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Rat Man (three strand sheep shank) Sling (Read 33762 times)
Rat Man
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Rat Man (three strand sheep shank) Sling
Aug 30th, 2009 at 12:04pm
 
ADDED:  This is a very old tutorial that I have to get off my lazy butt and re-do.  It started out as just a thread and somehow became sort of a tutorial.  I was very new here when I started it.  It goes on and on but never really gets to the heart of the matter. A TS-3 is Malik Lund's Appu-sling
http://slinging.org/index.php?page=making-a-simple-string-sling-an-illustrated-g...
with the pouch woven instead of open.  The trick is to weave it very tight so the pouch pulls up into a permanent "U" shape.  That way you're much less apt to drop your projectiles prematurely.  
2ND EDIT:  IMO this is the best way to make a TS3 or any sling based on the Sheep Shank knot:
http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1338672380/0#0
  At the end of the second world war Winston Churchill described the Rat Man Sling as "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma."  Well, maybe not, but that's what it's become to me.  The fist time I made one and tried it I felt like I'd invented the wheel or sliced bread.  Here's a sling that's relatively easy  and cheap to make, doesn't look half bad, and will shoot projectiles farther than any other type of hand sling with the same amount of force applied.  I told you all about it and was happily using and experimenting on ways to improve it.  Then it happened...
  I started dropping rocks with it.  Sometimes I did, sometimes I didn't.  Peacefuljeffrey said that a while back he tried the same design and didn't like it.  Though he never said exactly why, I assumed rock dropping the reason.  Because I sling while walking my two Huskies, and because of a very unfortunate incident with my wife's windshield, I adopted peacefulfeffrey's design, which is basically the same thing, but with two more strands in the pouch, allowing for cupping, obviously a wider pouch, and no rock dropping.  The pj design, though slightly slower and with a tiny bit less range, practically never drops rocks.  It became my sling of choice and the Rat Man slings collected dust.  There was a member named Pio who made a Rat Man sling, (Catalina) that looked perfect.  He said that he'd try it and let me know how it worked out, but I never heard from him again.  I hope he didn't kill himself with it.  I gave a hybrid Rockman/Rat Man (Rat Man pouch, Rockman cords) to a friend, Patrick and he absolutely loves it and says it's the best sling he's ever used.  
   Today I dusted off my Rat Man or three strand sheep shank sling.  For the most part it worked beautifully.  I dropped a few rocks, but not many.  When working properly, when I'm not doing whatever I do that's wrong and causes me to loose my projectiles prematurely,  it is obviously a superior design.  I get noticeably more range and accuracy.  So...
  I believe that this is an excellent design.  I have some sort of hitch in my delivery that I can't see.  There are a few forum members that I'm exchanging slings and sling making materials with.  They will receive a Rat Man sling to test, if they will be so kind.  If anyone else wants to help with this I'll send you one too.  In that my resources are limited, this will be on a first come basis.  Though these slings are relatively simple, easy, and cheap to make I'd rather send them than have them made by the testers.  This way we're not adding variables to the equation.  However, if someone wants to make their own I'd appreciate any input you have also.  The more testers the more apt I am to find what I'm doing wrong, if anything.  The sling is simply Malik Lund's Appu-sling with the pouch woven like a pj sling.
 
Thanks,
Rat Man
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« Last Edit: Jul 16th, 2012 at 2:26pm by Rat Man »  

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xxkid123
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Re: Rat Man (three strand sheep shank) Sling
Reply #1 - Aug 30th, 2009 at 1:00pm
 
please don't think i'm bratty or anything, and rat man sling does have a ring to it, but i'm pretty sure others have made it long before you (seriously no offense), like i know adsi did it, and the peacefuljeffery sling was based off of this too, and the peaceful jeffery sling has been around for ages.
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Rat Man
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Re: Rat Man (three strand sheep shank) Sling
Reply #2 - Aug 30th, 2009 at 3:10pm
 
OK, you have a good point.  I'm not completely comfortable calling it the Rat Man sling either.  It just seems less long winded than calling it a three strand sheep shank sling.    What do you think we should call it then?  tsss sling?  Yes... does that work better for you?  Tsss.  I sort of like that better.
   In any case, if you don't mind, you're getting one to try out when I send your tape.  When I'm not dropping rocks out of it, like today, it's the most powerful sling I've used.

