Spray Foam Archery Target?????

[arrowsender]

I am wanting to set up an indoor area in my building to shoot my bow of a winter and evenings. I want at least a 4 foot by 4 foot target to put behind a regular block target to stop stray arrows. I've heard Closed Cell Spray Foam Insulation for home/building insulation works well for archery targets. Have any of you had any experience using it as targets. I was going to see if the insulation contractor I used for my building could spray a target for me. The target is not going to be the main target shot all the time, it would just be a safety incase one of the kids or a buddy missed my block target. I was just trying to see if there is a cheaper option than a $1000.00 foam target.

 

[BRTreedogs]

If you're just trying to stop a stray arrow use a think rubber stall mat

 

[stonewall]

That stuff won’t hold up. And what they spray for insulation isnt very dense

You can order mixable foam from smoothon.com The flex foam. I think 15# is they one you want. Maybe it’s 14. It will mention archery in description. That stuff is pricey but is real target quality

For just a backdrop. Try a horse stall mat from tractor supply. That’s not meant to be shot but a lot of people use it as a back stop

 

[Fordguy]

Hang multiple layers of remnant carpet behind the target? It would be cheap and easy to make a large arrow backstop this way, and I've seen people do it. Not sure how many layers they use though. I'd test it outside to find out how many layers were needed to stop your arrow reliably. I don't think it takes too many layers because the movement of the hanging carpet absorbs the energy from the arrow. I'm assuming you're shooting field points.

 

[arrowsender]

I hadn't thought of the horse mats or the carpet. But hanging either were the movement would help slow/stop the arrow is a good idea.

 

[spike camp]

If just for fieldpoints, I’d build a 4x4 clothes target and skip the block all together.

 

[Esq]

2nd for rubber stall mat. Works perfect and easy to hang on a frame.

 

[camping1601]

Another vote for a diy clothes target.

It has the added bonus of motivating you to clean out all the old clothes around the house.

 

[DooleyVT]

Stall mat does work great and is fairly inexpensive compared to arrows. 3 years on mine and still does it’s job.

 

[elkguide]

Hanging/swinging carpet or a stall mat both will work very well. For the past few years, I have been using a hot tub cover/top behind my spiderweb target and it has been great.

 

[Sled]

I've done the clothes target and carpet. Both are heavy and not meant for outdoor use. They're not ideal for indoor either. My preference is the Saran wrap style. Build a frame, wrap the frame stuff it tight. You may have some plastic on the arrow when you go to pull it out but it stops arrows well and you could pull the arrows out with two fingers.

 

[Superkodiak38]

BlobTargets.Net

www.blobtargets.net

 

[loganwayne]

I made a 4’x8’ target with some 2” thick foam boards a subcontractor left on one of our jobs. Yellow boards with the foil on both sides. I put 10 boards and used a bander to band them together then upright to a oversized pallet. It works great. It has stopped some heavy arrows but wouldn’t wanna shoot at the same spot time after time.


I put painters tape to make a t to teach my wife how to aim and then sight in her bow

 

[joxafa]

Hello. I was wondering if anybody has tried this. I heard this from an old friend. take a cardboard box roughly 2 feet x 2 feet and tape all the corners and top with 2 layers of duct tape and buy 3 cans of spray in sealing foam insulation found at your local home depot or lowes. drill a small hole in the top of the box and inject all 3 cans of this foam into the box. let it set and expand for 24 hours and you're ready to shoot. I think this would be good for older bows but I wasn't sure if it is good for today's compound bows that shoot over 300fps. any comments

 

[nphunter]

Hello. I was wondering if anybody has tried this. I heard this from an old friend. take a cardboard box roughly 2 feet x 2 feet and tape all the corners and top with 2 layers of duct tape and buy 3 cans of spray in sealing foam insulation found at your local home depot or lowes. drill a small hole in the top of the box and inject all 3 cans of this foam into the box. let it set and expand for 24 hours and you're ready to shoot. I think this would be good for older bows but I wasn't sure if it is good for today's compound bows that shoot over 300fps. any comments

Try it and let us know, I would let it sit for a week or so to fully dry and cure. I've patched 3D targets with it and in some of the deeper holes it was still wet the next day and I had to clean the arrows with brake clean or Acetone to get the sticky stuff off.

 

[LostArra]

If you are shooting close quarters and your stray arrow actually penetrates a 3/4" Tractor Supply horse stall mat I would plan on having your deadlift up to at least 400 lbs to remove that arrow.

 

[dlee56]

Maybe I bought the wrong stall mat but the one I used didn't stop an arrow very well. Blew thru the mat and the plywood backing I had it on.

 

[87TT]

I screwed a layer of drywall, then a piece of OSB, then a sheet of stall mat from Tractor Supply. Works great. This was built on a shelf to support it over the existing drywall.
After shooting through a layer of scrap wood siding, the drywall, OSB sheeting and metal siding after a ":miss" , I didn't want to take any chances.
As for penetrating a Tractor supply stall; mat. they don't stop my arrows. Only show them down so they don't penetrate the OSB too far. So put a piece of OSB or plywood behind it.

 

[LostArra]

There are various weights of stall mats. The 4'x6' heavy mat is 3/4" thick and weighs 94 lbs.
I did not screw the mat to anything but hung it so it can move when an arrow hits it but an arrow from a compound will still penetrate it but not pass thru. No damage to home but only your back pulling the arrow out.

 

[Beendare]

That stuff won’t hold up. And what they spray for insulation isnt very dense

You can order mixable foam from smoothon.com The flex foam. I think 15# is they one you want. Maybe it’s 14. It will mention archery in description. That stuff is pricey but is real target quality

For just a backdrop. Try a horse stall mat from tractor supply. That’s not meant to be shot but a lot of people use it as a back stop

Agreed, its not dense enough…I used the heavier pourable foam mixed with fibers from another target and it holds up way better than even the mackenzie target foam- my patch pictured
I cannot remember the weight of the foam I used, but I do remember picking one that was one of the heavier options.

Edit- if you look off the head of this bears head there is a chunk of a deer that has the spray foam as a fix- worthless.I buy these animals used from our club for like $20, then use the pourable foam to fix them. The heavy pourable foam is better than the original- its tougher especially if you mix fibers in