Make Your Own Archery Target

Practice makes perfect is probably something you got sick of hearing growing up, but that doesn’t make it any less true. Whether it’s your professional career or a hobby, the more you work at something, the better at it you become. Sports and competitions are one of the obvious areas where this holds true and archery is the perfect example of where practice is the only sure way to improve.

Archers practice with many varieties of targets, but one of the most popular is a foam block target. An archery foam target can be made of a multitude of materials in numerous shapes and designs, each one different to match the user’s target preferences.

For low-power bows and people just beginning in the world of archery, simple polyethylene foam targets make the perfect training setup. This closed-cell archery foam, when used in appropriate density and thicknesses, can withstand lower-powered bow strikes and field tips while making reclaiming arrows a breeze.

For more advanced archers, there is another kind of foam that functions well as a target, though it requires a slightly different setup. Utilizing thinner sheets of foam rubber mat material, the sections of foam are layered upon one another and then strapped with ratcheted tie downs to compress the layers tightly. This compression prevents high-power bows from blowing through the material, and the foam rubber has somewhat self-healing properties. Even broadhead arrow tips can be used, though they will shorten the life of the target due to their entry and removal.

If you’re a hunter, a target archer or just trying out a new hobby, find the right practice target and hone your skills.