[Ansteorra-archery] Range Questions

[Eadric Anstapa]

Derek Wilson <dwilson at dollarcar.com> said:
>
> Back when I was doing mundane Field Archery Tournaments we used to use metal
> banding materials and cinch down the 3 bales so you would not "shoot
> through" the butt if you hit between the bales.
>

I have never used any strapping to compress bales together but it is
certainly an interesting thought and something that I am going to try.

It seems that you would want something that you could really crank down on
and compress the bales as tightly as possible.

The only simple home use metal banding system that I am familar with is the
Band-It system.  My dad had one that we used on the farm as a kid.  They work
real well.  The bands are stainless steel, but the travel on the screw that
was used to tighten the bands is only about 6 inches.  So if you needed to
tighten up the band by more tha about 6 inches to compress the bales then you
might not be able to use this system.  However it looks like they now have a
new ratcheting tool that should overcome that problem.

Look at http://www.band-it-idex.com/

It looks like you can by Band-It products at
http://www.hosexpress.com/bandit/thebanditclampingsystem.htm


For a less expensive alternative you might try some of the racheting nylon
cargo straps.  You can get them about any Wal-mart, etc and they would
probably hold up pretty well.  The would have the advantage of beable able to
be released easily in case ya needed to transport the bales to to replace one
of the bales in a bundle.  Look at
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=36587

On a similar note.  When I stack bales for target butts I have found
fiberglass electric fence posts (see your local Ag supply store) to come in
real handy.  I drive the fiberglass fence post completey through bale and
into the ground to give the bales some added stability beyond just sitting on
the ground.  If an arrow penetrates the bale far enough to actually hit the
post these fiberglass posts will not hurt the arrow.

Regards,

--
Lord Eadric Anstapa
Coastal Regional Archery Marshal, Ansteorra
eadric at scabrewer.com