Straw Bosses

jerryRTD

Well-known member
I have just got a look at the entry form for the 67th East Anglian Championships. They are going to use straw bosses. You would have thought that for a uk record status rose award tournament foam bosses would be used.
 
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KidCurry

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Most of the record status I shoot, that are local, all use straw. I don't like it and my protours don't like it so, unless it 's an important shoot for me, I use C1s.
 

bimble

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at least they're letting you know before hand... and I would point out that at the Evesham legs of the 2017 National Series event recurves were shooting on straw as well... (compounds were on foam)

Personally I have a set of fmj's for when shoots are on straw.
 

Aleatorian

Member
Personally I have a set of fmj's for when shoots are on straw.
Do your FMJ's make it out to 90m? or is that a bit of a shove to get them there?

Other than 1 shoot this year, everywhere I've shot has been on foam meaning I'm more than happy to sling my ProTours at them since the bow is setup for them
 

Raven's_Eye

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The WRS that we host, we use straw targets. Most shoots I've been to ........... thinking about it all shoots I've been to use straw targets.
 

Rik

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Forgive me for being an idiot, but, what's wrong with straw bosses
if they are hard enough to stop arrows, they tend to be difficult to pull from, and run a risk of breakages.
It's not that straw is necessarily awful. You can get straw bosses that (for a period of time, in the middle of their lifespan) are okay to shoot on. But it's a bit of a lottery.
 

bimble

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Do your FMJ's make it out to 90m? or is that a bit of a shove to get them there?
my Axis fmj's don't, but my old set of Navigator fmj's did, and I've since replaced them with a set of Easton Deep 6 fmj's (from the hunting catalogue) that also have no problem reaching 90m.

Forgive me for being an idiot, but, what's wrong with straw bosses
they tend to be much harder targets, and they wear carbon arrows a lot more than shooting into foam. As Gtek says, why shoot 21st Century arrows into 14th Century targets? Especially the Italian straw bosses... I had one club mate who retired from our county champs one year after snapping 4 of a brand new set of ACC's!

Personally, I will not shoot my carbon arrows into straw. That way you only have to risk breaking arrows on poorly positioned A frames with legs right behind where you want to shoot...
 

eljetico

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You need to make sure your points are well glued in too - there is quite a bit of heat generated when the arrow penetrates.

I recently chopped mine from 120 to 100 grains; the reduced shank - and I suppose the absence of the two break-off grooves (this is with tungsten points) is not a great deal of area to apply glue to, resulting in a few temporarily lost points when shooting into straw (not by choice).
 

Johnh159

Member
my Axis fmj's don't, but my old set of Navigator fmj's did, and I've since replaced them with a set of Easton Deep 6 fmj's (from the hunting catalogue) that also have no problem reaching 90m.

I have a set of the fmj Match (30.5"), shoot 90m with the sight bar all the way out. 36# Hex 6.6 holding circa 42# at full draw.

they tend to be much harder targets, and they wear carbon arrows a lot more than shooting into foam. As Gtek says, why shoot 21st Century arrows into 14th Century targets? Especially the Italian straw bosses... I had one club mate who retired from our county champs one year after snapping 4 of a brand new set of ACC's!


Personally, I will not shoot my carbon arrows into straw. That way you only have to risk breaking arrows on poorly positioned A frames with legs right behind where you want to shoot...
We tend to double boss and not use A frames
 

Hidden Hippo

New member
I have a set of 6 (remaining) X10s I'll shoot into straw if there's no space on the foam bosses at the club, but I refuse to pay to enter a competition shot on straw, even indoors. The potential for injuring yourself on hard straw bosses is high and the cost to arrows is something I'd rather not factor in to my weekend/day shooting.

I also can't help but think they don't last as long, especially the ones with high glue content. The only advantage they have over foam is they're easier to store if you can't leave bosses out.

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I have a set of 6 (remaining) X10s I'll shoot into straw if there's no space on the foam bosses at the club, but I refuse to pay to enter a competition shot on straw, even indoors. The potential for injuring yourself on hard straw bosses is high and the cost to arrows is something I'd rather not factor in to my weekend/day shooting.

I also can't help but think they don't last as long, especially the ones with high glue content. The only advantage they have over foam is they're easier to store if you can't leave bosses out.
 

Johnh159

Member
What foam bosses do you all use.
Layered?
Pro Boss?
Danage?
Eleven?

All have their pros and cons.

Ones with centers are not appropriate if putting more than one face on a boss.
Layered tend to break up and leave foam laying about - hardly green .
Danage are expensive and useless in the wet.

Sometimes good old straw is the best option

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I have a set of 6 (remaining) X10s I'll shoot into straw if there's no space on the foam bosses at the club, but I refuse to pay to enter a competition shot on straw, even indoors. The potential for injuring yourself on hard straw bosses is high and the cost to arrows is something I'd rather not factor in to my weekend/day shooting.

I also can't help but think they don't last as long, especially the ones with high glue content. The only advantage they have over foam is they're easier to store if you can't leave bosses out.

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I have a set of 6 (remaining) X10s I'll shoot into straw if there's no space on the foam bosses at the club, but I refuse to pay to enter a competition shot on straw, even indoors. The potential for injuring yourself on hard straw bosses is high and the cost to arrows is something I'd rather not factor in to my weekend/day shooting.

I also can't help but think they don't last as long, especially the ones with high glue content. The only advantage they have over foam is they're easier to store if you can't leave bosses out.
HH - loving your profile picture on this thread! :)
 

Yew Selfbow

Active member
Well ... thanks for the reply gents, I must have been doing it wrong all these years ... never having had an arrow damaged or the pile glue melt from all that generated heat
 

bimble

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Well ... thanks for the reply gents, I must have been doing it wrong all these years ... never having had an arrow damaged or the pile glue melt from all that generated heat
well, your arrows are a little bit slower... ;) 150-160fps??
 

jerryRTD

Well-known member
What foam bosses do you all use.
Layered?
Pro Boss?
Danage?
Eleven?

All have their pros and cons.

Ones with centers are not appropriate if putting more than one face on a boss.
Layered tend to break up and leave foam laying about - hardly green .
Danage are expensive and useless in the wet.

Sometimes good old straw is the best option

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HH - loving your profile picture on this thread! :)
If you think the best option is wearing carbon off the arrows, breaking arrows or hitting the frame then I think you're potty
 

Johnh159

Member
The question holds, what foam do you use?
As for being called potty - a bit rude.

Shot ACE's, ACC's and Carbon Ones.
Never had one break in straw, indoors or out.

And yes - 200 fps+

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If you think the best option is wearing carbon off the arrows, breaking arrows or hitting the frame then I think you're potty
What holds danage foam if not a frame?
Magic floating foam
 

bimble

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The question holds, what foam do you use?
As for being called potty - a bit rude.

Shot ACE's, ACC's and Carbon Ones.
Never had one break in straw, indoors or out.

And yes - 200 fps+

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What holds danage foam if not a frame?
Magic floating foam
'A frame', not just 'a frame'... like H Frames. Straw bosses are usually put up on 'A frames' , which if poorly designed can put the legs directly behind the higher scoring zones, which in turn can lead to arrow damages. I have broken arrows this way. H frames, which most foam bosses go on, have the legs out at the side, and if you're missing that badly, I have less sympathy.

Whilst I've never had an arrow myself just snap in the boss, I have been shooting with others who have. This is one of the two or three we had break in this shoot



The same shoot where my club mate retired after breaking four new ACC's
 
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