Pete, Hi
This thread seems to have died?
I have the same query, being surrounded by fields of short-straw barley. I suspect that wheat straw is the solution, though. That, and an enormous amount of patience and application making the column before winding and stitching and flattening it.
Perhaps there is a reason why foam, carpet, and correx are popular!
But if you do have a knowledge of how a straw boss is formed, I am interested.
And before you ask, I was an GNAS Instructor with GWAS in the 1960s / 1970s while a member of Kingston Archers, and am now a member of Soar Valley Archers and card-carrying GNAS!
regards and thanks
Gillies DP
Sorry Gillies,
Pete hijacked the thread to ask me some questions because I had a contraversial thread going on about shooting in the back garden, which was winding people up a bit.
Incidentally I do not shoot at home as I have access to a field to practice in 10 mins drive away.
Regarding straw bosses, it just seemed an opportunity to save a few quid by trying to make your own but no one on here has been able to explain how they are made.
I bought a 60cm one and can confirm that the straw is compressed quite a lot and also has some sort of binding agent in it. I believe the straw is made into a rope which is bound with string, the rope is not round but has tapered sides to resist the energy delivered by arrows hitting it. That is why there is a definate front and back to straw bosses. The rope is then coiled to form the boss and string is used to hold the coils together.
I am not sure if some also use a wire to bind things together.
Thats as much as I know or been able to find out about them I'm afraid.
I image some machinery is involved in order to comress and form the straw rope and am not sure this could be achieved by hand.
I have not tried to make one but would love to know how they are made.
Sorry can't be more helpful.
Graham