# First time shooting. Several fork hits and I think I hit my own bands (twice). Please advise.



## Ogon (Jan 5, 2022)

Just stepped outside and shot about 30 shots. Had probably 4 fork hits and as you can see in the pictures below I damaged my bands. I'm pretty sure I shot my own bands against the frame to make those marks. I'm right handed, holding the slingshot in my left hand. Pretty sure I'm hitting the top fork (the fork that's on the top side when aiming - The one with the damaged band attached to it) consistently. Any tips about why this might be happening? Thanks everyone.


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## wolfboi823 (May 11, 2021)

The main thing I've noticed is keeping the frame level. Make a mental checklist. Mine goes: Grab pouch, point down range, pull back to my anchor, level out frame: straight as a board, aim, send it. That's how I've avoided doing frame hits. It's something my father taught me for bow hunting. It works for slinging too. 

Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk


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## Whytey (Sep 26, 2021)

Dunno, never had a frame hit shooting OTT.


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## Ogon (Jan 5, 2022)

wolfboi823 said:


> The main thing I've noticed is keeping the frame level. Make a mental checklist. Mine goes: Grab pouch, point down range, pull back to my anchor, level out frame: straight as a board, aim, send it. That's how I've avoided doing frame hits. It's something my father taught me for bow hunting. It works for slinging too.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk


I bow hunt too! A compound bow with a release device and a sight with a level is a lot more straight forward than a slingshot though. At least it seems that way on first impression.


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## wolfboi823 (May 11, 2021)

Ogon said:


> I bow hunt too! A compound bow with a release device and a sight with a level is a lot more straight forward than a slingshot though. At least it seems that way on first impression.


It can be! It's one of those things, when everything lines up, it's simple. Even for my bow now I'm working on hammering out and tuning my arrows. Need more weight up front. But in that way, I've found archery and slinging are alike. Tune your bands to your ammo then shoot as exactly the same as often as you can for best results. 

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## Ogon (Jan 5, 2022)

wolfboi823 said:


> It can be! It's one of those things, when everything lines up, it's simple. Even for my bow now I'm working on hammering out and tuning my arrows. Need more weight up front. But in that way, I've found archery and slinging are alike. Tune your bands to your ammo then shoot as exactly the same as often as you can for best results.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk


I'm shooting 1/2 inch clay balls because they're similar weight to 3/8 steel which is what the .6mm bands that came with my slingshot are best suited for according to Wasp. It feels awkward holding that big of a ball. Thinking going lighter, smaller ammo, and lighter bands (or leaving them longer) for lighter draw would be good to make it easier to get more reps and improve my form. Is 1/2 inch abnormally large shot? It's pretty unwieldy to hold on to, but I'm a total beginner so I'm sure everything will feel more familiar after a while.


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## Sandstorm (Apr 5, 2021)

Yeah, not a lot of people shoot 1/2” all the time. The weight might be the same but your pouch is probably too small. The most common seem to be 5/16, 3/8, and 7/16 steel. But it is fun to smack a can with half inch every once in a while. We actually just had a thread on this the other day. Let me see if I can find you the link. The search function takes a little getting used to but there’s a mountain of info on here. Oh and welcome to the forum!


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## Sandstorm (Apr 5, 2021)

Here you go. Fork hit
And I’d probably go with smaller ammo as a beginner. It helps when learning pouch release. 1/4” or 5/16 I’d say. Also, check out YouTube. There are tons and tons of videos for beginners.


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## Ogon (Jan 5, 2022)

Sandstorm said:


> Here you go. Fork hit
> And I’d probably go with smaller ammo as a beginner. It helps when learning pouch release. 1/4” or 5/16 I’d say. Also, check out YouTube. There are tons and tons of videos for beginners.


Thanks. I only have .6mm latex right now so If I went to 5/16 what would be a good stretch ratio so it would be well matched power wise for the ammo? Thanks for the help.


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## Sandstorm (Apr 5, 2021)

Ogon said:


> Thanks. I only have .6mm latex right now so If I went to 5/16 what would be a good stretch ratio so it would be well matched power wise for the ammo? Thanks for the help.


That’s a good question that I’ll let someone more experienced answer. I think that it probably came with Snipersling Black Rioter latex, for anyone that wishes to reply. Actually, I guess in my opinion you could go 18-23 taper and I’d do like 400% elongation and tweak it to comfort. Others will probably have some input though.


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## Valery (Jan 2, 2020)

Ogon said:


> Any tips about why this might be happening?


There are two main reasons, or maybe both at once in your version. 
The first is that the slingshot is not perpendicular to the shot line. In this case, one sling is pulled tighter than the other.
The second is improper release, most likely a lying policeman effect. The ball goes out on the wrong trajectory.
Both problems cause the slingshot to hit. Very common mistakes among beginners, but easily corrected.  
Well and the ball with a diameter of half an inch is a bit large, of course, it is better to use steel of the same weight.
I will add a picture on how to hold the pouch correctly:

__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content


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## Ogon (Jan 5, 2022)

Valery said:


> the slingshot is not perpendicular to the shot line. In this case, one sling is pulled tighter than the other.


I think that was the main thing. I had watched a bunch of stuff on proper release in preparation for starting out so I was pretty mindful of that. Forgot what I already knew from archery - get your upper body aligned properly and then tilt at the hips for up or down trajectory.


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## Shaku (Sep 13, 2020)

Also something I noticed is, your bands look very long. How long do you draw? Do you face anchor (recommended for a beginner) or do you draw behind your head?

Longer draw in my experience amplifies mistakes made, therefor drawing short is the way to go in the beginning.


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## Sean Khan (Mar 27, 2020)

Use Asian-style pouch release and eat mandarins.








Fork hit


Dear Fellow Shooters, Today I tried to shoot a can from really close, like 5 yards, the can is about 6 inches from the ground, really low angle. I hit fork 3 times out of 5. I was scared because it would have definitely hurt like hell if it had hit my hand or finger. How to avoid fork hit with...




www.slingshotforum.com





You might also want to wear a leather glove for a bit.


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## Grandpa Grumpy (Apr 21, 2013)

How to avoid fork and hand hits.


Several of you have asked me to do a video about how to avoid fork and hand hits ... and I finally did it. You will find the video in two parts here: Part 1 Part 2 In spite of a couple of slips of the tongue, I hope you find the videos helpful. Cheers ..... Charles




www.slingshotforum.com


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## Slide-Easy (Aug 16, 2020)

It happens...for me it is release, but 90% of my fork hits were trying to shoot a carpenter bee flying thru the air.


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## Hoss (Jun 3, 2014)

Never had a fork hit with OTT but most likely it your release.

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## Ogon (Jan 5, 2022)

Shaku said:


> Also something I noticed is, your bands look very long. How long do you draw? Do you face anchor (recommended for a beginner) or do you draw behind your head?
> 
> Longer draw in my experience amplifies mistakes made, therefor drawing short is the way to go in the beginning.


The bands are stretched in that picture to make the damage more visible. My draw is 67cm and my active band length is about 14cm.


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## cromag (Jan 17, 2021)

If your pouch is at least the size of the ammo I'm guessing it all a release and grip issue. Pinch the clay on the sides not in front and thumb nail in and snug , not up. Release with the finger not the thumb.


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## skarrd (Jul 20, 2011)

plumb,level and square forks plumb with each other,bands level.and square to the frame is what i go by,except with PFS


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## High Desert Flipper (Aug 29, 2020)

Once you figure out the alignment you will find yourself a year out from any fork hits and offering advice to newcomers on how to get there. Welcome to the obsession and hoping you get it all lined up and into muscle memory soon!


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