# Archery Tag - with real bows and padded arrows?



## Night Wing (Feb 4, 2009)

Hmm. This game is absolutely perfect for...... "Murphy's Law".


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## Warbow (Apr 18, 2006)

Night Wing said:


> Hmm. This game is absolutely perfect for...... "Murphy's Law".


Yeah, I'm not seeing any throat protection in the vids. I fence and I hate getting tagged in the throat. For historical rapier fencing I always wear a metal gorget. But maybe that is just be. Also, unlike paintball, what constitutes a hit is more debatable. Is a graze a hit? With paint ball it is easy, no paint no hit. If the ball doesn't break on you you are good to go.


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## Nam Nguyen (Jan 29, 2011)

I've thought about doing this with some friends. Been hit in the throat with a paint ball...its not the best feeling in the world lol


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## Warbow (Apr 18, 2006)

Nam Nguyen said:


> I've thought about doing this with some friends. Been hit in the throat with a paint ball...its not the best feeling in the world lol


Well, the arrows are pretty fat at the tip, so hopefully getting taged in the throat wouldn't be too bad. I wonder what the KE of a paint ball is compared to one of the blunts at Archery Tag? The website mentions something about patents, but I'm not sure what they have patented or plan on patenting. Foam blunted arrows are not a new idea. This is a foam blunt for SCA archers from North Star Archery:









However, the SCA has a lot of experience with blunt arrow safety, and they require blunts on both the tip *and* the fletching end to avoid impalement on either end during re-enactments (I don't know how you get impaled on the nock end but I assume it has to be a real issue or they wouldn't go to so much trouble). They call the back end blunting Anti Penetration devices and they are asymetrical attachments of foam or tubing. I've only just heard of them today upon looking up SCA arrows and I have no idea how well you can shoot an arrow with so much weird stuff on it:

http://home.comcast.net/~housechaos/APDs/APD_building.htm








Or this integrated APD with nock:








I guess the SCA takes safety seriously and above accuracy.


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## grantmac (May 31, 2007)

Warbow said:


> I guess the SCA takes safety seriously and above accuracy.


They really do. Moreover as an organization they tend to be run by the "contact" fighters and generally limit the effectiveness of the ranged combatants.
Last I heard they were actually in the process of removing archers due to safety concerns, but not as the result of any actual safety problems.
Keep in mind they also limit bows to [email protected]" and the archer has to wear some pretty awkward head-gear, not exactly a recipe for surgical accuracy.

-Grant


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## Clang! (Sep 29, 2007)

grantmac said:


> Keep in mind they also limit bows to [email protected]" and the archer has to wear some pretty awkward head-gear, not exactly a recipe for surgical accuracy.


30 lbs for the heavy fighters too, or just the light fighters? It looks like the rules have changed a lot since i shot with them.

Crossbow tag (Not the SCA)


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## voodoofire1 (Jan 24, 2006)

I got to see archery Tag first hand yesterday and talk with them too they are at the Wabash In R-100 right now, it looks like mucho fun, didn't get to play, but they had many young people and kids playing, safety gear was used too, bow weights are 40# max, and 30-35# recommended, they will be offering a complete setupo in the near future, and I intend to see what that actually entails later today..........Boy , what I wouldn't give to be in a game of this with some of the fellas on here,lol......


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## Warbow (Apr 18, 2006)

voodoofire1 said:


> I got to see archery Tag first hand yesterday and talk with them too they are at the Wabash In R-100 right now, it looks like mucho fun, didn't get to play, but they had many young people and kids playing, safety gear was used too, bow weights are 40# max, and 30-35# recommended, they will be offering a complete setupo in the near future, and I intend to see what that actually entails later today..........Boy , what I wouldn't give to be in a game of this with some of the fellas on here,lol......


Cool. Tell us how it goes. There's nothing quite like a first hand report. And TradForum archery tag is an amusing idea--not sure it would solve any arguments, though :embara: :wink:


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## voodoofire1 (Jan 24, 2006)

Well I went, but didn't have time to pick and brains at the archery tag setup, I didn't get to shoot 16 of the african targets yesterday as I was feeling kinda poor and the constant waiting in line so some of the fellas, and some ladies too, could group critique each and every shot with binos, didn't help, so I left the course to relax a bit and I shot the north american round today and finished up the african side too, time we got it done only had 10 min to turn in cards........and they had packed up by the time we got done and back over there..........


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## BowmanJay (Jan 1, 2007)

I am the Deputy for our Kingdom in the SCA for Target Archery and a very active combat archer. The SCA goes to great lengths to assure safety is paramount! There are inspections on top of inspections and bows and cross-bows are limited to poundage. I see a ton of problems with the general public going out and shooting each other like paintball. We have gone through many iterations of the baldur points from northstar to get them where they are today from a safety perspective. Also we do not allow archers to simply pick up ammo from the battlefield once it has been shot. It all needs to be re-inspected before getting shot again.


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## Warbow (Apr 18, 2006)

BowmanJay said:


> I am the Deputy for our Kingdom in the SCA for Target Archery and a very active combat archer. The SCA goes to great lengths to assure safety is paramount! There are inspections on top of inspections and bows and cross-bows are limited to poundage. I see a ton of problems with the general public going out and shooting each other like paintball. We have gone through many iterations of the baldur points from northstar to get them where they are today from a safety perspective. Also we do not allow archers to simply pick up ammo from the battlefield once it has been shot. It all needs to be re-inspected before getting shot again.


Our local SCA had their target archery shoot last weekend in SF. It was interesting to hear from one of the archers that in combat many of the heavy combatants hate archers and don't feel it is fair that for all of their equipment and training that they can be taken out by some mere archer. Now **that** is recreating history, right down to the resentment armored knights feel for archers


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