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My homemade moose target
Moose
Contributors to this thread:
dhaverstick 28-May-15
jtelarkin08 28-May-15
John in MO / KY 28-May-15
Mad Trapper 28-May-15
Mark Watkins 28-May-15
Paul@thefort 28-May-15
sureshot 28-May-15
Charlie Rehor 28-May-15
gobbler 28-May-15
huntnmuleys 28-May-15
wyobullshooter 29-May-15
BULELK1 29-May-15
Inshart 29-May-15
kellyharris 29-May-15
From: dhaverstick
28-May-15
A friend of mine and I are going moose hunting for the first time this September. We are going to Alberta and are using Ryk Visscher as our outfitter. Besides all the logistical problems of getting our stuff there and getting moose meat back to Missouri, we knew another issue we faced was getting a feel for how big these animals really are. Even a big whitetail looks pretty small compared to a fully grown moose. To that end we decided to make life sized moose targets to practice shooting at. This post is the process I went through to make mine.

The first thing I did was find a good picture of a moose that showed where the vitals were located. I am an engineer/computer guy by trade and I have access to a slew of computer graphic and drawing programs. Using these, I was able to trace around the moose picture and then scale it up to life size. For reference, I figured the top of the moose's hump would be 6' 6" from the ground and scaled everything accordingly. This is the picture I used.  photo moosecutaway_zps8sxemmoz.jpg

And this is the profile I came up with.  photo MooseTargetProfile_zps1ultcrgq.jpg

So I had my moose target shape, now I needed to design a stand to hang it from. The stand I had for my old bag target was on its last legs so I decided to come up with something that would hold both targets. It would have to be sturdy because I knew that the moose target would be pretty heavy. I had done quite a bit of research and settled on cutting the moose target out of a 4'x6'x 3/4" rubber horse stall mat. These are relatively cheap ($40), fairly common and would definitely hold up against the barrage of arrows I would be throwing against it. One problem I saw with this, though, was that the arrows could be difficult to pull out so I bought a 2’x2’x2” piece of high density foam (6 lb) that I cut into the shape of the vitals area. I fastened this onto the rubber with some zip ties and my moose target was complete!

Using my 3D modeling software, I came up with a stand design that is made out of 2x4's. It needed to be tall enough to hold my moose target at the correct height and also hold my bag target at a different height when I wanted to practice shooting game a little closer to the ground. Here is a photo rendering of my stand model holding the moose target.  photo MooseTargetInYard_zps2osmsk8q.jpg

And here is a photo rendering of the stand model holding a bag target.  photo BagTargetInYard_zpssrqecfij.jpg

Now it was construction time! One of the great things about the modeling software I use is that creating 2D drawings, complete with bills of material, to build off of is a breeze. I created the drawings, bought all the material and built the stand in a couple of hours. My wife always tells me that my computer models look a lot better than the actual product but this time I think I got pretty close. The top of the hump of the actual hanging moose target is 6’ 8” from the ground instead of the 6’ 6” I designed for. The one thing I really didn’t count on was how heavy the rubber target is. It is definitely a chore to hang it up and take it down! But it does work very well.

Here's a photo of the actual stand holding the moose target.  photo MooseTargetSmall_zpshfvu1pam.jpg

And here's a photo of the stand holding the bag target and my clay bird holder attachment. The horizontal brace that the bag is hanging from is detachable so it doesn't interfere with the moose target.  photo MooseTarget2Small_zpsjtpflxy5.jpg

It was a fun project and it will hopefully pay off in moose meat this fall.

Darren

From: jtelarkin08
28-May-15

jtelarkin08's embedded Photo
jtelarkin08's embedded Photo
I made this one out of a 8x8 sheet of foam insulation.. It worked great until i left it out in a storm one night..

28-May-15
Nice target Darren. Now get back to work.

From: Mad Trapper
28-May-15
Very nice and innovative Darren!!!!!!!!!!!

From: Mark Watkins
28-May-15
Nicely done! A friend of mine prior to a moose hunt in AK, strapped a 60" 2x4 to the head of his full rut buck target so he could get a feel at the different yardages what a 60' antler spread would look like.

Mark

From: Paul@thefort
28-May-15

Paul@thefort's embedded Photo
Paul@thefort's embedded Photo
I wish I had a moose tag so I could practice on your target. Good luck.

Here is an ideal bow shot at 22 yards.

Paul

From: sureshot
28-May-15

sureshot's embedded Photo
sureshot's embedded Photo
Local range has a nice 3d moose target, I never could convince them to let me practice with broadheads on it though.

28-May-15
Remember the back bone tapers down much lower on a Moose than a deer as you come forward! Always aim low on a Moose and they will go down easy. Have a great hunt! C

From: gobbler
28-May-15
Is that a nontypical moose target?

From: huntnmuleys
28-May-15
gotta admit, Darren, im anxious to see how this hunt turns out either on here or tradgang. im headed to Alaska next year for similar.

29-May-15

wyobullshooter's embedded Photo
wyobullshooter's embedded Photo
Great job! Like you mentioned, it's hard to appreciate how big a moose truly is. Hope all your prep pays great dividends this fall.

Since we're talking moose targets, here's a pic of a moose, and my target. ;-)

From: BULELK1
29-May-15
Nice home made targets fella's--very creative.

Cool pic Rob---not a bad bull either.

Good luck, Robb

From: Inshart
29-May-15
sureshot - that moose must have spun around so fast his antlers flipped upside down. LOL

From: kellyharris
29-May-15
Just sneak into Medicinemann front yard! Last time I was there looking for his house he said just drive down the road you will know which house is mine.

Full size moose 3d target in the front driveway!!!!!

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