• About the Gazette
  • Kingdom and Local Events
  • Submissions

The Æthelmearc Gazette

~ Covering the Kingdom of Æthelmearc of the SCA

The Æthelmearc Gazette

Tag Archives: On Target

On Target: Who’s Afraid of the Boogie Man?

25 Friday May 2018

Posted by aethgazette in Archery

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

On Target

Over the years it’s been my honor to do a great number of ranges, but I’ve learned that I have to start looking at the calendar. Obviously, you have to work on the summer time ranges in the winter, and the winter time ranges in the summer. So I’m already working on Halloween.

Wanting to do something a little more fun and a little different, I decided to make a “boogie man.”

As usual, I clamped together three sheets of cardboard and one sheet of Coroplast. I use the same stencil over and over again – it’s a timesaver. You can see I drilled holes and used zip ties to put the cardboard and Coroplast together into a single target, avoiding glue. This also saved a lot of time.

cardboard clamped together
cardboard cutout and ziptied

After the pieces were zip tied together, I painted the cardboard black with paint from the dollar store and added large googly eyes. The artwork is very simple: you just gob on white paint for a makeshift skeleton. To keep it PG-rated, we added an old dish towel over his Celtic region.
skeleton painted with loincloth
Next, I zip tied together several more pieces of cardboard with a Coroplast sheet in the middle and added wires, making a small backstop.

backstop
Boogie man set up outdoors

I put some Velcro on the back of the boogie man’s legs and the backstop to secure him to the backstop. This will hold him up so you can shoot him down as shown in the video below.


When you retrieve your arrows, be sure to point out to your archers that his eyes roll back into his head when he falls over.

Boogie man shot

Since this target is so easy to make, I was able to build three of them in almost no time at all.

Three boogie men

This month’s safety tip: as I’ve stated in the past, novelty shoots are a lot of fun, but you can see in the video below that some arrows did bounce off the witch and some blew through her, so keep a safe distance.

It’s a shame if you missed that shoot; we had a lot of fun.

In service,

THLord Deryk Archer

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

On Target: Pirates!

06 Friday Apr 2018

Posted by aethgazette in Archery

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

On Target

This month’s On Target is a pirate ship, or “Shipmates, beware of these treacherous waters, there be Pi-Ratz afloat!”

I always wanted to do a pirate ship, but to make it a little cuter, I decided to use rats as the crew.

I keep old, beat-up targets around to use as stencils. Using four sheets of cardboard and one sheet of Coroplast, make the target 52 inches long and 20 inches tall. Clamp all the cardboard and the Coroplast together, then drill some holes and use zip ties to attach them to each other.

cardboard clamped together
Coroplast clamped to cardboard

Draw the ship and the rats, making the rats different sizes. I have them left to right and largest to smallest. Paint the sky, the water, the rats, and the boat. I used magic marker to put the planks on the boat. Make the rats different colors and give them googly eyes.

Painting rats

I found sticky-backed letters that I used to christen the ship.

Stick on letters
Rats and ship name

Remember to add wires to the base so it will stand on its own. I found a broom handle to use as a mast. Put the mast close to the back to the ship to help take up the shock of the incoming arrows.

Pole

Finally, I used a bandana to make a pirate flag.

Completed target

This is a fun target for all ages. Give everybody six shots to hit all five rats 🐀.

This month’s safety tip: Archery season is about to start up! There will be new people on the line and, perhaps, new marshals. Don’t ever be afraid to ask a question, and make sure you understand the rules of the range.

In service,

THLord Deryk Archer

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

On Target: Another Flying Creature

23 Friday Feb 2018

Posted by aethgazette in Archery

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

On Target

Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Underdog….

No, its not Underdog, it’s the second installment of Flying Creatures!

Thinking back to the Wizard of Oz, I came up with” parachute pooch.”

First you need to make a basket. To do that, cut construction paper in to strips.

cutting paper strips

Take a paper plate and tape the strips to the bottom of the plate, then turn the plate over. Weave the paper like you would a basket.

building basket 1
building basket 2

Then, take a small plush dog and a cloth napkin, Tie the napkin to the dog with heavy cord to make a parachute and place him in the basket.

parachute pooch done

Now, this is why the basket is made of paper…..You hang the basket from the front of the witch’s broom from last month’s column. If the basket is hit by an arrow, the paper will tear and the pooch will parachute to the ground.

Pooch in basket

There are two ways to play: 1) You shoot to hit the basket so “Toto” can jump for freedom, or 2) shoot to miss the basket and hit the witch because you don’t want “Toto” to fall.

Either way, you will need a lot of baskets.

If you want to try this shot, it will be at the Castle Archery Muster on April 22 in the Debatable Lands.

