3D Targets

Targets for bows made of Karphos, foam and Styroline

Shooting at a target with a bow and arrow or crossbow is what makes this exciting leisure activity a special challenge. By hitting a distant target, the skills of an archer can be demonstrated very accurately. Depending on the age and archery discipline of the athlete, a wide variety of target types and target rests are used in each competition. At www.bogensportwelt.de you can get the right target including accessories for your bow or crossbow.

Targets for bows - standard equipment for shooters

In addition to the bow or crossbow, targets are part of a shooter's standard equipment for training and demonstrating their skills and performance. For archery, the straw target with or without a coloured ring pattern is a classic arrow target. Targets made of foam, Karphos or Styroline are attached to a target rest designed with the ring pattern, animal or fantasy motifs using target nails. The Target itself is fixed to a stand.

Targets made from the biological material Karphos are an extremely practical and moderately priced variant. This is extremely highly compressed straw, which develops a very solid density and guarantees that the arrow is properly anchored when it hits the target without drilling too firmly into the material.

Karphos is therefore particularly suitable for bows or crossbows with higher draw weights.

Styroline targets are moulded from a special foam and are relatively light in weight. These targets are also very durable and, above all, gentle on arrows.

Archery - a sport for young and old

Become one with your bow and calibrate your senses in deep concentration when aiming at your target. Of course, there is also plenty of room for sporting ambition when shooting with a bow and arrow or crossbow, which you can live out in competitions. Adequate body tension and a high level of concentration are the basics you should have in order to hit your targets and achieve them in other ways in the long term. You will certainly realise that not all goals are the same. There are some interesting differences here.

Discover Target bows now

A large part of the growing popularity of this sport is due to the highly developed sports equipment and matching accessories. The selection of targets alone covers a very wide range, offering products with a wide variety of characteristics for ambitious bow and crossbow shooters. Explore our online shop and choose a target that exactly meets your needs.

Target guide

The target is part of every archer's basic equipment. It is therefore all the more important that you inform yourself about this topic. We know that our wide range of different targets leaves many questions unanswered. BogenSportWelt.de won't leave you out in the cold. For this reason, we would like to help you with our target guide and support you in finding the right and optimal target for you.

Buying the right target

In order to be able to buy the right target, it should be clarified in advance what a target actually is and what tasks it performs. In the following, we would like to get to the bottom of the matter and explain these questions in more detail.

What are targets actually?

The most important task of a target for archery is to safely stop the arrow being shot without damaging it. It all sounds quite simple at first, doesn't it? The inexperienced archer might think at this point, why not just use a simple wooden or chipboard target? However, this seemingly clever idea will soon turn out to be an unfavourable solution.

Wooden boards are not recommended as a Target

Wooden panels or similar hard materials are unsuitable as a Target. The dampening effect on the lightning-fast arrow is too extreme. Bent or even broken arrows are the sobering result. Even resistant carbon fibre will not be able to withstand this in the long term. Buying the right Target prevents damage to the arrow.

Even bales of straw can only be used to a limited extent

We already know that materials that are too hard will severely damage the accelerated arrow in the long term. The logical conclusion is to look for a background that is gentle on the arrow. So it is of course obvious to consider bales of straw as a target. And it is indeed the case that straw bales do not cause any damage to the arrow. The straw is soft and allows the arrow to penetrate well.

But this is precisely where the problem lies. Especially bows with a higher draw weight give the arrow such energy that it disappears completely into the bale of straw. Of course, the arrow was not damaged. Unfortunately, it is now all the more difficult to get it out of the bale of straw again. It seems that the straw bale is also not an optimal option, especially for medium or strong bows.

In addition, straw bales are not mobile and therefore cannot be placed in the optimum position for the archer. So you are always tied to a certain area.

What kind of targets are there?

Now that we know that it is not so easy to find the optimal target, we need to think about which target is most suitable for you. There are many targets available, made from a wide variety of materials. We would like to provide you with a list of the various options below.

The straw target

Characteristics of the straw target

• For light to medium-power bows (max. 40 lbs)
• Cost-effective purchase
• Suitable for arrows with a metal tip (youth tip)

As the name suggests, the straw target is made of straw. Didn't we just talk about straw in relation to bales of straw? That's right. Unlike a bale of straw, targets made of straw are more compressed and therefore dampen the arrow somewhat more intensively. Nevertheless, straw targets are more suitable for lighter bows. Depending on their dimensions, straw targets can be shot at with bows up to a maximum of 40 lbs. Of course, they are also easier to transport and weigh approx. 3-8 kilograms depending on the model.

