Whether this means a missed target or reduced score.
What do you say to yourself to buck yourself up or doesn’t it effect you?
What coping mechanism or strategies do you apply?
To be honest I really struggle with this in a big way and with the NFAS national championships in a few days I’m feeling less confident than ever.
Looking forward to your answers.
Over the last few weeks I’ve been doing some coaching with a couple of new archers down at the wood which has been great fun. Been good to get back to doing some coaching.
One of the students was asking about getting a practice boss for their garden and what to get, how much to spend etc. This got me thinking, dangerous I know.
Well, a while back I wrote a piece on setting up a practice boss and the safety considerations. (Here is the link if you are interested.)
This was based on a layered foam boss, but there are bag targets out there and a few months back I picked one up from Merlin archery store. You can see the Archery Adventures video review here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVx16sYH2JE) .
So I thought it a good time to write a review of how we have found it.
So why did I buy one of these?
We were after something we could use not just for the recurves and flat bows but also the compound. Whist at Merlin I got chatting to the guys about target bosses and how our old tuff butt had seen better days and we were looking to replace it. They showed me the then new mybo sureshot target boss range they had started to stock.
The staff demonstrated its stopping power by shooting a compound crossbow at about 5 yards into it. The result was about an inch or two of the bolt sticking out the back of the smallest boss. Not bad and a good demonstration of its stopping power.
First few arrows
Cost wise they aren’t bad. I believe replacement covers can be bought from Merlin.
90 cm are £75 and 70 cm are £49
There are three sizes are available. We have the mid range one. (70cm)
The mid range one isn’t to heavy, manageable by me to move round so can’t be that heavy as I’m not the strongest archer in the world. There are a couple of handles on top to make it easier to move. I’ve used these with some rope to tie ours in place.
The larger one needs a couple of people to move more due to the bulk than weight.
I’ve put ours on top of our current boss so you have a size comparison.
Mybo bag target
Initial tests are positive we’ve been using for a few months now shooting at it a couple of nights a week.
Arrows are easy to draw too.
Weave hasn’t frayed yet and the holes appear to close up quite well but can still be seen after drawing the arrows.
The arrows don’t penetrate too far at least from our recurve bows. Haven’t tried my compound yet as concentrating on practice with recurve for upcoming National champs in September.
Hole after drawing arrow.
I think it works well for a practice boss and has lasted well from repeated shots though I haven’t shot it with anything other than recurves and flatbows. Although I do think you need to occasionally to shake the bag up so that the contents resettle themselves (bit like when you fluff up a pillow)
Whilst I don’t think you could replace foam bosses with these for a shoot. I think they work well for practice at home or for a club indoor range potentially.
Top tip
One tip I would give is to get some heavy duty plastic sheets. I’ve got a load I use in the garden and when I’m not shooting at the boss I cover it to protect it from the worst of the British weather. It also helps prevent birds or other wildlife using it as a scratching or scent post.
I hope you find this useful and if you have one of these or experience of them then let me know. Please remember when setting up a target consider safety above all else.
Some of you maybe aware of Archery Adventures YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWB2b15Y_ufba2yTCdNTqZw) which produces archery related video reviews. It’s been going for a few years and built up quite an extensive library of videos.
The site recently became Merlin’s Archery Adventures as I think it’s now sponsored by Merlin archery by the looks of it. Here is their introduction and watch the out-takes at the end
The site is worth looking at as it contains some useful information and advice for archers of all disciplines. I’d just like to say good luck Grizzly Jim hope to see lots more excellent videos.
On the note of Merlin Archery, they are opening a new store in August and I’ve pinched this photo off their Facebook site.
My Archery Experiences 