Thrown (Live) WeaponsTarget Suggestions

1. In General (extract from East Kingdom Thrown Weapons Policies)
   1. Targets must be designed to limit the damage done to weapons.
   2. They must be soft enough to allow weapons to penetrate them easily. This will limit bounce backs and will let the throwers concentrate more on throwing form than on speed and strength.
   3. Targets must be on stands sturdy enough allow the safe retrieval and bear the added, unbalancing weight of the weapons. Note: Thrown weapon targets tend to be heavy.
2. Targets
   1. Hard targets. These are dense heavy targets usually used for knives and axes. The most common material to make them out of is wood although some more modern materials may suffice. Possibly some dense foams would work well. The discussion here will confine itself to wood targets.

      The most expedient way of making targets is to get slices of some large diameter logs. Areas that are being cleared for construction are a good resource. Also check out local saw mills to see if you can scam some slices. Ideally the slices should be 2 or more feet in diameter with each slice 6 or more inches thick.

      If you cannot get log slices another possibility is sandwiching common lumber together to make the target. This has the added benefit of allowing you to make very large (and heavy, not that a 12 inch thick 2 foot diameter slice of oak is light) targets. Start with any 2 inch or more thick lumber you can get cheap. use wooden pegs to sandwich them together or attach them to an 'A' frame backing. Targets can be made quickly this way, but they have two drawbacks. First, a good days throwing will make lots of kindling. Second, they present the 'long' grain to the thrower. If the weapon doesn't strike the target in the direction of the grain then it will have a harder time sticking in, and will make bounce outs and ricochets more unpredictable.

      Using 4x4s (or lots of 2x4s) targets that present end grain to the thrower can be made. This is done by mounting 6 inch slices of the lumber in a frame designed to tightly hold them together. I've never made a target like this but it seems quite feasible. The only difficulty is in making the frame. It must maintain the tension desired without using any exposed metal that can damage weapons. With such a target you could actually disassemble it from time to time and replace just the slices that are damaged.

   2. Soft Targets. Soft targets are constructed of light and/or loosely packed materials. The most common types are just constructed of straw bales. targets of this type are really only suitable for spear throwing, as they will 'swallow' up knives, and are not dense enough to hold axes.

3. Stands.
   The basic all around stand is the tripod. It can be made out of as heavy of a material you want, and can be made cheaply. Other field expedient stands can be made by making an pile of straw bales. This has the added advantage of allowing the construction of a backstop that will stop misses from traveling too far.