The Open Layer Target Myth

The Myth - Open Layer Targets work better with Broadheads than solid foam

The Truth - Open Layer Targets fall apart faster with Broadheads than solid foam

This image was taken from a open layer target competitor's advertisement, claiming that their open layer design will outlast our solid foam design...Lets see how the numbers really shake out. 

You will notice that the CUBE (Our Target) is featured as the third target from the left in this competitor's ad.

                                                       The Tests 

The tests were conducted with a Hoyt Xtec set at 70 pounds with a 28 inch draw length. Easton Axis Arrows were used with a three bladed fixed blade head. The arrow speed was 270 fps for a KE of around 60 foot pounds. All shots were taken at 20 yards

                                               Open Layer Target

 I set up a Open Layer target ,size 18 x 18 x 14 inches thick. Using a 3 bladed fixed blade head I shot from twenty yards, counting only the arrows that hit inside a 4 inch diameter area. After only six shots the arrows were near the fletching. After 12 shots they were up to the fletching. The arrow passed completely through the target at 19 shots. The Cost of this target is listed as 69.95.

This is shot 19. The arrow would have kept on going if not for the Cube I had behind it.

                                                        The CUBE

Since they claimed that their target would outlast ours 4 times, it should have only taken 4.75 shots to shoot through the Cube, I started shooting with the same exact arrow and broadhead. After 19 shots the the Cube was still stopping the arrow, after forty shots in the 4" diameter area the Cube was still stopping the arrow. I stopped at 40 shots, since the Cube had already doubled the number of arrows with out a pass through. Not only does the Cube outlast the open layer design head to head with broadheads, the Cube can be shot on all sides. The cost of the C-920 (20 x 20 x 14 inches thick) Cube is also 69.95.

                                                  The Compound King

Next I got out one of our new (16 x 16 x 20 inches thick) Compound King, shot it the same way I did the Cube and the open layer target. After the same 19 shots as the open layer target the King was just getting started, forty shots later the arrow had not even pierced the back side of the Compound King. Again after forty shots I hung up the bow, it was obvious that the Compound King by far outlasted open layer designs. The Cost of the Compound King is 37.95.

All Three targets after the tests

                        What is wrong with the Open Layer design?                        

The very design of Open Layer targets prevent them from taking broadheads well. The individual sheets of foam fall apart when cut into smaller pieces by the broadheads, which then fall out of the target with each arrow removed. Soon there is nothing left to stop your arrow. 

With target points the Open Layer design will do the job, although in most cases a good compression bag target will do a better job at a lower cost. 

After 19 shots.......You can see the sheets coming out....Don't make this mistake!

                                                The Myth

The myth is that open layers are great for any type of arrow, target points or broadheads. You can see what the truth is by now. Here is what else the Open Layer Maker has to say.....

                                                     Who is Fooling Who?

With a design that does this under broadhead practice when Advertised as a target that will take four times as many broadheads as our target...and now you see the truth. And who is trying to fool who??

Since I had shot forty shots into both the Cube and the Compound King I shot another 21 broadheads into the open layer target, out of the 21 additional shots I had five more pass throughs with the arrow clearing the back of the target, and the rest of the arrows were up to or over the fletchings. With so much of the foam material falling out of the open layer target, compression of the material is also lost so as you move your point of impact around the target and your broadhead pulls more material out, the stopping power of the target drops even faster, in my opinion.

I shot this target just as I practice, and the way I test all of our targets, and feel that this is a very realistic way to find out how targets hold up to real world shooting. It is obvious that a solid foam design is superior to open layer designs when shooting broadheads. In fact that four to one ratio would be far closer to being in our favor. 

I am currently testing the Open Layer design with target points versus our premier Velocicore field point target...I will have the results up soon.

                                               The Bottom Line

 We asked ourselves, why the open layer target was so popular? A bag target will stop arrows better and longer, and our Cube is much better for broadheads....And we decided it was because most archers thought that open layers worked well for both field points and broadheads, because of the ads such as we started out with at the beginning of the web page. As you can see this is not the case, and broadheads will make short work of this 69.95 target. Thats the Bottom Line!