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Targets and Backstops
- Thread starter Elwin
- Start date
- Joined
- Aug 24, 1999
- Messages
- 933
A cut section of palm tree makes the best I've found (tough, fibrous, and practically indestructible), although it's awfully scarce, as far inland as I am...
However, if you can't find a section of tree trunk to turn on its side and throw at (throwing at the end grain is less likely to bounce your near-misses and will help your targets last MUCH longer), then one of the dense foam targets for archery is quite an admirable substitute. These are made to take broadheads at much higher velocities than you can throw. I had one forever, we used it inside, outside, and all over. The center, of an especially dense foam, is made to be replaced when it gets too chewed up (the targets run around $40 initially, with the center sections going for around $15-$20 each to replace).
While certainly not the most "traditional" of targets, it works, and they're usually big enough (mine was 3' square) to prevent you chewing up the surrounding wall, unless you're just WAY off...in which case you may need to re-think your style, anyway...!!
Good Luck!
Kal
However, if you can't find a section of tree trunk to turn on its side and throw at (throwing at the end grain is less likely to bounce your near-misses and will help your targets last MUCH longer), then one of the dense foam targets for archery is quite an admirable substitute. These are made to take broadheads at much higher velocities than you can throw. I had one forever, we used it inside, outside, and all over. The center, of an especially dense foam, is made to be replaced when it gets too chewed up (the targets run around $40 initially, with the center sections going for around $15-$20 each to replace).
While certainly not the most "traditional" of targets, it works, and they're usually big enough (mine was 3' square) to prevent you chewing up the surrounding wall, unless you're just WAY off...in which case you may need to re-think your style, anyway...!!
Good Luck!
Kal
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2002
- Messages
- 31
I've been using a traditional Archery boss (Target) thats made from straw. It wa salready quite old and worn, but seems to have withstood quite a bit of punishment.
One thing about it though is that depending on the rotation/angle of the blade and where it hits, the amount of the blade that goes into the target, or in fact whether the blade sticks at all, can vary.
This is because of how the straw is effectively coiled aorund in sections, and so sometimes the knives bounce out, other times the knives nearly go all the way through.
I'd say that if you want a consistant target which doesn't vary too much depending on where you hit it, you don't want a sraw one like me (Thats all i can offer as I just started out) Oh, and don't try and use a dart board
One thing about it though is that depending on the rotation/angle of the blade and where it hits, the amount of the blade that goes into the target, or in fact whether the blade sticks at all, can vary.
This is because of how the straw is effectively coiled aorund in sections, and so sometimes the knives bounce out, other times the knives nearly go all the way through.
I'd say that if you want a consistant target which doesn't vary too much depending on where you hit it, you don't want a sraw one like me (Thats all i can offer as I just started out) Oh, and don't try and use a dart board
- Joined
- Apr 27, 1999
- Messages
- 6,117
I like to take a sheet of plywood and prop or tie it so that it leans towards me at around a 45-degree angle as a backup backstop. My primary backstop is a large scrap of carpet hanging from the forward edge of my plywood. I also lay some plywood and carpet under my backstops.
My primary target is flattened cardboard boxes, usually 3 or 4 to yield a 6 to 8 layer thick target. I hang this a few inches in front of my backstop.
The advantage to all this is that your knife will not bounce back at you very hard. The light and flexible target which is hung loosely absorbs energy from misrotated throws. Wild throws tend to be softly stopped or caught by the backstop. Unlucky throws that pass through a worn target or through the carpet backstop tend to be deflected downwards by the backup plywood.
As to target durability it is a small issue if you can replace the targets cheaply and easily. I a very light spray of Dupont 77 spray adhesive to bond the cardboard layers together. I don't worry about standard shape or size of the target so boxes are easy to find. If I did want to standardize I would go to a liquor store or Kinkos and get their most common discard boxes.
I have had trouble with having knives bounce back or disappear inside of hay bales. Any material I can think of is either more dangerous or expensive than cardboard. When I really feel the need to hear the thunk of blade into wood I go to house construction sites. I scrounge 2 to 4 foot long pieces of 2x12 lumber. I lean these up against my other target, usually elevated on a cardboard box. This is more dangerous and runs the risk of damaging your knife.
My primary target is flattened cardboard boxes, usually 3 or 4 to yield a 6 to 8 layer thick target. I hang this a few inches in front of my backstop.
The advantage to all this is that your knife will not bounce back at you very hard. The light and flexible target which is hung loosely absorbs energy from misrotated throws. Wild throws tend to be softly stopped or caught by the backstop. Unlucky throws that pass through a worn target or through the carpet backstop tend to be deflected downwards by the backup plywood.
As to target durability it is a small issue if you can replace the targets cheaply and easily. I a very light spray of Dupont 77 spray adhesive to bond the cardboard layers together. I don't worry about standard shape or size of the target so boxes are easy to find. If I did want to standardize I would go to a liquor store or Kinkos and get their most common discard boxes.
I have had trouble with having knives bounce back or disappear inside of hay bales. Any material I can think of is either more dangerous or expensive than cardboard. When I really feel the need to hear the thunk of blade into wood I go to house construction sites. I scrounge 2 to 4 foot long pieces of 2x12 lumber. I lean these up against my other target, usually elevated on a cardboard box. This is more dangerous and runs the risk of damaging your knife.
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2002
- Messages
- 31
Hmmm. I don't seem to have problems with my straw Archery boss. Maybe the knives don't bounce back as I brace the target against a board of plywood, so it absorbs the mis rotated throws, a bit like your method of hanging the targets off the ground?
As for losing the knives, well, the target is no more than 4 inches (10 CM) or so thick, so there's more chance of the knifepoint sticking through the back
By hay bales do you mean the big hay bales you see in fields, or like the ones you can get for rodent pets at petstores?
As for losing the knives, well, the target is no more than 4 inches (10 CM) or so thick, so there's more chance of the knifepoint sticking through the back
By hay bales do you mean the big hay bales you see in fields, or like the ones you can get for rodent pets at petstores?