boo radley Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 I sometimes design stages for a very small local match. Props are extremely simple; a couple barrels, a barricade or two, and target stands. I'm thinking of building one of those PVC swinger stands, per Ken Reed's plans, but wondered about an efficient and safe way to activate it.... There aren't any poppers that could be used to fall on the string-pulling out the stick-activating the swinger. Nor doors, with one end of the rope on the handle. And I'm a little leery of setting up a "trip wire." I'd appreciate any thoughts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 We've ran similar, as a shooter activated prop. Shooter starts with the rope in hand...pulls the rope at the start signal...then engages targets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boo radley Posted September 22, 2006 Author Share Posted September 22, 2006 Thx Flex -- that makes sense...It's probably a lot more fair, too, than having another squad member pulling the rope. <grin> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vlad Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 As opposed to a trip wire try a charge bar. I horizontal stick at about waist level hinged at one side attached to whatever. A couple of eye hooks on the stick and some rope and you can now activate targets with the shooter just walking "through" the stick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFD Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 What Vlad is talking about sounds like something that could easily be C-clamped to a barricade. It wouldn't be too difficult to build a simple 2X4 "gate support" that gets spiked to the ground either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPMartin Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 At different A1s I have seen dummies knocked over to activate props, bar gates across bridges, ropes you pulled that were attached to barrels, ropes thet the shooter had to pick up and pull. Even a Joystick from a WWII fighter plane....... Look around and use your imagination, that's part of the fun designing stages. RPM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grump Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 Weren't there some devices used in the '80s that essentially turned certain 36-inch square shooting boxes into oversize pushbutton switches that activated movers? I'm thinking a wooden box like a porch step, with a range of movement downward so even the 68-pound weakling Junior shooter's weight would move enough of a string to pull the pin on your gravity-run mover once he or shet steps into the box... Anyone have any ideas on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 You could put a screw-eye into a barricade, run a rope through that to the activator and tie a weight on the other end. As soon as the shooter drops the weight, the activator goes. If you want to do it after the start, tie a bucket on the end of the rope and make the poor shooter carry the weight around with them for a while.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrguar Posted September 24, 2006 Share Posted September 24, 2006 At different A1s I have seen dummies knocked over to activate props, bar gates across bridges, ropes you pulled that were attached to barrels, ropes thet the shooter had to pick up and pull.Even a Joystick from a WWII fighter plane....... Look around and use your imagination, that's part of the fun designing stages. RPM I shot a match several years ago where you had to reach into the plywood rear-end of a painted cow and help deliver a calf... which had a rope attached ... which activated a set of swingers...... This was of course after saving you amish friends from the radical femist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxshooter Posted September 24, 2006 Share Posted September 24, 2006 Shoot the stick out from under the swinger to activate it. Just have a good supply of sticks. Just kidding! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajg308 Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 Here is the pressure plate that we have at our club. Very easy to use and effective. There is a lot of force generated by this device. Very clever. http://www.randrracingonline.com/newstands.htm AG Weren't there some devices used in the '80s that essentially turned certain 36-inch square shooting boxes into oversize pushbutton switches that activated movers?I'm thinking a wooden box like a porch step, with a range of movement downward so even the 68-pound weakling Junior shooter's weight would move enough of a string to pull the pin on your gravity-run mover once he or shet steps into the box... Anyone have any ideas on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Norman Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 I shot a match several years ago where you had to reach into the plywood rear-end of a painted cow and help deliver a calf... which had a rope attached ... which activated a set of swingers......This was of course after saving you amish friends from the radical femist Ah for the good old days where we had a Scenario, not just there are 6 IPSC, 3 PP and 2 USP engage after entering the FFZ. The stages made at least a bit more sense and the story lines were definately fun (or funny) Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boo radley Posted September 25, 2006 Author Share Posted September 25, 2006 Ah for the good old days where we had a Scenario, not just there are 6 IPSC, 3 PP and 2 USP engage after entering the FFZ.The stages made at least a bit more sense and the story lines were definately fun (or funny) Jim I think "scenarios" require a very light and careful touch, IMO. My bias is, I think simply shooting targets is a sufficiently fascinating challenge to stand by itself. Folks can imagine whatever they like, if they need additional motivation or interest. The other problem is, I'm perverse enough to be annoyed when scenarios are created with traditional cliches at best, and at worse themes that can elicit some racist or ugly comments from participants. When I create scenarios, they're something along the lines of: "You're a UN medic trying to deliver insulin to a dying child in Sudan..." or: "You're selling cartons of cigarettes illegally, out of the trunk of your car, when a customer returns with his friends, and ill-intent!" <grin> All that said, I really like some of the ideas for activation here. Using a dropped weight, as Roy suggests, might be perfect, and eminently fair for all shooters. Now I just have to find time to build the swinger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grump Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 I think "scenarios" require a very light and careful touch, IMO.My bias is, I think simply shooting targets is a sufficiently fascinating challenge to stand by itself. Folks can imagine whatever they like, if they need additional motivation or interest. The other problem is, I'm perverse enough to be annoyed when scenarios are created with traditional cliches at best, and at worse themes that can elicit some racist or ugly comments from participants. When I create scenarios, they're something along the lines of: "You're a UN medic trying to deliver insulin to a dying child in Sudan..." or: "You're selling cartons of cigarettes illegally, out of the trunk of your car, when a customer returns with his friends, and ill-intent!" <grin> All that said, I really like some of the ideas for activation here. Using a dropped weight, as Roy suggests, might be perfect, and eminently fair for all shooters. Now I just have to find time to build the swinger. So, how many stages have been designed that replicate the Texas Tower massacre? Rifle stage at the beginning, up a buncha stairs, through the barricade.... Well, maybe not quite as many stairs. I designed one club stage from a scene in Predator II. I think everybody got full-score hits (was using NRA D-1s), but the times to draw from the briefcase were all over the map. <grin> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFD Posted September 26, 2006 Share Posted September 26, 2006 "scenarios" make me want to pack up and go home. Anybody have a pic of one of those activators where a weight is dropped in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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