Slingshot Rifles

[Wolfdog91]

Ok so last three years I've seen these deals popping up from Asian countries a lot on the social medias. At first they where kinda crude home made deals really just being made to fire small rocks or ball bearings. Really all that was required usually was the basics for a sling shot and some nails and a rod of some sort like these
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And people where using them mainly for shooting cans and birds and small game. Well after a while they evolved and became a bit more mainstream and refined. Few companies actually started selling pre fabbed ...trigger ?...gripper ? .. assemblies
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Well now their apparently kinda popular now . There's a lot of refined factory offering that have stock optics,lasers , cocking assisted and what I've seen alot is accessories for fishing similar to how you'd do a bow fishing deal
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Looks goofy as all get out but when you live in countries like these where getting an actual gun of any kind or even a bow is illegal or highly restricted guess it's an interesting solution

https://youtu.be/JVL15xQoatc?si=hu4SM9fEqlWl7v_6

Sent from my motorola edge 5G UW (2021) using Tapatalk

[Nobade]

Where there is a will, there is a way. Bullet firing crossbows have been around a long time and this is just the modern adaptation of that. They do work and are quiet. Thanks for posting the pictures, I had no idea they had evolved as far as they have.

[Wayne Smith]

I'll have to look into those. Might be my solution to protecting my blueberries in the back yard.

[country gent]

Interesting and would be a lot of fun.
If I remember correctly the english cross bow were set up to fire a steel bolt about 5-6" long . this would penetrate better

[white eagle]

I wonder if they will call that archery as well

[johnzx6r]

Great. Something else I didn't even know I needed to have until now.

[G W Wade]

Guess that just proves we will shoot anything. GW

[Recycled bullet]

Those are pretty cool looks like a modern interpretation of a stone bow or ballester mixed with a speargun. I like all those things they make out of bamboo some of them they make the bullets out of bamboo how cool is that ! I saw one where the guy had a wooden shield on the gun protecting his eyes and face from the prod or elastic in case of a failure. It was piece of plywood mounted on the stock with a hole cut that he would look through the hole to line up the sights.

I imagine it'd be pretty exciting when the prod or band breaks.

I shoot my daisy slingshot across my chest to avoid that, also increases draw length to shoot the lead balls at a higher velocity.

I imagine that the stone bow will be much more accurate than a slingshot. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240224/cc061aeb3fb4b65ebc05acf17cb892d1.jpg

[GhostHawk]

Well that is IMO about the slickest fishing system I've seen.

It would certainly work for taking feeding or shallow water carp from the muddy water of the Red River of the North in Fargo ND.

Good post!

[.429&H110]

I have a speargun, great sport on striped bass.
Two feet of stainless steel has momentum to go through water.
It's like bowhunting fish...
But for flounder I used a Hawaiian sling with a triple tine.

It's all illegal in NJ

[Mk42gunner]

It beats the heck out me holding my brand new wrist rocket at arms length and having my buddy pull the marble in the pouch about a foot behind my shoulder. We were about twelve or thirteen at the time.

No idea just how far they flew, but they were still on a rising trajectory when they flew over the house at the end of the road, about ¼ mile away.

Robert

[beemer]

I had one of those slingshots that was cut out of a board. One of the prongs broke and hit me just over my eye, at 8 yo I didn't realize how lucky I was. Did have a good shiner for a while. After that all I would use was a piece of seasoned Dogwood fork.

Some of that stuff looks like an accident looking for a place to happen.

[Milky Duck]

so its pretty much just adaption of a speargun used for diving...very clever all the same.
177 air rifle works for blackbirds in back yard,cant see this "new thing" being any better.

[imashooter2]

It beats the heck out me holding my brand new wrist rocket at arms length and having my buddy pull the marble in the pouch about a foot behind my shoulder. We were about twelve or thirteen at the time.

No idea just how far they flew, but they were still on a rising trajectory when they flew over the house at the end of the road, about ¼ mile away.

Robert

Marbles would shatter on a box car. Made a satisfying thump.

[45workhorse]

Marbles would shatter on a box car. Made a satisfying thump.

Hickory nuts would do the same just not as accurate!

[imashooter2]

It would be a lot cheaper too, unfortunately the availability of hickory nut ammunition is very dependent on location. [smilie=l:

[MrWolf]

I have a speargun, great sport on striped bass.
Two feet of stainless steel has momentum to go through water.
It's like bowhunting fish...
But for flounder I used a Hawaiian sling with a triple tine.

