The 7 Best Archery Targets of 2026

Self-healing foam is the argument. Push a broadhead into this 15-inch cube and the hole closes behind the blades; do the same to a bag and you've started a tear that swallows vanes by October. It's rated to 500 FPS and approved for crossbows, but the buyer it really serves is the hunter sighting in with the heads they'll actually hunt with, which is why we rank it first here for broadheads.

Eighteen faces is the second reason. A fresh aiming point is always a quarter turn away, so the cube takes a season of practice without one cratered bullseye, and it handles field points just as happily — it can be the only target in the truck from June through October.

Dense foam holds what it catches. Arrows come out with a twist rather than a straight yank, and a new cube is the stiffest it will ever be; a dab of arrow lube or a rub of bar soap on the shaft for the first few sessions saves a lot of grunting. Field points also leave gray smudges that blur the aiming point, so keep a paper face or a marker handy.

Twenty-five inches square is a bigger face than the 18-inch blocks here, and it sits at the low end of the prices in this guide. That combination is why it's the one we point a family shooting in the yard toward, or anyone who wants more room to miss without spending up.

Tri-core construction is rated to 425 FPS and takes compound arrows and crossbow bolts, and the back side carries deer vitals offset from the front aiming points — a deliberate move that gives the two sides separate wear zones. We like that better than a second identical bullseye, because it buys real time before the fill starts to soften.

There's a trade in that fill. Arrows that bury deep drag their fletching back through the face, and over a summer that shows up as chewed vanes. Slower bows and lighter field points won't see much of it; a fast compound shot from close will.

Fifteen pounds is a big part of the pitch. That's light enough to carry one-handed on the handle and light enough to load for a trip, which is unusual in a block that will take broadheads as well as field points.

Poly Fusion bonds the layers to the inside walls, so the faces don't peel apart the way stacked blocks can, and all six sides carry aiming points — flip it, rotate it, and you're shooting fresh foam again. It's the block we point people to when they want one target that covers summer practice and an October broadhead check without a second purchase.

The foam is on the softer side, and that shows fastest with heads: broadheads open bigger holes, and a block that sees a lot of them loses faces sooner than one that only takes field points. For most shooters that's the price of a single target that does both jobs and still fits behind the seat.

Hand-woven straw, 22 inches square and 5.5 inches thick in the seven-layer version, with a printed silk face and a lanyard for hanging it on a bale or a fence rail. It looks like what it is, and it sheds a little loose straw onto the grass as you shoot, which is normal for the material rather than a fault.

Layer count is the whole buying decision, and the seller's chart is the place to start: three layers for bows under 30 pounds, five for 30 to 40 pounds, both measured at 18 meters, with seven layers as the heaviest option. Get it wrong in either direction and it disappoints — too few layers and a strong bow shoots clean through, too many and a light bow's arrows bounce off the face.

For a wooden bow at backyard distance we like it a lot. It's quiet, gentle on wooden shafts, and it hangs out of the way between sessions, and the material itself is part of the appeal: a straw face reads like a proper archery range, and the silk target gives you something to aim at without pinning paper.

Twelve pounds and 13 inches on a side, with a molded handle: this is the target that rides behind the truck seat and comes out at camp. Six foam faces, 21 bullseyes, and a red-and-white print that picks up well in low light — there's more aiming choice on this small cube than on bags twice its footprint.

It's a foam block rated to 450 FPS, and it takes broadheads and field points both. The self-healing foam is dense enough that the holes close behind an arrow, and it's built to sit out in the weather without going soft.

That density has a cost while the cube is new: arrows want a twist on the way out, and the first shots into untouched foam are the hardest pulls you'll take. It eases quickly once a few zones are broken in, and we'll take that trade over foam that crumbles.

Carrying it is the point. Twelve pounds is a one-hand lift, and the handle is molded in rather than sewn on, so there's no strap to rot off after a season in a truck bed.

This is not the target for a fast compound or a crossbow, and the fine print is upfront about it: 300 FPS for standard-diameter arrows in the 18- and 22-inch-wide versions, with a separate, differently sized crossbow model. It's the wrong product for a speed bow and the right one for a light recurve or a kid's setup in the yard.

Four sides, and they don't all do the same job. The two wrapped sides take field points; the two open-face layered sides will take a broadhead or an expandable because there's no fabric there to slice open. The stop is friction rather than force, which is why arrows come out without a fight — the easiest pull of anything in this guide.

Light comes with a bill. It's the most portable target here and also the one a solid hit can knock sideways, so brace it against a bale or hang it from a fence rail and that stops mattering.

Where it earns its place is the low end of the draw-weight range: a kid's first target, a light recurve in a small yard, or a spare that lives in the truck for deer camp. Buy it for that and the four faces keep it useful for a good while; buy it for a hunting compound and it won't hold.