Disposal of Straw Bosses in the UK

nick_lee_5

New member
We try to renew our Straw Bosses every 3 years, which means we have a number to dispose of. Our local Council Tip wants ?41 per quarter ton to take our old bosses, which given how many we need to dispose of is a bit steep for our budget.

How do other clubs in the UK dispose of Straw Bosses please?
 
D

Deleted member 7654

Guest
Enquire at the local allotment to see if they want some.
Unroll 'em and use 'em as mulch on your strawberries, borders etc.
Unroll the spiral and model into likenesses of politicians. Come November 5th (or the revolution, whichever comes first), set fire to them.
Del
 

Corax67

Well-known member
We dispose of ours by splitting some of the bindings to open them up a bit then leaving them behind one of our storage containers to break down naturally over time. Works really well for us.

Like the strawberry idea though, next one might be coming home with me for my own strawberry beds - thanks Del.



Karl
 

4d4m

Active member
In the spirit of re-use how about selling them cheap (or donating them) to a smaller local club or Scout troop?

Even if the centres are shot up quite a lot they should work well enough with low poundage bows. Or even higher poundage if doubled up. We are a small club and re-use old bosses from larger clubs. We use them indoors so don't need to put the faces over the centres. You can get two portsmouth faces on one boss, or if just for practice then multiple smaller targets as from the 3 spot compound faces. We alsp rotate them frequently to put the gold on a fresher part of the straw.
 

nick_lee_5

New member
Thank you to everyone that has replied.
We have donated to the local University in the past but I believe they are not in need right now.
I like the idea of the mulch for gardens - I will ask the members if they want to take a boss home for exactly that reason.

I'll keep coming back over the next few days, in case there are any other great ideas posted.
 

mk1

It's an X
Supporter
One of our counties takes its worn out competition bosses, discards the soft middles and then cuts them up like pizza segments. They then string a segment up behind the middle of their newer bosses to act as extra stopping power.
 

BillM

Member
As it is usual that the outer part of the bosses are not as 'shot out' as the middle, Northern Area of Scottish Archery has cut some into quadrants of about 5 rings (stitching before cutting) and hang them behind the softer bits as backstop. I've got photos of them somewhere on my old laptop so if anyone is interested then PM me with an email address and I'll copy them to you. I don't know what they do with the middle bit????

BillM
 

BillM

Member
Oops! Didn't see MK1's post when I did the one above. Operation, before, putting, gear, brain - rearrange into a well known phrase or saying.

BillM
 

4d4m

Active member
As it is usual that the outer part of the bosses are not as 'shot out' as the middle, Northern Area of Scottish Archery has cut some into quadrants of about 5 rings (stitching before cutting) and hang them behind the softer bits as backstop. I've got photos of them somewhere on my old laptop so if anyone is interested then PM me with an email address and I'll copy them to you. I don't know what they do with the middle bit????

BillM
Interesting point. I wonder is it possible to "rewind" a boss the other way, i.e. form the centre from the not-very-shot outer loops, and the shot out centre now becomes the outer? This might result in a smaller boss, discarding the parts which made up a completely shot out section right in the middle, but might a usable one.
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
I would think it would be easier to take the centres out of, let's say three damaged bosses; then use the outer windings of one of them, to wind two new centres to plug the two remaining holes. They will be the right size.
 

ben tarrow

Well-known member
why are we all so tight when it comes to paying for stuff?

New bow, arrows etc ?1000 - no problem, sell your grandma to pay for it.

Club subs, shooting fees, disposal of bosses - YOU WANT HOW MUCH?
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
I would say that about 5% of a straw boss gets shot out at the centre, and yet the club pays for 100% of it.
I was brought up in the "make do and mend" years, so socks were darned and string was saved for another day.I hadn't seen a straight nail until I was at the grammar school doing woodwork; all our nails had been pulled from old boxes for re use.We did bang them back into some sort of straight shape before re using, though.
I would happily put a large face off centre and shoot at it, so the arrows would be directed away from the centre of the boss. The boss can then be rotated, as for small indoor faces, to spread the used area. I think that would allow six areas the size of the gold to be shot at, without making the centre too soft to support itself.
But just imagine the complaints!!( one half of the white would be missing... so imagine the loss of points that would cause)
The gold would be 6" higher or lower than normal... imagine all the sight marks that would not work any longer.( imagine trying it and finding they don't need changing)
Imagine the chaos at the next committee meeting.
 

