I ' ve used a couple different homemade targets . One was just a dog food bag stuffed with shredded paper and old clothes make sure you take off any metal bits ! . It lasts probably a couple hundred arrows 53 lb recurve with about 500 grain arrows then you just have to replace the cover and a little of the stuffing and if you have dogs or friends with dogs you ' ll probably have more empty dog food bags then you need . Pretty similar to the small cardboard box target you used . The other one I ' ve tried was 4 ' x 4 ' x 1 . 5 ' cardboard box , filled with more cardboard and shredded paper . Heavy , and because all the cardboard was face on to the arrows , the cardboard needs replaced more often . If you spread out your target areas , probably good for 1000 arrows before needing new stuffing . Neither of these would be recommended for someone who shoots at them multiple times a week for hours , you ' d go through them too fast . But for occasional practice once a week for an hour or so they hold up well enough . I ' ve never owned a commercially made target , so can ' t really compare them directly . Judging from what I ' ve seen at the range I used to frequent , those target last through quite a few more arrows . The bonus to the homemades I ' ve used is that I didn ' t have to go out and buy anything , I had everything to make them right there so they were essentially free except for the time to make them .