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Thread: Slingshots?

  1. #41
    Boolit Master Cap'n Morgan's Avatar
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    This thread brings back fond memories!

    My father made my first "real" slingshot with the fork made from two pieces of 3/8" cobber tubing brazed together. The rubber cut from red inner tube (Black tubes were Butan rubber and not elastic enough) His plan was to use it to keep stray dogs out of mum's garden, but I quickly took possesion of it and carried it everywhere I went. Ammo was pebbles or steel "wads" - the leftover from hole punching at the local farm machinery plant. Those days I was always wearing an anorak (my mum sewed them for us) and the extra large breast pocket would hold a large ammo supply.

    For some reasons I always shot the slingshot holding the fork with my right hand, whereas I shoot the bow holding it in my left hand. A couple of years back I took up slingshot shooting again, but can't seem to hit anything when I trying aiming using the top of the fork, like the eksperts (whose skills I envy greatly!) recommend. I think part of the problem is my right arm is not as "stable" as my left arm. When letting go of the sling my hand will jerk and spoil the shot. More practice is certainly called for.

    This is one of several designs I've tried so far:

    Cap'n Morgan

  2. #42
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    I made my own from forked bushes. The leather from old shoe tongues were used as pouches. After the early 50's you couldn't find red innertubes. I discovered that extra large rubber bands from the office supply stores were better anyway. (Never heard of surgical tubing until I was an adult.)

    Even made a long gun using the sling shot principle complete with trigger. We would put "cherry bombs" in the pouch, light them, pull the trigger and up and away they would go. Great fun at night in the neighborhood.

  3. #43
    Boolit Buddy nelsonted1's Avatar
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    When we were little Dad used to make slingshots out of branches and inner tube for us. we had one sitting on floor when the neighbor kids came around. THey were in beast mode that day stuffing a brother in our drier then turning it on, ran up one stairway across the upstairs and down the other steps screaming at the top of their lungs, pulled down upstairs curtains, while their mother sat at the table and didn't notice a thing. Until an older brother shot another brother with the slingshot and a marble directly into his head from about a foot away. This was after shooting a penny through the curtain downstairs. Mom got mad and snatched the slingshot away. Mom is becoming senile but will never forget that visit. We decided we learned not to have marbles, pennies and slingshots out in the open on the living room floor

  4. #44
    Boolit Buddy nelsonted1's Avatar
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    Sam woods outdoors has been making arrow- slingshots for years- not really slingshots but do use bands or rubber tubing. He can do miraculous things with them. One day he shot an arrow through a beer bottle.
    He also does slingshot demos. Here he is throwing up a paint ball and hitting it with his slingshot. He uses gumballs for ammo.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzFn...Jn0h9&index=13

    He has a wedding day video with his best man, wife and himself. She is in her wedding dress. After the wedding they went out to a barn they knew had raccoons in the rafters. He climbs up and shoots the coons with his pistol. His poor wife is having hysterics. The best man is encouraging him. He yells out best wedding ever!

  5. #45
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    OK I guess it is about time to turn you guys onto Jorge Sprav. He is a German guy who is the purveyor of the "Slingshot Channel" on Youtube. Jorge is absolutely Full of Enthusiasm !!! for anything related to slingshots, catapults as referred to by the English, and any non firearm weapon. He has done alot in this arena and Nathan of Simple Shot is in his inner circle. He has a list of videos on these subjects on youtube that is a mile long. Here's the pilot episode https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia0wYvmEGkU,,,,

    and Like I said Jorge is "Full of Enthusiasm !!!"

    Good way to pass the time while locked up in your home .

    Randy
    "It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,,It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do!"
    www.buchananprecisionmachine.com

  6. #46
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    Capt Morgan: Do you own a Machine shop or something? You do nice work.

    Also another Dane worthy of note is this guy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyzYDip9JTM He goes by Torsten on Youtube and shoots slingshots using the Butterfly or Albatross method. You will note in this video showing his technique that the velocity he is getting is 141.7 mps which converts to roughly 465 fps! Also note the size of the target box he is shooting at? Somewhere there is a video of him shooting at beer can bottoms at 60 yards! I think he uses 8 MM or 5/16" steel balls.

