# I Hit My Thumb!



## DracoUltima (Jun 14, 2011)

So yesterday, when I was shooting my Dankung Cougar that I had bought a week ago, I hit my thumb with a marble! I have never had a fork hit on this slingshot (I was holding it in the finger hook, thumb brace side shooting style) and was consistently accurate with it. Yesterday was the first time I used single bands in a LONG time but I doubt that it was the cause..... Anyways, on the ninth hit or so, I felt intense pain and nearly dropped my slingshot. Thank GOODNESS I was using weak target bands and a marble! Also, if it had hit any lower, it would've been a lot worse. The damage is minor but it hurts like ****! Do you guys have any tips as how to avoid this again? Don't mention gloves because I'm gonna wear them from now on lol!

Oh, here's a picture:


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## Eyeball75 (Jul 9, 2012)

I always shoot with both my thumbs safely behind my back! Hope this helps!


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## e~shot (Jun 3, 2010)

Congrats! you passed the level 1


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## treefork (Feb 1, 2010)

A different slingshot maybe. I've never done this in my entire life. Or exam every possibility of form , hold and release. Video yourself and have someone else review all shooting factors. You can also post this video for members to review. There is a post where you can post it or post it in here. In the meantime you can also review past post on related topics. Good luck.


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## akmslingshots (Mar 2, 2012)

id say you just simply wont do it again, its like clipping your cheek learning butterfly, only once


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## lightgeoduck (Apr 3, 2011)

well first ,, get yourself the smallest drill bit,, and drill a hole in that nail to release the pressure... don:t use a drill, just turn the bit with your fingers....

LGD


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## LVO (Sep 25, 2011)

akmslingshots said:


> id say you just simply wont do it again, its like clipping your cheek learning butterfly, only once


Or smacking your EAR doing butterfly.







yep.... only once


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## akmslingshots (Mar 2, 2012)

lightgeoduck said:


> well first ,, get yourself the smallest drill bit,, and drill a hole in that nail to release the pressure... don:t use a drill, just turn the bit with your fingers....


Knowing that your suggestion is the right thing to do does not stop me squeeming at the thought









get well soon Draco


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## DracoUltima (Jun 14, 2011)

lightgeoduck said:


> well first ,, get yourself the smallest drill bit,, and drill a hole in that nail to release the pressure... don:t use a drill, just turn the bit with your fingers....
> 
> LGD


By release the pressure, do you mean let out all of the blood that has collected under the nail? I'd imagine it's be pretty painful to drill a hole in my nail.....


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## LVO (Sep 25, 2011)

No drilling!!! 
Heat a sewing needle RED -HOT and then lightly touch the tip to the wounded area,( Yeah, I thought my mom was nuts when she suggested this) The hole will appear and relieve pressure. Remember that the nail is same stuff as hair.... when you touch the needle to nail(lightly) the hot needle will burn hole. Don't shove it in there, just barely touch it. Works like a dream
-Honestly....completely pain free


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## akmslingshots (Mar 2, 2012)

LVO said:


> No drilling!!!
> Heat a sewing needle RED -HOT and then lightly touch the tip to the wounded area,( Yeah, I thought my mom was nuts when she suggested this) The hole will appear and relieve pressure. Remember that the nail is same stuff as hair.... when you touch the needle to nail(lightly) the hot needle will burn hole. Don't shove it in there, just barely touch it. Works like a dream
> -Honestly....completely pain free


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## lightgeoduck (Apr 3, 2011)

DracoUltima said:


> No drilling!!!
> Heat a sewing needle RED -HOT and then lightly touch the tip to the wounded area,( Yeah, I thought my mom was nuts when she suggested this) The hole will appear and relieve pressure. Remember that the nail is same stuff as hair.... when you touch the needle to nail(lightly) the hot needle will burn hole. Don't shove it in there, just barely touch it. Works like a dream
> -Honestly....completely pain free


a drill bit is pain free.. you are turning slowly and yes its to release the blood... My father has done it many times, I have done it many times, in fact if I had a camera ready I can show you the hole in my nail now







..... MJ here as done it recently as well..... Not saying that you have to use this method,, and if a hot needle works great







.... I am not pushing anything I just don,t think the opposition of my suggestion is necessary to be punctuated with 3 explimation points


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## sparrowslinger (Jun 19, 2012)

I feel sick!


