I'm soooo glad I don't have to spend a fortune to replace my backstop :)
I was wondering if the top and bottom boards could be replaced with some threaded bar through the uprights? (wouldn't need long camps this way either!)
I'd obviously need 2 for the top (front and back) and the same at the bottom.
@smudgefleck - It sure will. The first target I made was a bottom board, threaded bar for both sides and then a 2x4 on top. All I used for the core was old towels, clothing, etc. folded to the front was flat. It's surprising how much you can compress the material so I ended up with quite a bit of threaded rod sticking up. I used it for over five years until I build my larger model.
VERY neat d.i.y. target design. Thank you for the step-by-step plan. I'm curious, do you think it's better to orient the carpet vertically like you did, or horizontally? I'm figuring if it's either low or high, the vertical placement might be better, so as to not go through several layers (if that matters).
@huyked - I think you could probably run them either way, kind of depends on the size of carpet you have to work with. I figured that running them longer, it would take less to stack together before clamping them. But should work either way.
But I think you might have misunderstood me. What I was thinking was that, say you were standing very close to the target, and the carpet pieces were stacked on top of each other horizontally, instead of standing next to each other vertically, you would be shooting down it throuigh many layers, instead of the arrows sliding into nicely if it were vertically oriented. In the horizontal configuration, I'm thinking the arrows wouldn't go in as smoothly.
@huyked - Ah, I follow you now. I don't always shoot straight in front of the target. I angle it from both sides too. The arrow will penetrate four or five pieces of carpet when it comes in at an angle. I still think it will work if you stack your carpet pieces either way. If you shot an arrow from a slower bow, say 40 yards out, the arrow will enter the target at a downward angle. Interesting, may have to experiment. You've made some good comments. Thanks, S'Bone
@sed6 - I had to watch it again to see her. Two things I noticed (and this was after not noticing her to begin with) 1. Her hair is a bit green, probably needs a good washing and 2. I think she's sitting on her legs. I think there's a good chance she's actually part ninja...
Thank you for this idea. I just started archery and am sick of going through boxes like crazy! I have a bunch of old rugs in my mom's basement I can cut up for this. I'm excited!!!
@instantpestering - I've been using it for a couple of years with carbon, aluminum and cane arrows without any damage to the arrows. If you should use carpet that's dirty, ie. has dirt, sand, etc. in it, it will probably polish your arrows over time. The carpet will work like sandpaper. I also keep a waterproof cover over my target to protect it from windblown dirt and rain.
@ShinBone5000 Thanks! I might try making one soon. My $100 foam target has seen better days. I know someone who's ripping out old carpet at the moment.
great idea for a target i use a square rug with variouse padding behind it but your idea is a lot better as ive found out that the weave of the rug grips on to the edges of my field points and eventualy loosens them thanx again for a great idea
@cortachy - Even with this target my fieldpoints will work loose. Not sure how to keep them tight without using pliers but I don't want to mess up an arrow. A couple of taps on the bow will let me know if the point has loosened.
@ShinBone5000 hello again i have had the odd field tip loosen at the thread even with aliminium arrows but the problems i have are with the carbon arrows im not sure if they get heated due to the friction of entering the rug which makes them soft enough for the actual threaded arrow insert to work loose creating a small ridge between the insert and the arrow which then gets snagged on the weave of the rug so with your idea the arrow will mostly penetrate the gaps in the rug not in the weave
@cortachy If you are using field tips that have a larger diameter than your arrows this will happen a lot. This was happening to me constantly until I went to a smaller diameter field tip.
@wilsbow - Roughly 300 sq ft converts to 27.87 sq meters, if I did my math correctly. Total amount of carpet will depend on how high and wide you want to make your target. My pieces are roughly 1.23 meters by 0.25 meters but you can adjust the height as needed. The farthest I've had an arrow penetrate the target is roughly 11 centimeters, most times only around 8 centimeters.
@MaverickX87X - My compound is set for 70# and the carbon arrows only go in 3 - 4". You shouldn't have a problem using this design. Remember, the tighter you clamp the carpet before attaching the top and bottom, the harder it will be to stick an arrow in it.
I would take a old bed sheet or somethin and put that over the carpet and spray paint targets on that..the paint would probly last longer.And you could just replace it when it gets shot up.
