Archery target stop

An archery target comprising a stack of carpet strips placed upon a base, with the side edges of the strips facing toward the archer. The strips are maintained under compressive force by a pair of flexible bands wrapped around front and rear portions of the stack and the base. The stack preferably includes alternating strips of light weight commercial grade, medium weight plush, and heavy weight plush carpet, which can be waste strips from carpet manufacture or installation. The compressive force is adjusted to permit arrows shot at the target to penetrate at least six inches, but not more than ten inches. The target includes caster wheels attached to the base for rolling the target from one location to another. The target is extremely durable even if it is left exposed to adverse weather conditions. A smaller, portable version of the target is also disclosed. The target presents a minimal hazard to wayward arrows, thereby minimizing damage to arrows.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to the field of archery targets, and in particular 
to free standing targets that include compressed strips or elements of 
penetrable material for arresting the flight of an arrow. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
Prior art targets within the field of this invention include those 
disclosed in the following U.S. patents. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,244 to Batts disclosed a modular archery target body 
mounted between a pair of upright supports, suspended by a first rod and 
supported on a plurality of lower rods, which rods interconnect the 
upright supports. The target body was comprised of elongated modules of 
laminated, cellulosic, corrugated sheets. One end of each rod was fixed to 
one upright support, and the other end was adjustable for tightening and 
compressing the target body modules between the upright supports. In 
recognition of the fact that the modules located in a central portion of 
the target body receive the most arrow strikes and, consequently, the most 
wear, the target body could be disassembled for interchange of the 
peripherally disposed modules with the centrally-disposed modules of the 
target body. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,684 to Bruno disclosed an archery target for arrows 
comprising a stack of laterally extending strips of cardboard or similar 
porous, fibrous material with the side edges thereof facing toward the 
archer, the strips being compressed together within telescoping upper and 
lower frame sections. A clamp bar, which extended across the top of the 
upper frame section, had apertures at the opposite ends thereof for 
receiving the threaded free end portions of adjustment rods connected to 
the lower frame section. A hand nut having a hand grasp extension was 
threaded on each adjustment rod in bearing engagement against the clamp 
bar, whereby rotation of the hand nuts permitted increase or decrease in 
the compression of the strips against each other, thereby increasing or 
decreasing the penetration of an arrow into and between the edges of the 
strips. The frame was pivotally mounted on a stand so that it could be 
rotated to alternately place either the front or the back of the target 
facing the archer. The stand was supported by wheels or rollers for 
rolling of the target from one place to another. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,195,839 to Rodrigue disclosed an archery target comprising 
a base plate, a plurality of studs mounted on the base plate parallel to 
each other, a plurality of parallel rods embedded in a resilient foam 
rubber mattress, each rod having a pointed end facing in the direction 
from which arrows were to be shot and an opposite butt end for reversible 
insertion into a stud, and a peripheral outer cover lined with resilient 
material. The rods were made of plastic or other suitable material. When 
an arrow hit the target, the pointed arrow head was embedded between 
adjacent rods and its forward motion was halted by the friction of the 
rods. When the arrow was pulled out, the displaced rods came back to their 
original position under the compressive force exerted by the resilient 
material inside the outer cover. 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,512,778 to Allen disclosed an archery target comprising 
vertically stacked strip inserts, the edge portions of the strips being 
positioned to form a target surface and to give it a honeycomb 
configuration. The inserts were comprised of successively alternated 
shorts strips and long strips of corrugated paper or paperboard glued in 
face-abutting relation to achieve an integral laminate form with grooved 
opposite ends. A rectangular frame, which was also composed of laminates 
of corrugated paper or paperboard, provided slide guides formed to 
interfit in the grooved ends of the inserts, whereby the inserts could be 
slidably inserted between and contained by the frame elements and 
similarly removed when damaged. 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,329,431 to Roesner disclosed an archery target comprised of 
upper, middle and lower sections bound together under compression by a 
plurality of outer binding cords. Each of the sections included a 
plurality of long, flat, paper-wrapped packets each stuffed with excelsior 
and stacked together to form a rectangular assembly. A plurality of inner 
binding cords were wrapped around the center section packets to 
compressively bind them together to a greater density than the packets of 
the top and bottom sections. 
U.S. Pat. No. 2,305,271 to Pearson disclosed an archery target embodying 
substantially concentric convolutes composed of a continuous layer of 
fabric and a continuous layer of straw positively united together, said 
layers being spirally wound to form a disk with a layer of fabric 
interposed between each layer of straw, each layer of fabric having an 
edge exposed at opposite sides edgewise to the flight of an arrow striking 
the target. In the manufacture of the target, the fabric was wound under 
tension and the strip carried the straw tightly compressed. 