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## LVO (Sep 25, 2011)

Sorry for the exclamation points.... that was a "personal experience" reaction! I must have done the drill bit wrong, cuz it hurt like a @#@[email protected]$$ . Hot needle worked for me! and was very quick.
Hey, maybe he can smash his OTHER thumb and then give us a side by side review of our two methods? And do a tutorial at the same time! 
j/k Draco.... i feel for ya... that is not a fun thing


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## lightgeoduck (Apr 3, 2011)

LVO said:


> Sorry for the exclamation points.... that was a "personal experience" reaction! I must have done the drill bit wrong, cuz it hurt like a @#@[email protected]$$ . Hot needle worked for me! and was very quick.
> Hey, maybe he can smash his OTHER thumb and then give us a side by side review of our two methods? And do a tutorial at the same time!
> j/k Draco.... i feel for ya... that is not a fun thing


No biggy







... I do like your idea for draco to try it on both thumbs though







.. I am sort of kidding too









I promise, if I ever hurt one of my digits , I will try the hot needle, I am open minded


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## DracoUltima (Jun 14, 2011)

Lol, thanks guys. I'll wait a bit for the pain/numbness to go away and then do a random pick between a hot needle or drill bit (or both). Then, I'll post to show the results!


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## lightgeoduck (Apr 3, 2011)

DracoUltima said:


> Lol, thanks guys. I'll wait a bit for the pain/numbness to go away and then do a random pick between a hot needle or drill bit (or both). Then, I'll post to show the results!


Cool then you can use that pic as your avatar


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## sparrowslinger (Jun 19, 2012)

*YUCK*!

EDIT: Sorry for my posts, I'm squeamish, but I keep following in case this happens to me.


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## LVO (Sep 25, 2011)

I learned not to watch youtube videos of the needle method while eating spaghetti for lunch. Well, actually the "related" videos off to the side are the ones that will get ya!


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## sparrowslinger (Jun 19, 2012)

I TOTALLY know what you mean!


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## newconvert (Dec 12, 2011)

lightgeoduck said:


> well first ,, get yourself the smallest drill bit,, and drill a hole in that nail to release the pressure... don:t use a drill, just turn the bit with your fingers....
> 
> LGD


or a hot needle, but LGD id right, the pain is because of the pressure from the blood. but i have a spyderco JD Smith, tip like a needle, and its ver sharp, so i just lance my blood blisters with a little pressure and it opens right up, cool!

the fork hit came from the frame moving, dankungs will do that, thats how i got my 1 and only thumb hit, had to lance that one too.


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## Btoon84 (Nov 22, 2011)

draco, i smashed my index finger in the car door some months back. hot needle did it for me and i didn't loose the nail! sometimes that can mess the cuticle up pretty bad and you'll loose the nail in a bit... time will tell.


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## M.J (Nov 1, 2010)

I did this a month ago and my nail is still black! Here's a pretty good view of it:








I did it with a set of 1" straight-cut theraband drawn waaay back and a 7/16" hexnut. I'm actually lucky it didn't end up worse. The pain kept me up that whole night and in the morning I drilled two holes to relieve the pressure. You need a teeny-tiny drill bit if you're going to do this, the ones that came with your cordless drill won't work!
e~shot's quote is awesome!


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## Matt. H/C (Jun 7, 2012)

akmslingshots said:


> id say you just simply wont do it again, its like clipping your cheek learning butterfly, only once


 Or like trapping something in your zipper as a kid!!! We only do it once


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## fsa46 (Jul 8, 2012)

Matt. H/C said:


> Or like trapping something in your zipper as a kid!!! We only do it once


I guess some of us had to do that more than once before we learned.







Yikes !


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## Sheila (Jun 2, 2012)

DracoUltima said:


> Lol, thanks guys. I'll wait a bit for the pain/numbness to go away and then do a random pick between a hot needle or drill bit (or both). Then, I'll post to show the results!


Just do the hot needle thing...my husband had to have that done before after he hit his hand with a hammer and said the pain went away after his friend did the needle thing to him. But, being per diem in the health care field I'm just going to say to make sure to sterilize EVERYTHING if you're going to do this yourself. Alcohol for the needle before heating it, Betadine on your hit thumb before putting the needle through it and after you poke it, sterile glove on the hand that will be doing the stabbing, etc. Infections can really really suck!


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## Imperial (Feb 9, 2011)

amputation is easier ...


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## tnflipper52 (Jan 26, 2012)

So, your saying, lop it off?


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## sparrowslinger (Jun 19, 2012)

OFF WITH HIS (HEAD!) THUMB!


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## RedRubber (Nov 8, 2011)

That hurts!


