Slinging.org Forum - Seduced by Slingshots

Aussie

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Seduced by Slingshots
Aug 8^th, 2008 at 7:55pm

Well over 30 years ago I bought myself one of those super slingshots wth a wrist brace. Back then they were still legal here in PC Autralia. I haven't used the thing in years, the rubbers are all perished and even when they were good I never really liked it much. The brace was quite uncomfortable and forced you to hold it at an unusual angle and accuracy was dodgy. The rubbers were powerful, you could shoot a marble a long way but hitting anything was difficult.

But recently I made a little slingshot out of 5mm thick wire and only a couple of long rubber bands. The pouch is made like a small Aussiepouch, ie. cupped to hold a glass marble. Power is minimal but still enough to put a marble through both sides of a pizza box at 10 paces or so. Accuracy is great. I've been having a ball spreading marbles all over my back yard.

In archery, "overbowing", ie. having a bow that is too powerful for the archer, is a common problem. I think that "overslingshotting" may be a similar problem for slingshot shooters.

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siguy

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Re: Seduced by Slingshots
Reply #1 - Aug 8^th, 2008 at 9:11pm

it can be hard to focus on aim if you are focusing on not bursting your brains drawing the weapon...

good that you are getting good results.

the wire is holding up well for you? that's good...

i have seen some really neat slingshots made from boards around on the net...cut out with a bandsaw or something and shaped perfectly. there is the debate between round and flat bands, but i think that either will work. try googling up some of the slingshot message boards, its some really interesting stuff.

if you want a source for good band material (based on what i've read), check out the latex tubes that leevalley sells to use as a vise:
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=31159&cat=1,43838,47843&ap=1

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Aussie

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Re: Seduced by Slingshots
Reply #2 - Aug 8^th, 2008 at 10:41pm

A dedicated slingshotter I see.

Thanks for the encouragement and the link but am not sure if its applicable in Australia. Anyway the idea is to use some of the literally thousands of rubber bands scattered all over the mail centre floor where I work. If I want more power I can just put on extra rubber bands. They don't last long at all but I have an endless supply.

The 5mm (3/16") wire is a touch thin, 1/4" would be better, but again it was just what was laying around. If I really get into it I'll make a nice wooden one like you mentiond or perhaps from some polycarbonate sheeting, also just laying around at work.

Slingshotting and slinging, despite the name similarity, are really entirely different sports. I'm much more of a slinger, but it's nice to be able to reliably hit something smaller than the broad side of a barn. With a slingshot I think I could actually face the local rabbit population without them just pointing and laughing at me. Then I'd have to skin, gut and cook them and all that messy yucky stuff. Better to go to Macker's instead.

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Donald

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Re: Seduced by Slingshots
Reply #3 - Aug 9^th, 2008 at 2:04am

The most interesting slingshot or catapult that I have seen in pictures is the Slingcat. It does not seem to be available any longer. I believe it was manufactured in South Africa.

Here is a picture posted by faca at Knifeforums about the slingcat.

Here is a picture from http://web.archive.org which must have retained the page which was original ally at http://www.imec.co.za/slingcat_photos.htm

http://www.imec.co.za/images/Slingcat.jpg" rel="gb_image[nice_pics]" title="...">

http://www.imec.co.za/images/Slingcat.jpg" name="post_img_resize_6" alt="..." title="..." border="0" style="display:none" />

I believe that looking at the second photo, that the spring in the handle pulls the swinging lever to which the band is attached forward. Thus at rest the rotating lever/attachment point would face forward. When one draws it back to prepare to shoot, the lever swings straight up, where it hits a stop. When one releases, the ammunition is hurled forward and over the handle while the arm swings forward, thus getting it out of the way. One of the advantages of the design would be that it would very portable.

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Donald Tiro Offline Slinging Rocks! Posts: 12	Re: Seduced by Slingshots Reply #4 - Aug 9^th, 2008 at 2:10am Aussieslinger, Another slingcat image I found on the web.
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Aussie Past Moderator Offline Joined Nov. 1, 2006 Luke 14:14 Posts: 3265 Melbourne, Australia Gender:	Re: Seduced by Slingshots Reply #5 - Aug 9^th, 2008 at 5:00am Thanks for the posts. Intrigueing gadget. I imagine the lever arm flips over to effect the release. Having virtually a single cord should make aiming simpler.
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Donald

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Re: Seduced by Slingshots
Reply #6 - Aug 9^th, 2008 at 12:46pm

I thought you would be interested, which his why I bothered. It took a while to dig up the information since a lot of it has dissappeared. I think I may have always had trouble viewing a couple of the pictures, which is why I don't seem to be able to find them.

Here is what one of the web pages used to say.

Quote:

The Slingcat™ as its name implies is a combination of a slingshot and a catapult. Due to the unique and patented design (Pat no 20001632) the designers have succeeded in creating an improvement on a toy, which has seen very little improvement since the development of elastomers. Accuracy is improved because the projectile is pulled back in line with the elastic tube and target. In range tests the Slingcat™ has shot projectiles further than 190m. The uncomplicated design and elegant lines makes for easy storage. It folds to the size of a cell phone. A stylish leather holster makes carrying and storage of the Slingcat™ effortless.

The Slingcat™ body is made of polished 304 Stainless Steel with teak wood grips, giving it an earthy yet sophisticated look. This is definitely in the class of toys for boys and connoisseurs at the price of R 280-00 ($33) for the Slingcat™, its leather pouch, a spare elastic and some projectiles. The Slingcat™ is available from various retailers or via the web at slingcat@imec.co.za.