It's all illegal in NJ

Everything is illegal in NJ. Having a slingshot is a felony. Move out while you can. Best move I ever made. Took me 57 years to finally leave.

[.429&H110]

In NJ "Little David's Sling" is legal.
They don't want to outlaw a thong.

[challenger_i]

My girlfriend has a double-barrel slingshot One could launch cantaloupes with...

[rockrat]

I had a slingshot I cut out of an oak board. Worked well till one of the arms broke off, but only hit me in the cheek. Still left a mark on my cheek. Took awhile to staunch the bleeding.

[Hannibal]

My girlfriend has a double-barrel slingshot One could launch cantaloupes with...

Funny you should mention that. A couple of decades ago at the RRd yard a couple of guys were launching water balloons with a brasserie. Didn't take long for a window to become a casualty.

It's all fun and games until.....

[challenger_i]

Lol!!!!


funny you should mention that. A couple of decades ago at the rrd yard a couple of guys were launching water balloons with a brasserie. Didn't take long for a window to become a casualty.

It's all fun and games until.....

[1Hawkeye]

Those first two pictures look like something Fred Flintstone would take to the range. I may have to try and build one.

[challenger_i]

For funsies, I did a Giggle search on DIY slingshot rifles: THAT is a serious rabbit hole! :)

[elmacgyver0]

Funny you should mention that. A couple of decades ago at the RRd yard a couple of guys were launching water balloons with a brasserie. Didn't take long for a window to become a casualty.

It's all fun and games until.....

That reminded me of an old Beverly Hillbilly episode of Elly May running around with a bra strung up on a forked stick saying look Pa a double barrel slingshot!

[Hannibal]

That reminded me of an old Beverly Hillbilly episode of Elly May running around with a bra strung up on a forked stick saying look Pa a double barrel slingshot!

Perhaps that's where the idea originated.

People will never cease to amaze me.

[W.R.Buchanan]

OK I've been into slingshots since I was 8 years old and my mother wouldn't let me have a BB gun cuz she was afraid I'd get into trouble with it? She bought me a Whamo Sling Shot one Saturday for $1.50. I still have it!

The thing came with instructions on how to shoot it accurately, and I killed more birds shooting marbles than I ever did with my BB gun that came a few years later. I was banned from the Slingshot/Beer Bottle shoot at Circus Circus in Vegas when we went there for vacay in 1962. You had to shoot beer bottles from 15 feet away with marbles and Whamo Slingshots. Not a tough shot!

I won Three Mega Bears before they shut me out. Gave them all to pretty girls, I was 12 at the time!

The kicker on all sling shots or devices of a similar nature is that when drawn the bands must be "Exactly the Same Length," or the shot will be Skewed one way or another. The best way to hold the yoke is sideways so differences in draw length only affect elevation and not windage. The optimum draw length on bands is 6:1

I have had a Slingshot Rifle on the drawing board for many years always looking for a decent Trigger Mechanism to copy. Mine will use 1/2" Surgical Tubing and will be built to shoot my .662 12 ga. 1 oz. round balls or 1/2-5/8" ball bearings.

The "Shot Car" itself, AKA the "Pouch," will be on a track and will be made of Hard Plastic and have a Tapered hole in the front face that the ball rides in. This will insure a "Perfect Release" for every shot.

The whole Idea here is to make something that will actually do some damage. I figure if I can get 250-300 fps out of it I will have something useful out to 50+ yards.

Like mentioned above You tube has lots of these devices shown and some are pretty ingenious. All of them work better than a Hand Held Sling Shot.

Also had visions of a Golf Ball Gun using butane for propellant. I already have targets in mind for that gun! (AssClowns?)

Randy

[Kestrel4k]

Honestly my skin crawls when I think about what one of those broken bands would feel like on the face.

Thanks, but I'll stick with safer activities - like loading Blue Dot in .308Win.

[W.R.Buchanan]

That reminded me of an old Beverly Hillbilly episode of Elly May running around with a bra strung up on a forked stick saying look Pa a double barrel slingshot!

On a similar note; I got lucky with Elly May at a party off the Sunset Strip in 1968 ! Yes I did!, and I Remember it like it was last Tuesday, I was 18! One of the high points of my life!

Randy

[AnthonyB]

A gentleman never tells, but can you define "lucky" a little more? I'm jealous already...
Tony

[catmandu]

I just noticed in the one pic - he’s shooting a kitchen knife. Things just got serious….

