New target idea, cheap simple and fun

[NMSbowhunter]

I threw this together today to have a reactive target for my longbow so I could practice at various unknown ranges. It is a simple 5x5 inch piece of cardboard held on a short piece of river cane by a steel binder clip. The idea is it gives me a 5x5 sized kill zone about the right height off the ground to simulate a deer's vitals. It is a very indistinct target against the leaves and brown grass in my yard. I really have to bear down just to see it. I set it up about halfway down a long open strip in my side yard. I can get about 50 yards on one side and 70 on the other. I am using a rubber tipped blunt arrow. I can shoot and if I hit or miss my arrow will go beyond the target and bunce up harmlessly and will not get lost. The object is to train myself to be able to hit it at unknown distances, just like in the woods on a deer. I know just about all of us own rangefinders but hunting off the ground and having deer close does not go well with a lot of movement.

I went out and tried it and I like it. I hit it at what turned out to be 29 paces on the second attempt, then reset it, walked back to get the arrow and shot from where the arrow was and nailed it. That shot turned out to be 12 paces. The last hit was 15 paces. I missed it several times at longer ranges, but generally not by much.

 

[Red Beard]

Looks like a great archery golf target! Good job buddy. Now make up a few more and set them around the yard. Invite your buddies over and play for beer. Whoever tags the flag each hole gets a bit of refreshment. Great afternoon of fun. Replace beer with M&Ms when the kids play and they'll be begging to play archery golf when the sun is out.

 

[NMSbowhunter]

Looks like a great archery golf target! Good job buddy. Now make up a few more and set them around the yard. Invite your buddies over and play for beer. Whoever tags the flag each hole gets a bit of refreshment. Great afternoon of fun. Replace beer with M&Ms when the kids play and they'll be begging to play archery golf when the sun is out.

Thanks! Yeah, I thought about popping a few of these up in bushes and behind things to make it more realistic. I could easily take a couple along in the truck to shoot at in the woods during mid-day.

 

[Red Beard]

Thanks! Yeah, I thought about popping a few of these up in bushes and behind things to make it more realistic. I could easily take a couple along in the truck to shoot at in the woods during mid-day.

Perfect idea!

 

[Just_Hangin_N_GA]

I am tired of losing arrows, Where do you get the rubber tipped blunt arrow tips from? Do they come in specific weights to match your field points?
Really like the idea especially coupled with @Red Beards archery golf idea.

 

[Red Beard]

I am tired of losing arrows, Where do you get the rubber tipped blunt arrow tips from? Do they come in specific weights to match your field points?
Really like the idea especially coupled with @Red Beards archery golf idea.

3Rivers has them. Saunders brand. They are called "bludgeon" tips.

 

[GCTerpfan]

I am tired of losing arrows, Where do you get the rubber tipped blunt arrow tips from? Do they come in specific weights to match your field points?
Really like the idea especially coupled with @Red Beards archery golf idea.

If you buy the slip on kind you can glue them onto various weight screw on broadhead adapters to get the weight you need.

Judo points work well to keep arrows from burying in the grass also and skip less. I've had more than one blunt skip into something it wasn't supposed to. lol

 

[NMSbowhunter]

I am tired of losing arrows, Where do you get the rubber tipped blunt arrow tips from? Do they come in specific weights to match your field points?
Really like the idea especially coupled with @Red Beards archery golf idea.

I got them from Three Rivers Archery.

3Rivers Bunny Buster Small Game Blunts

Check out the deal on 3Rivers Bunny Buster Small Game Blunts at 3Rivers Archery Supply

www.3riversarchery.com

I got the 11/32 for wood arrows. The weight about 125 grains so I took a 357 magnum case and cut the head off and just used the straight wall of the case to slip over the arrow shaft inside the point to get me to about 180 grains to match the 190 grains I usually use. They fly just like field points oddly enough.

You could also use Zwicky Judo points, another of my favorites. My only knock against them is they only come in 160 grains as the heaviest offering.

 

[GCTerpfan]

I got them from Three Rivers Archery.

3Rivers Bunny Buster Small Game Blunts

Check out the deal on 3Rivers Bunny Buster Small Game Blunts at 3Rivers Archery Supply

www.3riversarchery.com

I got the 11/32 for wood arrows. The weight about 125 grains so I took a 357 magnum case and cut the head off and just used the straight wall of the case to slip over the arrow shaft inside the point to get me to about 180 grains to match the 190 grains I usually use. They fly just like field points oddly enough.

You could also use Zwicky Judo points, another of my favorites. My only knock against them is they only come in 160 grains as the heaviest offering.

You can buy glue on judo points and then glue them on a screw in broadhead adapter also. You can make them pretty much whatever weight you want that way.

Judo Small Game Glue-On Point 2-pack

Check out the deal on Judo Small Game Glue-On Point 2-pack at 3Rivers Archery Supply

www.3riversarchery.com

 

[NMSbowhunter]

You can buy glue on judo points and then glue them on a screw in broadhead adapter also. You can make them pretty much whatever weight you want that way.

Judo Small Game Glue-On Point 2-pack

Check out the deal on Judo Small Game Glue-On Point 2-pack at 3Rivers Archery Supply

www.3riversarchery.com

Exactly. I made up some 250 grain judos for my compound bow by taking the 125 judo and a 125 grain steel adapter. It works great. I love shooting judos.

