# Building the lifetime target



## barebow52 (Nov 7, 2007)

I used the basic design. Pressure treated 2x12x12. Made a 36 x36 box


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## barebow52 (Nov 7, 2007)

I then stapled my target faces onto the frame, but did not staple to the top board


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## barebow52 (Nov 7, 2007)

I took two sheets of plyboard cut 34x36 and temporarily screwed it over the target faces on each side. this will support the target faces while stuffing


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## barebow52 (Nov 7, 2007)

At this point I'm able to remove the top board for stuffing


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## oldschoolcj5 (Jun 8, 2009)

nice approach. post up the final results too please


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## barebow52 (Nov 7, 2007)

with the top open it is much easier to fill the target . It also affords me the ability to actually stand in the box to use my weight to compress the shrinkwrap.


I normally compress it several times during filling. Then i purposely overfill the box and when reinstalling the top board if gives some more added compression


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## barebow52 (Nov 7, 2007)

After securing the top board back on the frame. Staple the target face to the top board. then unscrew the plywood support from each side.

One thing i noticed is how tight the faces are with the shrink wrap expanding once the support panels are removed.


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## Ches (Aug 3, 2009)

Doesn't the plastic melt onto your arrows?


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## revwilder (Apr 11, 2005)

Where do you get that much shrink wrap?


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## barebow52 (Nov 7, 2007)

Ches said:


> Doesn't the plastic melt onto your arrows?


I havnt had any issues with that


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## barebow52 (Nov 7, 2007)

revwilder said:


> Where do you get that much shrink wrap?


Metal roofing company


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## Jimmysworking (Mar 1, 2003)

Great build. Thanks for sharing.


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## barebow52 (Nov 7, 2007)

ttt


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## Lord Snow (Mar 3, 2014)

Nice! Thanks! I work at a lumber supply store, so I have access to a lot of used shrink wrap, not to mention lumber. I'm definitely building this!


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## barebow52 (Nov 7, 2007)

Here is where i get my target face material $10/set


http://bagcorpstore.com


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## JUSS HUNT (Feb 2, 2011)

are you shooting bows up to 325 fps in this target, an still getting easy pull outs ?


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## barebow52 (Nov 7, 2007)

JUSS HUNT said:


> are you shooting bows up to 325 fps in this target, an still getting easy pull outs ?


 I don't have a compound that fast , but have shot a crossbow into it without issue


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## olemil4me (Mar 1, 2008)

I use shrink wrap in my ragtag and my is shooting 330 no issues at all plus my dad's 350 fps cross bow I bought the target faces from thirdhand on here now need the weather to warm up a little to build my target


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## hunt123 (Jan 17, 2009)

Love your simple process and the cheap target faces. Definitely how I'm going to make my next one(s).


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## barebow52 (Nov 7, 2007)

Ttt


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

Barebow: You really did a nice job building the target. Please let us know how many shots it will withstand before getting torn up.


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## hunt123 (Jan 17, 2009)

thirdhandman said:


> Barebow: You really did a nice job building the target. Please let us know how many shots it will withstand before getting torn up.


Nice. There's a complement with an agenda. Of course it will last a long time if one shoots at small spots all over the face and the insert/point is the same diameter as the shaft, or you can completely shoot out the center like I did with several of yours. His source for faces is so inexpensive, shooting one up is irrelevant.


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## barebow52 (Nov 7, 2007)

thirdhandman said:


> Barebow: You really did a nice job building the target. Please let us know how many shots it will withstand before getting torn up.


thirdhandman

I have made a dozen of these targets. Several made with the bag corp face, a couple with your skins and a couple with morrell polypropylene faces. I havnt shot yours and the morrell ones long enough to make an accurate comparison, but I have been using the material from bagcorp for two years with excellent results

As far as looking at the material of all three closely I can see little difference 

Once I get some more arrows in the morrell and your skins i will give a detailed comparison with photos

thanks for the compliment on the build


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## Brendon_t (Aug 12, 2013)

hunt123 said:


> Nice. There's a complement with an agenda. Of course it will last a long time if one shoots at small spots all over the face and the insert/point is the same diameter as the shaft, or you can completely shoot out the center like I did with several of yours. His source for faces is so inexpensive, shooting one up is irrelevant.


Irrelevant? How is building a "lifetime" target with a cheaper face that you can just replace later even a lifetime target? .. more of a Will work till I have to fix it target. I do not know about these other cheaper skins but I doubt they warranty them for life with our sport like THM does.


