# Bales of hay?



## j.conner (Nov 12, 2009)

Hay or straw bales will not really stop an arrow, and they tend to rapidly decay outdoors. Might be OK if you can hang a rubber sheet behind the stack of bales to fully stop the arrow. You might have some improved success if you can compress and re-band them.


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## douglasjwood (Apr 19, 2017)

Thanks!

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## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

One of the clubs in Maryland uses hay bales. They work great. They have to be packed really tight to work well, which means that they will be heavy.
One of the public ranges here uses excelsior bales from Saunders. They work great as long as they are packed tight. But break on of the bands and they are useless. I understand that they are pretty expensive too.
On either, you have to be careful to not shoot the seams between bales. Arrows go right through.

Allen


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## 4 Fletch (Jan 25, 2014)

I just changed bales last weekend. 

Archer advice 1. Horse farmer friend suggested I buy old bales to save money. I saved money all right... the bales were difficult to move with rotting twine and fell apart fast. These straw bales are new. 

Archer advice 2. Place bales end facing out so you don't have to buy twice as many bales... and your 300fps compound arrows stand a chance against the chain link fence top rail and post backstop when (not if) you miss your target :embara: ...even if the only time you miss is when sighting in your bow after changing strings. 

Farmer trick -- put the bales side down; NOT twine down or the twine rots first and the bales fall apart.

Target is an Iron Man Big Shot 24. Also have a Rinehart 18-1.


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## beaverman (Jun 21, 2008)

I used to buy bales of straw for my kids to shoot. Then I took a couple of the big ratchet straps like 2-3" wide heavy truck type straps and compressed the bales with those straps and shot them with a few of my bows and it stopped everything pretty well. If you can compress them either with big heavy straps or with wood and threaded rod they will work. Without compressing them you will shoot right through the square bales.


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## douglasjwood (Apr 19, 2017)

Thanks guys. I figured they would need to be compressed. I used to shoot into round bales, on the round part, not ends. Ends, you would occasionally bury an arrow. Sides however worked good as long as the bales were compressed well by the baker. Don't have access to those any longer, but could get squares. Wasn't sure if it was viable with today's speeds.

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## b0w_bender (Apr 30, 2006)

I have used hay bales a lot. They will stop arrows just fine if they are baled tightly enough. It all depends on the farmer. Some bale really tight and some loose. even if you get a loos baile as others above had said they need to be compressed. In one of the clubs that I used to belong to we used a box with a couple of jacks attached to them to compress the bales a bit and then re-strap them. I have found that just a decent strapping tool is enough to get them tight enough to stop an arrow from most bows. 

I bought one like this off of ebay really cheap. they are fantastic for binding all sorts of things together and especially for target materials.
https://www.uline.com/BL_3553/Standard-Steel-Strapping-Tools

I dare say its a DIY'ers must have.


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## douglasjwood (Apr 19, 2017)

I used strapping tools like that in past jobs. They do work good. Great idea.

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## practice-more (Nov 10, 2005)

I have used small square bales for youth targets. They stop arrows from a Genesis bow just fine and allow you to build a large, inexpensive backstop. 

I have used large round bales as long range targets for myself. They stop arrows well as long as you shoot at the curved side, not the round end of the bale. When all I had was a small block target, these worked great for practicing a FITA distances. They do break down over time, though. 

Mitch


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## j.conner (Nov 12, 2009)

Another thing to note is that when you see bales at archery ranges they are usually Excelsior, which is a shaved wood product. It also must be compressed and banded, but if compressed and maintained properly (periodically recompressed and rotated) stops arrows and lasts a long time. A bale compressor can be made by welding plates on a lot splitter - just be sure to add channels for the metal banding.

As mentioned above, hay and straw are not really stout enough to stop an arrow (at least not fully and repeatedly) but can be useful as backstops and target stands. They could be fine for kid bows if you want something fairly short term, like a summer camp.

I have been involved in field archery club operations in So Cal for about 20 years and have seen the use of many target materials. Excelsior was popular for quite a while, but the labor to maintain them was always a pain so most have switched to a compressed carpet target (mostly Arrolast or made from scratch). The labor and expertise is usually the limiting factor here, so it is a classic make versus buy decision. I have generally found that it is difficult to get participation in work parties and there is plenty of effort involved just rotating and replacing carpet targets on the range, let alone making them. Of course, whatever you have at home won't take nearly the beating that a club target does, but you do want something to last a bit.

On target archery ranges, ethafoam or block targets are more prevalent, particularly indoors.

At home, I have had good success hanging a bag target. This can also be a very effective and cost-effective method for home use.


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## douglasjwood (Apr 19, 2017)

My thinking was to use bales as targets on a 3d like course through my property. Not for public, just myself and friends occasionally. 3d targets are expensive and I wanted to be able to leave the targets out.

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## Racegun (Dec 5, 2011)

Straw bails make good back stops to slow arrows down but not good targets. Hay is for horses.


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## Roju (May 10, 2017)

When you're a kid you're doing like 20# draw weight at like 16" length using plastic arrows, even styrofoam will stop that. Try stacked carpet, works great, and usually easy to find, I'm getting ready to recarpet a room in my house just so I can use my old carpet for another target 

ALSO...the straw falls apart, carpet can be used for years (I use straw for my knife throwing)


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## Calypsoblu (May 18, 2016)

Go to a place like farm and fleet.. find horse stall mats.. they are thick, will stop an arrow. They can be gotten for abt $50.

