Target stuffing materials Edit-new targets made

[paulaboutform]

I got a third hand bag and what an absolute pain it was cutting mounds of clothes into two and three inch strips. It's packed TIGHT and now that it's done I love how easily the arrows pull out. Silly question John, but if your bag is getting too holey why don't you just get another third hand bag and transfer the stuffing into it and possibly top it up if necessary?

[luckymike]

I stuffed mine with 2 old sleeping bags and it works great.hit a few garage sales and you might get lucky.downside is you can't leave it out in the rain.

[Kegbelly]

I got a third hand bag and what an absolute pain it was cutting mounds of clothes into two and three inch strips. It's packed TIGHT and now that it's done I love how easily the arrows pull out. Silly question John, but if your bag is getting too holey why don't you just get another third hand bag and transfer the stuffing into it and possibly top it up if necessary?

Thanks Paul, yes I've transferred the rag stuffing several times into new bags. The bag itself is ok, but the stuffing is shredded on the inside from years of use and it needs replaced altogether. I got that covered, but I don't have enough rags and old clothes to stuff two targets.
The plastic sheet stuff in the 2nd target will stop my 380 point blank but if I forget to lube an arrow I have to stand on the target with both feet and even with an arrow puller it's pretty tough to pull arrows out. So I was looking for something that works as good as the rag stuffing, and "Free" is the operative word here Gonna give Boo's screen idea a try.

[Kegbelly]

This morning's project: Make some new targets. Got some free material at work, stuff we routinely discard. These are big 4-sided polyethylene hanging bags that plastic pellets come in, much thicker, heavier and stiffer than what I've been using. Cut the ends out and folded into a rough bag shape, each side is 4 layers thick.

The first target is going to be filled with this. Best thing I can compare it to is landscaping fabric, it's more porous but much thicker, really lightweight. These are scraps that get thrown away by the dumpster-full, and I've been eyeing this stuff for a while wondering if it would make good target stuffing. Each strip is about 16" wide and I'd guess 30 feet long. Looks and feels a lot like the guts of my old Gander Mtn bag target. So I thought I'd see how it works.

Decided to do a simple whipstitch with poly rope to close the edges. It's time consuming but makes for a strong seam, and some d@mn sore fingers too. This sucker is packed tight, and still very lightweight. Put plenty of dots on it too (Hey Norm )

2nd target is made from the same material, but this one is a true rag-bag. We buy cutoff scraps of t-shirt type stuff in 50-lb boxes, and this has nearly a whole box in it. It's heeaaa-veee!

Fingers were sore so I took a short cut and used big zip-ties to close the edges on this one

Put plenty of dots on this one too:

Shot the fiber-filled target first. Stops arrows good, one hand removal, not as easy as I had hope but it works pretty good. No plastic residue to clean off my arrows so that's an improvement!

Even stopping arrows good near the edges

Next up, the rag bag. Stops them just fine, penetration seems to be about the same as the fiber filled target. Really can't tell much difference in arrow removal, one hand gets it done. Such A RELIEF from yanking on arrows!

I'm not looking for accolades, just seeing what I could do with free materials and a bit of ingenuity. Those are very close range shots BTW, if they'll withstand point blank shooting they should handle 30-40 yard shots just fine.

[8ptbuk]

Great looking target John ! Good shooting also !

[paulaboutform]

Great looking targets John. I think I've got you pegged in that I'm sure great care was taken in putting those targets together and every stitch and detail is perfect. I love all the spots, good call. That's sure going to save your arras.