# Home made target butts



## Aggie07Shooter (Nov 24, 2008)

I've never had enough spare carpet available to make a good target butt, though I have tried a putting few layers in front of an old shot out block target. It didn't seem to work any better and just tore off my fletchings if it did make it all the way through. 

I have however made a lot of home-made targets out of a lot of different materials. Each butt was good for a specific purpose. Here's some of the things I have tried with success:

For a somewhat light and mobile fita target:

- Get a cardboard tri-wall (the wall structure you see on a pallet of watermellons) and cut it in square sections and stack in layers. Ducktape magazines and old newspapers inbetween the layers with the thicker magazines being in the back. Then drill about 50-60 through-holes along the edge (about 2" from edge). Then tread twine through the holes and tie tight. I've even left this target outside in the rain a few times and it was alreight. Stopped even fita arrows out of a 60lb compound. 

-Stacked phone books or newspapers. Longest lasting targets second only to the morrel style bags... but it can be hard to get enough phone books to make this. If you back a clamping frame like say out of 2x4s they last even longer. Great for indoors. In college I always had a stack tall stack of the school newspaper in my dorm for shooting and now I shoot at a stack of phone books in my closet for blank bail.

-Alfalfa bales. Great for just sititng outside all year long at one distance. You can usually find them at any feed store.

I havn't messed around with too many synthetic materials when it comes to home made targets... probably because I never seem to come across foam or carpet or anything for free. Also good bag style target will last forever and you can get larger ones at a reasonable price with free shipping. 

Hope this helps!


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## Mulcade (Aug 31, 2007)

You should head over to the DIY section. They have TONS fo ideas for homemade target butts over there. I think the consensus has been that the carpet layers produce too much friction on carbon arrows and end up leaving scratches.


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## Warbow (Apr 18, 2006)

massman said:


> Hello all,
> 
> I've been thinking of making a home made target butt out of carpet. At my local clubs we use a wire & wood framed box filled with rags faced with 2" of 1# density foam board to stop the arrow.
> 
> ...


At least one of our local Field Archery clubs, the Redwood Bowmen in Oakland, uses carpet bales almost exclusively. The bales are layers of carpet, edges of the carpet facing the archer, all compressed and baled down in a wood frame. The front face of edges is treated with some sort of tar-like layer of weather proofing. I assume they use a hydraulic jack to compress the carpets in the frame before bailing the frame tight. The bales last longer than straw bales, but the initial investment is higher since the club purchases these bales comercially. A lot of people shoot carbons into these bales., but I don't know for certain if there are any complaints.


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## limbwalker (Sep 26, 2003)

If it's not going to move, I'd build the wood frame with chicken wire front and back, filled with bags. Lots of folks have good luck with that, and it's cheap.

John.


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## InKYfromSD (Feb 6, 2004)

I've read a lot of threads on the "lifetime" targets that use chicken wire. Something about shooting $25 arrows at chicken wire just doesn't sit well with me. I'd be more inclined to go with something like landscape cloth. I'm very fortunate in that I live 2 1/2 hours from American Whitetail and was able to get a target from them. A friend also gave me several excelsior bales when he closed his archery shop and another friend made me a heck of a deal on a Morrell target. 

If I was going to build a "lifetime" target, I'd bevel the inside edge of the frame and try a couple layers of this stuff stretched across the front. I'm pretty sure my wife has issued a stern warning that included "one more archery target in the backyard!" though so it'll be a while before I build one.


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## KStover (Jan 24, 2009)

massman said:


> Hello all,
> 
> I've been thinking of making a home made target butt out of carpet. At my local clubs we use a wire & wood framed box filled with rags faced with 2" of 1# density foam board to stop the arrow.
> 
> Tom



I made the same type of target but filled it with plastic. Our local grocer recycles their shrink wrap from pallets, they gave me all I wanted. It works great. I covered the face with a Morrell's range target replacement bag. It's 45"x36". I made the top of the frame removable so that I can restuff it when/if needed. 

Keith


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## Zane Smith (Nov 27, 2005)

Carpet targets work great.
I have a 20 target field coarse using mostly layered targets. 
After trail and eror I have learned that you need good quality commercial carpet(like from a goverment remodel) to lay flat and not move, around 3/8" thick. All cut carpet like you would put in your bedroom will not work.
I also came up with a good design for steel stands that compress the layers. Using 1/2" allthread and 3" C channel
By the way, it takes a lot of carpet. My bales are 36"x36"x12" and take over 100 layers. Also mention that they have a plywood and "ice shield"roof.
Zane


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## poppingrunt (Feb 23, 2010)

Zane Smith said:


> Carpet targets work great.
> I have a 20 target field coarse using mostly layered targets.
> After trail and eror I have learned that you need good quality commercial carpet(like from a goverment remodel) to lay flat and not move, around 3/8" thick. All cut carpet like you would put in your bedroom will not work.
> I also came up with a good design for steel stands that compress the layers. Using 1/2" allthread and 3" C channel
> ...


got any pics? sou:smile:nds good


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## cc46 (Jan 22, 2005)

folks ...say what you want about carpet, but in my experience carpet targets are BAD! 

I made two, w/3 or 4 layers of carpet front and back, plastic bags and pallet wrap fill inside, shot them for 2 yrs and the spine on my ACEs and Redlines changed about 30 to 50 points, 600 to 630/650, and 570 to 600/620....all due to the abrasiveness of the carpet on the carbon which weaken them. My 2 carpet targets are now just a safety barrier along side a round foam target.

cheers


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