Graham Smith

Active member
AIUK Saviour
I would say that about 5% of a straw boss gets shot out at the centre, and yet the club pays for 100% of it.
I was brought up in the "make do and mend" years, so socks were darned and string was saved for another day.I hadn't seen a straight nail until I was at the grammar school doing woodwork; all our nails had been pulled from old boxes for re use.We did bang them back into some sort of straight shape before re using, though.
I would happily put a large face off centre and shoot at it, so the arrows would be directed away from the centre of the boss. The boss can then be rotated, as for small indoor faces, to spread the used area. I think that would allow six areas the size of the gold to be shot at, without making the centre too soft to support itself.
But just imagine the complaints!!( one half of the white would be missing... so imagine the loss of points that would cause)
The gold would be 6" higher or lower than normal... imagine all the sight marks that would not work any longer.( imagine trying it and finding they don't need changing)
Imagine the chaos at the next committee meeting.
Ah the good old days. Dripping and bread for tea, loose tea leaves that you got a mouthful of if you drained the cup, jumble sales. I remember them well.
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
Yes, indeed, along with wearing older relatives' clothes and passing them on to younger ones,heehee.
I will still try to mend things if they break... it is what I do and like doing.I have a garage full of tool, for just such situations.... but they can't be used on my PC Tablet Smartphone etc etc.
There are many things in modern life that I really like... I am not stuck in the past.
BUT, if anyone is concerned about bosses getting their centres shot out and leaving 95% to go to waste, or paying to get rid of them, there are options.
IF a club was saving money to buy some really nice layered foam bosses for an indoor venue, possibly; they could delay the need to replace their wearing straw bosses.
So, let me put forward a situation I have seen.
Target faces getting their middles shot out. People getting cross that so many target faces are getting centres shot out. People getting worried about the cost of replacing shot out target faces.
Same people happily shooting the middle out of the boss behind the said faces.
Accept what happens; or do something about it.
 

Shirt

Well-known member
Cut them up.
A handful of club members chuck them in the boot of their cars with a couple of bits of tree/foliage.
They are now garden waste.
Club members drive to the tip, not all at the same time, and unload cars into relevant skip.
Done.
 

BillM

Member
I don't know if this is to be recommended as a method of disposal but many, many years ago my club were given access to a piece of land to shoot while the owner was trying to get planning permission to build houses. I sewed up the middle of an old straw boss and that was fixed in place as there was no storage, and we could shoot anytime. This land was sold by the local farmer and as there was a gate to his field the farmer merely opened the gate as the grass had grown long and his sheep/cattle could get to it. They ate the boss.

BillM
 

4d4m

Active member
I would say that about 5% of a straw boss gets shot out at the centre, and yet the club pays for 100% of it.
I was brought up in the "make do and mend" years, so socks were darned and string was saved for another day.I hadn't seen a straight nail until I was at the grammar school doing woodwork; all our nails had been pulled from old boxes for re use.We did bang them back into some sort of straight shape before re using, though.
I would happily put a large face off centre and shoot at it, so the arrows would be directed away from the centre of the boss. The boss can then be rotated, as for small indoor faces, to spread the used area. I think that would allow six areas the size of the gold to be shot at, without making the centre too soft to support itself.
But just imagine the complaints!!( one half of the white would be missing... so imagine the loss of points that would cause)
The gold would be 6" higher or lower than normal... imagine all the sight marks that would not work any longer.( imagine trying it and finding they don't need changing)
Imagine the chaos at the next committee meeting.
I wasn't brought up in the same era but while I throw away old socks (life's too short for darning!) I cannot bring myself to throw away old nails or screws, or scraps of wood, or biscuit tins etc. I fight against this tendency but can see myself being on some extreme hoarders programme 20 years hence!
 

geoffretired

Supporter
Supporter
Yes, I have dispensed with darning socks for that reason.
Like you,I keep old nails and screws;mine are in bottles and tins, but not sorted in any way. I recently made a rod for my back weight out of an old hollow floor mop handle. I have enough of the tubing to make two more,heehee
 
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