If my dad was still alive today I am sure he would tell you — with somewhat of a frown on his face — that my first archery target had to be our backyard fence. The first bow I shot was an aluminum bow made in a high school metal shop class by one of my older cousins. I remember shooting it in the back yard and completely missing the bale of straw numerous times, forcing the fence boards to be the backstop — which wasn't the reason my dad built that fence.
For years I pinned paper deer targets on bales of straw for my archery practice. When the same spot was shot over and over, or the arrow hit between the bales, I would see the arrows just zip through.
Years later I switched to the targets that were stuffed with different types of materials which claimed to give the targets a longer life. These targets were lightweight and portable but I found myself spending too much time walking up to them just to get them repositioned after a number of shots or if they were hit in the wrong place. Also, they weren't made for shooting broadheads.
This year while upgrading to the latest archery technology, I decided to include the latest in target technology, too, so I picked up the new Block 4x4 archery target I'd seen at my favorite archery shop.
The name Block actually describes the look of the target, a block. The 4x4 in the name denotes that is has targets on all four sides. I have the Portable 4x4 model which measures 18" x 18" x 16" and weighs 23 pounds. A convenient strap handle on the top makes it easy to carry.
While I haven't had enough time to shoot 12,691 arrows into the target (the claim without a pass-through) to see if that claim is true, I can tell you I observed that my arrows caused very little damage to the target.
I am shooting a new BowTech bow and Carbon Tech arrows and this target was rock-solid when my arrows hit it, no tipping or rocking at all.
I shot both field tips and Rocket Aerohead Ultimate Steel 125 (fixed-blade) broadheads into the Block 4x4 and found both easy to extract from the target. In fact, I couldn't tell the difference when pulling out the arrows.
The compressed layers of foam in this target did an excellent job of stopping my arrows. It was nice for a change not to have to pull my back out trying to pull the arrows from this target — they came out without much effort.
The four target faces are the Five Spot, Four of Diamonds, the vitals of a deer, and the vitals of a deer for treestand angles.
Because you can shoot both field tips and broadheads into this target, this is the one target you can use before your hunting trips and also take along for practice in camp.
For me the Block 4x4 is the new standard in archery targets. Now if it just could jump up to intercept those flyers I release every once in a while...
The Block 4x4 is a product of Field Logic, Inc. and can be found at your local archery shop or in your favorite hunting catalog.
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