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## barebow52 (Nov 7, 2007)

Brendon_t said:


> Irrelevant? How is building a "lifetime" target with a cheaper face that you can just replace later even a lifetime target? .. more of a Will work till I have to fix it target. I do not know about these other cheaper skins but I doubt they warranty them for life with our sport like THM does.


All faces regardless of who sells them will have to be replaced at some point. If there is a warranty offered by any of these companies for shooting out a hole in the target face I'm unaware of it. I've been around long enough to know that the term "lifetime target" wasnt referrring to the faces, but rather the contents of the target.


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## hooiserarcher (Feb 20, 2011)

Third hands face is lifetime warrantied. Plus he is paying for advertising on A.T. 
I have placed multiple orders with him and met him twice at shows. He has great products and stands behind them. 
If you have a cheaper product that you want to buy then by all means go for it. I personally am more then happy with Jim's products, prices and service.


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## barebow52 (Nov 7, 2007)

hooiserarcher said:


> Third hands face is lifetime warrantied. Plus he is paying for advertising on A.T.
> I have placed multiple orders with him and met him twice at shows. He has great products and stands behind them.
> If you have a cheaper product that you want to buy then by all means go for it. I personally am more then happy with Jim's products, prices and service.



I have a couple sets of those skins, but didnt know they had a lifetime warranty. Maybe thirdhandman can jump in and give us the details of the warranty


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## hunt123 (Jan 17, 2009)

Thirdhandman's warranty goes like this: if you shoot out every one of the dots on the face, you get a new one. That's the lifetime warranty. If you shoot out other parts of the target, like the center, no replacement. He's posted that many times.

Put the same number of dots on the bagcorp faces and you'll be forever trying to shoot them out.

And besides, these targets aren't no maintenance, now and then you need to recompact to eliminate soft spots and you need to either stomp the backside down or turn it around and shoot the bulge if you shoot the target a lot. Replacing a face is just part of the maintenance. And replacing the face after multiple thousands of shots over several years is no big deal. 

Even Spyderweb targets get shot up and those are made out of material that's not fused. It's loose so the points deflect it to the side. Real expensive stuff.


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## barebow52 (Nov 7, 2007)

Ttt


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## Ragman44 (Dec 28, 2014)

barebow - I noticed the targets on that site have prints on them - yours looked blank. WHere do I find the blank ones?


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## barebow52 (Nov 7, 2007)

Call or email them. They are very helpful


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## Ragman44 (Dec 28, 2014)

$10 is a good deal but the $20 shipping charge to me kills it.


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## Snake Braid (Dec 30, 2004)

What cover are you using? MuckyMat?


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## barebow52 (Nov 7, 2007)

Snake Braid said:


> What cover are you using? MuckyMat?


I just called and had them custom make my target faces


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## barebow52 (Nov 7, 2007)

Ragman44 said:


> $10 is a good deal but the $20 shipping charge to me kills it.


i bought several sets at one time and the shipping was the same as ordering one set. I got enough to make 4 targets for $44 shipped


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

barebow52 said:


> thirdhandman
> 
> I have made a dozen of these targets. Several made with the bag corp face, a couple with your skins and a couple with morrell polypropylene faces. I havnt shot yours and the morrell ones long enough to make an accurate comparison, but I have been using the material from bagcorp for two years with excellent results
> 
> ...


Barebow: You really did do a nice job on the build. The reason I ask about the fabric is I personally tested over 100 fabrics that looked similar before we chose what we use. Many looked exactly the same but didn't last the during the test. Then there was the printing issue. Some took the ink better than others. Just because a target is homemade doesn't mean it has to look homemade. I'm pretty happy with our results.


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## barebow52 (Nov 7, 2007)

thirdhandman said:


> Barebow: You really did do a nice job on the build. The reason I ask about the fabric is I personally tested over 100 fabrics that looked similar before we chose what we use. Many looked exactly the same but didn't last the during the test. Then there was the printing issue. Some took the ink better than others. Just because a target is homemade doesn't mean it has to look homemade. I'm pretty happy with our results.
> View attachment 2187207
> View attachment 2187209


Jim

I tested the three fabrics noted earlier in this thread and picked the one that suited my needs best. Like I said earlier I have Morrel, Bagcorp and a couple sets of yours. All do the job, and all are showing equal amounts of wear. All will have to be replaced if they get shot enough.


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## V-TRAIN (Feb 27, 2009)

great write up


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## Doofy_13 (Jan 2, 2012)

Great target! Love the idea of puting wood sheets on the outside to keep the fill nice and even.

I'm about to put my third or fourth together. Always used clothes but leaving htem outside would get them waterlogged. I will be looking for shrinkwrap.

