# "Houston, We Got a Problem!"



## FlyBye (Aug 18, 2013)

Being new to slingshots and having a pocket full of cash , I went out and purchased the infamous *Daisy F16*. After all... I wanted to be able to cut cards and light my matches just like the rest of ya with only a few minutes of practice .

The 1/4 inch steel projectile that I set in motion bounced off some wood when I missed my target and came back and hit me in the face! (first shot) Fortunately, I have the strength of 10 men (OK,OK... 10 very old, tired men) and the steel ball didn't do any damage that years of therapy and plastic surgery wouldn't take care of... eventually. In all seriousness, I was fortunate that I wasn't hit in the eye. Lesson learned!

For targets I used a soda pop can and a square box (7x7 inches) with a 1 inch circle drawn in the middle that had cross hairs to aid in aiming. After several misses I eventually moved up to 13-15 feet where I felt more comfortable. I never hit the circle, but got all around it. Looking forward to setting up some canvas as a backdrop so I can recover some of the ammo.

Anybody with any tips on aiming/shooting this kind of slingshot sure would be appreciated.

FlyBye

"Shoot Straight and Prosper"


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## lightgeoduck (Apr 3, 2011)

If it were me, I would hold the forks at a 45 degree angle with that type of slingshot... This would make it easier for me to use the fork as a reference rather than vertical... And a more natural draw rather than full horizontal...

I have a few long winded videos on how to shoot,,, that seemed to be helpful to some( link to my channel in my sig block )

But for a quick and dirty..

Draw and aim at the target in a way that seems comfortable to you.
Take a few shots, not changing the way you shoot after each shot.

Note where the ammo placed, and make adjustments from there.. One adjustment, five shoots, repeat until you place.

During this time you will also figure out where your eye wants to reference the fork to the target at.

If your ammo is placing all over the place, you need to work on your draw and pouch release first.. Then after you are placing in the same spot at least 50percent of the time, go back to the beginning of my steps.

Hope this helped, if not directly, at least aid in your self assessment of your shooting..

Final tip

Make a video of you shooting and review it afterwards.. It helps golfers, and it helps in shooting

LGD


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## e~shot (Jun 3, 2010)

hope this will help


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## Btoon84 (Nov 22, 2011)

Glad you weren't seriously injured FlyBye, it'd be a shame to have to say ByeBye to your EyeEye....  Welcome to a great forum and an awesome hobby!


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## Imperial (Feb 9, 2011)

meh eye sight is over rated. . .










make sure you wear some eye protection. id also replace the yellow tubes it came with . id replace them with either the trumark regular pull, tan, or the rrt tubes, red tapered. its a good slingshot to just learn the basics, but after a while you have to make a natural fork and a board cut, its natural progression, itll happen. and then the flat bands and tubing . . . oh man ! youre in for some fun!


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## quarterinmynose (Jan 21, 2012)

word. Some eye protection and those videos ought to get you on the right track. I'm very much agree with Imp though, if possible try to find some tubes/bands other than those yellows. Those things are really a downer.


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## mr. green (Nov 3, 2012)

Welcome to the forum. Thank you for sharing your experience.


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## FlyBye (Aug 18, 2013)

I have seen both of the mentioned videos before, but I went ahead and watched them both again. I'm glad I did, because I did notice several areas in my form that were not spot on. It was a little too dark outside, so I did what every Red-Blooded American would do if given the opportunity. Shoot Inside! It was great, that is until I got caught ...

*Side Note:*

Knowing the dangers ricocheting metal projectiles within a domesticated residential setting... I choose to use wadded up card stock as a replacement for inside.

I noticed using a larger "ball" made it easier to center in the pouch than using the 1/4 inch steel balls I had used outside. I also had been focusing on lining up the top tube with the target, but neglected the bottom tube. I noticed that once the bottom tube was lined up with the top tube, it made a huge difference for the better. The final tweak to my form was pulling the tubes/pouch back further to my face.

*Side Note II:*

After a search on the forum, I did notice that several didn't like the yellow tubes that the slingshot came with. Some said that they were prone to snap and break and were incredibly stiff or tough to pull back. I did notice that the tubes appear to be close to the breaking point when I pulled them back to a modest 29 inch draw. I think that I might upgrade to some Red Trumark Tapered Tubes in the near future.

I appreciate the suggestions,

FlyBye

"Shoot Straight and Prosper"


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## rockslinger (Nov 16, 2010)

Welcome to the forum Flybye! Eye protection, great advice!


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## flipgun (Nov 14, 2012)

I feel for ya Bro!On my first market tube shooter I had one come back and ricochet off of my glasses frame ONLY because I looked down to get another ball.


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## HarryBee (Jun 29, 2013)

I have seen both of the mentioned videos before, but I went ahead and watched them both again. I'm glad I did, because I did notice several areas in my form that were not spot on. It was a little too dark outside, so I did what every Red-Blooded American would do if given the opportunity. Shoot Inside! It was great, that is until I got caught ...

What parents simply don,t understand is that a home is just a very comfortable slingshot shooting range ! What,s hard about that ? Lol, Harry


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## FlyBye (Aug 18, 2013)

HarryBee said:


> ...What parents simply don,t understand is that a home is just a very comfortable slingshot shooting range ! What,s hard about that ? Lol, Harry


What if I'm one of the parents? ~ ROFL ~


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## HarryBee (Jun 29, 2013)

FlyBye said:


> HarryBee said:
> 
> 
> > ...What parents simply don,t understand is that a home is just a very comfortable slingshot shooting range ! What,s hard about that ? Lol, Harry
> ...


Don't tell me the WIFE got you ?? Oh boy, that's even worse ! H.


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