    With accuracy and velocity like that he is equal to, or better than most of our airguns. Something to think about?

    And if you think you are too old or feeble to shoot a sling shot or can't learn how to do it then you really need to rethink this. It costs very little to get into this sport and it is very rewarding and it ain't that hard to do, and you've got plenty of time to do it right now.

    Lets actually accomplish something useful during our time in the box!

    Randy
    Last edited by W.R.Buchanan; 03-29-2020 at 03:38 PM.
    "It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,,It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do!"
    www.buchananprecisionmachine.com

  7. #47
    Boolit Master elmacgyver0's Avatar
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    When I was young I stretched a large rubber band across the handlebars of my 350 Honda and used steel fence staples for ammo.
    Pretty formidable piece of artillery.

  8. #48
    Boolit Master Cap'n Morgan's Avatar
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    And if you think you are too old or feeble to shoot a sling shot or can't learn how to do it then you really need to rethink this. It costs very little to get into this sport and it is very rewarding and it ain't that hard to do, and you've got plenty of time to do it right now.
    Well Randy, I've decided to take you up on your slingshot challenge...

    After watching some of the pheasant killer Joefe's youtube videos, I noticed how he angles his wrist forward to place the strings close to the line of pull, and at the same time stiffen up the wrist. I tried the same thing and noticed a much improved horizontal accuracy. Luckily, I still have a reject 16 cavity mold lying around. Gonna fire up the ol' dripper, cast a bunch of #0000 buckshot and get some more practice in the noble art of slingshot shooting.

    Cap'n Morgan

  9. #49
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    Capt: one thing I learned from Simple Shot is about band length. IE: how far you stretch the bands for optimum power.

    The ratio between Draw Length and Relaxed Length is what we are talking about. Max power is at 6:1 however that also creates the quickest deterioration of the bands.

    With a 30" draw if your bands were 5" long relaxed then you'd hit 6:1. On my Simple Shot bands I trimmed them to 7" OAL which yields about 6" over the top of the yoke. My draw length is 29" so that yields a little less than 5:1 which so far has been yielding good velocity with both 3/8" (9.5MM) and 1/2" (12.7mm) steel balls. When I say "Good Velocity," I mean enough punch at 10 yards to do significant damage with a head shot with 1/2" balls.

    In other words the combo is strong enough and accurate enough to drop a guy at 10-15 yards. The 1/2" steel balls weigh right at 125 gr. and they hit hard.

    On your Slingshot with the "Spaghetti Bands," you might look at shortening them up a bit to increase your power.

    The main variable when shooting a "Yoke type Slingshot" is getting both bands exactly the same length at full draw. If one is longer than the other then the shot will go away from the longer band. This takes practice to get consistent . It is what I am concentrating on as I shoot and I am constantly looking for some way to index the yoke repeatably which so far has eluded me. I can get close but can't seem to do it the same way every time. However, my misses on my 2" target are close and would still be decent head shots.

    With the Wrist Rocket style of sling shot the yoke is held in place by the wrist brace and then it is just a matter of drawing the same way every time. It is harder to twist the yoke with that style, but the back side is that they are not as concealable.

    So there are trade offs and knowing how to use both might be a good idea.

    How much will your cast balls weigh?

    Randy
    "It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,,It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do!"
    www.buchananprecisionmachine.com

  10. #50
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    In grade school, some of us would have a rubber band or two in our pockets. Would put it over our thumb and index finger and at school there was a vine that we would cut off a piece and fold over and shoot with the single rubber band. Those little pieces of vine hurt. I was on the receiving end of other kids attack, at first, but little did they know I had been shooting slingshots for a few years. Tide turned really quickly as they missed often and I didn't miss much. They respected my aim and found other targets. Teachers started watching us so it ended quickly.

  11. #51
    Boolit Master
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    Somewhere out on the intertubes is a video of an interview of a southern gent who makes and shoots them. A country setting with a feller in overalls. He shot instinctively without aligning to his eye. He could hit anything any where. Have to see if I can find it now. Thinking it was in yhe 1990s to early 2000s timeframe

  12. #52
    Boolit Master Cap'n Morgan's Avatar
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    Martin, no doubt you're thinking of "The Slingshot Man": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te_atiSlMPQ
    Watching that video is what got me started on the slingshot again.

