Bag Target Backstop
Equipment
I finished building my bag target backstop this past weekend. I thought you guys might enjoy some pictures of it before my boys start spraying it with arrows.
-Jeff
The back is a 6' x 4' horse stall mat. I first heard of the horse stall mat idea here on Bowsite.
Looks good! How expensive is the horse stall mat? How well does it stop arrows? Have you tested it yet? ;-)
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WOW!
That is cool.I use that same mat on mine (mine is 1/2" thick) and it stops arrows very well. I havent hit it with my 70# bow yet, but arrows out of my 55# recurve go thru about 4 inches. My sons compound set at 40#'s goes in about 1" or so.
Well done...
Scott
The horse stall mat was $39 at Tractor Supply. I have not shot into the mat yet.
Wow what a setup for backyard shooting. Not sure your posts are strong enough to hold that bag target up though, just kidding. I just have my Morell hanging across the corner of my cedar fence. Guess will have to redo it now. The horse stall mat is a great idea. Do they come in different thickness or just standard?
Yeah, the 6"x6" posts may be a little overkill. The mat I bought is the cheapest one they sell. There are different options though.
One thing to keep in mind is the mat is extremely heavy. I would estimate it around one hundred pounds. Here is the link to the one I purchased.
http://www.tractorsupply.com/equine/horse-stalls-accessories/rubber-matting/royal-mat-rubber-horse-stall-mat-4-ft-x-6-ft--2219003
Here is one I used to have (before I accidently burned it down).
Scott
Here is its replacement...
Scott
W8N4RUT, did you shoot your 70# into the mat yet? :D
Very Nice! If I had a set-up like that I'd probably shoot every day rather than just a few times the weeks before season gets close.
jeff, How do you keep from pokingyour eyeballs out on the deer antlers, when you pull arrows?
Nice job! We live on the river so I can't have a permanant set up like you as the river or ice would wipe it out every year. I use a piece of old crusher conveyor belting on a saw horse type of deal built from 3/4 tubing. You can get the belting sometimes from your local stone quarry as they have to replace the belts every so often. Field points and broadheads will penetrate the belting so you may have to unscrew the heads before pulling your arrows. Muzzy practice blades DO NOT penetrate and as a result the arrows are only slightly stuck and pull very easily. BTW, I shoot 70lbs. MO
Way cool guys
Jeff Pals, I used to have a backstop just like that. Except mine had a thatch roof w/o antlers. Just so a bad shot did not skip off to parts unknown by friends new to archery. Still didn't matter... double rebound release sent an arrow out 'newby style' 4ft over the whole backstop... still shaking my head.
W8N4RUT, You, my man, must be a carpenter by nature. Dig the Mathews sign... got one on my freezer in the garage.
The stand "shown I recently built" may be simple but it's effective against newbies in the neighborhood
Nope...didn't "miss" yet to see how a 70 lb shot takes to the backstop. Based on what I see from 50 and 55 pound bows I think it will do well.
Scott
Very nice guys! We need bigger back stops here in Rhode Island! LOL!
I cant afford a backstop. I just hire neighborhood kids to hold targets up for me.
Hey Jeff, head on over to KS and you can build one of those in my back yard......I'll buy the beer:)
Looks great!!!
Matt
Here is a photo of an A/C Pro Hunter shaft weighing 505 grains traveling at 281 fps. The arrow did not even make it half way through. I shot at it on purpose because of course I would never miss a 30” bag target :)
The arrow was not that hard to pull out and there was no damage. It did smell like burning rubber though. I am very happy with the horse stall mat as an affordable backstop.
Tadpole,
Poking out the eye balls is a concern with the antlers but they are just high enough. They work good for inspiration… it can be tough to get excited about a bag target.
Charlie, Your backstop would have really fired up my wife. She is tolerating the one I built but I think yours would put her over the edge. She already accuses me of being obsessed.
Matt, You don’t have to buy the beer just take me around and show me where your big mule deer are hanging out! I saw your photo made it in the Hoyt Catalog… nice job. I never get tired of pictures of that buck.
-Jeff
This photo is a Full Metal Jacket shaft weighing 615 grains shot out of a 60 lb. recurve. The kid’s arrows bounce off or just barely stick.
-Jeff
I'll try the photo again.
Jeff, what did you use to hang the horse stall mat? I can see something attached to the length of the top, I just can't tell what it is.