@fishnkid1923 - Good idea!! I still will stick a paper deer body over the front and shoot at that but the paper will finally tear and you have to use a new one. I'll have to paint a deer body on a sheet and try that. Great idea!
saw your video yesterday and i loved your idea! So...today I made it a priority to run to menards to get all the materials and the carpet store to pick up there scraps and finally got it put together!!! Took some shots into it and it is AWESOME! Thanks so much!! it saved a lot of money!! Previously kept going through targets every other month from shooting so much!! Thanks again!!!
@pingpong49426 - That's what drove me to think of something that I could use that would last. I got tied of making trips to the store to buy new targets as they wore out. Hope you get plenty of use from your target. Happy shooting, S'Bone
Hey, I got my trial version of your target made up and tested it out today finally at my local range and I must say it worked perfectly regardless of where it got hit. I'll be making many more to come and hopefully setting up the area for archery soon with a nice shag carpet backdrop. Thanks again for all your help.
@AaronWindsor - That's great. The whole idea started when I got tired of having to constantly replace styrofoam targets after twenty or thirty shots. I used to go to a free archery range up by Lake Thunderbird close to Norman, OK that used bales of old clothing wrapped in chicken wire. Figured old carpet would work just as good as clothing. A good idea came from me being too cheap to buy one of the expensive targets.
yeah i got told to do my work on the lawn or driveway cause i made an awfull mess cutting alot of the carpet today. any other tips you can offer for when putting it together other than doing it on a flat surface? ive already got a bunch of 4 ft clamps so im good there.
@AaronWindsor - Don't cut your top and bottom boards until you get the carpet compressed good. After you feel the carpet is good and tight, measure to make sure both ends are equal then cut your boards. If you noticed in the pictures of my target, I added another two boards at the top and bottom, on the back of the target for additional stability. Another good idea for starting youth shooters is to hang a couple layers of old carpet behind the target for wayward arrows. Say 6' x 6'.
@AaronWindsor - Like most fiber type targets, you may have to cut your broadhead out to get it free. If it's a Magnus or Zwickey, without a back shoulder, they should pull out okay. Mechanical arrowheads may be a bit harder to get out. I shoot Magnus broadheads and they pull out okay but not like a foam target.
@ShinBone5000 Thanks alot. My sportsman club is going to be starting up a youth archery program and i think this is exactly what im going to make a bunch of for the field points. I might have to make a different one for broadpoints if i decide to use them but this should do for all the beginners with field points. Thanks again.
@AaronWindsor - I used roughly seventy pieces on my target. Kind of depends on how wide and tall you want your target to be. The wider the target you make the longer the pipe clamps you will need. I also laid the face of the target on the driveway as I added pieces of carpet. That way the face of the target will be nice and flat.
@shufflesinadelaide - 45# @28", I had rotator cuff surgery a year and a half ago and my shoulder still isn't quite back to normal so the 45# is my upper limit.
Sir, you are an inspiration!
I'm soooo glad I don't have to spend a fortune to replace my backstop :)
I was wondering if the top and bottom boards could be replaced with some threaded bar through the uprights? (wouldn't need long camps this way either!)
I'd obviously need 2 for the top (front and back) and the same at the bottom.
Do you think this would work?
smudgefleck 3 days ago
@smudgefleck - It sure will. The first target I made was a bottom board, threaded bar for both sides and then a 2x4 on top. All I used for the core was old towels, clothing, etc. folded to the front was flat. It's surprising how much you can compress the material so I ended up with quite a bit of threaded rod sticking up. I used it for over five years until I build my larger model.
ShinBone5000 3 days ago
Jea, its a great idea.I found some carpet and i try to build one.My old target is nice but the
arrows didn´t want come out so thees is a verry good idea.THANKS THANKS THANKS :P
AirsoftOnkel 2 months ago
VERY neat d.i.y. target design. Thank you for the step-by-step plan. I'm curious, do you think it's better to orient the carpet vertically like you did, or horizontally? I'm figuring if it's either low or high, the vertical placement might be better, so as to not go through several layers (if that matters).
huyked 2 months ago
@huyked - I think you could probably run them either way, kind of depends on the size of carpet you have to work with. I figured that running them longer, it would take less to stack together before clamping them. But should work either way.
ShinBone5000 2 months ago
@ShinBone5000
Hmm. Ah, you gave me an idea.
