Can you shoot a crossbow target with a compound bow?

This question comes up in two households. The first has a crossbow and a compound in the same garage - often a parent and a teenager, or a hunter who has moved to a crossbow but kept the vertical bow - and wants to buy one target. The second is the reverse: someone with a compound target who has just bought their first crossbow and is wondering whether the target they already own will do.

The answer for the first household is straightforward and good news. The answer for the second is no, and the reason is worth understanding before you put a bolt into something.

Why the crossbow direction is the safe one

A target's job is absorbing kinetic energy, and the figures are not close. A modern hunting crossbow publishes 390 to 470 fps with an arrow of 370 to 425 gr. A compound bow set up for deer typically delivers 270 to 340 fps with an arrow of similar weight. Energy scales with the square of velocity, so the crossbow is arriving with substantially more of it - which is exactly why crossbow targets carry explicit speed ratings and compound targets often do not bother.

Buy to the harder requirement and the easier one takes care of itself. A target rated to 450 fps or 500 fps will stop a compound arrow without complaint, and it will do so for longer than a compound-rated target would, because every shot is well inside its limits. The derivation of the energy figures is on crossbow kinetic energy, and the speed context is on crossbow speed and fps.

The one thing that does change: arrow removal

A dense, high-rated target grips harder. That is the mechanism by which it stops a fast bolt, and it applies to every arrow that goes into it. With a crossbow bolt - short, stiff, with a heavy insert - that is rarely a problem. With a full-length compound arrow it can be, particularly for a younger or smaller shooter who has to pull a 29 in shaft out of foam that was designed to arrest something considerably faster.

• Expect a harder pull on a layered or high-density target. It is not a defect; it is the feature working.
• Keep arrow lube or a puller to hand. Both are a few dollars and both save fletchings.
• Pull straight, with a hand against the target face. Levering a long shaft bends it, and a bent compound arrow is scrap.
• The Block Classic is the exception worth knowing about. Its open-layered friction design is specifically built to release arrows as they cool, and it is the easiest pull of the foam targets we list.

In detail

Four targets that handle both bows

01Shot placement practice on a deer target

$263.99/Amazon

#ad How we are funded · Price as of October 17, 2026

Rinehart RhinoBlock XL

Rinehart

8.6/ 10

Six faces, two of them 3D deer zones: one with outlined vitals, one showing anatomically correct organs. For a hunter switching to a crossbow, the organ face is worth more than another bullseye — crossbow shots tend to be closer and the angle matters more. Self-healing foam handles field points, fixed blades and expandables.

Published spec	Value
Faces	6
Dimensions	18 x 18 x 13 in
Deer faces	Two 3D zones: outlined vitals and anatomical organs
Broadhead capable	Field points, fixed blades, expandables
Foam	Solid self-healing
Compatibility	Compound and crossbow
Speed rating	Not published

What it does well

• An anatomical organ face teaches shot placement, not just grouping
• Handles expandables as well as fixed blades
• Six faces spread the wear
• A larger face than the 18-1 at a similar price

Where it falls short

• No speed rating published, which matters at 450 fps and up
• Heavy for its size

Our rubric

Stopping power

9.0

Arrow pull

8.4

Portability

7.4

Durability

9.2

Value

7.6

02Broadheads and field points on one target

$140.75/Amazon

#ad How we are funded · Price as of October 17, 2026

Block Infinity 20

Block

8.3/ 10

Six-sided, 500 fps rated, 20 by 20 by 16 inches, and the listing guarantees it stops field points and both fixed and expandable broadheads. PolyFusion wraps a high-density layered-foam core in an exterior foam wall, which is Block's answer to the classic layered-target failure of the stack pulling apart. Five different face designs offset the aiming points so the wear spreads.

Published spec	Value
Speed rating	Up to 500 fps
Dimensions	20 x 20 x 16 in
Faces	6
Technology	PolyFusion layered-foam core in an exterior foam wall
Arrow types	Field points, fixed and expandable broadheads
Carry	Built-in handle
Made in	USA

What it does well

• Handles broadheads and field points on the same target
• 500 fps covers every bow on this site
• Five face designs offset the aiming points to spread wear

Where it falls short

• The 500 fps guarantee is specified for standard-diameter arrows
• Costs three times a bag target of similar face size
• Heavier and bulkier than a 12-inch cube

Our rubric

Stopping power

9.2

Arrow pull

8.4

Portability

7.4

Durability

8.6

Value

7.6

03Broadheads at up to 500 fps

$159.99/Amazon

$167.62 5% off

#ad How we are funded · Price as of October 17, 2026

Rinehart 18-1

Rinehart

9.0/ 10

Eighteen shootable faces of self-healing foam, broadhead capable, rated to 500 fps and explicitly crossbow approved. This is the one target on the site that handles the two hardest things at once: a 470 fps bolt and a fixed broadhead. 15 inches a side and light enough to carry by the handle.