Once again....Thank you for the thread!


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## Peter from AL (Jan 12, 2016)

chicken food bags and certain types of dog food bags make a really good target face that costs zero.


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## kogen (Nov 8, 2013)

It looks very durable.


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

barebow52 said:


> I have a couple sets of those skins, but didnt know they had a lifetime warranty. Maybe thirdhandman can jump in and give us the details of the warranty


Barebow: Our lifetime warranty is exactly what hunt 123 said. If you stand back and lob arrows into just the center of the target, dog food bags would probably be better. We put 18 aiming spots on our rag bag and use the best material I can find on the target to make it last longer. Shooting the 5 spot on the front until the bag starts to bulge 4-5" then simply turn the bag around and shoot the 13 spot which pushes the clothing back. This eliminates the need to throw the bag on the ground and stomp on it. Pretty simple, if you do this and wear a hole in every spot front and back we will give you another target. If you prefer to shoot at the center only, don't call if you wear the center out.:wink:

The same material and guarantee for the original commercially sold range box target.


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## East Aurora (Sep 6, 2011)

hunt123 said:


> Nice. There's a complement with an agenda. Of course it will last a long time if one shoots at small spots all over the face and the insert/point is the same diameter as the shaft, or you can completely shoot out the center like I did with several of yours. His source for faces is so inexpensive, shooting one up is irrelevant.


You sound like a jerk. Here is a guy (Third Hand Man) who couldn't be nicer and you blast him for making a simple comment? He is a blue collar guy who works very hard at making his self owned business stay afloat.

So go ahead and make your target and buy a cheaper version of a target face (with nothing printed on it and no warranty) and save your $10. I'm sure those savings will help you live a much better life!


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

*


hunt123 said:



Thirdhandman's warranty goes like this: if you shoot out every one of the dots on the face, you get a new one. That's the lifetime warranty. If you shoot out other parts of the target, like the center, no replacement. He's posted that many times.

Click to expand...

*


hunt123 said:


> Put the same number of dots on the bagcorp faces and you'll be forever trying to shoot them out.
> 
> And besides, these targets aren't no maintenance, now and then you need to recompact to eliminate soft spots and you need to either stomp the backside down or turn it around and shoot the bulge if you shoot the target a lot. Replacing a face is just part of the maintenance. And replacing the face after multiple thousands of shots over several years is no big deal.
> 
> Even Spyderweb targets get shot up and those are made out of material that's not fused. It's loose so the points deflect it to the side. Real expensive stuff.


Hunt123: You clearly have read and understand our warranty. Evidence of your avatar, you clearly like shooting the middle. If you wore out our $25 rag bag in 6 months by shooting out the middle, it would have lasted you about 9 years if you shot all the aiming spots out. You have 17 more spots to shoot wear out.
Spider web does make a great target for about $250 and when you wear it out you can buy another one for another $250.


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## Martin_fierro (Nov 7, 2015)

great idea for this target.


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## uno676 (Mar 20, 2011)

Anyone tried shredded rubber in one of these targets. Like the rubber mulch they sell at Home Depot. Just curious 


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## beearcher (May 19, 2014)

Besides the AT BS, the targets are nice, and the faces from ThirdHand are as good and better than most, and
you have some nice targets, if some people like other stuff let em buy other stuff, but ThirdHand sells a lot of faces
just look thru AT at all the homemade targets....SOOT EM UP


PSE Surge 70# SW


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## Inn.Outdoorsman (Feb 4, 2016)

Jim makes a great product . He takes paypal. He helps fund this site, He is more than helpful and based on all the happy customers here, he is doing something right.


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## Bigallyoutdoors (Oct 5, 2014)

....


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## Bigallyoutdoors (Oct 5, 2014)

Peter from AL said:


> chicken food bags and certain types of dog food bags make a really good target face that costs zero.


 The feed store will have them.They are what replaced the old gunny or burlap sacs.


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## NurseRob (Sep 14, 2011)

What is the material for the Target face?


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## klemsontigers7 (Jul 1, 2008)

Does anyone think that building a target and offsetting the face out maybe 3-4" make sense? That way, the face would always stay flat. The only problem I could see would be you might go through the faces more quickly, if the arrow hits the target then tears the face more because it's farther away. Just a thought.


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## Blacktailbustr (Jan 12, 2012)

barebow52 said:


> Here is where i get my target face material $10/set
> 
> 
> http://bagcorpstore.com


What product do you actually buy from this website?


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## Milo357 (May 4, 2014)

Tagged for future use.


