If you practise your archery at the range you know that the one thing you need in addition to your bow and arrows is your target. This allows you to keep score and judge how well your accuracy in increasing so that you can adjust your technique. Some ranges provide targets, but you might need your own, say, if you are on a trip out in the country.
There are many places to buy a target. You might find one in your local sporting goods store. Increasingly, people are buying targets on-line. Not only does the competition keep prices reasonable, but since the dealer might be anywhere in the world, the selection is endless. You can find anything from the traditional bull's eye to one resembling a life sized deer!
There is really no need to shop though; especially if you are handy. Why not make your own archery target? All you really need are various materials that are probably just laying around gathering dust. Try this:
First, make two cardboard templates for the target. You can make them any size you want but the standard is a three foot diameter. An easy way to do this is by putting a nail in the center, attach a string to the nail, hold a pencil on the string one and a half feet from the nail, and use it to revolve around the nail, drawing a line on the cardboard. Use an exacto knife to cut it out.
Find some stuffing material such as worn out, shredded towels or sheets. Generally, you are looking for any material that will be lightweight and fluffy.
Use an ice pick or a similar object to poke holes in the edges of the cardboard templates, about one inch apart. Pile some of the stuffing material on one template and place the other template on top making a sandwich. The two templates should be approximately eight inches apart.
Now, get your string and sew the two templates together three quarters of the way around. At this point you want to adjust the stuffing so that it is dense enough to keep the target reasonably stable. Push it in to do this. When you're confident in the structure, start the rest of the sewing, adding stuffing and adjusting as you go. You are done when the last holes are sewed and the string is tied off.
Remember the nail and string trick? Do the same thing again, drawing concentric circles on the cardboard until you reach the bull's eye. You might as well do both sides of the target while you are at it. Get as fancy as you want now. You can color alternative circles and assign points values if you wish, like a dart board.
All that remains is to build a support with three legs resembling an easel. Now you're done and it's time for a little target practice!
