# Bales of hay for targets?



## matt flint (May 21, 2012)

im brand new to archery n dont even have my hunting rig out of the shop yet but i have a little 25 lb compound from whan i was a kid n a bale in the back yard n it shoots clean through it


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## twn417 (Jun 1, 2007)

yea, your gonna loose a LOT of arrows if you do that. Spend $40 and go buy and bag targer at a retail store.


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## mrjeffro (Jul 25, 2007)

Not a big fan of hay. Makes a mess and if it isn't packed tight enough, pass thrus will happen sooner than later. For $50 you can get a yellow jacket bag target that will last 1000's of shots.

Or, go to the feed store, spend about $4 on a feed sack and fill with plastic bags from the grocery store.


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## primalphil (Jun 1, 2012)

the feed bag with plastic bags idea sounds interesting. How well does that hold up?


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## mrjeffro (Jul 25, 2007)

primalphil said:


> the feed bag with plastic bags idea sounds interesting. How well does that hold up?


It holds up great. It doesn't look as "fancy" as a commercial bag target but it works great and it is CHEAP! You can even look on E-Bay and buy a bag target cover and fill with plastic bags.


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## HOOSIER55 (Aug 31, 2011)

primalphil said:


> Given that I live out in the country I was wondering how well a few bales of hay would work for hanging my targets up on. I can grab some for pretty cheap but I've read that arrows will go straight through them while others say they work just fine. I just have a hard time bringing myself to spend 100+ dollars on a target that will eventually be destroyed after enough shots.


buy a rhinehart 18-1 good luck wearing it out, it will take many years to do so


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## Rolexdr (Jan 24, 2012)

we shot hay for years yea you blow thru after a bit but bows were slower back then and haybales were better

but they were cheap and we lived in the country

we now use hay as a back stop behind the 3D so you are not popping neighbors pool


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## Wayko (Dec 22, 2011)

My back stop is 3 up & 3 across strawbales, then a 2 up & 2 across bale target (usually 6 leaves hooked in the twine for shooting at), then 1 bale in front of that for a block target to set on, or what ever I want to put on top of it to shot at, a twig, apple, etc. & a 3D target off to the side. After a few rains the strawbales tighten up pretty good, I shoot 35 to 55 pound recurve & longbows into it, what few pass-threws I get, only go a few feet pass the bale & are on top of the ground. The only reason I do all of this is because I'am cheap & like shooting at different things in the back yard, when I can't get out stump shooting, I've never like shooting at the samething over & over, but I know I'am cheap & wierd.


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## seiowabow (Dec 19, 2010)

I used hay for awhile so I could make a large backstop cheap. I put a 2x6 on the top and bottom of the stack then wrapped a ratchet strap around the whole thing and compressed it tight. It worked

Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk 2


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## BaleHunter (May 6, 2012)

I use a couple straw bales on a stand, backed up by the broad side of the barn. I find I get less penetration if the straw ends are up and down, as compared to shooting the endgrain. The 29# Polaris stops really well, the 45 Sage will sometimes poke one through but has never lodged in the claps. This is at 20m. 

I did borrow a friend's 50# compound just to try it out see if I wanted to buy it, and went through the bale, and through the clap (left a nice hole in the side of the barn). Decided that was more than I was looking for.


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## Cadet (Aug 21, 2010)

Maybe a little off topic, but it includes hay bales (big round ones) so hear goes. Oh I'll start a new thread "Archery Golf - What do you think?"


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## HoughsArchery (Oct 7, 2011)

Are you talking round bales or small square bales? I use a round bale of straw to hang paper targets on and for long range shots and it works great. I have been using the same bale for probably 3-4 years now and I am just now starting to get some weak spots wear my arrows burry in. We use net wrap on our bales so they are wrapped very tight, loosly baled ones would probably not work very well. It works good for me and is alot cheaper that the large targets you can buy.


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## SoCalArcher (May 22, 2009)

Our archery club (Conejo Valley Archers) uses hay bales exclusively; however, we compress them with a machine before use. They last for several months, up to six; weather and squirrel activity permitting.


