Davoh

My wife and I are moving into a house finally this week. I'm so sick of living in a sardine can(apartment). Anyways, I'm really excited as we'll be able to shoot our bows at home. This makes for much more frequent practicing. Only problem is that it is in you're run of the mill suburban neighborhood. The yard is approx. 25 paces diagonally from one corner to the other. ( approx 20 yds effective shooting distance)Woods behind us with neighbors on either side of us. Typical 6 ft 1x6 board fence surrounding. I'm a little concerned about shooting in this confined of a space. I have seen people shooting in their back yards elsewhere, but I grew up shooting with no houses within several hundred yards.

My thoughts are leaning towards 3 square hay bales stacked and caddy-cornered as a back stop, with a bag target for primary target.

Another thought would be 6 bales. 2 stacks of three. Each stack parallel to the fence, but pushed up in the corner, again with a bag target for primary.

Anyone else in a similar situation, or have experience with this?

added tidbit of info. Back yard is 10 paces by 15 wide. Back of the house has windows every 5-6 ft. This weekend After the final movein I'll scout out the woods behind us. We have a dog, so just taking the fence down is pretty well out of the question. From what I can tell there's about 50-60 yds of really REALLY thick woods between our subdiv. and the one back there. Maybe I can cliear a lane lengthways down the strip of woods. Its a thought.

JLmoore1956

Davoh, I miss the farm and my targets, but you got to be careful. There might be some laws about even discharging bows inside some limits. So I would make sure I check that out close, dont want no tickets or confiscation.[&o]

That said, would get some bales and get them tightened up and then a target like yellow jacket, or block, etc..... use the bales as a stop and use the target or a 3D to shoot at!

Trembow

I wouldn't use hay if I could avoid it. Too easy to shoot through and not very weather resistant. I like bags of old blankets and clothing.

It has also been mentioned that conveyor belts make great backstops too.

Maybe if you're stuck with hay bales for a backstop you can back them up with conveyor belts?

CONGRATS ON THE NEW HOUSE!!!

Trembow

In MA for example, it's 500 feet from any dwelling in use unless owner permission is given (owner of the dwelling in use that is.)

mauser06

im in the same situation....my backyard is a bit larger....but theres a freakin POOL,shed and garage back there lol......mom says i aint shootin no bow back there!! dad said i could before....but i dont think he thinks im SERIOUS about buying a bow here REAL soon....though he says he may buy one too.....my neighbors wont say anything about me shooting....noone will be at the SCHOOL directly out my back door lol.....itll be summer time..i kinda plan to shoot from the neighbors i DONT really know towards the neighbors that my family knows..and was thinking about a big hay bale wall behind my target....ill eventually have a 3d target.....and a block or bag target to shot....i heard carpet stops arrows pretty good hanging....maybe rig the carpet up so it covers the hay bales...keeps the bales from the weather and also helps stop arrows...i think i have extra carpet laying around too..if not im sure i can find some...im also completely enclosed in a wooden fence....i want to beable to shoot a couple times a day all summer...and take the 3d to the farm and set up a stand and shoot at that for confidence....we will see how it goes....keep the ideas coming guys....im curious too.....

Trembow

Mauser,
The problem with carpet is that it doesn't heal much at all. If you hit the same spot more than a couple times you'll then have a hole. If you do use hanging carpet, use two or three layers and just check it now and then.

Used carpeting can usually be obtained at carpet retailers that do installations. Very often they bring back carpet they have removed and throw it in their dumpster. My first car had the plushest interior you ever saw

The other problem you have is with a fenced area, you prolly won't be able to see what's going on on the other side. Just be really really careful okay?

DaveH

When I lived in a residential neighborhood, I had a similar problem. One time, a friend was over shooting and he hit the seam between the bales. The arrow passed through, then hit a stump which cuased it to flip over a fence and land in the ground right next to the homeowner who was pruning his bushes!!![:@]

He wasn't happy.

After he called the police . . . I moved my target with MY own house as the backup. It had a hole in the siding when we sold it years later!

Green Pea

Congratulations on the new house.

Buddy you’ve got to be very careful. You mentioned that there are woods behind your house. How far do the woods go back and what’s on the other side of them?

As for a back stop consider this; buy three 4x8 sheets of plywood. One will act as the back stop, one will be the roof, and the third one will be cut in half and used for the sides. Use 2x4 too frame it and screw the top, sides and back together with 3 inch galvanized screws.

Stack square bails of straw inside. The roof will help keep the straw from weathering. Buy a block target and your set. This will cost a little money but Safety is #1 as always. That’s a small space to be working with so be careful.

Rickmur

No basement? As Dave said, use your own house as a backstop, and put a piece of plywood upbut check the ordences. I used my garage at my last house and flung one through the back of the garage and the AC unit stopped it, it also stopped me from shooting through the garage.

dkbs

Hello
Like many before stated check the ordinances for your locale.
I have a somewhat similiar arrangement but definitely not as tight or restricted.
This is how I'd handle the situation if allowable.I'd build a bunker to use as a target. My bunker is 21 years old and the only expense after initial setup was to add a roof(which I took off a year or two later since it made the dirt always damp).
My bunker is basically a treated 3/4" sheet of plywood supported by two treated wood poles. So the target back is four feet high and eight feet wide. The sides are another 3/3" sheet cut in half (each 4x4) coming forward from the back, forming like an open stall. These are held also by wood fence poles. Then this box was filled with black dirt. I made a sifter out of some screen to sift the dirt to make sure no rocks came into the target. I've never added dirt since and I shoot target points or broadheads. I have a little wire brush hanging there to brush the dirt off the arrows when the dirt is damp after a rain.
That said, in your situation maybe you could buy treated plywood and attach it to the corner of your existing fence to form the back of the bunker.Hopefully the fence belongs to you and not your neighbor. Get enough to make the target larger than needed to stop any stray arrows. I would have the plywood as high as the existing fence. Once attached to the fence, hand paint it so from a distance it appears to look just like the fence. Figure how high the dirt will be stacked in the corner and tar the lower portion of the plywood to help the plywood withstand years of moisture. Fill the corner in with dirt, to much dirt is better than to little. Pack down the dirt and now you have a bunker which you'll shoot at towards its base. This target gets better with age.
To dress up the target, plant some flowers at the base corners using some creativity.


Good luck
Dan