Wish i could play with this!

I

Istobla

Newbie
So, we play packet archery rules, and yes it is not made entirely out of open cell foam, but it does fire packets.
Meh, i dont even play an archery type character anyway.
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what do you guys think, want to practice dodging? :twisted:

25 lb at 17 inch draw. roller lock trigger mechanism, the bow is two 1/4 inch rods i was going to use for a ultralight.
 
I want one...it really does look awesome, but sadly not legal.

By the way, crossbows must be made of CLOSED cell foam, not open...there are many different "hardnesses" of closed cell foam which could perhaps be used effectively for a "legal" version of this weapon. (Standard disclaimer: Local marshall rulings will override any suggestions made here.)

It did make me crank through some ideas for making something out of foam, but I checked the rules and it says, "No string is attached." That means you'd have to find some kind of non-"string" thing...perhaps using a hinged system? Hmm....more ideas.....
 
Warlok said:
I want one...it really does look awesome, but sadly not legal.

By the way, crossbows must be made of CLOSED cell foam, not open...there are many different "hardnesses" of closed cell foam which could perhaps be used effectively for a "legal" version of this weapon. (Standard disclaimer: Local marshall rulings will override any suggestions made here.)

It did make me crank through some ideas for making something out of foam, but I checked the rules and it says, "No string is attached." That means you'd have to find some kind of non-"string" thing...perhaps using a hinged system? Hmm....more ideas.....
Click to expand...

adjustable zip/paintball marker imbedded in closed cell foam? wouldn't pass, but would be an interesting build :)
 
What ever happened to putting caulking inside of pipe insulation? Did that officially get nixed at some point? Did it only get nixed for thrown weapons and javelins?

What I'm thinking is affixing pipe-foam arms up front with caulking inside and capped with more foam on the tips, then using the thin, rubbery, camp pad foam (it's the 1/4"-thick microcell-type stuff) for the "string". The same lever design could be used by carefully shaping a couple dowels out of pipe foam and using the really thin craft foam from the store (maybe double-thick) on the sides of the lever. As long as you make the stock sturdy enough (~3 layers of regular, thick, camppad foam glued together with DAP), and you always fired with the stock seated in your shoulder, you should at least come close to the letter of the rules.
 
As neat as that foam crossbow idea is, it explicitly does not work within the rules. We do representative weaponry for archery and only throwing the packets is allowed (NOT firing the packets off by any means) as stated on page 81 of the ARB:

Using the skill: When using a bow, the
arm holding the bow must be held straight out
and aimed at the target.A crossbow may be held
with arm bent, but must still be aimed at the
target. The arrow or bolt packet must be touched
to the bow/crossbow and then brought up to
the chin/shoulder area before being thrown. The
packet may be held at the chin/shoulder area
for as long as desired and then thrown. If the
packet leaves the chin/shoulder area, it must be
touched to the bow/crossbow again.
The archer must finish the damage verbal
before throwing the packet. If the packet is not
thrown, it is still consumed.
Click to expand...
 
All of those underlined "throw*" words are the reason it only comes "close"...you still end up touching the packet to the crossbow and bringing it near your shoulder/chin area, just not throwing it by your own hand.

All in all, I do like the way that packet archery works, because you can "carry" a relatively large number of "arrows" in a reasonable amount of space and the real-life cost is not that much.

On the other hand, it can never compare to having a real bow/crossbow and arrow/bolt and the skill required to get off a good shot in LARP combat.
 
Also, it's a darn shame nerf-style bolts and the like are a no-no, as are the weapons that fire them.

I have one that'll launch (safely) a standard Nerf arrow about 30 yards with accuracy, longer if I can get off shots from a height as the things actually have some aerodynamic properties. Sadly, the maker no longer is in business.

CrossBow.JPG


But packet archery isn't bad. Much higher firing rate, even if you can't get quite the distance a little mechanical assistance provides.
 
Come on, rise to the challenge, be creative. I am currently working on a bow like this:
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To fire packets. again, not for alliance per say but just to prove i can. The one i am using right now is made from to pieces of bamboo from a broken shinai.
it has less than a 5 pound draw and it still fires a packet fairly well, now i just need to figure out how to make a 20lb one. you have to give it a twist to avoid hitting your thumb. ill get pics up when i replace most of the duct tape with leather.
Packets have so many advantages over arrows and bolts. first for me being cost. for that alone i would like to use ether of these in a larp that uses bows. the first for a larp organizer is that it is safer than arrows. no bounce back or breaking arrows. this kind of bow could be made just by restringing a 30lb re curve or it can be scratch built. the cross bow, not so much.
 
Other systems which use live archery have a maximum pound-pull at a certain length (just as the horsebow is 26# @ 28") in order to limit the amount of power behind the arrows when they are loosed. They also generally require a short draw or half-draw when the target is within 10' or so. Failure to do so will result in a safety infraction, just like in our system.

As for the arrows, some systems require them to be blunt and made of closed cell foam, which makes them lose speed very quickly due to aerodynamics. Other systems require them to have open cell tips (thrusting tips), which make the impact much more manageable.

With regards to firing rate, being able to rapid-fire arrows is actually a skill that is taught and practiced in real life archery as well as LARP systems that use non-packet archery. The real issue I see for using non-packet archery is for times like our last weekend event when we went to go kill the BBG and four archers expended more than 1500 arrows during the course of our 5-hour battle (we had three duffel bags that we carried with us to hold all of the tags). There is no way that someone is going to bring that many REAL LARP arrows along in that type of situation, so arrows would either need to cause more damage or there would have to be rules in place to allow archers to collect their real arrows after each volley....and that would be terribly damaging to the flow of combat with holds being called every few minutes for arrow collection.

All of this leads me to wish for packet-firing bows/crossbows similar to what I described earlier and what was shown in other posts. In the meantime, I will continue to be happy with my mace-wielding, shield-bearing Dwarf and not have to worry about any of that other stuff :p
 
Heh, I was going to poke at that 1500 arrows & the need for quivers...then I realized I have a couple hockey duffel bags that by dimensions (of 24"x24"x64") would probably 'hold' in the neighborhood of 2000+ arrows.
 
24"x24"x64" is enough for 11,520 arrows :noway:

After expending so many arrows, we were concerned that there weren't going to be enough around to defend the town from even a minor threat...but then it was Logistics time and I triple batched to make 900 more at my workshop at an average of 8 silver per hundred. Crisis averted :p
 
hey, my names jon, i live in bradenton as well and am looking into getting into this, i just had a couple of questions, for one: were do u go to do this at? and if u might b able to help me get started.
 
blazedjedimaster said:
hey, my names jon, i live in bradenton as well and am looking into getting into this, i just had a couple of questions, for one: were do u go to do this at? and if u might b able to help me get started.
Click to expand...

Hi, you might try posting over in the new player section with an individual post rather than tacked onto an existing conversation in this forum. You'll probably get a lot more responses!

The first question to answer would be: where do you live?
 
markusdark said:
We just have to accept the fact that we play in a game that doesn't allow things that are marketed and sold to 7 year olds as safe to play with. ;)
Click to expand...

Apparently, adults (us, adults?) are more creative in figuring out methods to violate safety standards when playing. :)
 
Actually, I feel it is because a kid often doesn't care if he gets a small boo-boo while having fun. Meanwhile an adult will seek legal representation. :yes:
 
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