The straw discs are aimed specifically at beginners in the sport of archery and are basically suitable for light bows and children's bows. We would like to list the most important advantages below.

Straw mats and round straw targets - what's the difference?

Straw targets can come in different designs. For example, you can choose between straw targets and straw mats. Straw targets are probably the best-known type of target. Well-known from film and TV, the round straw targets have a correspondingly round shape and can sometimes be equipped with blue and red markings.

Straw mats, on the other hand, are square in shape. They can be easily placed on a target stand and are easy to fit with a target rest due to their design. However, the load limit is identical. Depending on the model, the straw mats should also be shot at with bows up to a maximum of 40 lbs.

The Karphos target

Characteristics of the Karphos Target

• Designed for strong bows up to 60 lbs
• Karphos targets have a high dead weight
• Unsuitable for children's bows
• Not weatherproof

Straw is also used as the basic material for the Karphos target. The big difference to the straw targets described above is that the straw in Karphos targets is highly compressed and pressed together. The result is a Target with a hard surface that can withstand even strong bows. You may have seen these targets in Olympic archery before. That's where these Karphos targets are used exclusively.

The target is usually encased in a layer of cardboard. This means that it is no problem to shoot at Karphos targets with bows weighing more than 60 lbs. Due to the manufacturing method, the targets also have a considerable weight. This makes transporting them a little more difficult.

Karphos targets are not suitable for light bows

As the Karphos target is quite hard and resistant, the bow should also have a correspondingly high power so that the arrow has enough energy to penetrate the target slide at all.

Children's bows and bows under 20 lbs have too low a draw weight. The arrows shot would simply bounce off the hard surface of the Karphos target slide and have no chance of penetrating. In the end, it would simply fall onto the bow. To make matters worse, children's bows are usually fitted with arrows that have rounded metal tips. These metal tips are of course a significant safety factor. However, the blunt tip has no way of penetrating a Karphos target.

Karphos targets do not like rain

If you want to buy a Karphos target, you should always bear in mind that these targets do not like rain. For this reason, you should always make sure that precautions have been taken to protect the target from rain or other damp conditions.

Foam targets

Characteristics of the foam targets

• Suitable for both beginners and professionals
• Easy to transport
• Weatherproof
• High durability

So far we have got to know the straw discs and targets from Karphos. Both targets used straw as the main raw material. Foam targets take a completely different approach and rely on a foam specially developed for archery, which offers the archer several advantages. In addition to a wide variety of dimensions, you will also find many other special features that can only be found in foam targets.

What makes the foam targets so special?

In addition to effective dampening of the arrow, durability is one of the most important criteria of a target slide. For this reason, the foam targets use a special foam that heals itself, so to speak, after a hit. The foam contracts after the arrow has been pulled out, thus reducing the opening created by the hit. The STRONGHOLT Targets foam targets in particular offer an excellent price/performance ratio.

STRONGHOLD Switch, Stripe... what?

In addition to the special effect of the foam, some models have other characteristics that further increase their durability. The STRONGHOLD Targets foam targets offer you an extensive selection of special models.

With the STRONGHOLD foam target Switch, for example, you have the special option of simply replacing the centre of the target. Normally, the centre of the Target is the area that is shot at and subjected to the most intensive use. This means that this is also where the greatest wear is to be found. It is precisely this area that can be replaced easily, quickly and cost-effectively by replacing a so-called interchangeable centre.

The STRONGHOLD Stripe foam target takes a similar approach. Here too, a punctured area is no reason to buy a new target disc straight away. The STRONGHOLD Stripe foam target consists of several strips of the aforementioned special foam pressed on top of each other. These strips, similar to the interchangeable centre of the STRONGHOLD Switch foam target, are to be replaced in the correspondingly stressed areas. The advantage here is that the replaceable area is not just limited to the centre, but covers every area by replacing the respective strip.

How strong should a Target be?

Targets are available in many different thicknesses. How strong your target slide should be depends on how strong your bow is. If you know how much draw weight your bow is equipped with, it is relatively easy to buy the right target for you. We have labelled each target in our range with a maximum load capacity. This means you know exactly which target you should buy and in which strength.

Your arrows are also crucial

In addition to the draw weight of your bow, the arrows you use are also decisive when it comes to deciding how strong the target should be. As already mentioned, for each model we provide information on the maximum LBS the target should be loaded with.

Please note: This information always refers to the use of an aluminium arrow that matches the draw weight of the bow. If you are using lighter and faster carbon arrows, you should allow for a small margin and choose the next heavier version if in doubt.

FAQ - frequently asked questions about Targets for bows