But I think you might have misunderstood me. What I was thinking was that, say you were standing very close to the target, and the carpet pieces were stacked on top of each other horizontally, instead of standing next to each other vertically, you would be shooting down it throuigh many layers, instead of the arrows sliding into nicely if it were vertically oriented. In the horizontal configuration, I'm thinking the arrows wouldn't go in as smoothly.
huyked 2 months ago
@huyked - Ah, I follow you now. I don't always shoot straight in front of the target. I angle it from both sides too. The arrow will penetrate four or five pieces of carpet when it comes in at an angle. I still think it will work if you stack your carpet pieces either way. If you shot an arrow from a slower bow, say 40 yards out, the arrow will enter the target at a downward angle. Interesting, may have to experiment. You've made some good comments. Thanks, S'Bone
ShinBone5000 2 months ago
@ShinBone5000
Hello sir. Ah, thank you very much for the details. That's pretty amazing, as I didn't think it'd go through 4-5 layers.
huyked 2 months ago
how would that hold up to a compound bow just wondering
moore7711 2 weeks ago
@moore7711 - My target gets the majority of it's abuse from my 70# PSE compound bow, works fine.
ShinBone5000 2 weeks ago
Took me the whole video to figure out that wasn't a leg less geisha girl in the chair behind you. Nice target!
sed6 3 months ago
@sed6 - I had to watch it again to see her. Two things I noticed (and this was after not noticing her to begin with) 1. Her hair is a bit green, probably needs a good washing and 2. I think she's sitting on her legs. I think there's a good chance she's actually part ninja...
ShinBone5000 3 months ago
hill-billy target :L
xdazamx 6 months ago
Thank you for this idea. I just started archery and am sick of going through boxes like crazy! I have a bunch of old rugs in my mom's basement I can cut up for this. I'm excited!!!
danceNthRAIN4u 6 months ago
Does it cause any sort of damage to the arrows?
instantpestering 7 months ago
@instantpestering - I've been using it for a couple of years with carbon, aluminum and cane arrows without any damage to the arrows. If you should use carpet that's dirty, ie. has dirt, sand, etc. in it, it will probably polish your arrows over time. The carpet will work like sandpaper. I also keep a waterproof cover over my target to protect it from windblown dirt and rain.
ShinBone5000 7 months ago
@ShinBone5000 Thanks! I might try making one soon. My $100 foam target has seen better days. I know someone who's ripping out old carpet at the moment.
instantpestering 7 months ago
great idea for a target i use a square rug with variouse padding behind it but your idea is a lot better as ive found out that the weave of the rug grips on to the edges of my field points and eventualy loosens them thanx again for a great idea
cortachy 7 months ago
@cortachy - Even with this target my fieldpoints will work loose. Not sure how to keep them tight without using pliers but I don't want to mess up an arrow. A couple of taps on the bow will let me know if the point has loosened.
ShinBone5000 7 months ago
@ShinBone5000 hello again i have had the odd field tip loosen at the thread even with aliminium arrows but the problems i have are with the carbon arrows im not sure if they get heated due to the friction of entering the rug which makes them soft enough for the actual threaded arrow insert to work loose creating a small ridge between the insert and the arrow which then gets snagged on the weave of the rug so with your idea the arrow will mostly penetrate the gaps in the rug not in the weave
cortachy 7 months ago
@cortachy If you are using field tips that have a larger diameter than your arrows this will happen a lot. This was happening to me constantly until I went to a smaller diameter field tip.
kg4ghn 5 months ago
Who made your bow I really like it!
caveman2851 7 months ago
@caveman2851 - Thanks, it was a PSE Impala recurve. I did a bit of modifications that I filmed and put in an earlier video series.
ShinBone5000 7 months ago
awesome. i can save fpr a better bow instead of spend 80.00 on a smaller target that wont last
zackrowe1 7 months ago
Good idea for the target and btw beautiful bow
fatalwish666 8 months ago
Nice work !!
How many square meters did you need for that target?
Greetings from Germany
wilsbow 8 months ago
@wilsbow - Roughly 300 sq ft converts to 27.87 sq meters, if I did my math correctly. Total amount of carpet will depend on how high and wide you want to make your target. My pieces are roughly 1.23 meters by 0.25 meters but you can adjust the height as needed. The farthest I've had an arrow penetrate the target is roughly 11 centimeters, most times only around 8 centimeters.
ShinBone5000 8 months ago
how would that target stand up to a 300+ fps compound bow?
flamesicana 10 months ago
@flamesicana - I'm shooting a PSE compound bow set for 70# and don't have a problem stopping arrows nor pulling them out of the target afterwards.