    Randy
    Interesting you mention the draw length, I've already shortened the "spagetti" bands some 3" and I may have to shorten them even more. I have gorilla length arms (78" from fingertip to fingertip doing "the fish that got away" gesture) and shoot a 32" draw length bow. I couldn't quite make up my mind to begin with, whether to shoot the slingshot with the anchor point below the jaw or way behind the ear as some of the pros do. With the "long draw", accidentally moving the yoke sideways doesn't seem to influence accuracy as much as the short "draw to the jaw" - which makes good sense from a geometric viewpoint. I'll try setup another slingshot with long single bands and compare results, but It will probably be the short draw that wins.

    My cast balls weigh approx. 80 grains. I will try them later over the (shielded!!) chrono to test band pull length/speed.
    Cap'n Morgan

  13. #53
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cap'n Morgan View Post
    Martin, no doubt you're thinking of "The Slingshot Man": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te_atiSlMPQ
    Watching that video is what got me started on the slingshot again.

    Randy
    Interesting you mention the draw length, I've already shortened the "spagetti" bands some 3" and I may have to shorten them even more. I have gorilla length arms (78" from fingertip to fingertip doing "the fish that got away" gesture) and shoot a 32" draw length bow. I couldn't quite make up my mind to begin with, whether to shoot the slingshot with the anchor point below the jaw or way behind the ear as some of the pros do. With the "long draw", accidentally moving the yoke sideways doesn't seem to influence accuracy as much as the short "draw to the jaw" - which makes good sense from a geometric viewpoint. I'll try setup another slingshot with long single bands and compare results, but It will probably be the short draw that wins.

    My cast balls weigh approx. 80 grains. I will try them later over the (shielded!!) chrono to test band pull length/speed.
    Capt: How big are your balls. like 8MM-10MM ? 3/8" steel balls are 52 gr.

    I figure draw length by holding a Tape Measure in my left hand and drawing the tape out to my cheek then locking it. I get 29" every time.

    I just broke my first set of bands. The pouch came loose, so I didn't get smacked in the chops.

    The "Torsden" guy on youtube has about a 70" draw length using his butterfly technique. he's getting over 450 fps!

    Randy
    "It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,,It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do!"
    www.buchananprecisionmachine.com

  14. #54
    Boolit Master Cap'n Morgan's Avatar
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    Capt: How big are your balls. like 8MM-10MM ? 3/8" steel balls are 52 gr.
    The 16 cavity mold in the previous post is .375" (9.52mm) But while digging out the lawnmower from the shed I found another mold I totally forgot about. This mold has 12 cavities of 10mm (.394")size and was made strictly for casting slingshot ammo (fill one row, turn mold upside down and repeat). I think I will try casting from both molds and see what difference in speed half a mm in size will result in. The weight difference will be around 20% so the .375 ball should weigh around 64 grains.

    With my lack of skill I highly doubt my accuracy with the slingshot will benefit from using ultra-round, polished steel balls compared to cast lead balls

    Cap'n Morgan

  15. #55
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    The whole point is they are close enough to round. Both should be fine for relearning how to shoot a sling shot.

    Everyone thinks shooting rocks is a good idea. And if you had nothing else, it could work but you'll never get any repeatable accuracy from rocks.

    Just start out at 10 yards and work up from there.

    Randy
    "It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,,It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do!"
    www.buchananprecisionmachine.com

  16. #56
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    Quote Originally Posted by W.R.Buchanan View Post
    Biggin: if you are talking a Sling like David used to slay Goliath then you are looking at literally years of practice to get a projectile to go where you want it to. I have never been able to get anything to even go in the general direction desired.

    Keep in mind that 3,000 years ago if you were a goat herder you had alot of free time on your hands. So guys like David who were essentially stranded with the herd for weeks at a time had plenty of free time to figure out the sling. Not to mention any meat they might get to eat had to come from their hunting with said sling.

