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Post by Sir Thorfinn on Nov 24, 2021 23:44:49 GMT
Bands come in different strengths. With Latex bands this is initially obtained by the rubber thickness which are colour coded, Gold the most powerful followed by silver I cannot remember the order after that. Secondary the width will play a roll. Band length comes into play also. Mixing the colours and multiple bands will work. In the beginning buying premade bands will be the easiest way to go. Just to let you know a band is not a band so to speak and if you want more or less power it can be had. As for 1” projectiles, that is not unheard of, but the coming pouches may not handle something that large so be prepared. AND.... Temperature can affect the band strength. Now where did I put my lucky voodoo bunny? |
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Nov 25, 2021 2:02:03 GMT
Bands come in different strengths. With Latex bands this is initially obtained by the rubber thickness which are colour coded, Gold the most powerful followed by silver I cannot remember the order after that. Secondary the width will play a roll. Band length comes into play also. Mixing the colours and multiple bands will work. In the beginning buying premade bands will be the easiest way to go. Just to let you know a band is not a band so to speak and if you want more or less power it can be had. As for 1” projectiles, that is not unheard of, but the coming pouches may not handle something that large so be prepared. AND.... Temperature can affect the band strength. Now where did I put my lucky voodoo bunny? And then there is the taper which will add more velocity, and so it goes. Slingshots are more complex than first appears. |
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Ouroboros
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Post by Ouroboros on Nov 26, 2021 1:55:51 GMT
Now ... lets scale that up to make use of the lawn darts of my youth and im all in.
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Post by Sir Thorfinn on Dec 23, 2021 20:51:54 GMT
Updated video, part 2
Short version, hand armor works. You'd still get an ouchie.
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Post by joe_meadmaker on Dec 24, 2021 17:06:12 GMT
Thanks for posting the new video. That was a great test to see. Looks like the glove will turn a puncture wound into blunt force pretty well.
I've been meaning to post an update. I did get my order. It took about three and a half weeks to be delivered. When I placed the order I didn't even notice it would be coming in from China. No problem with the shipping time. Just mentioning it as a heads up in case anyone else is thinking about ordering one.
I've only attempted to use the slingshot once (busy time of year), and that didn't go particularly well. I tried shooting a small ice ball, as mentioned in an earlier post. The 1" diameter size definitely seemed to be pressing the limit of the pouch, and pgandy turned out to be correct. I lost grip of the pouch drawing it back, and ended up taking that ice ball off my thumb knuckle (where the thumb meets the hand). No bad damage, just a tiny little bruise that all but vanished after a day or so. There was never any pain in moving my thumb. Although I'm probably going to start wearing that glove no matter what I'm shooting.
Overall I really like the slingshot. It's a very sleek design and comes with a nice little carrying case. I also think I'll be able to create a new pouch to accommodate the ice balls. So I might be able to use them yet.
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Dec 24, 2021 17:47:22 GMT
Thanks for the update. Kind of makes me want to break mine out again. They can be much fun. But I fear all of my rubber even the stuff I put in the freezer has deteriorated and the will require ordering new and starting over. Even if it looks good I wouldn’t trust it and I never did enjoy making bands. It might be just a whim and pass, I’ll see. And Joe I recommend some type of eye protection. A band or tie can break and I’ve found ricochets common and to the point of even calling them rebounds. I seriously doubt you’ll get a rebound with the darts but you’ll probably wind up shooting various other objects like nuts, bolts, rocks, ball bearings, marbles, etc.
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LeMal
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Post by LeMal on Dec 24, 2021 18:30:24 GMT
Well he answered my thoughts about a more complete shield system. Looked at some of them though, really too expensive for me to justify atm. Hell, the dart sets themselves are.
(Compact, yeah. But for everything I'd use it for, either shooting ball bearings or my good old little fiberglass bow's still lots better and anywhere I'd be shooting no trouble to carry. And I'll eat my underwear the day any slingshot dart can reliably take down a deer. ;) Someday I'll give darts a try, but probably not soon.)
