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My next bow and arrow target was a piece of insulation that was about three inches thick. It did a good job of stopping arrows and I also got a good back workout and sore hands pulling out the arrows. Later I started buying cheap foam targets from local stores that stopped arrows well until they wore out.
Finally I thought that I would try something different and purchased a large bag target. I have been shooting at this bag for several years and, even though the cover is getting worn, it still stops all shots. Most importantly arrow removal is very easy. In some advertisements, the manufacturers tout the easy two finger arrow removal. With this bag target it is true. In fact many times the arrows are visibly loose. It is amazing how the bag target can stop an arrow that is going over 200 feet per second and it just dangles out of the bag. I have never had a pass through and cannot recall having an arrow even penetrate the opposite side of the bag. In the winter, or if I just want to shoot a few arrows quickly, I’ll lean it up against the basement wall and shoot.
When it comes to what size to buy, I always buy the larger target. With a large target I feel comfortable backing up and taking longer shots and it also helps with my kids. In the past I have often spent more time looking for lost arrows than shooting.
To shoot field points I recommend a bag target. There are several good bag targets on the market today and you can even buy replacement covers for some of them.
Since you cannot shoot broadheads at a bag target you need another target. For this I use the cheap foam targets. These foam targets do not hold up under a lot of shooting with broadheads, but I will usually double up by putting the old one behind the newer one and get a little more life out of them both. Just remember not to line up the worn out areas. I know many experts advise that you practice with your broadheads, but this will lead to many worn out targets no matter which one you use. I just shoot my broadheads some before the season to make sure that they are still hitting where they are supposed to.
Cheap foam targets can usually be purchased at local stores or from the major catalogs as well. This is the economical way of purchasing bow and arrow targets for archery practice.
You might ask about the layered foam bow and arrow targets that came into the market a few years ago. I was seriously considering buying one and taking my bag target to our hunting property, so I did some research. I had a difficult time finding any positive information about them outside of the advertisements. From what I read it appears that they do a fine job stopping field tipped arrows and broadheads up to a certain point. It should be no real surprise that the foam in these bow and arrow targets starts getting tore up after a while, and especially so with the use broadheads. I can’t justify the expense of these targets in comparison with a bag target and the cheaper foam targets.
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