Rolled up in an old back quiver I got with some bows, were these 12" "Common Rabbit" targets. The target itself shows a rabbit running away from you. On the other side was a shiny, Saunders Target Mat Advertisement, claiming an 85,000 mile, uh, arrow life.

Send one to me... I'll confirm/deny the 85000 number! :)

I can tell you that a hunting weight bow will be getting passthrus at less than the 5000 mark! I shot the center out of one of those one year before the summer was half over!

You can shoot through anything if you keep shooting the same spot. The Saunders mats needed to be soaked every now and then to expand the natural fiber used in making them. I don't know how many shots they would take, but if done right, they will last a long time.

Used to have one many years ago

lasted a LONG time

would like to have another , but never see them around I forgot waht kinda of grass they were made of but they worked great ; only down side in sub freeing weather and wet your arrow would heat up when going in, and would refreeze to the point you could not get it out

I would buy another if ever saw one for sale around these parts

I do remember they were rather heavy

They still sell them....but the shipping will kill you!

Yea thats what I thought, remember it as heavy as heck, but lasted like nothing else

I have one that has been inside in Fl. since March, I will be back down there in a couple of weeks, how much should it be watered down?

Sink it in a horse tank for awhile.

Still have a couple of these at our club.

Also think I have a vid.

I had one back in the 80s, I remember really struggling to get my arrows out, particularly with a 60lb Indian Archery Deerslayer I had. I liked it though, I'd get another one but my local Sportsman's Warehouse and Cabelas only sells the foam blocks.

Years ago, they also came with a hook to tighten the bale a bit..

Saunders web site said out of stock and $100.00 standard shipping== would need to find one close by

I had one back in the early 80's and it was one of the most durable targets I ever had. I shot at least 5x's a week for 3years into the mat before having problems. Like everyone said it needs to be watered occasionally.

My brother had one in his backyard for about 10 years. It finally started to come apart. We use to throw knives into it, arrows, hatchets. It was abused. It ended up in a Fall bonfire after it fell apart. It was sturdy.

I just checked the website, it looks to me like standard shipping is between $25 and $35 depending on the mat, the $100 is for 2nd day Air. Doesn't matter really - the website also says "Unavailable for 2015" for all their grass target mats. Too bad! Still, you're about $160 delivered for a 36" mat, and a foam block can be had for about $50 just about anywhere, hard to compete with that.

The Saunders target mat is a great part of traditional archery. Much better and traditional to me than anything that was created in a chemical plant. I've had two over the years and really enjoyed them. As mentioned above, you have to move the spot around so you don't shoot out the center, unless you use it for longer range target archery at 50yds and more. In which case, the center will last a long time.

It also helps to rotate the matt and turn it around periodically and I found that covering it with some burlap helps prevent deterioration. On the burlap, you can spraypaint several spots using a pice of cardboard with a hole cut from the center as a template. Or you can spraypaint an animal target on burlap.

I do hope Saunders keeps making these matts.

The one I had was covered with burlap at the factory.

Does anyone know if Saunders still manufacture the 30" Indian cord mats? Good target backstop made from natural materials. I e-mailed them with no response.

I have gone through a number of the four footers. The shipping was as much as the purchase price. You need to wet them before use, but if they are wet all of the time mildew will kill them. They last longer if you use aluminum arrows with target points than with wood arrows. It also helps to shoot at small targets that are not always directly over the center when you have a crack shot son shooting at it everyday. At first the center will pull the points off of your wood arrows, and shortly after there will be a hole in the center with the boy pounding the center every day with wood arrows with chinked points. other than that, if I had the money and the space here, I would have a a number of them set up like I did in the old days. The last time I looked at the Saunders site, they did not have any on hand. I use soy seed bag crates stuffed with silage plastic, all free, four by four square and they last longer.

I was told by Lancaster Archery that Saunders is no longer making the mats. Sorry to see them go. A great mat for the price and friendly to the environment.

Unfortunately all the natural targets except homemade ones are gone by the wayside and been replaced by synthetic ones. Widow

I owned two. One the largest version and one medium sized. Both outstanding targets. And, yes, you had to occasionally "water" them to keep them healthy. Also covering them with burlap helped preserve them. A piece of archery history that has been replaced by square (light-weight) synthetic junk. So sad to witness in a world that too often likes to forget.... Shoot Straight, rare breed

84,999 + 1 = toast

What about excelsior bales? I could get them cheap when I lived near Eau Claire.

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