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## northern boy (Aug 25, 2010)

Straw bales make a perfect target but you have to back up the hay bales with a rubber horse stall mat. If you have a farm supply store get a horse mat. an mount to a couple 4x4 mount in the ground an use a 2x4 top an bottom rail. they come in size of 3x4 or 4x6 ft the 3 x4 is perfest for 3 bales of straw an use a couple of racket strap to tighten bales strings break an rachet strap will keep the straw some what tight but the rubber horse will stop all arrow a last forever an no harm to arrows. By far much better then bag targets an alot cheaper in the longrun replace 3 bales of straw about 10.00 a year cost. I shoot over a hundred arrows every day into one an they last over a year. Ps cover top of straw to rain an snow off. also easy to pin targets too an super easy arrow remover an no bounce outs like some bag target


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## JasonJones (Apr 26, 2012)

Thirdhand Archery has a bag that is inexpensive, large and you stuff it with old clothes, rags etc and its awesome. We've got 2, and one is setup in the yard. We put a good 200 arrows in it a day. They all pull right out with no effort, but only penetrate a few inches max... I used a combo of old canvas fabric we had on a roll and pallet wrap plastic. works great.


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## thorwulfx (Sep 26, 2011)

Old clothes or fabric scraps in a polypro bag stops an arrow really well. My heaviest trad stops easy and pulls with two fingers from a setup like that, with an old comforter that I found at the side of the road stuffed in it. Also really light, if you're going to carry it to a remote location. Only downside is that the bag tends to deform, so it works better hanging or down on its side against a hard object.

I've also had decent luck with squishy foam (like computers often come with) inside a cardboard box. These are short-lived, but you can just move the stuffing into a new box when it gets chewed up. I use a really big box that came with a fax machine for my primary "step up" area where I put my store bought bag target. If you put a tarp around it and duct tape it, it'll last for several months in the weather.

Cheers,

Patrick


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## northern boy (Aug 25, 2010)

GUY,s I,ve shot bag target for a couple of years straw an horse mat behind it is 10 times better. Really works well it,s the perfect target for the money.


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## BarneySlayer (Feb 28, 2009)

Wayko said:


> The only reason I do all of this is because I'am cheap & like shooting at different things in the back yard, when I can't get out stump shooting, I've never like shooting at the samething over & over, but I know I'am cheap & wierd.


Do you shoot old shoes as well? I love shoes as targets. Those small decorative pumpkins, and hard-boiled eggs on Easter are fun too! (I know it's wrong to waste food, but how much farting can a body do in a week?)


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## BarneySlayer (Feb 28, 2009)

thorwulfx said:


> Old clothes or fabric scraps in a polypro bag stops an arrow really well. My heaviest trad stops easy and pulls with two fingers from a setup like that, with an old comforter that I found at the side of the road stuffed in it.Cheers,
> 
> Patrick


What do you do with the prior occupant of the comforter at the side of the road? Teach them archery to ween them from video games? 

Kidding.:angel:


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## CaArcher (Jul 7, 2011)

I shoot the butt end of the hay. Usually they are compressed by other bales on top and it stops my arrows from a few feet back from my bow in the specs.


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## Wayko (Dec 22, 2011)

BarneySlayer said:


> Do you shoot old shoes as well? I love shoes as targets. Those small decorative pumpkins, and hard-boiled eggs on Easter are fun too! (I know it's wrong to waste food, but how much farting can a body do in a week?)


The old shoes don't work for me, as soon as I start to draw the bow,they run off the bale, with the wife yelling "O no your not"
But the rest I do, love garden targets.
But I'll mostly shoot at leaves, like I tell the wife, I'am getting the leaves out of the back yard 1 leave at a time, (I hate rakeing leaves).


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## bldtrailer (Feb 2, 2010)

http://archeryreport.com/2011/04/diy-lifetime-archery-target/ You can build this on the cheap or feed bags stuffed with shopping bags or shrink wrap if you use hay the round are much tighter(use blunts pnts)


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