I used two pieces of 1 ½” X 1/8” flat stock steel and sandwiched the mat between them. I then bolted through the steel every six inches with ¼” bolts. I think it is important to let the mat hang as the ability for the mat to move back absorbs a lot of the energy. After a ton of shooting since the first post on this thread I am still very happy with the set up and would recommend it to anyone.
-Jeff
Thanks Jeff! I really like your set up! If it isn't too much trouble, could you take a close up of how you have the chains attached to the flat stock steel, or do you just have the bolt running through the chain?
Jeff,
Nicely done! I'm now in BUILD mode. I have access to horse mats and a Handyman who owes me. How close were you shooting that arrow from your compund?
Thanks for the pics and motivation.
Jeff, I have been coveting your design since I saw it last month. I showed my wife and she was actually excited to have something like that in the backyard vs. my bag targets spread all over due to the wind or what have you. What were your final dimensions? I am guessing that based on the picture and the 4'x 6' matt you are about 6' between posts and the whole thing is about 30" deep front to back? Since puting it up has the weight of the mat caused any lean? I see that you cemented it in good. Is there anything that you wish you would have done differently?
Didn't get all of the posts read, but how easy are arrows to pull out of the horse mat when going all the way through? Any thoughts on how it would perform with a broadhead? Things happen. Do you feel the size of your roof gives you plenty of protection for the bag vs. moisture/sun, and how much overhang is there from the bag?
It looks really nice! It's probably a lot nicer than what I would imagine building for myself.
Just finished building my own. I was inspired Jeff. I ended up using 4x4 treated posts. 6' from outsides of the posts. Roofing panels were 25.5 inches wide so thats how wide I ended up. I'll attach pictures later. I had a lot of fun building it because I have had so much cabin fever this year. By the time I bought the hardware and the mat and wood I ended up being about $120. I hang my target a little forward of center so that the arrow penetration doesn't end up hitting the mat unless I miss. There is probably about a foot between the back of the target and the mat. Thanks again for the inspiration.
It hangs about an inch off of the ground so I anchored some 2x2's in front of it so the wind doesn't have it constantly swaying and also for the occasional arrow that wants to skip between the ground and the mat.
Make make on the bag target. Thanks
Prety dang cool looking you guys!
Nice idea's to plan from.
Good luck, Robb
Just finished my little cheesy backstop. I couldn't find a good spot on my property to make something permanent, didn't feel like digging holes, and blowing my money and time. So I made this one which has little skis and is made out of things I found just laying around. Now I can move it any were I want. And yes it is easy to move around. No roof...Yet
hi mister palls this is me lucas what is a good material for the backstop part
I use a 4x8 piece of styrafoam 2 feet thick as a backstop for my 2 bag targets, it also doubles as a broadhead tester.
Great builds. I have been planning on doing this for awhile now and just been delaying. Time to get off my but and get it done.
Very nice cway. Martinhunter, I welded up some targets similar to yours a few years ago. I had some bolts on the top that allowed me to tighten down the top and compress cardboard between but it didn't have a backstop element like yours. Very nice project guys. Hey Rob, Long time no see.
Buddy and Echo (the boys) are still doing fine. They are a little slower these days and so we have to pace ourselves but they still like to get out and go. Are you going to build one of these? Not that you would ever need a backstop of course .
Shaun
Can I type in english or do I need to in spanish Shaun!! haha
Yeh--I miss them llama's now and then!
Good luck, Robb
Either Spanish or English works for me. Maybe we can come up with our own elk language thread. How about you start that one Robb! Good to hear from you.
Finally built mine after having to deal with rain almost every time I tried to do something on it. Here is a pic. I have not installed the actual backstop yet, but I intend to use the horse-stall mat.
Of course what happens the first session I shoot at the thing... Robin Hood appears. I wasn't all too happy about breaking another arrow.
As it happens I need a new backstop due to a move. But I didn't quite have it figured out. Now I do :). Lots of creativity and craftsmanship above. Didn't know about the horse stall mats either. Thanks guys!
I forgot to add a side view yesterday, so here is that view. My backstop isn't the prettiest, but I built it more for function (hopefully) than looks. I'm hopeful that I have enough coverage on my roof, and since I have a little more overhang I increased the eave height to alleviate forehead bruises.
I believe I will add a shelf near the base to sit my broadhead targets on, but am still toying with ideas.
Those are some cool bagstops
