Is anyone familiar with Chippewa archery club in Grand Rapids Michigan when they had an outdoor range? They used straw bales that would stop any arrow and seemed to last forever. They weighed a bunch. Almost like they were compressed in a hydraulic press or something. Anyone know how they were made?

Excelsior bales. They're a wood fiber that resists mildew and rot.

Pre 3d we used to use straw bales at our club..York County Bowmen..in Ontario. Straw was much superior to hay ..kind of waxy ..and deer don't eat it. We made wooden frames with a threaded rod in each corner..stacked 3 bales and compressed them with the rods. A top to shed rain and a hand painted target. Good old days!! Codjigger

Use to belong to Chippewa Archers and shot in their leagues. Not sure what they used for their bales tho.

https://powerstoptargets.com/product-category/bale_targets/

jaz5833 nailed it.

Sure sounds like excelsior bales. They used to be the standard used by most clut.

Kenny Englebritzen whos store was in Grand Rapids sold exelsior bales. Sounds like that is what they were. We had them in our archery shop and got them from Kenny. If I remember right we had to soak them down once in awhile so they would swell up.

That’s what I use excelsior bales

Back in the 50s some guys got together and started a range. They

got A hay wagon and started picking up some hay. This one guy

seen them and said where are you guys going? We are building a

archery range he jumped on the wagon and was a life member.

Flying Feather Arrows Fulton, Ohio

Dave Peiffer went on to sell Bear Archery until 2004.

Dave said that when they started was the best years.

I have excelsior bales. Ken Englbretzen used to sell his old ones that still had a lot of life left in them when he got new ones. I learned at a young age that if they were left out in the weather they turned into wood. No they used straw during the later years. I was just wondering how they made them so tight and heavy

Hay bales and straw bales don’t hold up. I remember redoing our range 3 times in one year. Then we got excelsior bales. They lasted until the fire destroyed them 10 years later. They do require some maintenance like rebranding to tighten them back up.

We had a local guy that made archery bales. He had a special stationary baler that was fed bales and compressed them and banded. A 18"x4' bale weight was around a hundred pounds if I remember correctly. The bales our club bought a few years back were $45 each. They held up good.

Back in the day we used a binder to hold them together. Some binders used wire and others used 5/8' wide strap material. Once the strapping was tight we had a clip that went around the strap and had a tool that looked much like bolt cutters to crimp the banding material.

Spent many hours as a boy in Bear Archery on Leonard. Kenny was a legend!!

Are Excelsior bales something common that are easy to procure most anywhere like in CT? Are they a type of bale? A brand of bale?

Thanks for your response.

Be well. Be safe, and shoot 'em straight >>>--->

WMM

Excelsior is used as a packing material. Most common use I can recall is wine bottles . We used to go up to LA and get them for our club. Shipping was outrageous even back in the 80’s.

You can get the excelsior bales at a commercial landscape supply store. They are used for erosion control. I never thought of using them for a target but sounds like a great idea!

I bought 4 about 5 years ago. the shipping is high but they will last me the rest of my life. I am still on the first 2. rotate then top to bottom and and front to back each year and built a roof for them.

I bought the 3 bale excelsior from a place in Texas. The quality was pretty poor on one of the bales but the other two were okay. I removed the band that held the three together and rearranged them the best that I could then ratchet strapped them together. It’s pretty decent now. Kinda pricey and shipping was a lot but it’s nostalgic

Excelsior Bales.They can be bought in Alabama and are the best targets available,easy arrow removal,they can be tightened when they get loose and seem to hold up to the weather and if you cover them they will last a very long time.I bought mine from Winters Brothers p.o. box 39 hwy 21 McWilliams Al 36753 ph.800 248 7237 04 334-746-2173. Good people to deal with.

If the shipping was “high” four or five years ago, I’m not sure I even want to know what it looks like these days….

But our NFAA butts are really tired and falling apart… we had s couple big windstorms lately and literally blew the top off of one… And these were all but in the pre- compound era (or slow compound era at best) so they’re all built out of rags and chicken wire. So when we do repairs, we’re dealing with mouse nests and crap…

So yeah, we might need a whole truckload. Good news is that a high percentage of new members seem to be interested in single-string bows, and NFAA is not a big thing here at this point, but we have a few guys interested in getting us up to speed there….

If you have a Turf Supply type store in your area they can get them. The same company makes several types of erosion control products.

I’m checking the web here…. Kinda coming up blank so far. Found a dealer in Mass, but they’re really about food packaging….

If you have already registered, please

sign in now

For new registrations

Click Here