Homemade Basement Archery Range

I was looking for a way to get more practice in with my bow.  I don’t make it up north enough during the summer months for consistent practice and I don’t live out in the country so I can’t shoot out the back door.  I was determined to practice though and the next best place that I could figure was the basement.  I thought when the kids weren’t playing down there I could have the place to myself and set about creating a plan for my homemade, basement archery range. 

I figured I couldn’t do that much damage if I missed; the eight inch concrete foundation walls would do a pretty good job stopping an arrow at 300+ feet per second.  But I still wanted a backstop.  I mentioned my plan in passing to a colleague at work and he said, “I have the perfect thing”.  The next day I had in my possession a Ford F-150 rubber bed liner with a Harley Davidson logo on it.  The rubber mat is big and thick and when hung from two bicycle hanging hooks screwed into the floor truss made the perfect backstop.  

I like saving money and I found an archery bag target on sale at Dunham’s that would work just great.  I wanted one of the bigger targets and chose one that is stuffed with old cotton towels and rated for arrows up to 400 fps.  

 

I ran into a problem in that the backstop didn’t cover the whole are from the truss to the ground, so I had to elevate the target somehow.  I initially chose a cardboard box stood on its side (shown in the picture) but have since switched to an old wooden TV tray that I found.  It raises the target to just the right height.

I can practice out to fifteen yard in the basement.  It isn’t the longest shot but for me proper form and repetition are important.  I can build up the muscles required to shoot well and do it in the comfort of my own home.  For longer shots, I can practice during my occasional trips to the north woods.    

Basement Archery Musts

①.  Get a backstop.  You don’t want to experiment with a carbon arrow shaft against a concrete wall.  If you can slow down or stop the arrow the range is that much safer for you.

②.  Get a good, durable target.  Even with the backstop, you don’t want arrows blowing through the target.

③.  Make sure the kids know that the basement is off limits when you are shooting.  Lock the door if you can.