[2TM101]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240224/eefbee0189a1c3f9705bc478c3fdecbe.jpg

I have two of these - one with a red dot and the other with open sights. Next time I am at the range I will be chronographing stuff and I'll bring these along to see what they actually do. This one is a single flat band mine use four round bands. I typically fire .36 round ball made with contaminated lead.

[2TM101]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240224/eefbee0189a1c3f9705bc478c3fdecbe.jpg

I have two of these - one with a red dot and the other with open sights. This one is a single flat band mine use four round bands. I typically fire .36 round ball made with contaminated lead.

As I can actually chronograph these in my own yard I may have numbers for you in the next couple of days

[2TM101]

For funsies, I did a Giggle search on DIY slingshot rifles: THAT is a serious rabbit hole! :)

Potato guns are also a thing. Problem in that case is that they are often made of PVC and then overpressurized and ...fail

Bowling ball cannons deliver something like 28,000 Ft-Lb

[Nobade]

This reminds me of the time I was up in the cheap seats at RFK stadium watching Edie Brickell open for the Dead and way down in the grass all the way across the field on the sidelines these people had a giant slingshot made of surgical tubing and a funnel. A person each held an end of the tubing and functioned as the frame for the slingshot, and the third guy cocked and fired it. The pouch was a big funnel. They fired a water balloon however far that is and scored a direct hit on me and my buddy. I was mightily impressed with that shot and glad to get wet to beat the heat that day.

[MarkP]

The little seeds (balls) from a Linden tree are about 0.36 to 0.38" in diameter. I won a cork pistol at a carnival that shot them about 60' or so.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Potato guns are also a thing. Problem in that case is that they are often made of PVC and then overpressurized and ...fail

Bowling ball cannons deliver something like 28,000 Ft-Lb

One of the guys in my gun Club has a Bowling Mall Mortar. With 3 oz. of Black Powder it will shoot a 16 lb ball nearly out of sight strait up. He proof tested it at Coalinga with 1 lb of Black Powder and it shot the ball 1 1/8 Miles. The thing is made out of a 2 ft long piece of Cro-Moly Tubing, with a 3/4" wall thickness. Pretty sure it would survive a pound of Bullseye.

That's me pulling the String of the Blasting Cap he uses to set it off.

Lots of the balls fired end up on the backside of the hill in the background, that is about 400 yards to get past the top of the hill.

Randy

[imashooter2]

Regards the broken band concerns… as long as your face is farther from the release mechanism than the relaxed band length, it can’t hit you. You might take a whip to your arm, perhaps some crazy things might happen with the bolt or ball, but your face is out of range.

[Cap'n Morgan]

Regards the broken band concerns… as long as your face is farther from the release mechanism than the relaxed band length, it can’t hit you. You might take a whip to your arm, perhaps some crazy things might happen with the bolt or ball, but your face is out of range.

I once had the pouch of a slingshot snap where the band was fastened. The now uneven pull rotated the fork in my hand and caused me to lose my grip, sending the fork flying right back and splitting my upper lip. I had to come up with a story of a wrench slipping when the doc asked me what had happened. He then gave me two stitches (without anesthesia, as they were fresh out of the stuff) According to science, the lips are the most sensible part of our body - I can attest to that!

[Duckiller]

Wayne you need a net to protect your blueberrys. I hae not gotten any thing off my backyard plants. Some thing/some one eats them an they ripen. Neoghbor lady's family raises blueberrys comerciaqlly. They use nets to protect their plants.

[imashooter2]

I once had the pouch of a slingshot snap where the band was fastened. The now uneven pull rotated the fork in my hand and caused me to lose my grip, sending the fork flying right back and splitting my upper lip. I had to come up with a story of a wrench slipping when the doc asked me what had happened. He then gave me two stitches (without anesthesia, as they were fresh out of the stuff) According to science, the lips are the most sensible part of our body - I can attest to that!

I can see that happening, but we are talking about slingshot “rifles” here.

[Wayne Smith]

Wayne you need a net to protect your blueberrys. I hae not gotten any thing off my backyard plants. Some thing/some one eats them an they ripen. Neoghbor lady's family raises blueberrys comerciaqlly. They use nets to protect their plants.

We tried nets, without equipment netting a 12ft high, 10ft wide blueberry is impossible. And that is one plant of four. I just got a simpleshot slingshot. Much easier to be accurate with that than the old wrist rocket.

[bgmkithaca]

These slingshot contraptions stirred up a memory. Myself and several boys that I knew as a kid were making "rock guns" 65 years ago as we called them. They were pretty crude but worked.