Slingshot ammo advice

[ghh3rd]

My 13 yr old son asked me if I could make some ammo for his slingshot. It's just a cheap $7 Wally World special, not too powerful, and I'm not sure what weight ball would be appropriate. Any molds out there for slingshots?

Nice thing is that he said that he would do the casting if I get the mold. Never know, he may get more interested in what I'm doing in the man cave.

Randy

[deltaenterprizes]

Round balls

[2wheelDuke]

I don't think there's a specific mold for slingshots, but there's round ball molds of all sorts of sizes.

I used to shoot alot of glass marbles from the slingshot as a kid.

Something like the .350 roundball should hit pretty hard out of a slingshot, and the mold is cheap, you can get them under $20 before shipping.

[zuke]

Dollar store marble's.

[10 ga]

Mechanic shop ball bearings, dollar store marbles, "mix" marbles out of spray paint cans, bag of buckshot from reloading suppliers, ie anything from #4 buck to 000 buck will work. A "pinch" of air rifle BB shot for a shotgun effect. If you want to cast them get a .38- .40- .45 cal round ball mould.

.50, .58 and .69 roundball is more adult size sling shot ammo. They can do "real damage", Don't ask how I know. 10 ga

[ghh3rd]

It seems the smallest mold available is .301 or .310 which is about 45 grains, about the size of an average .22 bullet. Perhaps I could pull a few and see how they launch from his slingshot to see how well they travel.

[qajaq59]

I can tell you that roughly 30 cal ball bearings can be pretty lethal. We used them as kids because Dad was a mechanic and we got them for nothing.

[steg]

Until I got a .360 round ball mold, I was using 140 gr WC, in 38 caliber, they fit the pouch well, flew good, and caused alot of damage when they hit...............steg

[JIMinPHX]

We always either used marbles or 3/8" steel balls fro an industrial supply store.

If I were going to buy a mold for a sling shot, I'd first decide what caliber of cap & ball revolver I might want some day & then get a mold in that size. .454" seems to be one of the most popular. .457 is probably right after that. Then there are the .32's.

.433" balls make good gallery loads for a .44 mag too.

As was already said, a buckshot mold might be a good choice too, especially if the sling shot is low in power.

[qajaq59]

If I were going to buy a mold for a sling shot, I'd first decide what caliber of cap & ball revolver I might want some day & then get a mold in that size. Now there's a guy that thinks ahead..... :mrgreen:

[gunsablazin]

9mm brass works pretty well, flies true, and hits hard.

[geargnasher]

I'd probably lean toward a buckshot mould, 000 probably. Used to hunt cotton tails as a kid with a wrist rocket and a sack of buckshot. Pretty lethal on little critters. Never tried wadcutters, I bet they make a buzzing sound in the air.

Gear

[Bret4207]

I had a bag of .40 cal RBs once that worked real good, but 45's seemed to work even better. I'd use 45's if I could get them.

[theperfessor]

Ghh3rd-

Pm me - I might have just what you're looking for cheap.

[ricksplace]

My mom, bless her soul, was being bothered by a cat peeing on her back step. She asked me if I had a slingshot. She said "I used to be pretty good with one of those things". I gave her a wrist rocket and about 15 50cal round balls. About two days later, she called me in tears. She let fly at the cat with the intention of scaring it away from the yard. Apparently. the cat was about 20 yards away when mom let fly. You guessed it. Right in the back of the head. 50cal round ball death ray.

[redneckdan]

1/4" jig head molds work. pretty well knocks the stupid out of feral cats....[smilie=s:

[Johnch]

Do It makes a sling shot ammo mold http://www.do-itmolds.com/prodmolds.aspx?c=88

But for a low power sling shot , marbles are hard to beat
Unless you have acess to iron pellets , Taconite pellets
They are round and decently heavy

They ship them out of Toledo to the foundreys

As a kid a neibor worked the docks
He would bring us home 5 gallon buckets of them

I would hate to think how many birds and rabbits were felled by them
And a few windows

John

[qajaq59]

Boy, I guess we all had a sling shot as kids. Are they even legal for kids now?

[No_1]

Find a 30 cal mould. Can always use it later to make "cat sneeze" ammo with any 30 cal rifle when he is ready to progress further.

R.

[madsenshooter]

The bigger the better, up to a point. I use .270 round balls, you can't see where they're hitting and you wind up blowing off a lot of them. I'd say 3/8" , up to 45 ought to be about right.

