to part with their bags as well.


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## Jskeels73 (Jul 14, 2020)

Thanks for the idea!!! 


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## JumpFirst (Apr 17, 2021)

Simplestman84 said:


> I started a thread many months back where I built a large target housing and backstop. Used antlers for Bow hangers, mounted PVC For arrow holders. And I had come up with a cheap/free target idea. Carpet tiles, I stacked them and they worked well enough. however after time it became clear that it was a pain to remove arrows, They would coat my arrows in melted rubber and it was a nuisance to remove them. I loved the stand/backstop and wanted to keep it, yet I couldn’t come up with something realistic and affordable to put inside of it that wasn’t a stretch.
> 
> Well a month or two ago I realized that the coffee roasters that share the same building as my electrical shock don’t reuse any other burlap coffee bags. They told me I could take as many as I want. There was a very large pile to start, and was able to get 40 to 50 a week. I just stacked them to fit in the frame that I had already built and compress them down with some ratchet straps. They stop my 485 green arrow moving at 491 ft./s no problem. And best of all they pull out almost effortlessly, easier than a hot knife through butter. Plus when I go to get rid of them they are Biodegradable!!👍
> View attachment 7270171
> View attachment 7270172


Great job, would love to have that in my backyard.


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## Jskeels73 (Jul 14, 2020)

Corinth Hunter said:


> Love the antler bow holder!


Can’t believe I missed that, so sick!


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## charlesm120 (Nov 21, 2020)

Brilliant idea! I may have to build one for myself!


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## Austin27ski (Jun 18, 2019)

That's a fantastic idea. I tried solid 2" insulation and glued it together. Didn't think far enough ahead... Arrows were all gunky and super hard to pull out.


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## Blackdog317 (Dec 22, 2013)

Very impressive. I have been looking for ideas on a large target/backstop. Thanks for sharing.


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## Alen92 (Apr 20, 2021)

Nice idea. Looks great.


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## rossN (May 5, 2021)

great!


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