News:

We need volunteers in sales, marketing, PR, IT, and general "running of an organization." 
Maximize your Appleseed energy to make this program grow, and help fill the empty spots
on the firing line!  An hour of time spent at this level can have the impact of ten or a
hundred hours on the firing line.  Want to help? Send a PM to Monkey!

Main Menu

Youth Shooting Mats, MYO!

Started by RedFox24, April 17, 2014, 11:03:34 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

RedFox24

Make loaner youth shooing mats, heck make them for the old folks also!
CMP Link below

http://www.odcmp.org/0414/default.asp?page=PRONEMAT

"Preparedness is not an event.  It's a continuous process." 
Dr. Julie Gerberding, Director, CDC

SteelThunder

#1
I saw that email.  My first thought was "why would I want to spend $30 for materials for a mat that looks like an Girl-Scout-Craft-Project-Gone-Bad when Midway makes great mats for the same price?  Or their really nice one for $20 more?"

http://www.midwayusa.com/find?userSearchQuery=shooting+mat

NRA Patron Member, SAF Life Member
NRA Certified Rifle Instructor, RSO
Warlord of the West

Ultima vox civis
"Learning occurs only after repetitive, demoralizing failures." - Pat Rogers
"Silence in the face of evil is itself evil; God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
"So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart." - Tecumseh
"Never attribute to treachery, that which can adequately be explained by incompetence" - Bonaparte, Hanlon, et al

Charles McKinley

Or walk into wallyworld that sells fitness equipment. $23 no shipping on grrl-scout project.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Gold-s-Gym-36-x-78-Equipment-Mat/21672521

These have held up well through two season and waiting for the third to start.
Last evening, it occurred to me that when a defender of Liberty is called home, their load lands upon the shoulders of the defenders left behind. Just as the Founders did their duty for Liberty, every subsequent generation must continue their work lest Liberty perish. As there is no way for the remaining adults to take on the work of those that die, we must pass the ideals and duties on to the children. -PHenery

jmdavis

Because it is inexpensive for a folding mat. And folding mats have some advantage on the firing line. Chief among these is that you don't have to goof around with getting it flat. Since the kids shooting sporter air rifle in partiocular are generally shooting on concrete they need a mat and these make sense. You can fold a roll up mat, but it is not as convenient.

Here are commercial prices for folding matts from Creedmoor and champions choice

Creedmoor Deluxe Foldup: $94.95

Champion Shooter Supply: $89.95
"If a man does his best, what else is there?"  - General George S. Patton Jr

  ...We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
  For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
  Shall be my brother...-Shakespeare, Henry V
 

"There's a great deal of talk about loyalty from the bottom to the top. Loyalty from the top down is even more necessary and is much less prevalent. One of the most frequently noted characteristics of great men who have remained great is loyalty to their subordinates."
- General George S. Patton, Jr

"Your body can't go where your mind hasn't been."
- Alex Arrieta 1995 NTI Winner

hawkhavn

Or an old scrap piece of carpet, but I look for the inexpensive way out.
HH
Criticism is the only known antidote to error.  David Brin

What a nation has done, a nation can aspire to.
Dr. Jerry Pournelle

Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.

This is known as "bad luck."
---Robert Anson Heinlein

"Great things have been effected by a few men well conducted." - George Rogers Clark

"Appleseed is a safe place to learn because they care. They have the confidence and serenity of spring gardeners." 1IV on AR15.com

jmdavis

I used a scrap of carpet on the concrete at Ramseur for my first AS in 2008. I finished day one with scraped up elbows and banged up knees. On day 2 I put a blue closed cell under the carpet and bought an elbow pad for my left elbow. That made things much better.

Carpet and the like works fine as a temporary measure or on dirt or grass. But on gravel and concrete you want something more. You want your shooters focused on shooting, not their bleeding elbows or aching knees.