I did get a sad chuckle at hearing how snooty & parochial the "slingshot" community can be about "wrist rockets" though. Oh my. You'd think it was us talking about sufficient distal taper, lol. :)
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Dec 24, 2021 18:58:51 GMT
Those darts aren’t intended to replace a bow. As for the snooty or bad mouthing a wrist rocket I don’t remember that happening at least on the forums I belonged to, but I’m going back nearly 20 years. I had a wrist rocket, made by Whamo, couldn’t hit the side of a barn if I was inside with it. I’d try for a couple of weeks, give up, pack it away, and then months later give it another try only to pack it away again. I was really puzzle because the natural forks I used as kid did much better. Then one day out of desperation I thought I’d try something different and ordered one from A+, a vendor that made them and advertised on the forum. I was hitting with that thing right out of the box and went back and ordered more of slightly different design but lost much interest when I realized his were wearing a hole in my pockets. At that point I switched to small Chinese jobbies made from bent steel rods and tube bands. I stuck with those. All were of the low fork design mentioned in the video but we didn’t use that term at that time. I liked them for the reasons mentioned in the video and the fact they tucked neatly into my pocket. I still do not understand my problem with a wrist rocket it never worked for me and after switching decided the design was all wrong for me being too bulky for concealed carry anyway. Some people liked them as their longevity attests to.
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Post by joe_meadmaker on Dec 24, 2021 19:02:59 GMT
I recommend some type of eye protection. A band or tie can break and I’ve found ricochets common and to the point of even going them rebounds. Thanks. Will do. I have multiple pairs of safety glasses which should do the trick. |
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Post by Sir Thorfinn on Dec 24, 2021 22:49:42 GMT
So...SCA gauntlet experience...put something on the inside that pads a bit. Then it's just a fun bruise. So suggestions mouse pad, or felt furniture pads. Sooo many options
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Dec 25, 2021 0:06:27 GMT
Bicycle gloves is what I used. They were my only protection, but then I didn't shot darts.
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Jan 2, 2022 18:22:45 GMT
This thread regenerated my interest in slingshots, not enough for me to break mine out after a decade or so. Call it laziness. But yesterday all of that changed when I caught a cat in my house five times. I believe that he was after my birds and that was enough. I located my wooden A+ forks easy enough. They were together a shoe box full of talc powder in a closet. All had gold theraband bands. The one on top had double bands of tapered theraband and that was the one I chose. I gave it a test pull expecting the bands to break due to their age, but they held. The one under that had a single non-tapered band and out of curiosity I gave a test pull only to have it snap. I took the first one outside after hunting up ⅜” ball bearings for familiarization. I was amazed at the strength needed to pull, it was nothing like when I packed it away. Hehe The accuracy was gone also. Oh what a 10+ year layoff will do. After I wore myself out I called it quits for the day. Today I caught him inside three times. By the third time I had the slingshot in my pocket along with three balls. I noticed the birds had eaten the bananas I had given them and was attempting to replace them. While walking down the hall about 10’ from the rear door there was the cat, outside and trapped between me and his escape. We stirred each other down while I loaded the slingshot as I had that in my pocket at that point. As I drew one of the two bands broke but one was left intact and at 10’ the lopsided release pressure should not make a noticeable difference so I let go. The first thing I realized was the reduced power. Nevertheless something flew from the cat, I think hair or maybe something attached to it all was backlit so somewhat exaggerated, and cat immediately vanished behind the door frame.
Now to breakout my theraband stock to make another band. However my stock is also old so I question its durability. I do have some tube stock in the freezer. Either way I don’t like making bands.
13 January, and to bring a closure; I have not seen the cat since and my birds are safe. I hit the sucker squarely in the face as that was the only target he presented when peeking around the corner. Not happy about doing that but having a stray cat roaming my house bringing in his fleas or whatever and eating my birds is unacceptable.
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Things have changed!