Just wondering if anyone uses a round bale of hay for their backyard target?

I am close to needing to replace my current target.    

Also, if you do use one, what is a fair price to pay (delivered) and about how long can I expect one to last??


Thanks,

Allen

Out here they are $80-90.

Depending how many deer you have around, you may want to get straw instead...

No worries about the deer. I have a Jack Russel and a beagle. They keep the deer away!  

Bad thing about round bale, if shot at wrong spot or angle, your arrow will completely disappear into it. Ask me how I know.

I use them all the time and love them. I have one 4 years old that still works fine. Shoot the rounded side with strings facing you and you will not lose arrows if the bale was properly made. The flat side can let arrows in deep enough to lose. Don't know the price, I let some folks bale hay off my land and they just give me one when I need it.

Round bales around here are $20-25 you get'em (fescue). Not sure about delivered. They can weigh 400-800 lbs depending on how the farmer bales them. Kinda hard to move around.

If you cover them with that wrap I see on them they should last quite a while.

Swinestalker is right. Don't shoot the flat side. I can't attest to shooting the round side. Once was enough for me, too.

But... around here $80 for straw, $120 for hay but I'm not that sure.

Best long duration targets I've ever shot at were cedar bales they have have at Kenmore at Seattle, but have no idea how much they cost or where to get them.

I shoot at one with burlap targets on it. I love it.It lasted over a year with no covering on it. My buddy gave it to me.

Allen...........

Last years hay will be really cheap, wait till spring and buy hay. I use the compacted cardboard bales, they last about 3 yrs outside, a little messy but they will stop a 30-06.

I shot bales for years.  I personally like two large square bales stacked. It ends up 8' by 8'.  If you miss that you need help.  

Square bales are more dense and I don't remember loosing arrows in them.  Sometimes I would slip one between them, but it usually passed to a point I could pull it from the other side.  

Sometimes I would drive cardboard onto it with large screws and staple paper to the cardboard.  

I got away from shooting them, though, because they wear your carbon arrows badly.  Maybe it varies with the coarseness of the grass, but my hay bales would chew the finish down to the black carbon after a summer of shooting.  

Jeff

Allen, Like jeff said, you might try a couple of square bales. I'm getting $5 a bale for horse hay right now.

Here's the deal.  cut you a couple pcs of plywood the size of the bale. take them to a local building supply and get the guys in the back to band them together with the metal bands they use on lumber packs. plywood on bottom and top, bales in between. the bands will compress the hay and make the target last 5 times longer. Keep it dry and that much the better. Good luck Don

Thanks so much for the input guys!

Don, I may give your idea a try.

Shoot straight,

Allen

I shoot round bales all the time. But I shoot them and then feed them. So I get to shoot new ones pretty often. I wish I got Prairie Drifter prices for the ones I sold for 60 a bale. I like batman's idea, then you don't have 1200lbs of hay to deal with when you break the strings.

I shoot round bales all the time. If you can get the bales that are net wrapped they will last a lot longer.

Mine has lasted four years so far!  Love it.

I have used them but after a while they do seem to develop soft spots & you will lose your arrows in them. Oh, & if you do use one as a target make sure you shoot the side & not the ends.

An annual ritual of mine is to go long range mastadon hunting with my longbow.

After bailing, the neighbor lets his round bales out in the field right where he dropped them. He eventually gathers them all up, so for a few days each summer I can walk around the field taking long shots at the "mastadons".

Way cool!

I use hay bales every fall at the cabin since there is around two hundred sitting on my land.  shot angles and side of the bale you shoot at make a huge difference. If you can flax bales they are better and last longer (way longer).  Flax might last you over ten years or more.  I'm not sure of avaliability of flax in your area or an alternative.  Try to get a hard core bale (not soft core) hard core are woven tighter so are heavier and have more material making then cost more but are much denser and will be better for arrow recovery. Flax bales, at least up here are usually burnt after baling so price might be good if no paper or textile mills in the area to take it. Shoot the string side of the bale, especially if shooting soft cores. Only issue with shooting on the string side is try not to break the strings or your bale will fall apart.

Hope this helps
cheer have fun shooting

I use them all the time but have to shoot into them from the side!(lost a few arrows shooting into the ends)