[rockrat]

I purchased a Lee .380" mould for my 38-55 and tried a few in my wrist rocket. Worked pretty good

[MT Gianni]

For the cost of rb Lee molds you ought to have one in every cal you shoot from 30-54.

[Mk42gunner]

Like others I shot a lot of marbles out of my sling shots and wristrockets as a kid. I always thought a .40 caliber lead roundball was the best ammo for mine.


Robert

[JIMinPHX]

Boy, I guess we all had a sling shot as kids. Are they even legal for kids now?

Not legal in NJ. The laws in that ***** state are so messed up that it's even illegal for a cop to be in position of a slingshot that he just confiscated, while he transports it back to the evidence room.

According to Nappen, he thinks that the law is a misprint & that it was intended to regulate slugshots, not slingshots, but the law still sits on the books in NJ making Dennis the Menes into a felon. Even if that law did regulate slugshots rather than slingshots, the way that it is written is still completely insane. Those "legislators" in NJ are incompetent at best. In all actuality, they are probably something far worse than incompetent.

[casterofboolits]

The best rubber for a Y fork slingshot was the red rubber inner tubes (from my Great Uncle's Model T) and the tounges from Grandma's old lace up shoes for the pouch. Find that perfect fork, peel the bark off and let it dry close to the wood cooking stove in the kitchen. A nickel or dime bag of marbles and I was in heaven in the hollars of Kentucky.

Always carried an extra set of rubber bands and pouch in case something broke.

[Shiloh]

Dollar store marble's.

They work GREAT.

Ball bearings if they can be found used or on the cheap. Good wrist rocket ammo.

SHiloh

[Artful]

Wow you kids must have come from rich side of town - out in the country we just went to the creek and picked up smooth creek pebbles in the size of our choosing - price was right and worked well. And as I recall David told Goliath that they would work.

[qajaq59]

As we got older we also tried the slings as opposed to sling shots. Man, we could throw a good size rock half way across the river with those. But couldn't aim 'em worth a snit. It was always "Look Out" when we were fooling with those. LOL

[cptinjeff]

yeah.....I don't ever remember buying ammo either. We used these semi round balls (not sure but I think along the lines of iron) balls that you could find along the RR tracks about marble size. Any time your sack got low you just went to the RR track and filled it back up.

[MtGun44]

Have you ever tried a SLING? Not a slingshot with rubber bands, but a real old
David vs Goliath type of sling?

We made some as kids and man, these things are impressive. You can move out a
hens egg sized rock at a heck of a velocity. After a week or two of practice you could
hit a 18" target at 30-40 yds about 2 out of three times. Pretty powerful and challenging
to even get it in the right half of the world at first. With time and practice you would
NOT want to stand out there at 50 yds.

Bill

[cptinjeff]

Boy, I guess we all had a sling shot as kids. Are they even legal for kids now?

I just happened to look this up about a month ago. I was trying to see if it was legal to practice with my bow in the back yard (I've been doing it for years but just now started to wonder if was legal?). Didn't see any reference to bow and arrow but my township laws say you can't discharge a gun in town and it included slingshots. Also said a minor could not posses a slingshot in town. What is this world coming to?

[cptinjeff]

Have you ever tried a SLING? Not a slingshot with rubber bands, but a real old
David vs Goliath type of sling?

We made some as kids and man, these things are impressive.
Bill

How did you make them? What materials?

[Mk42gunner]

How did you make them? What materials?

Jeff,

As I understand it, they are very simple. A pouch to hold the shot, and two lengths of cord, one slightly shorter than the other. In use you hold both cords while spinning the sling, then releas the shorter one at the right time.

I also have heard that you really want to practice in the middle of a large plowed field, so you don't break anything important while learning.

I have read that the Roman army had companies of slingers, some of whom cast lead shot marked as to which company the shot came from.

You could probably find more accurate info by googling it.


Robert

[Artful]

How did you make them? What materials?

two boot shoe laces and the tongue of an old boot worked well as a Kid.

http://slinging.org/index.php?page=making-a-simple-sling-an-illustrated-guide

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Sling

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yourself/1985-05-01/Making-and-Using-a-Venerable-Hand-Sling.aspx

http://www.pipeline.com/~jburdine/

problem we found with a sling is it didn't work in dense woods well - slingshot ruled there.

[MtGun44]

I used a set of leather boot laces (bought new for about 50 cents back then) and
stitched up a heavy canvas pouch. One leather had a small loop, and I hooked my
right ring finger thru it to retain the whole thing when you released the other end.
Adjust the length of the two laces by gripping them so the pouch is centered, then
load a rock in the pouch. Seems like we used about 24" long thongs, actual working
length. Too light a rock and you can't keep the sling swinging properly.

