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idea for the heavier golf ball ammo came when I realized
that I did not have the slightest idea on how to cast
glands out of lead. The idea was just a spur of the
moment thing just like most good ideas a person has.
I liked the idea of ammo you could go buy at the local
Wal-Mart. Golf ball are the answer. The heavier golf
ball to me would be more forgiving ammo for the beginner.
Even though I have been around this website for sometime
and am fairly accurate with my sling, I still consider
myself a newbe. That is why I hoped to make cheap, simple
ammo for the beginner to be able to go to the store
and make with relative simplicity.
First
a person will have to find the right golf ball that
can be hollowed out. You can use real golf balls or
practice golf balls. When the thought to hollow out
a golf ball came to me, I just picked up the first golf
ball I found. With some luck on my side I found the
right golf ball the first time, and I drilled into it.
When
you drill into the golf ball for the first time, You
will be surprised! The golf ball that will only work
for this project is the Titlesit Tour Distance 90. The
reason for this because it is filled with rubber bands
and a corn syrup-water mixture. Most newer golf balls
will not work because they have a plastic though the
whole golf ball. When you drill into the center of the
golf ball (and yes you have to drill into it), the liquid
is under pressure, and it will spray out with some force.
Safety glass or a face shield is recommended. After
the golf ball has relieved its pressure, you start to
saw with a metal saw.
Saw
directly in the middle of the golf ball where you drilled
you hole at. As you are saw you will start to hear the
rubber bands start to crack and break. You will need
to saw about 1/4 to a 1/3 of the way down into the golf
ball. The farther you get the more noise the rubber
bands start to make. When you get to about 1/3 of the
way down, the rubber bands will start to press on the
sides of the golf ball. This is all normal. As more
and more rubber bands start to break the pressure builds
up and shoots the plastic center out. You still need
those safety glasses because some times the plastic
center comes out with some force. A bench vise or a
pair of vise grips helps with the plastic to come out
a little easier. Next keep the vise or vise grips handy
because the vise help spread the ball enough to get
out the rest of the rubber bands that are still left
in the ball.
A
pair of needle nose pliers really helps to get most
of the rubber out. Use the vise to help spread the golf
ball will help to get the hard to reach areas of the
golf ball. Once you clean up you golf ball you can start
to put add the weight to it.
I
used the bb’s we used as kids to weight it down.
I am sure that if some one used a heavier metal like
lead you could get more weight out of it as desired.
If you fill the golf ball to the top with bb’s
you will get the weight to about 4 oz for the real golf
ball and 5 oz for the practice golf ball. I have no
idea why this is so. Both are a good weight for me.
Then you need to cover the hole you made so the bb’s
don’t fly out as you sling it. I used normal black
electrical tape.
You
can do a cross pattern to make sure that it did not
come lose. You could use duck tape but the electrical
tape is about the right width for the golf ball. They
do have different color electrical tape in case you
don’t want to use black. The instructions will
work for the practice golfs except you don’t have
as much work to pull out the center and don’t
have to drill into the center because it is so soft.
(Here
are the steps for the practice golf balls)
Well
there you have it; a simple project to make in a couple
minutes of time that is fun to sling.
Testing
The first test was a good one. I slung the hollowed
out real golf ball several times and retrieved it with
no problem. The Golf ball held up with out it coming
apart. Even the electrical tape help up for 5-6 throws.
I slung it about 100 yards just so I could retrieve
the ammo afterwards I didn’t actually hit anything
hard like a tree, so it probably wasn’t a true
test for the tape. The way I figure if I put some real
power on it, I probably won’t be getting the heavier
golf ball back. Lobohunter from the forum had a good
idea of using practice golf balls. They are a lot cheaper
than real golf ball. What I hear from is that they bust
on impact. So don’t expect to reuse them. There
are two different kinds of practice golf balls. One
is like a wiffle ball, and the other one like just like
a golf ball. I would use the one that looks like a real
golf ball. They are a lot cheaper than buying real golf
ball so they are probably the best bet for someone with
not a lot of money as they cost only 3 dollars for a
dozen instead of 10 to 15 for real golf balls. They
don’t feel as durable as the real golf ball, but
they will work! The second test with practice golf ball
was pretty good. I slung it only 100 yards but I could
double or triple that distance with now problem. I did
not want to loose it just yet. If a person made a golf
ball sling like the one in the articles page you might
be able to sling it farther.
(Photo
by Bob Anderson, from the article Building a Golf Ball
Sling Pouch.)
Like
I said earlier they are heavier, but I think most people
will like for it to be on the heavier side. I hope everyone
enjoys making the cheap ammo and I hope that I help
someone get more involved into the slinging sport.
- Gunnar Watt
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