Published spec	Value
Speed rating	Up to 500 fps
Faces	18
Dimensions	15 x 15 x 15 in
Broadhead capable	Yes
Foam	Signature series self-healing
Crossbow approved	Yes
Carry	Easy-carry handle

What it does well

• 500 fps and broadhead capable together, which is rare
• Eighteen faces means you rotate rather than shooting out one spot
• Self-healing foam closes the hole behind the arrow
• Light with a carry handle

Where it falls short

• Expensive next to a bag target
• Fifteen inches is a small face for a beginner at 40 yards

Our rubric

Stopping power

9.4

Arrow pull

8.6

Portability

9.0

Durability

9.4

Value

8.0

04Any bow on this site, with no speed ceiling

$224.99/Amazon

#ad How we are funded · Price as of October 17, 2026

SpyderWeb 20XL No Speed Limit

SpyderWeb

9.1/ 10

SpyderWeb sells this one on the absence of a rating: no speed limit, built on a woven Spylar Mesh structure that absorbs and releases rather than gripping. If you own a 430 or 470 fps bow, the usual 400 to 450 fps bag ratings are a problem and this is the clean answer. Over 200 aiming points and handmade in Michigan.

Published spec	Value
Speed rating	No speed limit
Construction	Spylar Mesh woven structure
Aiming points	Over 200
Arrow removal	Designed for easy pull
Weather	Weather resistant
Origin	Handcrafted in St. Joseph, Michigan
Dimensions	Not published

What it does well

• No published speed ceiling, which no bag target here can match
• Easy arrow pull is the design goal, not an afterthought
• Over 200 aiming points spreads wear over the whole face
• Built for high-volume practice

Where it falls short

• No dimensions published on the listing
• Expensive — this is the second-priciest target here
• Mesh targets are not broadhead targets; use field points

Our rubric

Stopping power

9.8

Arrow pull

9.6

Portability

7.6

Durability

9.2

Value

7.6

What to look for in a shared target

What the four picks are each for

Rinehart RhinoBlock XL

The one on this page that states the shared use explicitly: Rinehart lists it as compatible with compound and crossbow, with six faces, 18 x 18 x 13 in of solid self-healing foam, and two 3D deer zones - one with outlined vitals, one with anatomical organs. It takes field points, fixed blades and expandables. If you want one target for two bows and two shooters, this is the most directly specified answer here.

Block Infinity 20

20 x 20 x 16 in, rated to 500 fps, six faces, a PolyFusion layered-foam core inside an exterior foam wall, and rated for field points, fixed blades and expandables. Made in the USA with a built-in handle. The 500 fps rating covers all but the fastest crossbow on this site, which means a compound arrow is a long way inside its limits, and the large face area is forgiving of a new shooter's flier.

Rinehart 18-1

Eighteen faces, 15 x 15 x 15 in, rated to 500 fps, broadhead capable, with an easy-carry handle. The face count is the headline - eighteen means you can rotate for years before the target becomes a decision - and the compact 15 in cube is the easiest of these to move between a garage and a back fence. See best lightweight crossbow targets if portability is the priority.

SpyderWeb 20XL No Speed Limit

The option with no speed ceiling at all, from a Spylar Mesh woven structure with over 200 aiming points, handcrafted in St. Joseph, Michigan. If one of the two bows in the house is a 470 fps crossbow, this removes the rating question entirely. It is a field-point target - the mesh construction is not a broadhead backstop - so plan a separate broadhead target alongside it.

Two bows, one practice session

There is a real benefit to sharing a target beyond the money. Shooting a compound and a crossbow at the same face in the same session makes the differences obvious: the crossbow's flatter trajectory inside 30 yards, the compound's advantage in follow-up speed, the different hold required by each. If you are moving from one to the other, that comparison is instructive - switching from compound to crossbow covers what transfers and what does not, and crossbow vs compound bow is the full side-by-side.

One practical note on rotation. Two shooters generate roughly twice the shot volume, which means a two-faced target reaches the end of its useful life in half the time. Buy face count. A six-sided target at a slightly higher price is cheaper per season than a two-sided one, and the Rinehart 18-1's eighteen faces are an outlier worth considering on those grounds alone.