extending boss life

[geoffretired]

This is really aimed at those who have a boss at home but it works at club level too, when practising. Set the sight so the arrows hit high(or low etc)
Shoot one arrow. From then on, aim at the previous arrow. The end result will be a straight line of arrows equally, spaced. Bosses wear quickly when a group is shot, as each successive arrow bores a deeper hole. By not shooting tight groups the effect is reduced. If money allows, two bosses, one behind the other means they can be rotated independently of each other so "holes" rarely line up.
The life of two bosses together is far longer than double the life of one boss.

[greydog]

My guess would be it might condition someone to associate the point of aim with a miss.............but I don't believe this would happen provided you were concious of maintaining your point of aim as you executed the shot, if you are going to flinch or suffer from target panic, it is the concious aspect of aiming that needs to be brought under control, not where the arrow lands.

[geoffretired]

Thanks, Greydog. I can see the connection you are talking about. My hint/tip was about extending target life. It would not cure target panic. If someone had tp, they would not be worrying about extending target life.Don't I know it.
I'm glad you mentioned the association with aiming and ending with a miss. You are right, it does need to be understood. The good shots do need to be seen as the ones that land on line and the expected distance from the one before.

[cliveanne]

Carpet samples behind the boss works very well.
We used to use packing cases (Cardboard boxes to you) but the disposal turned out to be a problem.

[Bald Eagle]

We have our own banding tool and supply of foam, when the centre goes we dismantle the boss, put the middle to the edges and edges to the middle and re band, replacing foam strips as required

[cliveanne]

Originally Posted by Bald Eagle

We have our own banding tool and supply of foam, when the centre goes we dismantle the boss, put the middle to the edges and edges to the middle and re band, replacing foam strips as required

Lucky old you
I have to make do with 2 pairs of pliers in order to tighten my bands. I do have 2 long threaded rods running through the boss to take up the tension, in order to tighten the bands. I have yet to replace any foam strips & I've used these bosses (4 of 'em) for about 3yrs now.

[Murray]

Straw bosses... when they get a bit soft, try this:

1. Get a large can of expanding foam from a DIY shop (used for cavity wall insulation amongst other things), a couple of pieces of hardboard and a couple of pieces of plastic sheeting.
2. Wet the boss a little and lie it flat
3. Quickly: Spray the foam all around the boss
4. Quickly: Put on the plastic sheet and then the hardboard
5. Put something heavy on it (our equipment officer parks his van on it!) for a few hours
6. Remove the hardboard/plastic
7. Repeat on the other side

You now have a new boss! You will probably find bits of foam sticking to your arrows, but it comes off easily (no more difficult that other foam targets, and better than the glue in some straw targets!!)

Careful when doing this process as the foam sticks to EVERYTHING... DO THIS OUTSIDE.

We've shot bosses that were > 10 years old using this method.

[cliveanne]

That sounds great. Does it work with all typs of boss, or are you talking straw?

[Murray]

I've only ever tried it on straw.

[cliveanne]

I'll give it a try. We have about 3 bosses that are starting to "Bell out", when they get to that stage, we sell 'em off for back-garden shooting, fiver a time.
10yrs is a long time seems like there is a big saving there.

I wander if it works with the Stramit type of boss.
The centre I work at (When needed) have several that have not been looked after, they are getting very soft. I'll copy /paste the idea to an e-mail & send the it to them if you don't mind