 

[woodsdog2]

I threw this together today to have a reactive target for my longbow so I could practice at various unknown ranges. It is a simple 5x5 inch piece of cardboard held on a short piece of river cane by a steel binder clip. The idea is it gives me a 5x5 sized kill zone about the right height off the ground to simulate a deer's vitals. It is a very indistinct target against the leaves and brown grass in my yard. I really have to bear down just to see it. I set it up about halfway down a long open strip in my side yard. I can get about 50 yards on one side and 70 on the other. I am using a rubber tipped blunt arrow. I can shoot and if I hit or miss my arrow will go beyond the target and bunce up harmlessly and will not get lost. The object is to train myself to be able to hit it at unknown distances, just like in the woods on a deer. I know just about all of us own rangefinders but hunting off the ground and having deer close does not go well with a lot of movement.

I went out and tried it and I like it. I hit it at what turned out to be 29 paces on the second attempt, then reset it, walked back to get the arrow and shot from where the arrow was and nailed it. That shot turned out to be 12 paces. The last hit was 15 paces. I missed it several times at longer ranges, but generally not by much.

Great idea!

 

[NMSbowhunter]

I don't know if other people feel this or not but shooting at a static target in the yard like a bag or block that is going to stop your arrow is different than when you are in the woods and have an animal in front of you and there is no backstop behind it. It just feels different knowing your arrow will likely just sail on through the animal. It is a little unnerving, even off putting, if that makes sense. That is why I like this sort of target. I have felt this way for a long time and then I read it mentioned in Stephen Graf's book The American Longbow on making and using longbows and said to myself, yeah, that makes sense. The idea is that you don't want the target to be terminal point in the arrows flight but let the spot you want to hit be in the path of the arrows flight.

 

[Blacksmith]

I've always believed that it is much easier to hit a target on the ground than one suspended above the ground such as a deer body that is off the ground. I think it's harder to judge distance, even for instinctive shots if the target is off the ground. JMO. May not make any sense at all. I also think the steel heads such as the Judo, Hex ,Etc. are better than the rubber that can skip

 

[NMSbowhunter]

The judos do the best job of catching and flipping up and not buying up and getting lost. It's those little spring arms they have. From my experience the rubber blunts will skip a little more but won't usually bury up. The hex points tend to bury up a lot worse and I have lost several arrows in the woods tipped with the steel hex points. The hex points would make a good small game head since they tend to chop a hex shaped hole in what they hit but the small frontal area makes them more prone to diving into the leaves and sticks.

 

[JC3]

In the 90's, along with our 3-D shoot (we had alot of energy then) we ran a "Muzzy" shoot.
The targets were 1.0" thk. 4x4 & 6x6 (depending on the distance) rigid ethafoam that had velcro glued on to the edges.
We drove grade stakes in to ground and they acted as the anchor point with the opposite side of the velcro glued on to the stake.
Judo points were used, and you scored by knocking the block off the stake.
The only downside was, some people would forget to replace the block on the stake and eventually people lost interest in shooting the course.
It is a cheap alternative to 3-D targets and quick to setup.

 

[Red Beard]

In the 90's, along with our 3-D shoot (we had alot of energy then) we ran a "Muzzy" shoot.
The targets were 1.0" thk. 4x4 & 6x6 (depending on the distance) rigid ethafoam that had velcro glued on to the edges.
We drove grade stakes in to ground and they acted as the anchor point with the opposite side of the velcro glued on to the stake.
Judo points were used, and you scored by knocking the block off the stake.
The only downside was, some people would forget to replace the block on the stake and eventually people lost interest in shooting the course.
It is a cheap alternative to 3-D targets and quick to setup.

Dude. That's a great idea!

 

[JoyRyd]

@Red Beard , can you expain how you do the Golf game? Are you setting the targets out at 300-400 yards and you play like "real" golf? I'm confused.

 

[Red Beard]

@Red Beard , can you expain how you do the Golf game? Are you setting the targets out at 300-400 yards and you play like "real" golf? I'm confused.

Ha! Oh no bro. That certainly would be awesome though and now you've got my wheels turning again!

Our current version goes like this... We have 4 "holes". Each hole is constructed of hi-viz weedwhacker line suspended between two wooden pegs. I setup the holes around our yard before we play and yank them up when we're done. We all stand together at an age-appropriate range and everyone gets 2 tries to get an arrow through the wicket. Those who get an arrow through the wicket get an M&M. Then we move to the next hole.

Next generation - start them early

Oh my goodness. Why did you have to mention this? Just looked it up and it seems amazing. Can you draw your recurve in it? I haven't set it up in a while but they advertise 65" height, so I would think someone more skilled than me might be able to shoot a recurve out of one. I can try to dig it...

saddlehunter.com

Next generation - start them early

Don't forget to let them help around the house to..

saddlehunter.com

 

[JoyRyd]

I love it!!

A few years back a friend of mine asked me to make him a “Golf” target for traditional shooters…….I had already made one for my compound buddies (I started a business making fun paper targets as a side gig).
This is what I came up with. The locals liked it so much that we started an annual “GOLF SHOOT” in the middle of winter (like now!).

Anyhow, here is an image of the target I made for him.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Red Beard]

I love it!!

A few years back a friend of mine asked me to make him a “Golf” target for traditional shooters…….I had already made one for my compound buddies (I started a business making fun paper targets as a side gig).
This is what I came up with. The locals liked it so much that we started an annual “GOLF SHOOT” in the middle of winter (like now!).

Anyhow, here is an image of the target I made for him.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Oh my goodness that's awesome!

Do you sell those too?