The Slingcat™ surpasses the ordinary catapult by its accuracy and its stylish and unique design. We find target shooting with the Slingcat™ therapeutic, not only does it exercise the marksman, but it also helps to release built up stress. This makes it a must have for all adventurous persons.

The $33 was misleading. That would be if you happened to be local. Prices close to $60 would be more like it for foreign orders. That was just too much so I never got one. Embarrassed

To make a durable, smooth one might be difficult, but I imagine one good enough to try the concepet could be made with a few parts, such as a bolt to hold the lever and one to act as a stop, etc.

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Curious Aardvark Forum Moderation Offline Taller than the average Dwarf Posts: 13965 Midlands England Gender:	Re: Seduced by Slingshots Reply #7 - Aug 9^th, 2008 at 1:13pm I like that. I pretty much stoped using slingshots when I got into slinging. But that's a smart bit of kit. Clever thinking too.
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Donald

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Re: Seduced by Slingshots
Reply #8 - Aug 9^th, 2008 at 1:25pm

I've already posted the information on that page anyway, but I see one of the initial mentions of it that I saw, dated 02 March 2001 is still extant.
http://cooltech.iafrica.com/inventions/featured/227465.htm

One nice thing about this intriguing device is that the Slingcat, like a sling, will fit in a pocket. If one wants to shoot arrows though, I imagine one would be better off with a regular slingshot. I remember having a wooden one that had a piece of wire. The bent ends slipped into the slot on the arms of the "V" or upper part of the "Y" of the slingshot, and the wire had a "V" in the middle in which to place the arrow.

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Re: Seduced by Slingshots
Reply #9 - Aug 9^th, 2008 at 7:27pm

Here's an interesting page; a rather exhaustive list of current and historic slingshots:

http://melchiormenzel.de/

I think I got my first slingshot when I was 10 or so, one of those "Wham-O" jobs that was simply cut out of a piece of board with two slots to hold the rubber. I also made my own out of tire tube rubber; back in the 50s almost all tires ran tubes, and the tubes were made of good, stretchy rubber rather than the butyl stuff that came along later.
I had one of the original "wrist rockets" too, that was later on after I got out of the army. Big disadvantage of the early models was that you couldn't stick it in your pocket!
I recently bought a wrist-rocket-styled slingshot; this one has a folding armrest so you can.... Pretty good; the rubber strength is just about right for me. Don't much care for the pouch; too stiff. I may just make my own out of a softer piece of leather.

We can buy those packs of cheap marbles at the dollar store, lots of shooting for a buck.

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LKH9

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Re: Seduced by Slingshots
Reply #10 - Aug 10^th, 2008 at 10:06am

A friend from US made this slingshot for me long ago. I sleep with it under my pillow all the time, it's like my wife.

I love using barnett black widow too, this new one(I don't have a camera, below is an image taken from ebay) I removed the tubes and replaced with double tapered flat bands. It shoots excellently and fits my hand and shooting style perfectly.

This is my backstop for slingshot.

Leaded hex nuts I use for killing soda cans.

Flat band=> high speed, easy to draw, but low life span.
Tubes(big single ones)=> longer life span, but harder to draw and shoots slower. The fastest tube is the Trumark's red tapered one currently.

There is a man who sells custom made magnum flat bands on ebay, buy it if you want some real quality slingshot bands. I'm using his band on my folding slingshot too.

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Re: Seduced by Slingshots
Reply #11 - Aug 10^th, 2008 at 1:41pm

Here's a fascinating book on the general subject:

http://www.amazon.com/Practical-Guide-Man-Powered-Bullets-Bullet-Bows/dp/0811701...

Guy not only covers slingshots, but air guns, crossbows, and a variety of other things.

The section on slingshots is interesting because he's done some actual ballistic testing. Seems there is enormous variation in the types of rubber used for most, and no standard whatever!
Also, he found that if you just draw and quickly release, the velocity will be higher than if you "hold" the thing for a better aim. Seems it's a characteristic of the latex; it "relaxes" a bit if you hold it stretched.

Another oddment....A heavier projectile gave a higher velocity! That would seem to be a violation of physics, but the heavier "bullet" apparently makes the rubber "work" harder.
Interesting stuff.

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LKH9

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Re: Seduced by Slingshots
Reply #12 - Aug 11^th, 2008 at 6:57am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ieWrWLjii0

Another advantage of heavy ammo is it makes the band last longer. Using powerful bands with a tiny pellet is like throwing a needle with hand, that will cause damage. I always use half inch lead sinkers. Heavy ammo will fully utilize the energy of the rubber bands. Heavy tubings will need heavier ammo.

Another good forum for slingshots.
http://thecatapultkidslingshot.myfastforum.org/

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Re: Seduced by Slingshots
Reply #13 - Aug 16^th, 2008 at 5:12am

Had another pleasant afternoon shooting at a plastic Coke bottle with my daughter. It was even her suggestion and she is getting better with every shot. I still better than her but not necessarily for much longer.

Thanks again to you and everyone who posted a reply , comment or a hyperlink; very interesting and useful.

LKH, I see you replace the tubular bands on your Black Widow. How are the replacement bands attached?

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LKH9

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Re: Seduced by Slingshots
Reply #14 - Aug 16^th, 2008 at 10:51pm

I drew this picture very long ago, not sure if you can understand it, tie with a strong enough piece of rubber band. After all the windings, finish it off with a simple knot. Use water to lubricate the rubber when tying a knot. The last section is stretched and wrapped so that it will not pull off when being drawn.
Wrist-braced slingshots shoot alot better this way.

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