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<DIV><SPAN class=281445118-23082010><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
face=Arial>Mungo,</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=281445118-23082010><FONT color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial>The
straw mats you refer to I believe are Saunders mats. Taken care of they
will last many years. I have had some issues with them though as I have
found them to be very good at pulling off arrow tips. I called Saunders
and asked if others had experienced the problem. It was news to them but
the very nice operator did tell me that they wind the inner core much tighter
than the outer as they figure it will be used more. She also said the ONLY
way to loosen the inner core is to stab the outer core thereby allowing the
inner core to expand out a bit. To revitalize the mats one need only wet
them down. The straw swells and tightens the mats back up. Saunders
and their distributors sell wire frames to hold the mats which keep the matt
close to the ground. In my opinion, you are better off building a simple
wooden tripod. The metal frames are not that good and too expensive for
what you get plus I have seen them fall face first while loaded with a bunch of
arrows.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=281445118-23082010><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=281445118-23082010><FONT color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial>My two
cents worth,</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=281445118-23082010><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
face=Arial></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=281445118-23082010><FONT color=#0000ff size=2
face=Arial>cog</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr lang=en-us class=OutlookMessageHeader align=left><FONT size=2
face=Tahoma>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B>
archers-bounces@seahorse.atlantia.sca.org
[mailto:archers-bounces@seahorse.atlantia.sca.org] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Garth
G. Groff<BR><B>Sent:</B> Monday, August 23, 2010 2:09 PM<BR><B>To:</B>
Archers@seahorse.atlantia.sca.org<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Archers] Fwd: I need
your help<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>Lord Siegfried and Lord Christophe,<BR><BR>The
ground where we shoot is ROCK HARD clay, and very difficult to drive anything
into. It probably was heavily compacted when the gas pipeline that is buried
there was laid. Which brings us to the second problem, in that you aren't
supposed to drive anything into the ground there (by state law) without
getting a permit. Even going down a foot would probably get us in lots of
trouble, though I'm sure the pipe is several feet deep. Remember 'Miss
Utility'?<BR><BR>The wooden frames (built by Lord William of Wolverhampton and
his brother John of Caer Gelynniog) are very heavy, and since we leave them
out there year-round in all weather, they are also much stronger against wind
than the constructions you describe. They may clunky, but they work well for
our purposes, and certainly could support a half dozen or more darts without
falling over. Your ideas are appreciated, but we will stick with what we have
for the foreseeable future.<BR><BR>I would much like to get away from the
construction foam, which leaves a nasty gunk on arrows, bolts and darts due to
the friction melting the foam to the shaft on impact. This stuff can be
scraped off with a piece of plastic, but that takes off the protective finish
on the shaft as well. Our arrows need frequent maintenance. My choice for
archery (maybe not for atlatl darts) would be the classic round straw butt
about 8" thick on a tripod stand. These could be removed for indoor storage,
and the whole thing put up in ten minutes or so. I know somebody still makes
these (I stumbled across a web site once), but I can't find them right now.
I'm planning on setting up another range, and would rather use
these.<BR><BR>Kind regards,<BR><BR><BR>Lord Mungo Napier, Shire of Isenfir
Target Archery Marshal<BR><BR>Siegfried wrote:
<BLOCKQUOTE cite=mid:4C72AA5E.3010004@crossbows.biz type="cite"><PRE wrap="">A couple of thoughts for you Mungo. Christophe already pointed out the
PVC/Fiberglass Rod method.
There are some other ways to make the targets lighter-weight and simpler
as well, plus stand up better. For example:
1) To make them hold together better, A sheet of cardboard on either
side of your sandwich does wonders. At the very least, on the back, to
stop blowouts.
I've seen those heavy 2x4 frames. You don't really need them ... Some
ideas instead are:
2) Make a 2x2 4 sided frame (fancy joinery, or just deck brackets for
the corners, so that the foam either rests against the front of it (and
gets duct taped on) ... or rests inside of it, and has a cardboard
backing that holds it on.
On the bottom two corners, put spikes (think pavilion pole spikes)
... maybe 6" long so that you can jam it into the ground. On the back
have two hinged legs that swing out. Jam it into the ground at a 30
degree angle, swing the legs back. Done.
3) The original 'simple' version I was talking about. As long as you
don't have heavy winds. Make the 4x4 foam sandwich. Lean it on the
ground, and take two of your 4' to 5' to 6' pavilion poles, and jam the
spikes through them from the back to front, and lean back so that poles
rest backwards. Unless there's a strong wind that will pick them up
and fly them, it will stand surprisingly well.
But I do like COG's fiberglass pole concept.
You could also use rebar, or perhaps fiberglass electric fence poles,
which are much stronger (3/8" diameter instead of 1/4" for reflectors)
If you want it to hold more than 6 darts.
Siegfried
On 8/23/10 9:50 AM, Garth G. Groff wrote:
</PRE>
<BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><PRE wrap="">Lord Siegfried,
If you have built targets like this, I bow to your experience and
wisdom. We already use a double layer of pink or blue insulation, but
the sheets are slid into a heavy slotted frame of 2X4s, with substantial
feet at 90 degrees to the target face (I wouldn't want to try driving
large legs or pegs into the verrrrry hard ground of our range). I think
after several hits with darts, anything less substantial would fall over.
Kind regards,
Lord Mungo Napier, Shire of Isenfir Target Archery Marshal
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