Easy Targets

By Jim Cooper

I was visiting Charleston, South Carolina a few weeks back and got together with a traditional shooter I met on the internet. When I returned home he emailed me to say thanks for our shooting time together and happened to ask about ideas for a good, cheap target. I thought maybe others might be interested in this topic as well.

We have long used old feed store or burlap bags (oyster bags to the SC folks) to create free or really cheap, durable, portable and long lasting targets. Look for burlap bags at farm and garden stores, bulk food stores and coffee shops where they roast beans. You might have to pay a small fee to purchase them. Stuff the bag as full as you can with old clothes, plastic shopping bags or lightweight plastic sheeting. The best source for plastic is the post office, where they get pallets of mail wrapped in heavy plastic. Find the right person at your post office and you'll have plenty of filler in no time. Stomp that plastic down really tight and your target will stop the arrows better than a loosely filled bag. Tie or sew the open end and use a short length of rope in the corners to hang it anywhere.

This type of target will stop broadheads, but your target won't last as long and you risk shooting through it. For safety's sake, please be aware of what is behind the target. Field points are no problem and the arrows are easy to pull out of the target.

When the burlap bag gets worn out, just stuff the whole target, top end down, into new bag. Add more filler and you are ready to shoot again.

Follow Up on Easy Targets

Charlie writes: I would like to comment on the TIP OF THE WEEK about cheap targets. I was the one in SC that Jim Cooper was talking about. These do really work. We have a clothing recycling plant in town and they were more than willing to share some of their rags with me. The feed stores sold me feed sacks for 50 cents. It took about 13 lbs of rags to make a target. They will stop broadheads from Trad and a friend of mine shot a compound with broadheads and they stopped it. Cost of several targets about $1.50. Paint pictures on them and they keep your interest.

Tim T. writes: For years now I have used targets constructed just as outlined in the Tip of the Month. To add to the article, I get my burlaps from our local coffee shop for free, stuff them with plastic wrap I get at Home Depot or Lowes which has been used to wrap pallets of air conditioning insulation. You don't need to stomp it down but merely to fill the bag firmly. If you get it too tight in the bag the arrows will not penetrate enough to hold the arrow when shot - and I shoot 65 lb longbows. Also I fold the top of the bag over a wooden dowel which I then clip the top of the bag closed with Hog Nose Rings that I purchase at the local feed store - yes they still sell them and are the easiest and best way to close the top of the bag I have found. To hold the target up, I drive two iron pipes in the ground and place an Iron reinforcement rod bent on either end to stick into the iron pipe. On the cross reinforcement rod I put two wire hooks to hold up the wooden dowel onto which I hang the target bag. I do this so I can remove the target bag easily should it rain. The burlap will withstand getting wet for a while but tends to deteriorate more quickly than if kept out of the weather, or one can drape plastic wrap over the bag to keep the rain off it also. I take a can of spray paint and paint aiming points on the burlap target. Also you can pin onto the bag, images of deer, coons, bobcats and any other critter for targets.

Dennis S. writes: Great tip by Jim Cooper on targets.

I have a broad head target that I put in my back yard 15 years ago It is not portable but it requires no maintenance. It is a 4 ft pile of clean dirt (no rocks). It never wears out. Since broad heads fly differently than field points, it is perfect for getting ready for hunting. Of course you have to sharpen those broad heads before going afield.

In the months before I go hunting, I shoot about 200 broad heads a day. For 15 years. No sign of wear.

John G. writes: That is a great idea. I have several burlap targets of different sizes. I use old bags stuffed with plastic wrap they use to wrap pallets--my son is a manager at a supermarket. I've also purchased rolls of burlap online, and my wife sewed the sizes I needed. On these, I draw target faces on them--deer vitals, etc. You can also purchase target faces and sew them on. I roll the open ends of my bags and stick plastic wire ties through the weave and cinch it to secure it closed. This way you can roll it tight and wrap the ties around the roll.

Dick R writes: I've been using this type of target for years and it is great. I stuff the burlap into a large plastic garbage bag to protect it from the rain and snow and just keep adding plastic bags as they wear out from shooting.