This month’s safety tip: Time to check your bow string.

broken string

In this picture you can see this string has not been waxed in years. Even if it was waxed, there are two broken strands and the serving is worn out on one end. Warning DO NOT REPAIR, Get a new one.

In service,

THL Deryk Archer

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

On Target: Flying Fantasy Targets

18 Thursday Jan 2018

Posted by aethgazette in Archery

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

On Target

One night after watching ‘Once upon a Time,” I got the idea to do a “Flying Creature,” in this case an Oz-style wicked witch on a broom. Now I have to tell you, the finished product looks great and can fly from tree to tree, but it took a lot of time to build.

First, you need a female foam head (yes, they do make male and female heads).
foam heads

Then you need to make prosthetics to get the right look. A rubber finger from any Dollar store (cut to size) fits over the nose.knife and pink things

You can use the tip of a paper snow cone stuffed with cotton for the chin, and googly eyes for realism.

cone
cone and cotton for chin

I used green duct tape for the skin and black duct tape for the hair. Remember, if you don’t duct tape the head, an arrow will make it shatter.

foam head with nose and chin
foam head nose and chin from front
Witch head with hat

Next comes the body. I used heavy construction paper and pool noodles for the body and shoulders. Rolled paper was used to make the arms. The paper gives you flexibility when you add the hands and broom later.

Witch with body
witch with body and shoulders
Witch with arms

Now we go back to the Dollar store for the clothing. I picked up a costume intended for a five-year-old girl for 50% off after Halloween.This gives you some idea how big the target is. The hands are cheap gloves (Dollar store again) stuffed with cotton and glued to the arms.

glove and cotton
Witch no hat
Witch with hat

The broom is a tree branch with colored pipe cleaners added to the back to look like flame as it flies. Broom with pipe cleaners
In the picture below, cords made of 10 lb. fishing line run from the witch to a heavy cardboard tube above the witch. All that is left is to tie a clothesline to a tree, run the line through the cardboard tube, and tie the other end to another tree. Tie a line to the witch’s broom and have the marshal stand at a safe distance while slowly pulling the witch across the field.

completed witch

This is a “for fun” shoot, so be sure to pull slowly enough that the archers get 3 or 4 shots before you call Hold.

Finally if you want to try this shoot, it will be at the Castle Archery Muster in Debatable Lands this April. The witch will fly up to the castle roof, so if you ever wanted to go on a “flying creature hunt,” now is your chance.

This month’s safety tip: in the article I talked about a safe distance for the marshal to stand when pulling the rope. Check the diagram below. The marshal should be at least 10 yards back from the firing line so he or she can see the target and also watch the archers. Marshal diagram

In service,

Deryk Archer

Editor’s note: no actual witches were harmed in the making or use of this target.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

On Target: Christmas Gifts for Archers

27 Monday Nov 2017

Posted by aethgazette in Archery

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Christmas, On Target

It’s Christmas time again, so here are some tips for the Archer you love.

No matter how good a shot they are, new arrows are always a wonderful gift, along with a period-looking quiver, arm guard, or shooting glove. I prefer a Bear Paw glove because it breathes, so your hand doesn’t sweat.

Glove and armguard
arrows

Next, check out this pen that I found at the dollar store. It’s a stylus, a pen, a laser light, and a flashlight.

pen
stylus

If you’ve had a long hot day on the range, how about this period-looking water cooler.

Water bottle

If your recipients don’t mind gag gifts, check out this Whitetail beer bottle opener.

Bottle opener

Remember last year’s motto: GLG, which stands for Guys (and Girls) Love Gadgets! I found this multi tool with a small hatchet.

gadget

This month’s safety tip: whether you’re driving to the range or driving to Grandma’s for the holidays, these two things don’t mix.

wine glass

In service, and happy holidays.

Deryk Archer

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

On Target: Late Season Safety Check

26 Thursday Oct 2017

Posted by aethgazette in Archery

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

On Target

This month’s On Target focuses on doing a late-season safety check of your equipment.

I’ve just come back from an event and started to look over my loaner equipment. In the first picture, notice the nock on the left arrow is cracked, the nock on the arrow on the right easily twisted off and required some superglue.

Broken nocks

Pulling more arrows out of the quiver, I was able to easily twist off an arrow tip as well.

PointsWhile inspecting arrow shafts, I thought I saw a very small crack. Giving the shaft a small twist, it shattered in my hands. This is the second time I’ve seen this. Lesson learned: darker shafts can hide splits.

 

arrows clamped
broken arrows

Lastly, I took a beat up target off a piece of foam to replace it with a new target. The foam was so badly shot up it split. Any arrows shot at it would all blow through resulting in possible damage or loss of the arrows.

 

target before breaking
target broken

I’d like to take a moment to thank my editor, Mistress Arianna, for correcting my spelling, grammar, and punctuation that makes this article readable.