My technique (as much as I remember about it 50 yrs later!) was to hold the loaded pouch
in my left hand, both wrists above shoulder level, thongs stretched tight behind my head.
Releasing the left hand while simultaneously whipping the right arm & wrist gave serious
velocity and the timing of the release of the free end set the trajectory. Lots of fun for cheap.

Good luck.

Bill

[cptinjeff]

Thanks guys!!!

I looked up a bunch of stuff on slings last night. It is a lot less complicated than I was thinking!


Ok next question:kidding:anyone care to post targets to prove accuracy?:kidding:


I saw alot of stuff on range with these things but not many accuracy claims. Obviously the more your practice the better you can get. I've always had a David and Goliath interest in these things but never really checked it out. Probably read enough to cure my curiosity for a while....but might have to make one suitable for tennis balls just for grins.

[redneckdan]

yeah.....I don't ever remember buying ammo either. We used these semi round balls (not sure but I think along the lines of iron) balls that you could find along the RR tracks about marble size. Any time your sack got low you just went to the RR track and filled it back up.


This is what taconite looks like http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/TaconitePellet.JPG/800px-TaconitePellet.JPG

I find it every once in a while along the rail road grades near marquette area. It's pretty much iron laced pottery.

[scrapcan]

And if you are not as cheap as using rocks, one can use 1/4 to 3/8 inch nuts from the hardware store. A bag of 100 cheap import fasteners is pretty cheap and can be found everywhere. Heck one might even go bigger if they want.

[blackthorn]

There is an interesting article on making slingshots and hand moulded clay slingshot ammunition beginning on page 36 in the Sept/Oct issue of “The Backwoodsman” magazine. More information on this publication can be found at: (www.backwoodsmanmag.com) why waste lead that can be made into bullets? Have a great day!!

[2wheelDuke]

I'd probably lean toward a buckshot mould, 000 probably. Used to hunt cotton tails as a kid with a wrist rocket and a sack of buckshot. Pretty lethal on little critters. Never tried wadcutters, I bet they make a buzzing sound in the air.

Gear

WC boolits do make a cool buzzing sound as they fly.

[BABore]

This is what taconite looks like http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/TaconitePellet.JPG/800px-TaconitePellet.JPG

I find it every once in a while along the rail road grades near marquette area. It's pretty much iron laced pottery.

I shot buckets of those iron ore pellets. Used to stop by the ore docks down in Wells (Escanaba), MI. They poured out of the ore cars and filled the RR tracks. Every couple years they'd scrape the trackbed to recover them as they got too deep.

Cheap shooting. I put more than a couple right through snowshoe wabbits on broadsides. Talk to Lloyd Smalle. You might be able to con him out of a few FR boxes for the postage.

Off topic, but I once toured a iron ore plant in Soo, MI. They pour the molten iron ore into a 20 foot diameter vessel that must be 100 foot long. It's tilted at a 15 degree or so angle and spins slowly. The inside is lined with refractory bricks. As the ore slowly solidifies, it rolls itself into these small balls as it goes down the tube. There's a couple guys watching through viewing windows keeping an eye on things. If the molten ore should build up and stick to the bricks, it would pull them loose and shut down the whole operation. One guy was armed with a 10 ga pump and fired zinc slugs. The other manned a #2 bore punt gun with even bigger zinc slugs. They would blast off any pellets/ore that stuck to the bricks. What a job!:bigsmyl2:

[Artful]

Thanks guys!!!

I looked up a bunch of stuff on slings last night. It is a lot less complicated than I was thinking!


Ok next question:kidding:anyone care to post targets to prove accuracy?:kidding:


check youtube for some good idea

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLSQ5wjYBSo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGIcCRJGYug

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NshtEe_TsRA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRcCg2aqUYI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfI-3Ty3AAM

[ghh3rd]

I remember seeing that video about Rufus and his slingshot... amazing accuracy with "unsized" rocks :-)

[cptinjeff]

This is what taconite looks like http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/TaconitePellet.JPG/800px-TaconitePellet.JPG

I find it every once in a while along the rail road grades near marquette area. It's pretty much iron laced pottery.


Yep....thats the stuff I used for years....still amazed at the wealth of infor here!

Artful,

Thanks again...I'll check em out this evening!

[twotoescharlie]

second on the doi-it mould, mine makes 2 differenr sizes.

