# The ICE Ranger



## Bill Hays (Aug 9, 2010)

This is the result of a LOT of testing.
The Ice Ranger is part of a series I've been making from Polycarbonate... yes that's right, the same stuff Gargoyle and other super high end bullet resistant sunglasses are made from, only this is a LOT thicker and stronger!
What I found is, Polycarbonate _might_ be the best material for making a non metal slingshot out of... it's light and strong yet workable.. the only problem is the price. It's more expensive than G10 or G11... so the quantity that will be produced will probably be a lot less than out of other materials.

Later on, I'll probably make a couple with embedded LEDs for some really cool effects.

This one is going to Florida tomorrow... it's DHansen's new shooter!


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## Ace (Oct 24, 2010)

Wow those are pretty







neat effect with the LED's


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## dhansen (Aug 31, 2010)

Wow, Bill! That is amazing.







Beautiful and super strong. I love the look of that Ice Ranger.







Another work of art from a true master craftsman. Great job!!


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## M.J (Nov 1, 2010)

That's freaking awesome!


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## ZDP-189 (Mar 14, 2010)

I've made Lexan brand (polycarbonate) slingshtos before. It's not that expensive; more than Perspex acrylic maybe, but less than micarta (phenolic) let alone G10. The reasons I don't use it much are it is more prone to scratching than acryilc, it bubbles when I heat-bend it, and I can put a better finish on arcylic.


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## Bill Hays (Aug 9, 2010)

This ain't lexan.
For 3/4" thick bullet resistant grade polycarbonate, it runs over $100 a square foot not including minimums and shipping.


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## Dayhiker (Mar 13, 2010)

Man, that makes a pretty and tough slingshot! And I think I'm lovin' the led idea already -- talk about your slingshot pimpin', man that's the ultimate. I could see me shootin' something like that in my cape and mink-lined boots.


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## jskeen (Feb 7, 2011)

That's some nice work in an unusual material! Is the frosted look intrinsic to the material, or is it a surface effect? Do you start with clear poly-C or order it in a translucent mix? I'm just curious, at that price it's irrelevant to me beyond that, but I do quite a bit of finishing work on resins, and can't imagine how you would get that effect on a clear base as a surface treatment and be that uniform.

How do you expect the durability to work out long term? It's obviously not going to be bothered by impacts, but I could maybe see accumulated scratches or wear polishing being an issue down the road.


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## Dan the Slingshot Man (Nov 21, 2010)

very nice looking, I think I even like it better than g10


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## smitty (Dec 17, 2009)

This one has some promise for night shooting with the forks glowing and an attachment for a mag light ! I really like it.


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## Dayhiker (Mar 13, 2010)




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## Devoman (Oct 15, 2010)

Build in the LED light and it will be a revolution! The slingshot world will never be the same, Luke Skywalker eat your heart out. Nice job.


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## jmplsnt (Jan 1, 2010)

I can say that down the road Bill's slingshots will be very prized and higher-end collectors' pieces......oh, that's right, they already are.

Excellent work and beautiful piece Mr. Bill.


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## skinny01010 (Feb 9, 2011)

smitty said:


> This one has some promise for night shooting with the forks glowing and an attachment for a mag light ! I really like it.


Add in glow-in-the-dark ammo too! 
Fantastic slingshot you got there Bill.


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## Bill Hays (Aug 9, 2010)

This is the impact test done for the PolyCarbonate Ranger:

In testing I actually got a full on ricochet right in the face with a bullet... 
it's a good reminder to ALWAYS wear safety glasses.


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