[Archers] Safety advice on atal-atals and crossbows

[jaynardone at comcast.net]

I agree with Cog, I am no  Atlatl expert but the inspection of the darts should be the same as we would use for arrow shafts. 



For crossbows you need to watch for play in the prods where they are tied to the crossbow itself. Typically when we inspect them we will not ask the shooter to draw the crossbow and then let it down without firing it. There is too great a chance that a dry fire could occur. We will inspect the span of the string and the prod and that should suffice.  Crossbows can be cleared by simply firing the bolt at the ground in front of the shooter if they are on the line, (this doesnt obviously apply in an inspection group). 





Janyn 


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Atkins" <cogworks at triad.rr.com> 
To: "Garth G. Groff" <ggg9y at virginia.edu>, Archers at seahorse.atlantia.sca.org 
Sent: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 8:15:00 AM 
Subject: Re: [Archers] Safety advice on atal-atals and crossbows 

My two cents worth: 

Inspecting atlatls - Look over the dart much as you would an arrow, 
cracks in the shaft, dimple in the end chipped out or nonexistent This 
dimple holds the tip of the atlatl in place during the throw. If badly 
chipped the atlatl tip will come out with mixed results.  I would 
recommend metal tips or a tip of some sort.  There is a remote 
possibility that the dart could split along the grain of the wood when 
it hits the target and ruin the dart.  However, atlatls will generally 
put much larger holes in archery targets simply due to their size.  If 
setting a range with atlatl possibilities think about this and think 
about having a few darts sticking out of the target face and causing it 
to fall forward possibly breaking the shafts stuck in it. 

Crossbow - There are many on this list much more versed than I on 
crossbows but let me add this.  Elk Ridge Archery is now making and 
selling crossbow prods made much like his bows, wood with fiberglass. 
He recommends unspanning the prod between shoots.  Most crossbows, once 
spanned, by spanning I mean strung but not cocked, stay spanned.  As for 
the individual and the hold, it seems to me that if the bolt is removed 
and the crossbow is placed on the ground, prod down, that it would be 
safe.  The only remote possibility of danger, and I have seen it happen 
with hand bows, is that someone is not paying attention and steps on the 
crossbow causing it to fire.  Of course nothing would go down range but 
the idiot tap dancing on the crossbow could get a nasty snap on the 
ankle.  Hey!  Maybe they deserve it! 

cog 

-----Original Message----- 
From: archers-bounces at seahorse.atlantia.sca.org 
[mailto:archers-bounces at seahorse.atlantia.sca.org] On Behalf Of Garth G. 
Groff 
Sent: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 7:14 AM 
To: Archers at seahorse.atlantia.sca.org 
Subject: [Archers] Safety advice on atal-atals and crossbows 


Noble friends, 

Here in Isenfir, I rarely see atal-atals and crossbows, though they may 
become more common here soon. Not surprisingly, I'm not really up on 
inspecting or handling them. Will marshals (or Lady Lorelei) please 
offer advice on some points about these weapons? 

1. The only set of atal-atal darts I've seen around here have some with 
steel field points, and some without points missing. I would expect that 

a dart should have a metal point just like an arrow, or is this 
requirement less strict for darts? 

2. I presume a crossbow needs to be spanned just like drawing a hand bow 

during the inspection process. I would assume that the ability to span 
the bow is judged much the way we look for a hand bow archer's ability 
to hold the bow steady at draw during inspection. So what does the 
archer do with the string after spanning? Can it be safely released? 

3. The last time a crossbow was on my range, a hold was called. The 
archer removed the bolt and placed his still-spanned crossbow on the 
ground with the prod pointing downward. I asked about this, and he told 
me it was difficult to relax the string once drawn, and of course he 
can't "dry fire" it into the ground without possible harm to the 
crossbow. Is this a safe enough way to handle the bow during a hold? I 
might add that the archer has a permanent disability to one arm leaving 
him with only partial motion, which might affect his ability to relax 
the string (he is very safety conscious, and can otherwise handle the 
bow safely during spanning and shooting). 

Thank you for your kind assistance, 


Lord Mungo Napier, Shire of Isenfir Target Archery Marshal 
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