Preserving a hay bale for target practice.....

[highpoint forge]

Got a brand new free hay bale from a neighbor and I live in a condo. I put it in my garage and I can shoot back into the garage using the bale as my backstop… So as we all do this bale method to some extent, what is my best move for keeping bugs and such from ruining the bale short-term? I also have a two year old who will be attracted to it so maybe skip chemicals altogether? I'm just psyched to have it.

[pdk25]

A round bale?  I keep mine in the back yard and don't do anything to preserve it.  Eventually you will want to roll it a little when you start wearing out some spots.  They last a long time if tightly packed.

[riverrat 2]

Use a rubber mat barrier between it,and the ground,or carpet if it is inside the garage. Which reading your post it says it is. You can do the same sort of thing on top as well. They are pretty cheap bud...so maybe just give er' he** til it wears out and get another. They won't last for a long time if you really shoot alot anyway.  Have fun,rat'

[Hud]

Not sure if it is grass, straw, alfalfa hay. Round or rectangular. I put three compressed straw bales   on a dolly.  first cut a piece of black or clear 3 mil (lighter is ok) visqueen (Lowes, or Home Depot) over the top of the dolly, set the bale on top and bring the front over the top, fold sides in, and tape with duct tape, or tie. Keeps the mess off the floor and you can move it when needed.

[highpoint forge]

It's a rectangular straw bale and that visqueen dolly idea is perfect for me since I'll move it some. I realize it will fall apart even if it is a compressed bale. Less mess is awesome. We always had hay bales at the farm for shooting but now at home we are in an urban area and space is much tighter.

[Kamm1004]

Lots of Saran wrap! Seriously tho. It'll work but you'll need layers and layers. It'll hold together and help keep it compressed longer. Also helps stop the arrows imo.

P.S. - if you want a really good yet cheap target, simply find lots of cardboard boxes of the same dimensions. Break them down folded flat, stack them up about 3 feet high or however big you want the target. Use ratchet straps with pieces of wood on top and On bottom to compress the cardboard together. Those targets last a LONG time and work great for field points and broadheads. Search this forum or online for "diy cardboard target"

[gringol]

A couple ratchet straps to keep it compressed will help.

[highpoint forge]

I do have a shrink wrap device and plenty of plastic......

[highpoint forge]

I do have a shrink wrap device and plenty of plastic......

[Hud]

I like the visqueen, because it can be replaced, or patched with another piece.

Depending on your garage, you might consider adding a bale of cedar - bedding material from a farm and garden store. The plastic wrapped bales are about the same size as straw bales. It will stop arrows, but are not made to shoot into much. Put one or two under your bale to get it up higher.  For a backstop consider using plywood, or pieces to make a 4 x 8' backstop, faced with a rubber matt, or heavier stall matt, screwed to the board. Set behind as a backstop in a garage. You might think of other option. I use a Block layered foam target also.

[Airdale]

If you keep it in the back yard don't get a cow for a pet.

[DaveT1963]

Not sure what kind of bales folks are using but I have a problem with my arrowsw blowing right through them.  I now use one of those horse rubber mats you can get at Tractor Supply behing bales.  I stack them up to 4 high on a pallet.  I also use two large ratchet straps with boards on top/bottom bales and compress the heck out of them.  I like the idea of using cedar bales as bottome row and might just give that a shot.  I have been using the wheat straw bales.

[Eric Krewson]

Hay bales are probably the worst arrow backstops out there, they don't hold up to many shots.

The only thing we had to use as backstops back in the 70s were hay bales. I still remember arrows going through them like they weren't there after a week or so of shooting them.

You best option would be to get a burlap coffee bag, stuff it with any kind of sheet plastic you can find and make a simple PVC frame to hold it. You can shoot it for years (both sides) and never shoot through it.

I have been shooing this target for 20 years off and on. I pick a small detail like the base of the tail, eyeball or tip of the ear to shoot at so I don't wear a hole in the kill section. This is a double sided Ames "you stuff it" target and a little larger than a standard hay bale.

I do most of my shooting outside but shoot this target in my basement when I need to work on form or days when the weather is too bad to go outside.

   

[Charlie Lamb]

I prefer Eric's idea. Very cheap... construction sights are good sources of plastic. Easy arrow removal and it stops an arrow... I mean STOPS them.

If you get a soft spot just lay it on the ground and stomp on it a while. It'll be like new.

I used to have one in my living room when I lived alone. No holes in the wall and I could pick up my bow any time and shoot.

[NEB]

When I grow up I want to live with Charlie.  We could have a 3D course in our house!  From the toilet, through the kitchen, off the lamp shade, nothing but 10 ring!

[pdk25]

Eric, you must not be talking about a good tightly packed round bale,  They last for a long time, give a large surface area for a backstop, and can just be rotated for a new target surface.

[mangonboat]

I now use a burlap bag packed with plactic bags from WalMart, the grocery store, etc, but if straw bales (not hay) comes to hand, I stack them three high on their sides so you're shooting intop the long ends of the straws, borrow a commercial bander from work to tighten them down as tight as possible then clamp at least  2 steel bands across  the 3 bales, then I set them on top an old tire and when they are good and steady, I use a truck innertube cut crosswise to make a long tube, then cut the along inside seam and then drape that heavy rubber over the top of the bale stack, pull one end  taut down one side then the other , using a lot of skewer stakes  made from wire  hangers around the perimeter to keep it in place. You end up with a dense, broadhead compatible, weatherproof, bug resistant target bale that will last for a decade. If you're worried about shooting heavy /wheelie bow arrows through it, pick up some truck trailer rain flaps  on the side of the interstate , drill holes around the perimeter and use skewers to hold them in place on the back side of the bale.

[mangonboat]

The steel bands go around the bales, not across them.

[highpoint forge]

I have a plastic stuffed one and it sorta deformed over time and imploded, which was weird. I guess I could use both but that plastic stuffed one stopped arrows cold and I've been through the hay bale adventure. Figured the straw would stop better. Oh well I'll just move it along....

[Krex1010]

Eric.....are you talking about shrink wrap as your target filler?