Ozbow

Hi gang

Long time no visit. This happened!
Anyway, I'm trying to make a DIY archery backstop netting to catch stray arrows. We mostly use 23-35lb bows and 5/16th wooden arrows, so nothing too hardcore. The netting is not a failsafe, more a time saver. if it catches 50% of stray arrows, that's a great result.

As always, I'm on a budget and trying to recycle scrap bits and pieces. I've devised a basic wooden frame that collapses into pieces and I have some aluminium poles for the cross pieces. I'm thinking of 3 layers of something each about 5cm apart, all loosely hung and baggy and not taut.

I'm thinking of a layer of shadecloth in between 2 layers of weed matting. The black stuff you put on lawn/weeds to smother it to death. It's cheap at only $4 a roll (90cm x 5m) and seems fairly sturdy.

Has anyone ever made anything like this themselves? Any advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers

Kev

congrats also ,, the things that happen when we arnt looking ;lol

Ive used shadecloth |plastic pallet wrap|shadecloth as a stop. Im thinking loose the plastic out a the middle and you should be ok. Carpet was good to but so heavy.
I tried that weed mat once. It does not seem to be UV stable. It falls apart if left out.

Kev,
Congratulations on the new archer.
On your netting
Two ways-
1) if on a budget- shade cloth is going to be cheaper than the imported netting. Have used in the past for backyard use
effective at catching arrows from low poundage bows.

2) Netting imported from overseas suppliers- with postage etc- $250.00 to $300.00.

Regards

John

Congrats on the new family member ,the shade cloth and weed mat should be enough for those light bows,i've got sheets of roofing iron nailed to my 6ft fence behind my target butt,not fun when you do hit it with heavy bows and have to try to pull out the arras without breaking them or pull the tips off

Hanging carpet works well - and here is a thing - hang it in layers perhaps 1cm apart with 3-5 layers - that will (it does) deal with arrows shot from anything up to 50#

Awesome! Boy or Girl? (its a bit hard to tell with the little ones), Name?

Steve

Find a local company that makes shade sails, they normally have damaged sails from insurance claims laying about. We got a damaged one from a Toyota dealership and hung it loosly in three layers (more layers the better) at our first indoor range, pulled up most arrows or a least slowed them down.

Congrats. Good to see more yound archers coming along.

Stretch a wire with tension devices or a ratchet tie down between two posts or trees. Throw a carpet over so that two sides hang down loosely.

Go to your local carpet layer / carpet sales point and ask them for an old carpet....flash a small amount of dinero. Turns waste into useful. Something they have to bin which costs them [expense of waste bin].

I built a permanent wall of black solid double wall plastic pallets. It is two pallets wide and two palets high for a twenty metre range shooting at a 40cm target. Held up by three CCA log posts. Stops everything. Grow veggies on the ear side as it is a considerable source of heat. Drill holes at the top for quick connect to the hose and small holes at the bottom for trickle irrigation. Works well in a cold climate.

Kev

Thanks everyone. My little man's name is Aiden. So far big sister likes him because he can't yet reach out and grab anything she's playing with

The idea of this arrow netting is to be transportable in the back of my Astra hatch with the back seats down, along with the frame, and of course all my archery and swordfighting gear. So it wouldn't be exposed to constant weather which helps.
I've got some scrap carpet I'm hoping to use, the main concern is weight, and how much space it'll take up in the back of the car. But I reckon carpet would be perfect for our low powered bows.

I'll ring around some carpet and shade sail outlets, thanks for the tip guys. Recycling is the way to go
As it turns out, I've got to dismantle our lower patio shadecloth setup (&$^#ing termites) so I'll soon have an old but free piece of shadecloth about 2.5m x 2m.

If I can get it working I'll post some pics. I've had zero time for archery since bub 2 was born so hopefully I can get back into the swing of things soon.

Nothing wrong with termites. I make a good living because of them.
The termites were here first. Just do not put edible non durable pieces of timber in, on or close to the ground.
Although it was nice of you to care for our national pet.

Kev

Haha, they can thank the original builders of my lovely 1970s home

FYI 3 layers of loosely hanging shadecloth was no match for my 30lb recurve and aluminium arrows. So back to the drawing board.

I do have heaps of carpet, but the light poles I'm using won't support it. Might be good for other more permanent sites though.

Next attempt will be to use some leftover weed matting in between the shadecloth layers!

just stitch up a shade cloth bag and fill it with rags it'l;l pull up any trad arra....

Artificial grass should fit the criteria, just hang it ovr a pole of some sort both sides will pull it up and its not too heavy. you may be able to scrounge some from someone ou know. Though shade cloth and rags do work well.

Down at the farm, I used an old wire mesh gate, with 3 layers of cardboard leaning against it. At 20 yards it was catching arrows. I like to put the same cardboard against hay bails, when we have them and they are fresh and tight.

My favourite home made target is a 10kg onion bag stuffed with plastic shopping bags, which would otherwise be thrown away. I think if I could get my hands on a bigger bag, and fill it over time, that would be even better as a back stop. Something the size of a chaff bag. I don't think it would weigh much, and the plastic stops my arrows quickly. Also not worried about it getting wet and going moldy.

I've read clothing is good, but it's heavier, and unless your going to raid brotherhood bins, a little harder to collect.
I've also read that chicken wire and shade cloth can be wrapped around two posts fixed in the ground and the gap between the material stuffed with clothing/plastic bags.

My brother suggested that he always sees mattresses being tossed on the side of the road for hard waste collection. I don't think these would work well as there isn't much in them to stop an arrow, but I don't know that, and perhaps a mattress could be stuffed with plastic??