Rat Man
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« Last Edit: Aug 31st, 2009 at 10:17am by Rat Man »  
 
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Rat Man
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Re: Rat Man (three strand sheep shank) Sling
Reply #3 - Aug 30th, 2009 at 3:21pm
 
I've never found you bratty.
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Rat Man
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Re: Rat Man (three strand sheep shank) Sling
Reply #4 - Aug 30th, 2009 at 3:24pm
 
... and not to beat a dead horse, but you did notice that I gave credit to both pj and Malik Lund.  I didn't remember adsi making one until you mentioned it just now, but you're right.  Sorry, adsi.
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xxkid123
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Re: Rat Man (three strand sheep shank) Sling
Reply #5 - Aug 30th, 2009 at 5:44pm
 
never do one post when 3 is possible Grin
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Rat Man
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Re: Rat Man (three strand sheep shank) Sling
Reply #6 - Aug 30th, 2009 at 8:44pm
 
Huh
Sometimes I type as the thoughts come to me.  If I wait, they're gone! Lips Sealed
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« Last Edit: Aug 31st, 2009 at 10:18am by Rat Man »  
 
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Re: Rat Man (three strand sheep shank) Sling
Reply #7 - Aug 30th, 2009 at 10:22pm
 
You can always add to or change one of your own posts if you want to. Notice the modify button in the upper right of your post. If done within a few minutes of the original post it doesn't even list it as a modification.
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Knaight
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Re: Rat Man (three strand sheep shank) Sling
Reply #8 - Aug 30th, 2009 at 10:51pm
 
Its like a forum equivalent of every politician's dream for their statements. Not to mention any corporations in the public eye.
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« Last Edit: Aug 31st, 2009 at 9:14am by Knaight »  
 
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David Morningstar
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Re: Rat Man (three strand sheep shank) Sling
Reply #9 - Aug 31st, 2009 at 3:49am
 

I developed this design by myself about 25 years ago, messing around as a kid. It was the first design I made last year when I rediscovered slinging, and it went with me around the USA on my road trip.  I call it the Folley sling because that is where I lived when I first made one.
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quepy
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Re: Rat Man (three strand sheep shank) Sling
Reply #10 - Aug 31st, 2009 at 5:27am
 
I've had great results with my PJ 5-strand slings, but for the sake of Science I will construct a 3-strand and test them side by side.
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Re: Rat Man (three strand sheep shank) Sling
Reply #11 - Aug 31st, 2009 at 9:42am
 
Quote:
and not to beat a dead horse, but you did notice that I gave credit to both pj and Malik Lund.  I didn't remember adsi making one until you mentioned it just now, but you're right.  Sorry, adsi.


no worries i already have my own design Smiley Smiley Smiley
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Rat Man
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Re: Rat Man (three strand sheep shank) Sling
Reply #12 - Aug 31st, 2009 at 10:16am
 
Aussie wrote on Aug 30th, 2009 at 10:22pm:
You can always add to or change one of your own posts if you want to. Notice the modify button in the upper right of your post. If done within a few minutes of the original post it doesn't even list it as a modification.

... and I know that too.  I'm capable of much worse malfunctions than that.
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Rat Man
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Re: Rat Man (three strand sheep shank) Sling
Reply #13 - Aug 31st, 2009 at 10:35am
 
quepy wrote on Aug 31st, 2009 at 5:27am:
I've had great results with my PJ 5-strand slings, but for the sake of Science I will construct a 3-strand and test them side by side.  


   I have about 8 pj slings that I love.  They shoot far and don't drop rocks, plus they don't look bad.  The three strand design shoots farther.  I worked one out this morning again and I'm convinced that it shoots significantly farther, like even up to 30%.  This is just eyeballing.  It's hard for me to measure exactly with beasts in tow, plus I can't see exactly where the stones land.  They're way, way far away when they touch down.  I've taken a lot of shots in the past 10 months though, and I'm certain that the three strand shoots farther than a pj, Rockman, or anything else I've made so far.   That alone doesn't necessarily make it a better sling all around, but it makes the design at least worthy of more investigation and experimentation. 
   The thing is that I can take ten shots in a row with the three strand sling without dropping a projectile, then I go into the rock dropping mode and loose like five in a row.  It's me, not the sling that's malfunctioning.
   I did find at least part of the problem.  With the other designs the pouches are cupped.  That allows me to move around a bit without loosing projectiles prematurely and even shoot while walking.  I may have consequently developed a bad habit or two.  A lot of my problem with the three strand is footwork.  If I relax, bend my knees, and limit my foot movement to only what is absolutely necessary to shoot I'm much less apt to loose rocks early. 
    I feel that the obvious extra distance is worth the effort of figuring out what I'm doing wrong. 
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Rat Man
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Re: Rat Man (three strand sheep shank) Sling
Reply #14 - Aug 31st, 2009 at 10:38am
 
David Morningstar wrote on Aug 31st, 2009 at 3:49am:
I developed this design by myself about 25 years ago, messing around as a kid. It was the first design I made last year when I rediscovered slinging, and it went with me around the USA on my road trip.  I call it the Folley sling because that is where I lived when I first made one.


I will never claim to invent an original sling design because, as anyone who's read my posts will remember, I don't believe it's possible.  This is all rediscovering, which is just as valid and important with a mostly lost skill like this as inventing.
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