# Hay Bale targets



## Ratdog68 (Feb 22, 2009)

*Gettin' good use outta mine...*



ncheels said:


> With all the threads for targets and/or DIY targets, I haven't seen anything about hay bales. Has anyone tried them as targets, using draw weights at or below 45#? (my new longbow is 44#)


"straw" actually. I have no problem all the way up to my 60# longbow. These were with my 45# Martin Mountaineer longbow at 12yds. (furthest I can go in my back yard)


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## LBR (Jan 1, 2004)

They work, for a while. If you hit the same spot over and over, you'll shoot through a hay bale pretty quick. They can be hard on the arrow finish. Not very portable, especially if it gets wet.

On a tight budget, I'd go with a feed sack stuffed with discarded plastic wrap. Cheap, light weight, portable, stops any arrow, easy to pull, and did I mention cheap?

Chad


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## Warbow (Apr 18, 2006)

ncheels said:


> With all the threads for targets and/or DIY targets, I haven't seen anything about hay bales. Has anyone tried them as targets, using draw weights at or below 45#? (my new longbow is 44#)


Hay? No, but straw bales are still used at some outdoor ranges such as the Golden Gate Park range in San Francisco. They are used there because they are fairly cheep and resistant to weather, vandalism and theft, unlike more expensive foam mats. They work ok, especially for lighter bows. Not so great for heavier bows or skinny arrows. People routinely bring foam to hang in front of the hay bales, which are a bit shot out.

GG part recently changed to "Pacific bow butts," which are straw bales covered in a plastic burlap fabric, presumably to make the bales last longer. Unfortunately, the plastic fabric seems to help the bales retain moisture, of which there is a lot a the foggy coastal range location, and rot on the inside. So, I wouldn't recommend Pacific bow butts for an area of high precipitation.

Also, some clubs make little huts with roofs to keep their bales dry.


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## trentcur (Feb 26, 2009)

I use both. The only problem with a hay/straw bale is that over time of shooting the same spot it becomes really soft and its easy to shooth straight through it. I ruined one of my new trailor tires this way. SHot straight through the bale and stuck right in the sidewall:sad:


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## bsites9 (Mar 22, 2008)

i too have tried it, but i shoot at 70 lbs., and went straight through, and through the wall of my garage


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## trentcur (Feb 26, 2009)

bsites9 said:


> i too have tried it, but i shoot at 70 lbs., and went straight through, and through the wall of my garage



I so dont feel that bad about my tire any longer...... THAT is funny!:grin:


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## ncheels (Jun 3, 2009)

This is good to know. And I said hay but should have said straw. I posted this because I can get straw bales for $3 and can get fescue bales for around $6. At that price, I wanted badly for this to be a good idea : )

Thanks for the feedback.


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## trentcur (Feb 26, 2009)

ncheels said:


> This is good to know. And I said hay but should have said straw. I posted this because I can get straw bales for $3 and can get fescue bales for around $6. At that price, I wanted badly for this to be a good idea : )
> 
> Thanks for the feedback.


I recommend that you get a bag.. they cost a little more but thay are way easier to move....... clean..... (ants love straw) and straw will tear the living **** out of your feathers. Oh and the bag is wayyyyy easier to pull arrows out of. They are not too expensive either.


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## Eldermike (Mar 24, 2009)

Straw will work but when it fails the arrow comes out the other side almost as fast as it went in. I have seen 3 arrows stopped at half shaft and one go across the street. IMHO you need a backstop for a straw target.

I have built several carpet backstops for almost nothing. One fair sized room of used carpet will build a 6 x 8 back stop that you can't shoot through. If you know an installer you can get this for nothing. I cut 4 pieces, (last one was 6X8) nail them to a frame hanging 1 inch off the ground on bottom, 4 pieces thick, and cover it with a cheap tarp. My 300fps firecat will not shoot through it. You can hang paper targets on it, paint dots on it, and shoot it for years, just keep moving them around. For less money than straw.


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## ncheels (Jun 3, 2009)

Eldermike said:


> I cut 4 pieces, (last one was 6X8) nail them to a frame hanging 1 inch off the ground on bottom, 4 pieces thick, and cover it with a cheap tarp. My 300fps firecat will not shoot through it. You can hang paper targets on it, paint dots on it, and shoot it for years, just keep moving them around.


When you nail the carpet pieces to the frame, do you nail all down both sides or just nail at the top and let the 4 pieces hang?


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## Eldermike (Mar 24, 2009)

ncheels said:


> When you nail the carpet pieces to the frame, do you nail all down both sides or just nail at the top and let the 4 pieces hang?



I let them hang and keep them off the ground. My current one has a roof and I hang bag targets in front of the carpet stop. My grandkids can shoot and miss the bags but the arrows are not lost. I do shoot the backstop sometimes with carbon or aluminum arrows, but not with wood arrows. The carpet backing will take the finish off your wood arrows.


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## Hawksnest88 (Dec 12, 2005)

For many years, straw bales, or excelsior bales ( much more expensive) were all we had. We bought banders and a roll of banding material and clamps, and banded two or three bales together to make them very tight. Today, I would just buy a bag and be done with it. Cover it from the weather and they will last years. Bill


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## Okie1bow (Jul 26, 2006)

*Hay Bales*

Gosh, for half my life I didn't know there was any thing else to practice with! 
Hay and straw work well if you bind them tightly with a strap and cover the top with a plastic rainproof tarp.


