RE: homemade target?
I've got a "block". It seems to be the best commercial target I've ever owned.
For homemade, I don't think you can beat furniture cushions inside a cardbord box. Two sofa cushions work great because after a few thousand shots all you have to do is move them a little and they are good as new. The card board box makes it easy to take on any kind of paper target you want.