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## a-rod14 (Aug 29, 2016)

Someone mentioned putting up s rubber backing behind the bails but it is really hard to pull the arrows out of the rubber. I bought a nice archery target from Cabela's and surrounded it with hay bails and behind the bails I used the rubber as a backup. Works excellent and I don't have to worry about wearing down bails


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## NC BowDaddy (Jan 10, 2014)

Let us know how it works for you - it would be a lot cheaper.


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## benginuiti (Jun 14, 2017)

What kind of backstop design works well for back yard shooting behind targets? Im going to be shooting towards my shed and would like to not hit it if i or my nephew miss the target block?


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## practice-more (Nov 10, 2005)

benginuiti said:


> What kind of backstop design works well for back yard shooting behind targets? Im going to be shooting towards my shed and would like to not hit it if i or my nephew miss the target block?


A loose hung piece of carpet (maybe multiple layers depending on bow) will stop arrows pretty well. 

Rubber mats or old conveyor belt will work too but they are tough to get arrows out of, should you shoot into one. 

The key with any of that stuff is to hang it so that it is free swinging. Being loose and able to move helps absorb the energy from the arrow. If it is pulled tight, the arrows can go right through. 

Mitch


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## coloyooper (May 2, 2017)

They use bales of hay that the outdoor range I shoot, occasionally I'll have a pass through but only once in a while


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## JustSomeDude (Jan 27, 2013)

I buy compressed Straw Grab and Go Bales from Tractor Supply for about $!0. They are covered in heavy plastic....I leave that on. I also eventually cover them in Contractor Trash bags. I've been shooting the same ones for a year. Working great (Recurve). Every now and then, I add another one and now have a nice field archery walking range.


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## JustSomeDude (Jan 27, 2013)

P.S.

I stick three 2" duct tape squares on them for targets. I made little pedestals to keep them off the ground a little.


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## jgloss1 (Jun 22, 2017)

I tried this once went right through


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## ddee.85lbc (Nov 16, 2015)

Shooting bales of hay is fine, but you have to compress them. I built a archery stand with threaded rods on each side to compress the bale even more. I just buy big 2000 lbs grain bags and cut them for a target face. Adding a roof is a good idea too due to rain. I’ve never had a completely pass through, even when shooting microdiameter arrows. And when it’s almost a pass through I just compress it even more.


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## Walz10 (Jul 24, 2016)

I’ll second the compressed compressed hay bails. Been shooting one for a while now and still stops a 460+ grain arrow at 305fps at 5 feet. I have several other commercial made butts but I like the compressed hey because they are cheap $12. They are on the heavy side though. I leave them in the bag they come in as mentioned earlier in this thread. 


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## 78mac78 (Mar 24, 2013)

I used corn stalk bales and they are packed tight. I also only use them as the back stop and have a 18-1 to aim at.


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## Huntinsker (Feb 9, 2012)

Used to shoot into round bales all the time with my hunting compounds. Needs to be a nice tight bale and you need to shoot into the convex side, not the round looking flat side on the end of the bale. You'll bury arrows into the ends. If you can find an economical way to keep them mostly dry so they don't quickly break down and decay, they'll last quite a while. There's a company called Pacific Bow Butts that use essentially tightly compressed hay bales in their bale targets and they hold up to a lot of shooting.


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## Two Flints (Nov 3, 2006)

I purchased four of these compressed bales of straw at Tractor Supply, covered them with 3 mi black bags, and then placed them on my DIY cart. So far they stop any arrow I shoot and penetration is only about 4" or so on average.







My cart is not finished. Will add rubber strips as a frame and up the middle to cover the open spaces between the straw bales. I also have the Third Hand Archery covers to add as a finishing touch.

Two Flints


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## survivalistd (Jun 26, 2017)

Great job Two Flints I looked these bales up . Have you shot broadheads into them. 

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## Two Flints (Nov 3, 2006)

Hey Survivalistd,

Just got it built and have only shot field points into it, but not concerned about broadheads, as the density or compression of the straw should stop a broadhead. The straw bales are heavy and solid, and they are sold with their own plastic covers.


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## CamoQuest (Mar 3, 2012)

survivalistd said:


> Great job Two Flints I looked these bales up . Have you shot broadheads into them.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk


We have a few of these we use as extra targets. I’ve shot broadheads in them and they stop just fine, but the blades rip the plastic wrapping up. Once it rips and moisture gets inside, they mold pretty fast. We learned that with the first one. Now we keep them covered or in the barn when not being used, and stick to field and target points. I like Two Flints setup with the 4 stacked bales. A Thirdhand cover is a great idea!


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## jvswan (Apr 19, 2013)

When I was starting in out in archery a couple of years ago I was traveling to Altus Air Force Base in Oklahoma for work a lot. They have an archery range there with large round hay bails. I thought it would be cool to being my bow and shoot some after work. Started at 30 yds and shot my first five arrows. When I went out to retrieve them I found five holes in my paper target and no arrows. They disappeared inside the bails. Five new carbon arrows gone... grr...


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## survivalistd (Jun 26, 2017)

CamoQuest said:


> We have a few of these we use as extra targets. I’ve shot broadheads in them and they stop just fine, but the blades rip the plastic wrapping up. Once it rips and moisture gets inside, they mold pretty fast. We learned that with the first one. Now we keep them covered or in the barn when not being used, and stick to field and target points. I like Two Flints setup with the 4 stacked bales. A Thirdhand cover is a great idea!





Two Flints said:


> Hey Survivalistd,
> 
> Just got it built and have only shot field points into it, but not concerned about broadheads, as the density or compression of the straw should stop a broadhead. The straw bales are heavy and solid, and they are sold with their own plastic covers.


Thank you guys for the feedback I found a local place that has these. I'm going to make one like your two flints you did a great job there. 

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