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## WILD BILL (Jan 26, 2012)

Sheila said:


> Lol, thanks guys. I'll wait a bit for the pain/numbness to go away and then do a random pick between a hot needle or drill bit (or both). Then, I'll post to show the results!


Just do the hot needle thing...my husband had to have that done before after he hit his hand with a hammer and said the pain went away after his friend did the needle thing to him. But, being per diem in the health care field I'm just going to say to make sure to sterilize EVERYTHING if you're going to do this yourself. Alcohol for the needle before heating it, Betadine on your hit thumb before putting the needle through it and after you poke it, sterile glove on the hand that will be doing the stabbing, etc. Infections can really really suck! 
[/quote]

I have done this many times, and the hot needle(very light touch) will work, It will burn through the nail real fast so NO pressure is needed. The thing about "sterilization" is this. The first time that I "Hot Needled" I thought that I would be smart and pour alcohol on it. I did this after I burned/melted a hole in it. This was not very smart as the alcohol got trapped under the nail on very sensitive meat and it burnt like the dickens.

Bill


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## akmslingshots (Mar 2, 2012)

WTBJR said:


> I have done this many times, and the hot needle(very light touch) will work, It will burn through the nail real fast so NO pressure is needed. The thing about "sterilization" is this. The first time that I "Hot Needled" I thought that I would be smart and pour alcohol on it. I did this after I burned/melted a hole in it. This was not very smart as the alcohol got trapped under the nail on very sensitive meat and it burnt like the dickens.
> 
> Bill


I imagine the air was blue with colourfull language haha


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## WILD BILL (Jan 26, 2012)

akmslingshots said:


> I have done this many times, and the hot needle(very light touch) will work, It will burn through the nail real fast so NO pressure is needed. The thing about "sterilization" is this. The first time that I "Hot Needled" I thought that I would be smart and pour alcohol on it. I did this after I burned/melted a hole in it. This was not very smart as the alcohol got trapped under the nail on very sensitive meat and it burnt like the dickens.
> 
> Bill


I imagine the air was blue with colourfull language haha








[/quote]

Yes it was!

Bill


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## faca (Dec 24, 2009)

DracoUltima said:


> So yesterday, when I was shooting my Dankung Cougar that I had bought a week ago, I hit my thumb with a marble! I have never had a fork hit on this slingshot (I was holding it in the finger hook, thumb brace side shooting style) and was consistently accurate with it. Yesterday was the first time I used single bands in a LONG time but I doubt that it was the cause..... Anyways, on the ninth hit or so, I felt intense pain and nearly dropped my slingshot. Thank GOODNESS I was using weak target bands and a marble! Also, if it had hit any lower, it would've been a lot worse. The damage is minor but it hurts like ****! Do you guys have any tips as how to avoid this again? Don't mention gloves because I'm gonna wear them from now on lol!
> 
> Oh, here's a picture:
> View attachment 23054


I don´t remeber in which of my posts you can see my poor thumb :-((. Now it´s completely recovered but my shooting grip now is hammergrip ;-)


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## Mr.Teh (Feb 28, 2012)

Get well soon for your thumb Draco !!


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## gizzmo (Aug 16, 2012)

Stick-shot... just had 1st thumb strike in a long time 
... getting nice and purple but I don't think I'll lose the nail 
... ouch

My thumb is beginning to look like the photo at the top. may have to implement the hot needle relief.

P.S. may you thumb be well mended before you do it again .. me too


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## faca (Dec 24, 2009)

I have recovered my picture from my albums


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## JetBlack (Mar 9, 2012)

Glad you did not shatter bone...


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## All Buns Glazing (Apr 22, 2012)

Geo, I noticed you had a hole in your nail over a blood blister in a video of yours recently









So, back on the subject, I've hit my hand a few times and it's always been due to a dodgy pouch release such as holding a marble in a tiny pouch or something. It absolutely ruins your confidence for a while, but the only thing you can do is do a mental checklist.

* Are the bands lined up?
* Is my grip on the ammo in the pouch the same as I always have it?
* Are the pouch tips level and even?

that's my "I've got a feeling I'm going to hit my hand" checklist and I never get a forkhit when I'm keeping these things in mind.

I rarely get forkhits or hit my hand, but it's happened and it hurts like heck - just make sure your pouch is lined up and your pouch release is smooth, AFAIK, stuffing that up is a one way ticket for Hurtsville. I think this is a good video to prove that a dicky pouch alignment is a great way to fork hits.


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