TTC

[BAGTIC]

THIS FELLOW MAKES MACHINED CAVITY BUCKSHOT MOLDS IN SIZES UP TO #0000 [.380"]

Http://cgi.ebay.com/000-Buckshot-Lead-Mold-Shotgun-Reloading-Buck-Shot-/220667339788?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3360cc640c

They look like the DO-IT molds. I have a Do-IT slingshot mold and a DO-IT splitshot mold and the multiple cavities make casting very fast. The secret is to NOT cut the sprues off. It will ineviably leave a 'tail'. TWIST them off and they will break close to the ball especially if casting from wheelweights.

[shooting on a shoestring]

Ricksplace "My mom, bless her soul, was being bothered by a cat peeing on her back step. She asked me if I had a slingshot. She said "I used to be pretty good with one of those things". I gave her a wrist rocket and about 15 50cal round balls. About two days later, she called me in tears. She let fly at the cat with the intention of scaring it away from the yard. Apparently. the cat was about 20 yards away when mom let fly. You guessed it. Right in the back of the head. 50cal round ball death ray. "

Now that's the funniest thing I've read or heard all day.

[wistlepig1]

My mom, bless her soul, was being bothered by a cat peeing on her back step. She asked me if I had a slingshot. She said "I used to be pretty good with one of those things". I gave her a wrist rocket and about 15 50cal round balls. About two days later, she called me in tears. She let fly at the cat with the intention of scaring it away from the yard. Apparently. the cat was about 20 yards away when mom let fly. You guessed it. Right in the back of the head. 50cal round ball death ray.
Great story, I told my wife this story and she is still laughen!:wink:

[Artful]

Sorry had to go to work

http://slinging.org/index.php?page=how-to-build-and-use-a-traditional-apache-sling---l-w-forsyth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHXCd4eCrxk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaIT9HcnVqg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmIS1-kQFHo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fc_rAly4oLY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72cIgoZ7wNU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXD1b3PN63Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yLBBwDqyPE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqZguQCgsvA


and for those into extreame
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6ZfTd4zRfE

[NoDakJak]

In the late sixties a co-worker had a large, powerful slingshot that he had machined out of a slab of aluminum. He used ball bearings as projectiles when hunting Jackrabbits and colected a few. As we left the shop one morning he realized that he had no bearings so grabbed a handfull of large "Castellated Nuts" out of the parts bin. They certainly made interesting projectiles. They made the dangdest buzzing that you ever heard. And what a tragectory! They were large enough that often you could see them in the air. You never knew which direction they were going to fly. One short hunt with these was enough and he quickly resorted to pebbles until he could get more bearings. Neil

[ghh3rd]

When I was about 13 we moved to Japan (Air Force). In one of my trips off the base I found they were selling Pachinko machines for 1000 YEN and 1000 balls for 1000 YEN ($2.78 back then) I bought 2000 balls. The balls were stainless steel and just under 1/2" wide. Not a bad deal for under $10.00 total.

After the machine wore out in the 70's, lets just say that I found another use for those 2000 steel balls -- they are well spread out over a great amount of terrain :-)

[qajaq59]

Ahhhh, there's nothing better then nostalgia.

[Jeffrey]

I found 30 cal lead balls from a wrist rocket will go right through a pigeon. 50 cal were too slow, trajectory too curved. Jeffrey

[Rockydog]

The pro! http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/best-slingshot-man-ever/4cfabfaf6fd338a43f484cfabfaf6fd338a43f48-205127025595?q=slingshot%20man&FORM=VIRE1

[kennisondan]

I like no. 4 buckshot
dk

[jimb16]

I used to hunt squirrels with a slingshot and 00 buck. I got quite a few. They didn't run if you missed either. and they didn't run if you hit them either!

[Fenring]

For less powerful slingshots, a cheap .36 black powder ball mould works well. Bigger slingshots, I use .45 black powder balls - they knock rabbits over OK, and pigeons. Not ideal for "urban operations" though.

Another favourite of mine, is clay with a good pinch of small shotgun shot mixed in and rolled into half inch balls. Just let dry in the sun. These are heavy and also explode on hard surfaces, lessening the ricochet factor and giving a pleasing puff of dust. :bigsmyl2:

[Wilson]

My family and I did a one day class with Madison Parker a few years ago. He is an avid slingshot hunter among other things. At the time he was casing .45 cal semi-wadcutters for his hunting. He's killed everything from rats to deer! We had a good time with him and learned a lot.
Check him out at http://www.primitivesupply.com/about.htm

[ebg3]

Dollar store marble's.
+1 No telling how many I shot growing up.