An Overview of The Best Crossbow Targets in 2016

We are often asked what the best options are in terms of targets for shooting a crossbow into. We know this is an important question as crossbow arrows can be quite expensive and finding a way to shoot consistently without damaging them is critical to a good shooting session.

Traditional archery targets are designed for much lower speeds than those generated by the new generation of crossbows on the market. Stopping an arrow traveling at 350+ fps isn’t something that standard archery targets are up for…and even when they do stop an arrow, it is usually buried to the vanes causing damage.

For purposes of this list of targets, we have broken them down into two basic categories: Discharge targets and Practice Targets.

Top Targets For Crossbows

Discharge Targets

A discharge target is generally a smaller target than a normal practice target. It is made to be very portable so you can easily take it into the field to discharge your crossbow after a hunt.

Hurricane Crossbow Discharge Bag

This is an inexpensive target which is best suited for discharging a lower velocity crossbow. At a mere 12” x 12”, this is a very portable target which makes it an excellent choice to take with you on hunting trips. It doesn’t take much space and works well to discharge an arrow in to, but we did find that when discharging higher speed crossbows, the arrow has a tendency to pass all the way through or to bury all the way to the fletching, potentially causing damage to the vanes. Take a look at online price.

 

Morrell Yellow Jacket Discharge Target

Morrell has really come out with an inexpensive yet great discharge target in the Yellow Jacket. Like its full size brethren, the Yellow Jacket Discharge Target does an excellent job at stopping arrows even from some of the higher speed crossbows. At a mere 10” x 16” and just 6 lbs., this is a very portable target that you can easily take in the field to ensure you can safely discharge your crossbow after a day’s hunt. Keep in mind that you will want to use only field points to discharge into this target as a fixed blade broadhead will likely pass right through. As with the full size Yellow Jacket, we found arrow removal to be very easy without the need for an arrow puller. Take a look at online price.

Practice Targets

Practice targets are larger targets designed for sighting in crossbows as well as for practicing at greater ranges. They are usually a bit heavier and are not designed with portability in mind as much as stopping power and having a larger target area.

Morrell Yellow Jacket

This is an excellent target for a good price given the quality. It has excellent stopping power…even with higher speed arrows we did not see penetration beyond about 12 inches. One of the best features of this target is the ease with which you can remove arrows…no need for an arrow puller with this one. It is a bit heavy at 30 lbs., but for those faster crossbows you want that extra heft to keep from knocking the target over with every shot. At 20” x 20”, it is plenty big enough for target shooting as well as for sighting a new crossbow in. Take a look at online price.

Rinehart Rhino Block XL Target

At 18” x 18”, Rinehart’s Rhino Block is a good size target that can be used for both practice as well as sighting a crossbow in. If you are practicing and shooting a lot of shots, you might think about lubing the first 1/3 of your arrows as they will be much easier to extract. The Rhino Block really grabs an arrow so a good quality arrow puller would be a worthwhile investment. It is on the very high end of the price range, but from what we have seen, the quality is worth the investment. Take a look at online price.

 

Bone Collector 400 FPS

Morrell has come out with an excellent crossbow target with the Bone Collector 400 fps. At 19” x 19” and weighing in at 32 lbs., this target is designed to stop high speed crossbow arrows to ensure they don’t penetrate to ruin the vanes. We found it easily stopped arrows in the 400 fps range and more surprisingly, allowed for easy one-handed removal. This target is in the middle of the price range which makes it affordable while still doing a great job. The fact that you can shoot at four different sides also keeps things interesting. Take a look at online price.

 

Field Logic Block Black CB16 Target

The Field Logic CB16 target is an excellent combination of size, stopping power and portability. At 16” x 16”, there is plenty of target to fire your crossbow with confidence. At a mere 14 lbs. this is a much more portable target than many others on the market. Arrow removal was a bit more difficult than with some other targets, but a little lube on the arrow makes a big difference in ease of removal. We didn’t see any pass through with field points or with broadheads. This target is a bit on the expensive side, but offers a lot of features for your money. Take a look at online price.

Target Stands

HME Products BTS Bag Target Stand

This isn’t an actual target, but rather a stand designed to better stabilize a bag target. We felt this was worth mentioning as many targets can get knocked over with some of the newer high powered crossbows. This stand will accept up to a 30” x 30” target and will hold it securely to keep it from being knocked over or from swinging. It is about the same price as a mid-range target, but can certainly save you a lot of steps back and forth from standing up a target that keeps getting blown over from high speed impacts. Take a look at online price.

 

Last Thoughts

Finding a suitable target for your needs depends on many factors including stopping power, ease of arrow removal and portability. The list of targets we have included above is based on our personal shooting experiences as well as the experiences of many of our readers.

As always, we welcome your comments and questions!