K E E P Y O U R E Y E O N T H E
Mastering the fine art of archery takes dedication, time and lots of
practice. This is why decent targets are one of the most important pieces
of kit every archer should have available. As the amount of archery
targets on the market is truly overwhelming, this month’s Great Gear
splits them up in four basic types and covers all the essentials that go
with choosing the right target for your type of sport.
PAPER TARGETS
Essentially just sheets of paper,
these archery targets mostly
feature the traditional whiteblack
blue-red-yellow bullseye
pattern every archer knows very,
very well. Putting these targets up
on a simple bale of hay might have
been a good idea in the past but
not nowadays. Modern bows have
become so powerful that they can
blow an arrow clean through a bale
of hay, making for lost arrows in
the best of cases and potentially
unsafe situations in the worst.
Do make sure targets are sturdy
and durable enough to stop and
hold a number of arrows on the
spot. Also beware of targets that
24 www.guntradeworld.com
are too hard, such as wood, since
these can damage the arrows on
impact. Although simple paper
targets and DIY backstops might
sound like money easily saved, they
are in most cases far from ideal,
especially considering dedicated
archery targets are readily available
and do not require a hefty
monetary investment at all.
BAG TARGETS
As their name suggests, these
targets are bags made of a sturdy
fabric lled with a stopping
material with synthetic bre or
other porous materials. When
an arrow hits the bag target, it
punches through the external
covering to hit the internal
material. e kinetic force of
the arrow is thus absorbed by
the internal material so that the
arrow will not overpenetrate. Bag
targets are designed to withstand
repeated use and will hold together
through hundreds of hits. ey are
simply ideal for taking the high
volume of shots that comes with
target practice. Add more stopping
power to the target simply by
adding more stopping material
to the bag. Arrows are also easily
removed from bag targets, which
is another plus. Always make sure
to use eld tips with bag targets
since using broadheads will usually
result in di cult-to-remove arrows
GREAT
GEAR
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