ShinBone5000 10 months ago
Too bad this probably wont stop my 70' compound bow, unless i make it double thick. I might try sometime, getting sick of buying expensive targets.
MaverickX87X 11 months ago
@MaverickX87X - My compound is set for 70# and the carbon arrows only go in 3 - 4". You shouldn't have a problem using this design. Remember, the tighter you clamp the carpet before attaching the top and bottom, the harder it will be to stick an arrow in it.
ShinBone5000 11 months ago
I would take a old bed sheet or somethin and put that over the carpet and spray paint targets on that..the paint would probly last longer.And you could just replace it when it gets shot up.
fishnkid1923 1 year ago
@fishnkid1923 - Good idea!! I still will stick a paper deer body over the front and shoot at that but the paper will finally tear and you have to use a new one. I'll have to paint a deer body on a sheet and try that. Great idea!
ShinBone5000 1 year ago
saw your video yesterday and i loved your idea! So...today I made it a priority to run to menards to get all the materials and the carpet store to pick up there scraps and finally got it put together!!! Took some shots into it and it is AWESOME! Thanks so much!! it saved a lot of money!! Previously kept going through targets every other month from shooting so much!! Thanks again!!!
pingpong49426 1 year ago
@pingpong49426 - That's what drove me to think of something that I could use that would last. I got tied of making trips to the store to buy new targets as they wore out. Hope you get plenty of use from your target. Happy shooting, S'Bone
ShinBone5000 1 year ago
Hey, I got my trial version of your target made up and tested it out today finally at my local range and I must say it worked perfectly regardless of where it got hit. I'll be making many more to come and hopefully setting up the area for archery soon with a nice shag carpet backdrop. Thanks again for all your help.
AaronWindsor 1 year ago
@AaronWindsor - That's great. The whole idea started when I got tired of having to constantly replace styrofoam targets after twenty or thirty shots. I used to go to a free archery range up by Lake Thunderbird close to Norman, OK that used bales of old clothing wrapped in chicken wire. Figured old carpet would work just as good as clothing. A good idea came from me being too cheap to buy one of the expensive targets.
ShinBone5000 1 year ago
yeah i got told to do my work on the lawn or driveway cause i made an awfull mess cutting alot of the carpet today. any other tips you can offer for when putting it together other than doing it on a flat surface? ive already got a bunch of 4 ft clamps so im good there.
AaronWindsor 1 year ago
@AaronWindsor - Don't cut your top and bottom boards until you get the carpet compressed good. After you feel the carpet is good and tight, measure to make sure both ends are equal then cut your boards. If you noticed in the pictures of my target, I added another two boards at the top and bottom, on the back of the target for additional stability. Another good idea for starting youth shooters is to hang a couple layers of old carpet behind the target for wayward arrows. Say 6' x 6'.
ShinBone5000 1 year ago
@ShinBone5000 i was wondering what to do with all the sidewinders. ill make sure to do the double bracing on the top and bottom back.
AaronWindsor 1 year ago
how does this hold up against broad heads?
AaronWindsor 1 year ago
@AaronWindsor - Like most fiber type targets, you may have to cut your broadhead out to get it free. If it's a Magnus or Zwickey, without a back shoulder, they should pull out okay. Mechanical arrowheads may be a bit harder to get out. I shoot Magnus broadheads and they pull out okay but not like a foam target.
ShinBone5000 1 year ago
@ShinBone5000 Thanks alot. My sportsman club is going to be starting up a youth archery program and i think this is exactly what im going to make a bunch of for the field points. I might have to make a different one for broadpoints if i decide to use them but this should do for all the beginners with field points. Thanks again.
AaronWindsor 1 year ago
@ShinBone5000 Any idea how many pieces it took to make?
AaronWindsor 1 year ago
@AaronWindsor - I used roughly seventy pieces on my target. Kind of depends on how wide and tall you want your target to be. The wider the target you make the longer the pipe clamps you will need. I also laid the face of the target on the driveway as I added pieces of carpet. That way the face of the target will be nice and flat.
ShinBone5000 1 year ago
great target! what sort of poundage is your bow?
shufflesinadelaide 1 year ago
@shufflesinadelaide - 45# @28", I had rotator cuff surgery a year and a half ago and my shoulder still isn't quite back to normal so the 45# is my upper limit.
ShinBone5000 1 year ago
awesome, that's a great idea
tuffnutt34 1 year ago