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## ncheels (Jun 3, 2009)

Thanks for the feedback. 
I guess what I like about the idea of straw bales is that, as a newbie to trad archery, I could use a BIG target area as I learn the form and technique. Then the price was the icing.


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## otacon122 (Jun 13, 2009)

You want cheap target material? Newspapers. Save all your old newspapers, then after about a week or two, pack them as tight as you can in a milk crate or other sturdy basket or case and lay the target itself against the stack of newspapers. Make sure you stack the newspapers so that when you fire into them, you are firing into the top or bottom of the stack. Newspapers are not re-usable once they have been used for target practice, but anyone with a subscription only needs to save up about a week's worth or two week's worth and they have target material for the next two or three days.


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## ravensgait (Sep 23, 2006)

If you want to use straw bales here is what you can do.. Get some 4X8s some cable and a couple turnbuckles . Cut a couple 4X8s a little longer than the length of a bale and a few more pieces to connect them together as a frame under a bale. Attach the cable through the ends of the frame (just have to drill a few holes).. Place a couple bales on the frame and use the cable and turnbuckles to compress the bales. Tighten every once in a while and replace the bales once or twice a year. Has a little cost to get set up but after that you only pay for bales of straw. Randy


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## archerm3 (Jan 4, 2007)

ravensgait said:


> If you want to use straw bales here is what you can do.. Get some 4X8s some cable and a couple turnbuckles . Cut a couple 4X8s a little longer than the length of a bale and a few more pieces to connect them together as a frame under a bale. Attach the cable through the ends of the frame (just have to drill a few holes).. Place a couple bales on the frame and use the cable and turnbuckles to compress the bales. Tighten every once in a while and replace the bales once or twice a year. Has a little cost to get set up but after that you only pay for bales of straw. Randy


+1 I can't believe there's been a whole page of posts and up til now no one has mentioned that you need to compress the bales; then they will stop anything. 

Also, put a tarp over the top to keep them dry then just raise the tarp on one side when your shooting. 

I used bales, HAY bales (though straw is better) for years, and I would always get at least 2 years of use out of them.


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## MIBOWHUNTER56 (Jan 1, 2014)

i too live in the country and the nearest sporting goods store is upwards if 25 miles away! i use hay bales as targets with my 55 lb compound it stops the arrows well and ive had 0 go through ever. all you need to do is make sure that the bale is tight and youll be good.


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## Paul_J (Jul 16, 2013)

Target no, backstop yes.


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## Bill 2311 (Jun 24, 2005)

Back in the day.... we used 80# straw bales at the archery club range. They were specially made and did a good job, for a while. If you want to try them, go to the local hardware store and buy a pair of cheap ratchet straps. Put them around the bales and tighten them up to increase resistance in the bale.


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## Easykeeper (Jan 2, 2003)

Hay or straw bales work but there are better targets, of course they cost more too. A couple of strategic ratchet straps, or a clamp made of 2x6's and threaded rod make bales much more effective at stopping arrows. I use a big 1100lb round bale, but then I get 100 of them off the hayfield every year and have the tractor to move them. I think the big bale is a great target but not practical for most people.


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## MotherLode (Dec 9, 2005)

More for a back stop if not compressed with some sort of foam to shoot into, can also compress easy enough with straps. Never cared for the bags due to the way the arrows stick in at all angles.


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## Razith (Mar 24, 2013)

I use Straw as a Backstop myself, most annoying thing about straw is it can wreck your fletching if it's penetrating that deep. I use zipties once the straw starts to get lose. And I've shot at a few 1000# bales of hay, they work naturally. But I had mine for feeding to my horses, so I didn't want to shoot to many arrows into them. Where I'm at there 30-40 dollars for a big 1000# bale.


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## zdogk9 (Dec 6, 2011)

I use straw bales stack three tighten up with ratchet straps, shoot them for a while, leave them out in the weather, when they start to go bad My wife takes them and uses them for mulch on her latest landscape project and I get more straw


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## Nekekal (Dec 25, 2012)

Wow, talk about an old thread. But interesting. I use straw bales. Nothing special, just common straw about $3.00 a bale where I live. At ten yards, a 40 lb bow will shoot mostly through one. But if you hit the line between two stacked bales, the arrow will go all the way through. And if the bale gets wet it seems to never dry out and will rot, or compost, depending on your sensibilities. In the winter, a wet bale will freeze and allow the arrow to penetrate but freeze around the shaft making it very difficult to get out.

To solve these problems I built a small shelter for my straw. I used poles which are free in the woods, but any lumber could be used. I built a small bench for the first bale, then stacked them 3 high. I put a pole about 6 ft long under the bottom bale, and another on top. I put a cable around the ends on one side, and then just pulled the other side down and tied it to the bottom pole. This makes a cheap and easy press. The pressure is enough to eliminate the lines between bales, the shelter keeps the water off. As one spot gets pretty shot up and the arrows start to penetrate the bale I move the target around and once in a while restack the bales. The one in the center gets most of the work.

I did back the whole thing with 1/2 inch OSB, just in case.


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