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## Time2Panic (Dec 29, 2015)

great job


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## Hockeyg61 (Jul 11, 2016)

Any idea how much shrink wrap you actually used. For those of us who's are also getting some


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## Outsider (Aug 16, 2011)

Hockeyg61 said:


> Any idea how much shrink wrap you actually used. For those of us who's are also getting some
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


For my 4X4 target I have used about 4 garbage bags. I'm not sure of the size of bag but we use them in our shop in 50 gallon garbage containers.


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## Outsider (Aug 16, 2011)

Blacktailbustr said:


> What product do you actually buy from this website?


They actually make archery targets http://bagcorpstore.com/Archery-Targets_c_146.html


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## Hockeyg61 (Jul 11, 2016)

Outsider said:


> For my 4X4 target I have used about 4 garbage bags. I'm not sure of the size of bag but we use them in our shop in 50 gallon garbage containers.


I assume that means 4 50 gallon garbage bags filled with shrink wrap?


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## Outsider (Aug 16, 2011)

Hockeyg61 said:


> I assume that means 4 50 gallon garbage bags filled with shrink wrap?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yes sir. 3 might be enough but will not be compacted too good.


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## Wunderwacker (Jul 14, 2016)

I've been wanting to make one of these too, but wasn't sure how it would hold up to a 335 IBO


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## Airrichbows1 (Jul 23, 2016)

Looks great


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

barebow52 said:


> Jim
> 
> I tested the three fabrics noted earlier in this thread and picked the one that suited my needs best. Like I said earlier I have Morrel, Bagcorp and a couple sets of yours. All do the job, and all are showing equal amounts of wear.* All will have to be replaced if they get shot enough*.



Barebow, all three do look alike but ours does last longer because it is a different material.
If they get shot enough. That is the whole point of our targets, they last. In 20+ years of making the rag bag we have had less than a dozen people actually wear them out.


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## 00 buck (Mar 22, 2013)

Just got mine built and stuffed today. Got a thread of how I built it in the bow hunting side of the forum. Can't wait to sling some arrows at this thing.










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## Bagzzz82 (Jun 4, 2017)

I'm going to try this


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## USCG_Bowhunter (Jun 10, 2017)

I made the exact same target. 


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## Drmsesn (Jan 28, 2017)

I might have to give this a try

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## De0827 (Nov 14, 2012)

Very nice!


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## pseshooter84 (Jun 9, 2012)

barebow52 said:


> Here is where i get my target face material $10/set
> 
> 
> http://bagcorpstore.com


I went on to order this but the shipping is insane. $18 for 1 of these shipped??? No thanks. The price on the product is good, $11 a piece but $18 extra for shipping is overkill unless it's coming from Australia or something


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

Just a quick note. The Third Hand Archery targets are made in Cincinnati Oh. USA We also sponsor Archery Talk if that matters to anyone who is thinking about building one.:usa2:


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## Jhurley70 (May 31, 2017)

Nice

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## 03bullseye (May 28, 2014)

Do u have a store front or location I can pick some items up in person? I'm in N. Ky.


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

10137 timbercreek Dr. Union Ky is our home. home phone 384-2732. We do sell from our home but please call to make sure I am here. Sometimes at shows, picking up parts or riding the bike if ya know what I mean.


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## johnism (Mar 14, 2015)

cool thanks for the post


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## tikaldah2000 (Apr 12, 2008)

I built six lifetime targets and put them up as permanent target butts at our rod and gun club. I bought a pack of the faces and made two, and then used old seed totes for the other four. I was going to order four more of the preprinted faces because they look so much better and I suspect would be more durable, but then some idiot either used a broad head on them or stabbed them with a knife. If they don't take any more damage through the fall I will get the real faces.

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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

tikaldah2000 said:


> I built six lifetime targets and put them up as permanent target butts at our rod and gun club. I bought a pack of the faces and made two, and then used old seed totes for the other four. I was going to order four more of the preprinted faces because they look so much better and I suspect would be more durable, but then *some idiot either used a broad head on them or stabbed them with a knife. *If they don't take any more damage through the fall I will get the real faces.
> 
> Sent from my SM-S820L using Tapatalk


Sounds like some one needs to be taken behind the wood shed.:set1_punch:


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## duncancreek (Aug 9, 2017)

Target looks awesome. I will have to make one of these and hope it turns out as good as this one.