As always I would love to hear some questions or comments.

This month’s safety tip: never run down range. You may come across an arrow in the ground, or as we call it, “deadwood,” and trip.

In service,

THL Deryk Archer

 

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

On Target: Backyard Backstops Part 2, or The Arrows Stops Here

27 Wednesday Sep 2017

Posted by aethgazette in Archery

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

On Target

Before I begin, I want to thank all of you who reached out to me with your condolences at the passing of my Dad. He got me started in shooting over five decades ago. I’ve never met anyone that had as much experience shooting as he did.

This month I want to do a backstop that’s hanging in the air. Once again, we take five sheets of cardboard and zip tie them together.

cardboard

Next, add a thin piece of Coroplast, because the cardboard will rip without it.

cardboard with coroplast

Now, attach D-rings or carabiners so you can easily clip the target to a rope going from tree to tree. This also allows the backstop to go easily on and off the rope.

Target suspended from rope

I’ve discovered over the years that no matter how hard you pull on the rope, after a while the rope stretches and there is slack, so on the far end of the rope, hang a counterweight to keep it tight. In the picture, that’s roughly 40 lbs. of concrete blocks.

Rope counterweight

As you can see here, two of the backstops come up out of the ground. The third one hangs in the air. Now it’s a triple-layered backstop.

full target suspended

Next, I have two videos that show how well-layering backstops work. You can see how they absorb the kinetic energy as they catch the arrow and rock back-and-forth.

Finally, another thing you can do for safety in your backyard is use flu-flu arrows. The extra large fletching causes drag that slows the arrow down.

flu flu arrow fletching

I’ve also been asked about shooting without tips. If you shoot without a tip, it will not penetrate the cardboard, and could throw the balance of the arrow off and break the shaft, which would be very unsafe in your backyard.

Arrow no point

This month’s safety tip: marshals and shooters, beware of distractions on the line. In these photos*, the shooter is it at full draw when something behind her gets her attention. As she turns to look, she swings the loaded bow around and has it pointed in the wrong direction. Remember, where the eyes go, the body goes, and the body will bring the bow with it. Never hesitate to call a Hold.

*Thanks to our model, Lady Thalia Papillon, who graciously staged these photos.

archer full draw
archer turned

In Service,

THL Deryk Archer

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

On Target: Backyard Backstops

19 Wednesday Jul 2017

Posted by aethgazette in Archery

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

On Target

This month, we have a question and answer from Hereward of Richmond. Hereward wrote me about do-it-yourself backstops.

I use four sheets of cardboard and one sheet of Coroplast, a corrugated plastic used for signs. It’s slightly stronger than cardboard and is water resistant. The pictures below show how they go together with zip ties. Note that in this picture there are only three sheets of cardboard, but I found since making this backstop that four is much better.

cardboard and coroplast
Backstop zip tied

Remember, glue makes the cardboard harder and less arrow friendly, so you don’t want to use it. Coroplast can be found on most street corners for free because church fish fries, gun bashes, and political signs are never removed after the event. By law, the signs should be removed 10 days after the event, so on the 11th day, if you take them, you’re performing a public service.

Carefully remove the wires from the Coroplast sign before adding it to your cardboard. Then, with a little cutting and artistry, you can have a ninja.

Ninja against garage

After completing your target, take the sign wires and push them back into the Coroplast at the bottom where the ninja’s legs are. Zip tie everything together and then push the ninja into the ground standing upright.

In the picture below, we have a dark, gloomy scene on the left and a bright, sunny day on the right, both of which are backstops for the ninja.Ninja targetIn the video below, I’m shooting a 35 pound bow at full draw at less than 10 yards into the ninja. It stops all the kinetic energy. Even if you have a blow through, the backstops behind the target stop what little energy the arrow has left.

Once again, thank you, Hereward, for the question. Next month, I’ll do even more on backyard backstops.

This month’s safety tip pertains to situations that happen at Pennsic when you have a large number of archers. If people go looking for arrows behind the nets used to stop arrows that miss the targets, they will seem to disappear, so marshals need to be alert. Here’s an example of why this is important.

Note: the arrow in this video was NOT actually fired, it was pushed through the target by hand for the purpose of demonstrating the danger to people hidden behind targets. Obviously, archers should not be firing when someone is standing behind the target.

‘Til next month.

In service,

Deryk Archer

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

On Target: Moving Targets

15 Thursday Jun 2017

Posted by aethgazette in Archery

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

On Target

A moving target will add fun to your outdoor shoot. Imagine a pig or a deer running across your field.

Take two 4 foot long 2 x 4’s, drill two holes in the bottom of each board, and hammer in two very long nails. Next, take a set of bolt cutters and cut the heads off the nails. This turns them in the spikes. The spikes hold the boards up right so you can set this target up by yourself.

