If you want to get a hernia, one great way is to take today’s high-performance crossbows and shoot them into any old target. You will soon discover extracting bolts from many of them is difficult to nearly impossible, with the gut-busting effort required because friction from the fast arrow melts the foam material. In other instances, you are likely to lose your bolt completely inside a target or risk having your bolt blow clean through the target and continue into whatever lies beyond. Thankfully, a new crop of crossbow-specific targets is designed for today’s fastest new models. Make sure you have one to make your practice sessions safe and enjoyable. Here are three that deserve your serious consideration.
Hurricane Cat 5
Hurricane Tri-Core
Technology is built to withstand impacts of up to 650 feet per second, provide longer target life, and virtually eliminate pass-throughs. Specifically designed to withstand the high energy output of today’s crossbows and vertical bows, the 25” x 25” self-standing design is reinforced with Hurricane’s most durable fill. In contrast, the eye-catching design vectors make practice fun. An integrated sight-in grid helps in the precision adjustment of pin sight or scope horizontal and vertical axis adjustment and proves that any time is the right time to practice. www.feradyne.com
Reinhart Badger Bag–
The Badger Bag target makes elevating your shooting skills even more affordable. The bag features a dual-sided polypropylene cover with a waterproof barrier and a burlap-stopping core to extend the target’s life. Visually artistic vitals make shooting fun, and one side of the bag features a badger outline and various shooting dot sizes and colors. The flip side incorporates a unique vitals graphic. The new Rinehart Badger Bag measures 21” x 21” x 9. www.rinehart3d.com
Morrell High Roller
Every hunter needs a bag target, as mentioned above, but it is equally important to have a foam target to test broadheads. I am not a gambler, but the “dice” look has great visual appeal. It weighs 10 pounds and measures 13”x13”x13” inches, making it extremely transportable. At the end of each day, I discharged my bow to ensure the scope had not been bumped off zero, and the High Roller doubled as a discharge target. It features E-Z Tote handles and has six sides and 21 bullseyes. Best of all, it can be used for field points and broadheads. www.morrelltargets.com