# What length band should I use for 3/4 butterfly



## Idogthegreat02 (Feb 13, 2021)

Hello I live in the northeast us and I got into slingshot shooting this summer and I started buying premade bands and it got to a point where I was very comfortable shooting between full and 3/4 butterfly but I couldn’t find any bands that were a right length so I started making my own and I bought 1mm bands because I figured in the cold up here for hunting I wouldn’t have to worry as much about the bands losing their stretch as much because of the cold so I’ve been experimenting with longer bands I started with12 inch and now I’m onto 16 inch for an easier draw but I’ve been having the issue where my band snaps back and hits me on my middle finger on the frame and it’s very bad and scabbed up so am I doing some wrong should I go with longer or shorter bands or a different thickness next time.


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## Grandpa Grumpy (Apr 21, 2013)

What ammo are you using? If you are getting hand slap that suggest your bands are too strong or your ammo is too light.


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## Idogthegreat02 (Feb 13, 2021)

I use 3/8s ammo I have larger marbles that I can try their a bit heavier any other suggestions on ammo I’ve also been having trouble finding ammo in bulk do you have any suggestions on where I could do that


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## Grandpa Grumpy (Apr 21, 2013)

For hunting I would use heavier ammo.


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## Idogthegreat02 (Feb 13, 2021)

Okay thank you very much


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## Harry Knuckles (Sep 28, 2020)

I agree with Grandpa Grumpy, the 1mm band is too heavy for 3/8" ammo. I shoot butterfly with .5mm and 3/8" ammo. According to my rough Audacity measuring, I'm getting around 250 fps. Try a really thin, 1/2" or less, straight cut on the 1mm band and see if that helps. Also, a heavy pouch will increase handslap too.


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## Idogthegreat02 (Feb 13, 2021)

OK yes I do have a heavy pouch on there I bought larger ones just because I was using larger Vans so I figured that would help but I will try the half inch should I do a taper like half inch to quarter inch because right now I’m doing a three-quarter inch to half inch tape or on my bands and they’re 16 inches long


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## Harry Knuckles (Sep 28, 2020)

I wouldn't do a taper right now. The taper cut will be faster but the bands don't last as long. Being that you are new, I would try to get as many as you can shots downrange before going to a taper cut. The straight cut will be a little slower so hopefully less hand slap and you'll get more shots out of a set of bands.

I cut my bands at a 3/4" to 5/8", so very little taper and I get around 700 shots per set.


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## Idogthegreat02 (Feb 13, 2021)

OK I definitely plan on trying the no taper on my bands I started out shooting through the forks and now I’m shooting over the top I am a lot more accurate over the top and since I’ve been shooting and buying bands online all the bands that I’ve bought have come with a taper off of the simple shot website I would say with the tapers that I’m using I’m getting roughly 500 to 700 shots out of my bands since I’ve been making them with the 1mm thick but before that I was probably getting between 100 and 300 shots out of it with the thinner latex and who knows I might be more accurate with the straight cut rather than the tapers on it thank you very much for the advice also I’m wondering if you might know anywhere where I can get ammo in bulk because it tends to be a little bit expensive buying it off the simple shot website and I don’t get that much ammo I feel like I can get it cheaper on a different place if you have any suggestions and I’ve also been thinking about buying a lead smelter and a mold because I have a lot of lead lying around for refilling bird shot shells that I don’t use that I could easily melt I have probably about 25 to 30 pounds of bird shot that I could melt into my own ammo but until I get to that point where I start making my own ammo do you have any suggestions


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## Idogthegreat02 (Feb 13, 2021)

OK I definitely plan on trying the no taper on my bands I started out shooting through the forks and now I’m shooting over the top I am a lot more accurate over the top and since I’ve been shooting and buying bands online all the bands that I’ve bought have come with a taper off of the simple shot website I would say with the tapers that I’m using I’m getting roughly 500 to 700 shots out of my bands since I’ve been making them with the 1mm thick but before that I was probably getting between 100 and 300 shots out of it with the thinner latex and who knows I might be more accurate with the straight cut rather than the tapers on it thank you very much for the advice also I’m wondering if you might know anywhere where I can get ammo in bulk because it tends to be a little bit expensive buying it off the simple shot website and I don’t get that much ammo I feel like I can get it cheaper on a different place if you have any suggestions and I’ve also been thinking about buying a lead smelter and a mold because I have a lot of lead lying around for refilling bird shot shells that I don’t use that I could easily melt I have probably about 25 to 30 pounds of bird shot that I could melt into my own ammo but until I get to that point where I start making my own ammo do you have any suggestions


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## Idogthegreat02 (Feb 13, 2021)

I don’t know why that posted twice


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## Harry Knuckles (Sep 28, 2020)

The thinner latex shouldn't have a shorter life span if you are staying at 500% draw length. I'm guessing you overstretched the thin stuff because it's easier to pull. I try to stay under 500% when cutting my bands.

I buy my ammo off ebay mostly. I look for the free shipping option. something like this https://www.ebay.com/itm/1000-qty-3-8-Inch-Steel-Shot-Slingshot-Ammo-Balls/291118013110?epid=1239833650&hash=item43c7fc5ab6:g:F7UAAOSwBNpfFw1b

Pocket Predator sells ammo too https://pocketpredator.com/three.html scroll down to the ammo listing. He sells 125 3/8" for $3 but the shipping might get expensive, not sure.


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## Idogthegreat02 (Feb 13, 2021)

Yes that’s what I believe was happening because when I was buying them premade they weren’t long enough and I think they were breaking because I was over stretching them and that’s why I’d like making my own bands is because I can make them a good length so I don’t need to worry about over stretching them and breaking them super easily and thank you very much for the links


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## Facewizard13 (Dec 28, 2020)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PMSX9W9/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_DPCMGC81NJWRAE1NYFXR?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

3/8". This is the best deal I could find.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk


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## Idogthegreat02 (Feb 13, 2021)

Hello everybody thank you guys for all your help I did some experimenting today as just got done shooting a shot for about an hour to an hour and a half I had 5/16 ammo 3/8 ammo and marbles that were probably about half inch maybe bigger I discovered that with the 5/16 there was a lot of hand slap and I got rid of those real quick The 3/16 I had hardly any hand slapping when it was it did not hurt and with the marbles there was no man’s slap but I was a lot less accurate I was shooting at about 30 to 40 feet I have not tried the street bands yet I’m gonna make a set of them today and do some more testing with those for now I’m just using my tapered bandset That I already had on my slingshot which are three-quarter inch to half inch taper at 16 inches long so I think I’m gonna stick with the 16 because I’m accurate and there’s not a lot of resistance when I’m going full butterfly or three-quarter butterfly and I’m going to do a half inch straight band and three-quarter inch straight band and see which one of those I like the best and thank you guys so much for the links for the ammo because I’ve been having trouble with it hunting wise I’ve been trying to hold off because I don’t have a lot of ammo left I’ve just been target shooting with my ammo catcher but it’s rabbit season and I wanna try to get a couple rabbits before the end of rabbit season so now I can go and buy some bulk ammo and not have to worry for a while


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