First posted at NASParchery.com
I propose a discussion of target design. I imagine that the manufactures may find this thread redundant to their research, but since we are not privy to that list of info, we'll have to start collecting our own. Here goes.
Good Features / Bad Aspects - two sides of a coin.
Light weight - targets don't generally live where they are used. Design toward easy mobility, through door ways!, up and down stairs!, over non-smooth surfaces!, is a must. If the design answer is wheels, those wheels had better roll with the narrow direction of the target, remember door ways.
Handles - a good, solid graps on an object makes it safer to move.
Stand at ease - a target stand that is separate from the target is automatically more complicated and uses up more time. A stand that is complicated, or flimsy, or just plain awkward, or heavy, will be even more miserable to use.
Compact - This is a direct issue of the materials used. So, it competes with Durability, and Performance for priority in design. Did I mention doorways?
About Face - Have you noticed that all of the NASP delivered targets come with a pre-painted face? WHY!? Listen manufacturers, save yourselves, and us, some money and don't paint the face of the target. The first thing we have to do with these targets is find some paper to cover up the scoring face. Beginners need to learn to hit the barn door with proper form before they start thinking about competition and scoring. If you want to sell scoring faces, fine. But leave the targets blank. Perhaps you'll consider making face attachment simple, easy, and effective? Maybe even an industry standard, like hook and loop fastening?
Wheels - these are a good idea, sometimes. Examples: the block targets come with stands that have wheels. But! the you will have to carry the target and the stand through the door separately, the wheels only roll in the widest direction of the target, making them useless for anything except changing the distance you are shooting, whooptie-doo. The wheels on the Morrell targets are castered and will let you roll in any direction, Bonus! While these wheels are necessarily smaller, to fit under the target, making them more challenged on rough terrain, this is still a better solution.
Durability - Shoot for a bit and you will see that the center takes the lion's share of abuse. Being able to move it around and keep using the target is a super nice feature. Here the block target succeeds, if you bought those ratchet straps to replace the factory squeezers. Other targets, like one from a Swiss company, let you move the center chunk around in 1/9th sections. Here the Rinehart trys but gets a ricochet of the top. The locking mechanism is week and leaves a gap large enough to give the teacher or competive youth some concern about blow through. Then there is the need for purchasing an all new center, no moving around available.
Performance - It may seem odd to leave the primary ability of the target for last, or nearly last, but it being obvious to the construct of a target, it was on your mind the whole time. The target has to stop the arrows. Not just stop, but catch and hold, as well. It would be nice to have a target catch arrows from a 10# bow kids longbow just as well as those from an 80# 330fps sceaming compound bow. Inexpensive, another important feature, Materials don't normally have that kind of range of use. Here it may be necessary to design for a range of draw weights, or more accurately a matrix of bow power vs distance from the target.
Cost - If it is made of titanium and kevlar, it meets a lot of good criteria, and fails the acid test of customer purchasing. The cheapest target is the side of a soft dirt hill. That is a little hard to transport. A hay bale is a close second, but while technically mobile, it still has issues with transport and size. So it goes from "dirt cheap" to "if you have to ask, you can't afford it."
Feel free to add your comments.