Build an Axe Throwing target from Home Depot

When I decided to get into Axe throwing I knew it would be imperative to have my own target for practice. Searching the web brought countless articles and conversations that preferred specialized wood specifically from a Lumber Mill. My car cannot carry much wood, however, I do have a Home Depot card. More importantly, Home Depot delivers.

Cut to the chase, I ordered one piece of plywood 3/4 inch, 4' by 8' to be used as the base. For the contact area I ordered three pieces of Pine Common board 1 inch, 12" by 6'. The three common boards (Which are cheap to buy and replace) are attached with screws. Then I simply hand drew a bullseye and kill shots using 3 colored markers which cost $4. at Dollar General.

The target has worked brilliantly thus far. Eight of the first ten axes stuck perfectly while the other two were thrown incorrectly. The total cost was about $170. but I used their ProXtra card and got $50. off the price. Almost half of the price was on delivery but it did arrive only two days later.

Update: After 1000+ throws the wood is really showing its colors. We went through a small stack of spare boards to replace the damaged ones but it was getting expensive. We have since changed over to 2" thick Douglas Fir. It is a harder wood but seems able to handle the beating. Photo below is the Pine common board after 500 throws.

Update: After tearing up the Douglas Fir I finally found a Lumber yard that sold Spruce. I bought 8 planks of 2" by 10" by 4' for about $50. I brought them home in my car. The wood is soft, the axes stick well. I used a new design with multiple, smaller targets in order to improve my aim and spread out the damage area. This worked really well and lasted most of the winter.

Update: Ultimately Home Depot was helpful for everything except the throwing boards. In our latest version we accepted free used boards from our local Axe Throwing venue. These Cottonwood boards are thicker than everything we had tried. They are damaged on the backside only. I used plastic cups to make targets that are much closer to the actual sizes. Also, I added a base board for the other boards to rest on. This makes it easier to change out new wood. Photo below.

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