BostonBullit Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Greetings all, I have a stage design that calls for a suspended wobbly platform; a mini bridge kind of design suspended by cable or chain. Thinking roughly 6' long and wide enough that people of all body types can turn to engage targets on either side. It has to be sturdy enough to handle a couple hundred shooters in a weekend. I'm thinking six 4x4 posts, 3 per side, boxed and cross braced for the frame. then a 2x4 box with 3/4" thick slats for the actual platform and some stair tread tape to keep it from getting slippery. it's been suggested that I use eye bolts and cable in a W pattern for suspension rather than chain at the corners to keep gamers from pinning the platform to stabilize it. I'd like to put it together with bolts as much as possible to make it a bit easier to move around if need be. So has anyone out there in Enos-land built something like this? have any pics to share? if you haven't built one have you shot a stage with something like it and if so what was your experience? thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toothandnail Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Build it like you want, put in the stage description how the shooter shoots from the platform (not touching any supporting structure) access penalties for doing otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 We have a local club that has one. Called the shaky bridge. Not as big as you are thinking but more than big enough for any shooter and still takes for guys to move it very far. Fills up the bed of my truck. Look for some videos of the Ohio state match. It was used on a stage shooting a modified "can you count". Some folks do just fine on it and others(typically older) can't get it to stop shaking. Wide stance and low center of gravity seems to be the key to stabilizing it. Make sure to tack on a fault line around the platform or a shooter can put a foot on the framing and still be legal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leas327 Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Google Rayners Range and give Tom a call. He built a beast, pretty heavy, maybe 4×8. It has Jeep? coil springs on the corners with stops in them. It is large and has a lot of movement but not out of control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BostonBullit Posted June 6, 2014 Author Share Posted June 6, 2014 Thanks guys, I'll hit the google machine and find video of the matches referenced. I think the coil spring one sounds cool but not mobile enough but I could be wrong... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austex Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 At the Cowtown Classic, they had a nice suspension bridge that had about a 4x8 shooting platform. Had lateral coil springs on each corner damping the sway, but it still moved enough to present a challenge. The shooting deck had fault lines within the perimeter, thus making contact with anything a fault while shooting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sperman Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 According to the last issue of front sight, any form of box is illegal in a long course, so you couldn't use your shaky bridge if it has fault lines around the perimeter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZackJones Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Search for Area 6 2014 videos on YouTube. I think the stage was called No one is home. We started on a wobbly platform on that stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BostonBullit Posted June 6, 2014 Author Share Posted June 6, 2014 At the Cowtown Classic, they had a nice suspension bridge that had about a 4x8 shooting platform. Had lateral coil springs on each corner damping the sway, but it still moved enough to present a challenge. The shooting deck had fault lines within the perimeter, thus making contact with anything a fault while shooting. that one is exactly what we're going for....actually the setup is very similar in terms of moving targets from the bridge, hope no one calls us plagiarists Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 (edited) According to the last issue of front sight, any form of box is illegal in a long course, so you couldn't use your shaky bridge if it has fault lines around the perimeter. I am so glad you brought this up! 1.1.5 says you can use shooting boxes in level I matches on short and medium courses only. The rule book also defines a shooting box as a small shooting area, generally square, made up of four connected fault lines. Question. What does USPSA consider small? What if a creative stage designer could set up a long course in a three sided bay and only wanted the shooter to shoot from the very center of the bay and makes a small shooting area, say 6' X 6'. Would that be considered a shooting box? Who determines when a small shooting area becomes a shooting box? And if the shakey bridge is not square, but is rectangular, does that not fit the definition of a shooting box? Edited June 6, 2014 by Sarge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BostonBullit Posted June 6, 2014 Author Share Posted June 6, 2014 I was going to bring that up as well Sarge; at what point does the transition from "box" to "free fire zone" take place? I guess if I were using my one interpretation it would be this: if I can take a full length step without leaving the area then it's not a "box". After taking the RO course last month I'll guess that if asked they will work in the concept of a "shooting position" where a box is small enough to really only allow one position. Under that unofficial interpretations the Ohio match linked above is using an unstable box where the Cowtown bridge is an unstable free fire zone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 I was going to bring that up as well Sarge; at what point does the transition from "box" to "free fire zone" take place? I guess if I were using my one interpretation it would be this: if I can take a full length step without leaving the area then it's not a "box". After taking the RO course last month I'll guess that if asked they will work in the concept of a "shooting position" where a box is small enough to really only allow one position. Under that unofficial interpretations the Ohio match linked above is using an unstable box where the Cowtown bridge is an unstable free fire zone I usually see fault lines running right up close to the bridge but not touching it. This way the shooter just jumps off the bridge into the free fire zone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sperman Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 We should probably move the "box" discussion to it's own thread, but I was very confused by Amidon's article. In a long course, does your shooting area have to be 1 continuous zone? If you have 2 zones, do they have to be non-rectangular in shape? JA's definition of a box seemed pretty broad to me. Nobody wants to run from this 4x4 box to the next 4x4 box, but what was described in the letter sounded pretty reasonable for a field course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freshrider Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 I've run into these a couple times in the past month or so. They had one in the Pikes Peak Shotgun Challenge that was REALLY wobbly. There was one in the New Dawn charity match that was more stable. It was a similar design but had springs connecting each corner of the platform to the frame. I can't post the video but here is a screen shot of the wobbly one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BostonBullit Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 Great stuff, thanks guys! something between the CowTown and the last screen capture from freshrider is probably what we'll end up with. Another local club used one at their match last weekend but no one has posted video yet and I wasn't there to see it in action. part of me wants to just borrow theirs but it would be cool to have one of our own so we can cause emotional distress to our shooters whenever we felt the need Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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