I have a creedmoor deluxe rollup mat with a light green top and white rubber. It is much nicer after a day of shooting in 100 degree temps and bright sun than a dark green and black mat. It has also lasted 3x as long as the midway mats that I used to buy (which tended to self destruct after a year or so of hard use. This one has been going strong for 3 years and shows no signs of failing in the near future. When I bought it it was a little more than 2x the midway mat (like 2.5x or so).
"If a man does his best, what else is there?"  - General George S. Patton Jr

  ...We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
  For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
  Shall be my brother...-Shakespeare, Henry V
 

"There's a great deal of talk about loyalty from the bottom to the top. Loyalty from the top down is even more necessary and is much less prevalent. One of the most frequently noted characteristics of great men who have remained great is loyalty to their subordinates."
- General George S. Patton, Jr

"Your body can't go where your mind hasn't been."
- Alex Arrieta 1995 NTI Winner

hawkhavn

That's a good option when you're committed to shooting all of the time. For the intro shooter, carpet and an elbow wrap out of my SB box works just fine.

HH


Criticism is the only known antidote to error.  David Brin

What a nation has done, a nation can aspire to.
Dr. Jerry Pournelle

Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.

This is known as "bad luck."
---Robert Anson Heinlein

"Great things have been effected by a few men well conducted." - George Rogers Clark

"Appleseed is a safe place to learn because they care. They have the confidence and serenity of spring gardeners." 1IV on AR15.com

RedFox24

Haha.  Last time I posted that Midway had their matts in sale all I got was post on how cheap they were made and how much a rip off shipping was.  Post this and it's how you can buy a cheap one easier than make one, or use something besides.a mat.

:wb:

Million ways to skin a cat, I know.   

:wb:

I think I will quit posting links and stuff to the forum.   :(
"Preparedness is not an event.  It's a continuous process." 
Dr. Julie Gerberding, Director, CDC

jmdavis

Post what you think is important. It will help some. And helping people should be what we are all about.
"If a man does his best, what else is there?"  - General George S. Patton Jr

  ...We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
  For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
  Shall be my brother...-Shakespeare, Henry V
 

"There's a great deal of talk about loyalty from the bottom to the top. Loyalty from the top down is even more necessary and is much less prevalent. One of the most frequently noted characteristics of great men who have remained great is loyalty to their subordinates."
- General George S. Patton, Jr

"Your body can't go where your mind hasn't been."
- Alex Arrieta 1995 NTI Winner

Charles McKinley

Hi RedFox,

Like Jim said post away.  If someone finds it useful that is what counts.   These mats will still be very light and blow around in the wind.

It did give me an ides to uses some of the camping mats that I already have, as to curl is irritating.   I have found some canvas material that I will combine this technique with and the material will hold grommets to steak it down.  If I had to buy the materials it would be cheaper to buy the mats than make them.

The black mats I linked to lay flat and are a bit heavier so they do not blow around as easily.  The down side is they are black and can get hot in the sun.

It is about finding what works for you and your budget and skill level/set.

See you on the trail!

Last evening, it occurred to me that when a defender of Liberty is called home, their load lands upon the shoulders of the defenders left behind. Just as the Founders did their duty for Liberty, every subsequent generation must continue their work lest Liberty perish. As there is no way for the remaining adults to take on the work of those that die, we must pass the ideals and duties on to the children. -PHenery

olefido

"I saw that email.  My first thought was "why would I want to spend $30 for materials for a mat that looks like an Girl-Scout-Craft-Project-Gone-Bad when Midway makes great mats for the same price?  Or their really nice one for $20 more?"

http://www.midwayusa.com/find?userSearchQuery=shooting+mat"


If I was going to shoot prone anymore, I would like to make a mat from the same material that GI shelter halves are made of  and some GI webbing. It will probably cost more than the mat Redfox posted about but will be cheaper than the Midway one. Not by much but cheaper. So why not just by the Midway mat and save myself the trouble? Because different people like different things. Just because YOU don't like a particular mat or project like this, don't be critical of the person who wants to do something different.
"That rifle on the wall of the labourer's cottage or working class flat is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays there." -George Orwell