HAY BALES

[Florida bowhunter]

Just wondering I here everyone on here talk about using hay bales, for practice or big round rolls, which  do you guys use square bales or round rolls...do you shoot your practice broadheads in them and how does the hay hold up....?

[JamesV]

Broad heads will hang up in hay bales.

[ChiefStingingArrow]

hay bales are great but a higher poundage bow will blow right threw them.

[Air Cleaver]

Don't use hay it's expensive and makes a mess. I use straw bales for a backstop and tie them to a "T" post stacked up. 2 should be plenty. They last a long time and work well. I use a regular foam target in front.

[Air Cleaver]

Hay will also get moldy and straw dosen't. Here in Nevada we have a different climate than Florida, it's a little less humid.

[Stump73]

There is a 3d club around here that uses the big round oneas practice targets.  They have them turned side ways because the round sometimes the arrows got into deep. Theirs are the wrapped ones and believe they are triple wrapped. Theyve been useing the sameones now for about 3 or 4 yrs. The compound guys arrows dont get burried in them the bale. So for us we wont to worry either.

[monkeyball]

If you can find some of these they will last you for years. They are made out of excelsior,a type of wood fiber. There heavy and not cheap but they will last you for years.
                                                         Good Shooting,
                                                                         Craig

[jt85]

What I use for a backstop is a big piece of Styrofoam that came out of a boat dock. It works great

[Florida bowhunter]

Thanks guys for the info...

[2nocks]

An old timer told me he used to use sugar cane bales. I called every farm supply in my area and no one had a clue.

[McDave]

The square bales need to be tightened-up with metal bands or something before they're of much use for archery. Our club has a machine someone built a long time ago that compresses the bales and then we band them while they are compressed.  Even then, they need to be replaced every year or so.  I put some in my yard some years ago, that I compressed myself using turnbuckles and wire cable.  They worked for a couple of years until they started to deteriorate, and then they were a mess for a few years after that.  I kept raking them out and eventually they disappeared into the ground. I only use foam targets now, either backed up by other old targets or plywood. Backing them up with plywood encourages you not to miss, because when you do, you will have a job digging out the points from the plywood.

[Uncle Buck]

if your local lumber yard uses plastic strapping to bundle building materials, they can compress your bales for you. they will probably charge you a couple bucks but it is worth it. you can use the steel strapping, but it is rough on arrows if you should hit the edge. These days i used burlap sacks stuffed with  salvaged grocery bags, shrink wrap and bubble wrap.

[M60gunner]

Excelsior bales will last a very, very long time. Rebanded once in awhile and rotated. Trouble is they are pricey and shipping will kill the idea. For yourself I would try and find the foam blocks from the docks. We used them as 3d backstops for a number of years. Straw would be my choice for the backyard range. I would build a hootch to protect them from the weather. Also I have read of people using horse stall matts that work also.

[Bjorn]

I use 4 straw bales as a backstop and change them every year or two. Works just fine. Nothing gets through. I don't shoot BH into the bales. We only shoot wood so we are picky about what we shoot BH's into. But as a backstop straw is great.

[overbo]

Any local CO-OP like Tractor Supply sells ''compressed'' bails of straw and different types of horse hay. The run around $20. I shoot bows in the mid 60lbs and penetration is minimal. As for BHs, the Zwickey Eskimo, Bear razorheads pull out just fine because of their design.

[ranger 3]

Horse stall mats sold by Tractor Supply makes great back stops.

[bigbadjon]

I make mine from square bales and compress them with ratchet straps. They last indefinately as long as you keep them dry.

[bsv]

I use straw and have for years.Build a simple platform 3-bales, shoot into what the farmers call the cut edge,then strap them down with 2 ratchet straps,plywood on top to keep the rain out.tighten them up and your good to go for along time... Burt

[DaveT1963]

A very easy way to tighten up bales so they are not so easy to blow through is to use a ratchet strap - tighten the heck out of it and then use some bailing twine to hold the bale to the new shape.  A horse mat behind the bales works great to keep an arrow from blowing through.

[pdk25]

I use a round bale.  If you shoot into the rounded side you won't have any trouble no matter how heavy of a bow you shoot for quite some time.  Then it is a simple matter of rolling the bale a little bit, and presto, a new target face.