Middle Earth Ranger Forum

I keep losing my straw bale targets to the livestock! They keep saying something about needing fresh bedding...

I'm thinking of making something like these and leaving it up permanently:
I'd just order one, but all the suppliers I can find are in Europe and shipping something so big and bulky here is astronomical.

Has anyone made one themselves? If so, is there a particular cordage you recommend? What did you use for a needle?

Thanks!

I bet a big fat sail needle or yarn darner would do the trick.

https://myarmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=26780 there's a post here that talks about making one.

I made a cloth tube stitched around a brass hoop, got some net makers twine and a sailmakers needle, and started working on one last year. It is still out there, about half done. It works. I am certain it isn't the right way to do it, although it does work.

Good luck.

Eledhwen the Green

Donning the thinkin' cap here...

Assuming the coils are built up from wheat straw, these would have traditionally made from hand-harvested straw. I'd expect that the straw you'd find in a modern bale would be more mangled, since the bales are made by machines. Anyway, it would be pretty crazy to break down a straw bale just so you could build it up as a coiled target. I think the coiled targets were made in the old days when they didn't have the convenience of straw bales.

Wouldn't coiled rope be too dense?

If you have a field of wheat or some other grass, and you are harvesting it by hand anyway, you will have plenty of un-mangled straw to supply this. On the other hand, you might have some other tall grasses that are in need of cutting down.

PS: More info on this: http://www.goldengatejoad.com/2012/07/t ... XI6wlG1s-A
Looks like they have a machine for this...
And 85 Euros apiece from la belle France:
http://www.boutik-lyon-archerie.com/cib ... -1252.html

I used grass I had scythed down and let dry. Worked well..I plan to finish it this Autumn.

Eledhwen the Green

cloth tube... oh! For the funnel? That makes sense! I was thinking of using a canning funnel: it seems about the right size.. I checked one of our straw bales and sadly the stalks are cut far too short to use as is. Drat it!

Well... we're raising a small head of wheat this year. I guess now I know what I can use the stalks for.

edit - thanks for the link kortoso!
Sadly that's one of the many listings I saw. They're cheap in Europe, but once you add in shipping to the US I've not seen one of the larger ones for less than a couple hundred dollars, which I just can't justify for a straw target.

I have an old (early 1900s) archery book that has detailed instructions for making one of these, I need to dig it out and see if I can post pictures up of that chapter, or at the very least type out the instructions. If I remember correctly, they used a piece of 1/4" bar stock and drilled a hole in it to make a needle for sticking the target together. Let me look that up and I'll get back to you!

I found an online copy of the book in question (published in 1939) here:
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id= ... 1up;seq=15 Page 311 is where the part on making the target starts, but the whole book is golden. Talks about bow making, arrow making, general archery practice, etc.

Good book. I have it.

Eledhwen

Given how time consuming the process looked, and how incredibly tight those things are woven, and how similarly sized targets aren't much cheaper.... I decided to go ahead and order one. It's grabby as heck even on my bodkins, but I think with regular target points it should be fine:
Finally! This is going to be fun!

You could order this one. It says from Poland but it also has free shipping anywhere in the US so its a win win. It's price is also quite similar to a modern target close to the same size.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Straw-hay-arche ... 5#shpCntId

Elleth wrote:Given how time consuming the process looked, and how incredibly tight those things are woven, and how similarly sized targets aren't much cheaper.... I decided to go ahead and order one. It's grabby as heck even on my bodkins, but I think with regular target points it should be fine:

...

Finally! This is going to be fun!

Gorgeous! Have fun!

Bummer about the compromise, but still, cool target! Looks great!
The one Daerir posted looks pretty cool too - and for a great price. I'd be half tempted to grab one of those myself. Wonder if it's decent quality...

Hunh - wow! I'd seen those, but every other one I saw on eBay looked like a good deal - until I added it my cart and another hundred dollars of shipping got tacked on. Looks like that one doesn't - awesome!

For what it's worth, I still think the Egertec was a good choice - it's VERY dense and tight, and I believe I've read that squarish coil is fashioned with a bit of a wedge so as to tighten up more with impacts. I guess we'll see.

Anyhow, I'm happy. Can't wait for Saturday freetime.

OH! For what it's worth, the maker- Hugh ofEgertec- is soliciting US distributors, and a word to your local shop (or 3 Rivers) would go a long way to making these cheaper for all of us in the future.