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## madarchery (May 28, 2003)

I have used the loose weave landscape/ erosion control fabric with great results do far. I purchased a 10ft roll so I have enough for a long time. Doing my research it seems it's the loose weave that's key. This way the threads can be pushed aside and can return to normal after being shot as opposed to being punched out ruining the face. Just another idea for yo uh guys as yo uh can pick up this material at your local landscaper and it's very cost effective. I think amazon has it for $30 a roll.

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## madarchery (May 28, 2003)

And it's uv stabilized.

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## madarchery (May 28, 2003)

That's was a 150 ft roll. Darn phones 

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## pkkmc96 (Nov 13, 2011)

Great post...I need to make a larger target for my daughter who is just getting into archery. This is perfect.

Thanks,

Phil


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## tcone1968 (Sep 20, 2014)

great Idea....good job


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## nekwoody (Mar 12, 2015)

Made one earlier this year. Cost: $0. It's double faced using large starch bags from a place I used to work. I had the lumber laying around at home, and had an old bag target that I sacrificed to fill this one along with other randomness. It works really good. Now if I could figure out one that would take broad heads.... :noidea:


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## mustangguy (Sep 1, 2009)

This is sweet!


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## Cornholioo (Jul 30, 2017)

This is my favorite thread. Tag.


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## nickmartin250 (Sep 22, 2010)

I have a Morrell range bag that I think I will sacrifice to make one of these. Sounds like these hold up pretty well. Have to be a little heavy to move around with the treated lumber on them though. 


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## bullrider22 (Oct 17, 2015)

Nice!


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## gohunt7 (Jul 28, 2016)

I am going to get one of these going. I got tons of shrink wrap


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## Bulldogge15 (Sep 9, 2016)

I have made a couple of these targets myself. I get a lot of shrink wrap at work. I also used all of my empty pellet bags from the pellet stove & they worked pretty good. another i used a mixture of shrink wrap and pellet bags. I used 3rd hand archery bags.


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## Gadawg11 (Jun 3, 2015)

Tag


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## Gadawg11 (Jun 3, 2015)

Great project!


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## maddog20/20 (Oct 13, 2015)

Cornholioo said:


> This is my favorite thread. Tag.


Me too


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## tgiannelli (Nov 14, 2014)

Nice work! 


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## 72k5mike (Nov 18, 2017)

great thread


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## Johne3darchery (Jun 3, 2017)

Great looking target!


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## ryan7774 (Feb 1, 2011)

Bump


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## Johnpryor (Sep 19, 2017)

Looks good very nice


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## oscar kern (Feb 4, 2004)

there is a catch you have to shoot out every spot on the target read the fine print


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## jdwilkie6 (Feb 4, 2014)

klemsontigers7 said:


> Does anyone think that building a target and offsetting the face out maybe 3-4" make sense? That way, the face would always stay flat. The only problem I could see would be you might go through the faces more quickly, if the arrow hits the target then tears the face more because it's farther away. Just a thought.


I offset mine approx 4”. I don’t shoot a lot but as of now I haven’t had any tearing. 

My local archery range has the “competition” or “iron man” target by big shot (I believe) and that’s where I Got the idea from. 

My target is 40”x40” and I used something comparable to “dog” window screen and double layered and Used Staples...used clothing and it’s built on a 2x12 frame. Will post picks

I also mounted “all rod” to the sides. Now I use a flat bungee stretched across that I clip paper targets to. Now I can adjust paper left or right with clips and move up and down sliding bungee cord on the all rod. 


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## Trcrow25 (Oct 23, 2016)

Good looking target


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

oscar kern said:


> there is a catch you have to shoot out every spot on the target read the fine print


It's not in the fine print. It's in regular print every time discussed on Archery Talk, which is the only place we have even printed the guarantee.
Most of the target manufacturers give a few spots on the front and usually one animal on the back. They know as soon as one shoots out the middle, the target is scrap. We call that "planned obsolescence".
If the archer only chooses to shoot the middle of the target, it will wear out way faster. We at least give you the opportunity to shoot thousands of shots if you use all the aiming spots on the whole target.:secret:


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## Lawman808$ (Jan 30, 2018)

Nice job on the target. I am looking into building one.


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## dgkatz68 (Feb 14, 2018)

What product from bagcorp are you using?


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## redneckgearhead (Feb 12, 2018)

Gotta add wheels and a handle. I get the shrink wrap from work a long with the media bags for the covers.









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## jmill146 (Mar 19, 2018)

Looks like I found my weekend project..


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## mbsteed (Jan 6, 2018)

Has anyone used grocery bags for interior stuffing?


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## Msoyring91 (Mar 15, 2017)

Great build! Definitely doing this.


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## chawk541 (Mar 23, 2018)

Nice work!


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