How do I make my own backstop?

[Budog56]

We did the same thing as the one above only with a bunch of cardboard we saved when we moved......also have used sheets of that foam insulation stuff bout an inch or so thick usually pink opr white i can get you a nem tommorrow at work it works really good

[jerrod]

I love the course Dick.  That is improvising in a tight area.  I'll bet its a lot of fun to shoot too. My wheels are turning for my backyard!

[Cherokee Scout]

Daniel= are you talking about the CeloTex or the roof?

[Big'n]

For you city boys: Hay is feed
                                 Straw is bedding

[Eric Krewson]

I seldom buy anything new and look for bargains. I bought a used Morrell bag target that was used in the IBO world championships for $60, pretty shot up on the other side but one side untouched. At the last ASTB shoot in Bama they were selling the practice range bag targets for $5 so I picked up one to make my backstop bigger and stop low arrows. Some posts, plywood and left over shingles from my house and I have a about $100 in a backstop that will outlast me. I may have to replace the cover on the Morrell but I will never shoot out the core.

 

[BobW]

three in the back, one in front as a ledge for my target block.

Around here they go for $3.00 each.

Will last a few (1-3) years, so I don't think is really is that much (indoor range here is $5.00/hour, club is $45/year).

Cover it with a tarp when not shooting, and it is going to last.  Hay bales will grow lots of weeds in your yard, straw is what you want.

[Gatekeeper]

Originally posted by SRTA:
I buy CeloTex at Home Depo or Lowes. As I recall it cost about $7-8 per sheet. My 4'x3' cost less than $100. It comes in 4'x 8' sheets that are 3/4" thick. I cut in 16" strips, 4' wide. I stack them up to whatever height I want. I shot the last one for 16 years! I keep a roof over it to avoid rotting, it is some type of pressed cardboard or wood by product. Not sure what is is, but it works great.
 

SRTA

Is Celotex the same as sound board? Is Celotex the same material that ceiling tiles are made from?

I have check Home Depot, Lowes and several lumber yards around Kansas City and I keep getting the same answer “no we don’t have Celotex”.  One person told me that sound board is probably what I need but it only comes in ½” thickness around here.

Is Celotex the name brand of the material that you are buying or is there another name?

Thanks for your help.

[geno]

I made a giant saw horse out of treated landscape ties. 6'x8' I lay carpet over the top to double it up.

Mojam has the same targets a gatekeeper and it was hard to pull my woodies out. Dont know if everyone had that problem. It will last forever though..

[chris_qc]

Yeah,

We have the same material as Gatekeeper for our target butts. We call it "Tentest" around here. It does wreak havoc on the finnish of my POC arrows though.

[LEOPARD]

I've got a 5' target boss that works well! If you miss it tho, I've got a plastic covered silage bale behind it, that the boss is leaning up against, that stops any low arras before they go under grass or anything. I've also put a 10'x8' fence panel on the ground underneath my boss and silage bale, which stops arras from burrying under the grass. If you shoot low, the arras just bounce up into the boss. There's also the big sand bank behind the boss and bale. Another thing that works, is foam matress' taped or tied together.
 

[Cherokee Scout]

CeloTex is a brand name. There are other brands that work just as well, I am not sure of the other names.
It is used as the first layer of siding on frame houses. Brick, wood siding etc is put on over this stuff. It probably is sound board, but the stuff I have been using is 3/4"thick not 1/2" But the thickness makes no difference because you will just have to stack a few extra slices to get to desired height. If you look at it close it almost looks like  very soft wood, you can dig your fingernails in it.

[rugerbh103]

Thanks guys, looks like i have a busy weekend ahead.

[Missouri CK]

Tom,

 www.huebertfiberboard.com

This is the company that supplies the Missouri Conservation Department the material for their shooting butts at the local archery ranges.  This fiberboard stuff looks like big pieces of felt. You can stick a finger in between the layers and it has some give.  When you compress it together it works great.  I'm in the process of having my local hardware store order some of it in from the company. I need to look at it to decide how thick to make it in order to build a shooting backstop down in my father-in-laws basement.

I wish it wasn't so expensive but it should last a lifetime in the basement.

[Gatekeeper]

Thanks SRTA and Chris.

I found a place that has Celotex.

If there are any Kansas City guys that are interested in CeloTex, you can buy it at Menards in Saint Jo.
Menards carries CeloTex in 4’ x 8’x .5” sheets at $5.70 per sheet.

[Gordy]

I can tell you this much.  The 1/2" drywall in my garage makes a horrible backstop.  

[brettlandon]

According to the local nail-bender, CeloTex is a wall sheathing also called, brown board, black board, barn board, or corn stalk board.  It is used as an r-value replacement to OSB for wall sheathing, and used to be used much more extensively than current practices.  Many of you with homes 15 to 45 years old probably have this material under your siding especially around the unheated walls of your attached garage.
 Not all home improvement centers will carry it, but most any good lumberyard will.      
 My best friend and I put a truckload of used phonebooks across the end of his metal shed.  We covered these with two long tarps and it is an excellent backstop which is going on it's ninth or tenth year.  

-Brett

[Gatekeeper]

Here is the target butt that I made this past weekend. The material is Celotex and the dimensions are 5’ high x 4’ wide. This thing should last a long time.

I do get some residue on my arrows from the biding material in the Celotex. This mostly happens on the Carbon Express Heritage shafts. The Carbon Express Rebel shafts don’t seem to collect much residue. I sprayed the ends of the shafts with a dry lubricant and it seems to help a little bit.

Does anyone else have a better suggestion?


 

 

[Can Hahaka]

Living in a condo I have to shoot in the garage and out to the middle of the street! I have put a double layer of 2" foam on the walls for protection. I think it is too expensive for an outdoor application. Also, the drywall still has holes in it!

[Naphtali]

Regarding straw or hay as backstop, I have many whitetail in my yard. How much of a problem, if any, will this present for longevity of bale backstop? Will it be eaten by July if I create it in March?

[Gatekeeper]

Originally posted by Naphtali:
Regarding straw or hay as backstop, I have many whitetail in my yard. How much of a problem, if any, will this present for longevity of bale backstop? Will it be eaten by July if I create it in March?

You shouldn’t have any problems with the deer eating them.