New butt

Message

Mick Smith · #1 Post by **Mick Smith** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 3:52 pm

One of our largest camping and outdoor stores (Ray's Tent City) had a 26.5% off sale on Wednesday. I took advantage of the situation by buying myself 9 sheets of EVA closed cell foam. Each sheet is 900mm square and about 12mm thick. When they're all together they're about 5 inches thick. It worked out fairly reasonable, I got the lot for less than $50.

I've just taped them together with masking tape to see how it works. It works great. It's a nice lightweight target that's fully portable. The arrows are a bit hard to pull out, but not too bad.

I'll try to come up with a better way of holding the 9 sheets together. I don't want anything solid, like bolts to break my arrow on. Even if I leave it as it is, it's still a good workable butt.

I'll take a few photos later....

Mick

Mick Smith · #2 Post by **Mick Smith** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 4:40 pm

Why is it, when you've got a competition coming up the next day, your form turns into rubbish?

The photo below is my pathetic best effort at 20 metres after about 10 trys.

I think half the trouble is that I've been practicing heaps at 40 metres and beyond.

Anyway here's the photos of my new portable butt, together with my new Chekmate Hunter recurve with some of the new arrows I've made up for the Leongatha shoot tomorrow.

Mick

The Gnome! · #3 Post by **The Gnome!** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 5:48 pm

Well done Mick,

That EVA foam makes for a great lightweight yet portable Butt and if you doubled up on that it would also make a great broadhead Butt

As for a better way of keeping them together I wolud use "Selley's Quick Grip" it works fine for me.

I'm sure your grouping will be fine on the day

Nice looking arrows and a sweeeeeet looking Bow too

Yours In Archery,

Gnome!

gilnockie · #4 Post by **gilnockie** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 6:43 pm

Why don't you consider cutting the sheets into strips about 300mm wide. Then tape them all together so the edges face you, rather than the flat surface.

If you want to get more ambitious, what about two pieces of chipboard, one on each side so that the boards exert uniform pressure on the full length of the sheet.

Finally, if you find the arrows go through the layers of foam, you could exert a lot more pressure on the back of the butt by using two pieces of hardwood and two pieces of threaded steel rod: one each at the top and the bottom of the target.

Jeffro · #5 Post by **Jeffro** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 7:01 pm

I need a target like that mick ive been keeping an eye out for old boogie boards

buzz · #6 Post by **buzz** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 10:36 pm

When you go to a supermarket, have alook at the bread section. The large bakeries suppy bread on large, often red or orange, plastic trays about a metre wide by about 70 or 80cm long and only around 10 or so cm deep . I have "borrowed" one of these and filled it with squashed flat carboard packing boxes (like from computer monitors) and I have found that several boxes, folded over double will happily stop a shaft from my 50lb-ish bow at just 5m. the frame makes it easy to move and also hang from my garage roof. I just use a bit of nylon rope top and bottom to secure them. It is fairly large as well, plus the cardboard is very readily swappable at the recycling centre for fresh stock.

longbow steve · #7 Post by **longbow steve** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 10:27 am

Hi Mick, Kmart sells the same product, a bit cheaper especially when they do their 25-50 per cent off. I found mine didnt go the distance for full on tournament practice ie 1000 arrows a week, I think it was usefull for about 2000 arrows so not economical for me but stopped everything I threw at it.
After it was shot out I wrapped it with cardboard and staggered the centres and got another 2000 arrows out of it, a good tip is to wrap the butt and target face with glad wrap for a weather proof butt.
What competition do you have coming up. Steve

Mick Smith · #8 Post by **Mick Smith** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 3:53 pm

Thanks for the advice fellas. I'm absorbing it all.

The shoot was at Leongatha, Steve. I didn't do all that well. I could have done much better, but that's why I'm no champion, too inconsistent. There were a few speed events too and I'm about as fast as a wet week. Still I had loads of fun and that's the main thing.

Mick

maskn · #9 Post by **maskn** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 4:02 pm

The heat slowed a lot of us thou

Robert · #10 Post by **Robert** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 12:08 pm

Mick
Here's an other idea that I use

Mick Smith · #11 Post by **Mick Smith** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 12:26 pm

Hi Robert

How do you go with them getting wet? They would make a great butt as the arrows would simply just separate the pages of the phone books, making the target last almost forever. They're not that portable, although the small version in the crate would be portable enough.

I think the concept of having multiple layers end on the the line where the arrows are impacting is probably the best way of minimising wear. My EVA target will be chopped to pieces fairly quickly. I could cut my sheets and layer them as gilnockie has already suggested and achieve much the same effect as the phone books. I actually just planned to buy another sheet of EVA from time to time to maintain the integrity and strength of my existing setup, but layering the sheets would make them last a lot longer, I'd say.

I'll have to keep my eyes open for opportunities to collect large numbers of phone books for a permanent backyard butt.

Mick

Buford · #12 Post by **Buford** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 8:53 pm

GrahameA wrote:Nrman and Mick

Someone on the forum - I think it might be Buford - uses a ratchet tie down strap to compress a stack of them.

yep, close to 7 years and i'm still using the same foam sheets and they have only been shuffled around twice.

#13 Post by **Stickbow Hunter** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 9:24 pm

yep, close to 7 years and i'm still using the same foam sheets and they have only been shuffled around twice.

Yeah and only hit twice?

Oooppsssss I couldn't resist mate.

Jeff

Buford · #14 Post by **Buford** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 6:28 am

yeah yeah...... would you like me to make you a left handed one?

#15 Post by **Stickbow Hunter** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 9:15 am

That would be nice but I imagine you would tell me to use it end on - at least you'd like to see me try.

Jeff

Buford · #16 Post by **Buford** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 9:35 am

end on??

You or the butt?

The Gnome! · #17 Post by **The Gnome!** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 4:36 pm

I took a leaf outa Bufords book and made this yesterday.

4 Body boards cut in half then stacked and compressed between 2 offcuts of a solid core door with ratchet ty-downs.

Hawko · #18 Post by **Hawko** » Sat Mar 17, 2007 10:14 am

The phone books look good and cheap too