Nails in board
nail heads in board clipped off

Next, run guy wires off the boards. Take a 50 foot piece of rope, double it and twist it to make the rope stronger so it will not sag when you pull the target across it.

twisted rope
twisted rope and stake

Next, take a hard cardboard tube and cover it in camo duct tape. This’ll make the tube disappear into the background. Next, zip tie the wings to the tube and then zip tie the tube to the top of the pig. Then, take the twisted clothesline and run it through the tube and tie it to the upright 2x4s.

pig attachment

Run a guy wire from the nose of the pig back behind the firing line to the marshal. Pull the pig across the range to give the illusion of flight. The guy wire is over 100 feet long, allowing the marshal to call the line and pull the target at the same time.

flying pig

At Hornwood’s Scarlet Guard Inn earlier this month, I ran a range just for fun with these targets. I made a flying pig, and everybody enjoyed the pun all day long.

THLord Deryk demonstrates the moving pig target

This month’s safety tip: check out the land around your range. I found a hole in the ground that was well over a foot and a half long and almost 10 inches deep. The hole was full of dead grass and leaves; it was deceptive how deep it really was. If someone had stepped in it, they would’ve twisted an ankle. I marked it with some fluorescent orange tape to make sure no one was hurt.

caution tape around hole

Until next month, in service,

THLord Deryk Archer

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

On Target: Be Prepared

22 Monday May 2017

Posted by aethgazette in Archery

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

archery, On Target

This month’s On Target topic: proper preparation prevents poor performance!

It was a privilege to be the archery marshal-in-charge at Blackstone Raid. When I got to the site, the weather seemed to be perfect, so I set the range up the night before the archery competition. What we did not know was that there would be a sudden change; a microburst hit around 1 a.m.

The next morning, I went out to look at the range and a good bit of it was down… but fortunately I was prepared.

I had an extra box with spikes and washers, as well as extra rope. As you can see, the rope had clips and rings on it, so that I could pound spikes and retie the hay bales.

toolbox
Rope with rings

I also had extra targets, which was good since some of the original targets were destroyed in the rain.

pig target

In addition, I had a roll of camo-patterned duct tape that was perfect for outdoors. And for the first time, I had built backstops for the targets. Placing a backstop roughly 4 feet behind each target meant many of the arrows never dug into the dirt, or as we like to say, became “worm chasers.” Not having to look in the ground saved archers a lot of time.

Target with backstop

Finally, I had brought an extra prize, which turned out to be important – I had planned for first, second, and third place prizes, but then I had one shooter strike a deer target in the heart it well over 50 yards, so on the fly I was able to give a prize for the best shot of the day.

In conclusion, if you’re the MIC, it never hurts to overpack!

Yours in service,
THLord Deryk Archer

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...
← Older posts

Follow Blog via Email

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Æthelmearc Gazette

Æthelmearc Gazette

Categories

  • 50 Year
  • A&S Champs
  • A&S Competition and Display
  • A&S Faire
  • AE 300
  • AEcademy
  • AELive
  • Announcements
  • Aoife's Links
  • Archery
  • Arts & Sciences
  • Autocratting
  • Awards
  • Æthelmeac Æcademy
  • Æthelmearc History
  • Bardic
  • Book Reviews
  • Brewing
  • Camping
  • Combat Archery
  • Competitions
  • Cooking
  • Corporate News
  • Costuming
  • Court Reports
  • Crown Tourney
  • Dance
  • demos
  • donations
  • Equestrian
  • Esoterica
  • Event Announcements & Updates
  • Event Reports
  • Feast
  • Fencing
  • Fiber Arts
  • Food
  • Food pantry
  • Foresters Guild
  • Forestry
  • Gaming & Fun
  • Gulf Wars
  • Heavy List
  • Heraldry
  • Herbalism
  • Humor
  • Ice Dragon
  • In memoriam
  • Interviews
  • Kingdom News
  • KMOAS
  • Largesse
  • Music
  • Newcomers
  • Officer Announcements
  • Pennsic
  • Poetry & Prose
  • Populace-in-focus
  • Quarterly reports
  • Queen's Rapier
  • Rapier
  • Research
  • Royalty
  • SCA @ Home
  • SCA History
  • SCA Shop Talk
  • Scribal
  • Service
  • Siege
  • Teaching
  • The AEthelmearc 300
  • Thrown Weapons
  • Tidings
  • Uncategorized
  • Youth Activities
  • Youth combat

RSS The Æthelmearc Gazette

  • Court Report Bog Twelfth Night 1/21/23
  • Court Report: Queen’s Rapier Champion Tourney, April 8, A.S. 57
  • Populace in Focus: Katja Davidova Orlova Khazarina

Powered by WordPress.com.

 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: