# How Do You Nock Arrows In The SimpleShot Slingbow Bandset?



## calinb (Apr 4, 2015)

Who's shooting arrows using a finger release technique? I'm using the SimpleShot slingbow bandset and it's functioning very well for me:

http://simple-shot.com/accessories/flatbands-for-slingbow/

However, I'm looking for advice and techniques to speed my "nock time" (the time it takes me to properly push and seat the nock's groove over the supporting cord in the pouch, such that drawing the leather pull tab causes the pouch to pinch and grip the nock from the sides (at least I think that's the way it's designed to work). If find nocking the arrow to be a very "fiddly" task (much more so than nocking an arrow onto a bow string), though I'm getting better at it and faster with practice. Unless I can learn how it make it less fiddly, I'll probably be more likely to just grab my target recurve bow than my slingbow, when I want to shoot arrows into my hay bale in the future.

One thing that slows me down is the end of the nock often pushes back about 3/8" into the center hole in the pouch during launch. It drags the cord back into the hole too, where the cord sticks in a small loop. After taking a shot, I must expend the time necessary to extract the cord from the center hole of the pouch, which you can best see in the following photo from the SimpleShot website. Why is this center hole present in an arrow pouch? I can think of no purpose for it and it only seems to provide a place for the cord to jam. I'm thinking about making a pouch without the center hole but don't currently have any leather as thick and stiff as what comes with the SimpleShot pouch. I think a somewhat beefy pouch is desirable when shooting arrows.

I would try Chuck's approach and use "ball bolts" and a regular SS pouch instead of an arrow nock, but a ball would interfere with my slingbow architecture and also preclude shooting them from my recurve bow.

Thanks for any advice or suggestions!


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## Phoul Mouth (Jan 6, 2015)

You knock the arrow on the para cord inside the pouch, then pulling back the pouch pinches the leather on the arrow so you can draw. I personally haven't seen any other ways for it to be done except for what you mentioned.

As to increasing knock speed slingbows aren't about shots per minute. They are clumsy and inferior to bows in every way, especially speed.


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## calinb (Apr 4, 2015)

Phoul Mouth said:


> You knock the arrow on the para cord inside the pouch, then pulling back the pouch pinches the leather on the arrow so you can draw.


Thanks, Phoul Mouth! That's what I figured, but thought I'd ask anyway.



Phoul Mouth said:


> As to increasing knock speed slingbows aren't about shots per minute. They are clumsy and inferior to bows in every way, especially speed.


I guess I'm learning about that now, but I'd like to close the speed gap, as much as possible. I still can't shoot this thing as accurately as my recurve or my slingshots, but I think I'm making good progress at reducing my "nock time" with much less fumbling. Maybe I'll make a video when I top the nocking learning curve!

I realized a huge improvement by eliminating the centering hole in the pouch. Now I don't have to un-jam the paracord from the centering hole for each shot. I see no reason for for the hole, because the nock centers automatically when nocked to the paracord and the pouch sides draw in. Lacking the optimum leather for making a new pouch, I used my thinner leather to make a patch and bonded it over the hole inside the pouch using rubberized super glue (model car "tire" glue) and activator ("kicker"). I don't think it'll last nearly as long as a pouch, but it proved my theory: dump the centering hole to reduce "nock time" and fumbling!

Next I developed a pretty fast nocking technique. I insert the arrow into my Mantis slingbow with about a fletching length of space between the fletching and the sllingbow and then I use my slingbow holding hand's index finger to pull and cock the arrow down in front and jam it tight in the SB, holding it in place. This cocked down position in front makes the fletching and knock angle upwards in the back. The ideal length of arrow insertion into the slingbow also results in the notched end of the nock sticking out just a bit farther than where the pouch would be when drawn with no band tension. Next I pull the draw tab back and under the arrow to straighten everything out. Releasing my hand from the draw tab, I pinch the paracord flat with my fingers where the nock will go and then pull the draw tab again to slightly stretch the bands--just enough to bring the pouch and paracord up and into the nock groove. The little bit of tension keeps the pouch sides straight and the nocking paracord taught so it can slide right into the groove in the nock. Coming up from the bottom tends to keep the bands from disturbing my feathers, but it's best to minimize the pull rearward (just enough to keep the paracord nocking point taught), which minimizes the contraction of the bands the "wrong way" against my feathers when the pouch slides into position. Finally, I pull the draw tab back to my anchor point and release! 

That's a lot to type and say, but it's easy to do. Hence, my desire in making a video.


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