Archery shot trainers and Formasters have been around a while and are not a new thing, but they can be expensive to buy at around £20+. I have managed to make my own archery shot trainer for around £4 each.
What you will need:
• Scissors
• Hammer
• Soldering Iron (optional)
• Grommet/Eyelit Kit from eBay UK (£4) or Grommet/Eyelit Kit from US
• Eyelits/Grommets (£2)
• Nylon Webbing (2.5mm wide) from eBay UK (£3) or Nylon Webbing (2.5mm wide) from US
• Paracord 550 1m length from eBay UK (£1) or Paracord 550 1m length from US
I purchased all my bits from eBay UK, the links above will take you directly to the search results on eBay.
There is also a video I produced on How to Make an Archery Shot Trainer on YouTube.
Depending on which of the two designs you decide to make, you will either cut a single length of webbing to 80cm or 2x40cm lengths. Below is an image of the 2x40cm lengths.
Now punch the holes in the webbing for the grommets. You can do this by either using the hole punch that comes with the grommet kit or use a hot implement like a soldering iron to make a big enough hole for the grommet(s) to go through. You could always heat a piece of metal on the stove/hob to burn a hole through the webbing. Whilst you have the hot piece of metal, heat the ends of the webbing that were cut so that the ends do not fray and unravel.
Now attach the grommets/eyelits to the webbing holes and secure in place with your grommet kit and hammer.
Next take the paracord and half it in length and tie a knot at one end. Next thread the paracord through the eyelits, and knot the paracord again around the grommets. This should leave you an un-knotted end that will loop around your bow string.
Adjust the length of the paracord depending upon your draw length. When the paracord is attached to your string leave about 1 inch between the string of your bow and your finger tab. Doing this will make sure that when you fire any arrows they will not go further than around 2m. Any longer and your arrows will fly further.
Make sure you do NOT dry fire your bow. The weak spot in the train will be the grommet area, make sure this is securely in place. The responsibility of this build is firmly with you, I cannot be held responsible for anything that goes wrong with your bow when following this build.
There is also a video I produced on How to Make an Archery Shot Trainer on YouTube.