Targets such as those disclosed by Pearson, Roesner, Allen, Bruno, and 
Batts that employ organic materials, for example, straw, fabric, paper, 
cardboard, excelsior, or other cellulosic materials, were subject to 
deterioration from repeated arrow strikes as well as from adverse weather 
conditions. Although the target disclosed by Rodgrigue was relatively 
durable, each target required the fabrication of special components, such 
as rods, studs, and an outer cover, and failed to incorporate materials 
that would likely otherwise be wasted and go into landfills; compare, for 
instance, the target disclosed by Bruno, which could incorporate waste 
cardboard. The target disclosed by Bruno, however, suffers from still 
another disadvantage: the frame and stand thereof present a significant 
hazard for damage to a poorly aimed arrow. Avoidance of damage to the 
arrows is necessary in order to render participation in the sport of 
archery financially feasible for people of modest means. Carbon arrows 
present an additional problem not solved by the prior art: their shafts 
are more narrow than wood and aluminum arrows and, therefore, tend to 
penetrate entirely through targets rather easily. When carbon arrows are 
shot at the target disclosed and claimed herein, however, the carpet 
strips close in around the arrow shaft even if the arrow tip is larger 
than the shaft as in carbon arrows, and effectively prevent penetration 
beyond ten inches. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide an archery target 
for arrows comprising a stack of horizontal carpet strips under 
compressive force, with the side edges thereof facing toward the archer, 
said strips being preferably waste materials from manufacture or 
installation of carpet. 
It is an object of the invention to provide an archery target for arrows 
comprising a stack of horizontal carpet strips under compressive force, 
with the side edges thereof facing toward the archer, and compression 
thereof is maintained by narrow bands wrapped around front and rear 
portions thereof, thereby minimizing the chance that arrows shot at the 
target will be damaged. 
It is an object of the invention to provide an archery target for arrows 
comprising a stack of horizontal carpet strips under compressive force, 
with the side edges thereof facing toward the archer, wherein the stack of 
carpet strips includes in alternating sequence strips of relatively light 
weight commercial grade carpet, carpet strips of medium weight plush 
carpet, and strips of heavy weight plush carpet. 
It is an object of the invention to provide an archery target for arrows 
comprising a stack of horizontal carpet strips under compressive force, 
with the side edges thereof facing toward the archer, wherein the 
compressive force is adjusted so that arrows shot by an archer from an 
archery bow penetrate between the strips for a distance of not less than 
six, nor more than ten inches. 
It is an object of the invention to provide an archery target for arrows 
comprising a stack of horizontal carpet strips under compressive force, 
with the side edges thereof facing toward the archer, a base, and a 
plurality of casters attached to the base for rolling of the target from 
one place to another. 
It is an object of the invention to provide a durable archery target that 
is capable of absorbing and stopping carbon arrows.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
An archery target in accordance with this invention, denoted generally by 
the numeral 10, includes a stack 20 of horizontal, rectangular strips of 
carpet placed upon a rectangular base 30. Referring to FIG. 2, it may be 
seen that the carpet strips are layered one upon another in alternating 
layers of low weight commercial grade carpet 22, medium weight plush 
carpet 22', and heavy weight commercial grade carpet 22". Preferably, the 
low weight commercial grade carpet 22 is 20 ounce, the medium weight plush 
carpet 22' is 40 ounce, and the heavy weight plush carpet 22" is 60 ounce, 
but other combinations of varying carpet weights can also be employed. 
Such carpet strips 22 are generally available at little or no cost as 
waste products of carpet manufacture and/or carpet installation, and their 
incorporation into archery targets prevents them from becoming a solid 
waste disposal problem. 
Once the stack 20 is placed upon the base 30, a vertical compressive force 
is applied to the top 40 of the stack 20, for example by means of a 
hydraulic jack placed under the base, and a pair of narrow, flexible bands 
50, 50' are wrapped around front and rear portions of the top 40, right 
side 60, left side 70 and base 30, respectively, and secured in position 
to maintain the compressive force on the carpet strips 22. To accommodate 
the bands 50, 50', a lower surface 32 of the base 30 includes front and 
rear slots 34, 34'. The bands are preferably made from a flexible, 
rustproof metal, steel for example, or from a flexible plastic. The base 
is preferably made from a strong, rigid plastic or ground contact pressure 
treated wood. A plurality of caster wheels 80 is attached to the base for 
rolling the target from one location to another. 
An alternate embodiment of the invention is a second portable version 
illustrated in FIG. 3. For the portable version, suitable rectangular 
dimensions for the carpet strips 22 and base 30 are two feet wide by two 
feet high by eight inches deep. A handle 81 preferably made of nylon is 
attached to bands 50, 50' to facilitate carrying the target from place to 
place. A base can optionally be included but is preferably omitted in the 
portable version to minimize the weight of the target. Except for its 
diminished size, addition of the handle 81, and omission of wheels 80 and 
optionally of base 30, the construction of the portable is the same as 
that of the first version. 
The present invention permits placement over the front and rear faces 12, 
12' thereof of a plastic, burlap or paper target image, such as a bull's 
eye (not shown), which may be replaced as frequently as necessary without 
requiring any change or maintenance in the target 10 itself. 
In view of the foregoing it will be seen that the several objects of the 
invention are achieved and other advantages obtained. 
Although the foregoing includes a description of the best mode contemplated 
for carrying out the invention, various modifications are contemplated. 
For example, the stack 20 could comprise a plurality of vertical layers of 
carpet strips 22 maintained in compression by front and rear bands 34, 34' 
merely by turning the illustrated target on its side. Although rectangular 
carpet strips are illustrated, the invention is not so limited and 
includes circular, elliptical and strips of other shapes. 
As various modifications could be made in the constructions herein 
described and illustrated without departing from the scope of the 
invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the foregoing 
description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as 
illustrative rather than limiting.