    The one advantage of the sling was its ability to throw big rocks. Goliath got drilled with at least a golf ball sized rock at less than 25 yards, and by the time the Goliath thing happened, David probably had 15-20 years of practice under his belt. A 4 foot long sling could probably generate 200-300+ fps with a 1 lb rock, so getting hit by one would seriously ruin your day. Getting hit in the forehead with said Rock,,, would seriously end you! Case in point.

    Were lucky to have really neat latex rubbers to work with now, and as such it makes getting good with a slingshot relatively quick and easy. "Simple Shot" also produces a bunch of training videos that you can watch to help you get there faster. Once you can hit the end of a beer can 10 times in a row at 10 yards you are good to go. I'm at 8/10 right now and working to close up my last two.

    Randy
    A one lb. rock @ 7000 grains per and 300 fps would be approximately 1398 fpe.
    <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>><<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>> >
    If Goliath got hit in the head, face or neck he probably went down toes up.
    If David rushed over and used a sword to decapitate the giant, well that's the story .I would think.

  17. #57
    Boolit Master Garyshome's Avatar
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    I have a bucket full of marbles just sitting around looking for a purpose...................

  18. #58
    Boolit Grand Master GhostHawk's Avatar
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    I have been shooting .445 round balls from a lyman mold in my rubber powered slingshots for a few years now.

    As to the other kind of sling. Golf balls make good practice ammo. I would go to the park early or late when it was deserted.
    With a shower caddy with 30 or so golf balls and a sling. The key is to not try to do the Goliath shot right off the bad.

    Load the sling, plan on a 3/4's circle. As it rotates past the vertical and approaches the 45 degree forward release.
    Don't try to kill it. Just get it moving and let physics do the rest. With this approach at least some accuracy can be appearing in a few days instead of years. Your line of rotation determines where it will go left to right. Release point determines distance.

    I have some that are heavier, being a putty type mixture packed into a balloon. Lets you roll it between your hands, get it nice and round. But if it hits something solid it will deform rather than destroy.

    With anything, more practice, time spent doing = more competancy.

    If you try for more speed/power do multiple swings you lose control. Which might be ok in a mob attack setting but pretty much is not what I wanted.

    The good news about sling work is that while people may look at you a little oddly. They give you more room.
    Ammo is cheap, all that is required is muscle power. And it gets you outside in the sun. All good things IMO.
    I truly believe we need to get back to basics.

    Get right with the Lord.
    Get back to the land.
    Get back to thinking like our forefathers thought.


    May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you
    and give you His peace. Let all of the earth – all of His creation – worship and praise His name! Make His
    praise glorious!

  19. #59
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by OldBearHair View Post
    Last time one broke and hit the corner of my mouth, I made the statement that if I ever shoot one again, it will be from the hip.
    I assure you that there are things near your hips that you would much rather get hit in the mouth than THERE! Done that, did not enjoy it. That was at least 40 years ago, and I flashed on it reading your post. Made an impression, you might say.

  20. #60
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by W.R.Buchanan View Post
    Capt Morgan: Do you own a Machine shop or something? You do nice work.

    Also another Dane worthy of note is this guy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyzYDip9JTM He goes by Torsten on Youtube and shoots slingshots using the Butterfly or Albatross method. You will note in this video showing his technique that the velocity he is getting is 141.7 mps which converts to roughly 465 fps! Also note the size of the target box he is shooting at? Somewhere there is a video of him shooting at beer can bottoms at 60 yards! I think he uses 8 MM or 5/16" steel balls.

    With accuracy and velocity like that he is equal to, or better than most of our airguns. Something to think about?

    And if you think you are too old or feeble to shoot a sling shot or can't learn how to do it then you really need to rethink this. It costs very little to get into this sport and it is very rewarding and it ain't that hard to do, and you've got plenty of time to do it right now.

    Lets actually accomplish something useful during our time in the box!

    Randy
    Would be good physical/occupational therapy for us old guys, too. Shoot ten rounds right handed, ten more left handed, for a balanced exercise, and if you're having more problems with one side, do a couple more on that side until things improve, then back to the balanced "workout." Start with one set each, increase as it gets easier. Or decrease if that's too much to start.

    Bill

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