# Your first Slingshot/Catapult elastic/rubber



## Nico (Sep 10, 2010)

Just thought I'd put this out because I am always curious of the first experiences with a slingshot from people around the world? What was your first and how did it shoot for you? And would use it again if you could or do you still use it?

I will go first:

My first slingshot/resortera was one bought for me in Central Mexico from a resortera vendor when I was 7 years old the slingshot elastic was/were the round solid natural color "beige" elastic. It looks like tubes but has no cavity completely solid. It was a good slingshot/elastic and shot well I killed many lizards with it and small birds at that tender age of 7. I used stones with it as all the resorteras sold were made with stone shooting pouches a tradition I picked up when I was taught to make resorteras at 8 or 9 years old.

Would I shoot these round solid elastics again? Yes and I wish they still made and sold the good ones, I currently own a resortera I made with some 1/4 round solid elastic I ordered from afar and its reminiscent of the good solids of the day.


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## Gandolphin (Jun 28, 2010)

A barnett pro diablo II with barnett tubes, a year ago


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## NoSugarRob (Jun 3, 2010)

.


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## Gib (Sep 21, 2010)

marksman wrist rocket from crappytire (maybe 6 months ago), Came with some standard rubber tubes, I dont find myself shooting it anymore as I find more fun shooting ones ive made myself or bought from small slingshot dealers and my accuracy seems to just be terrible with the wrist rocket now lol.


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## joseph_curwen (Feb 8, 2010)

It was maybe 30 years ago, a slingshot made with a bend wire and square élastic, and bought on a garage sale









I got it with a bunch of marbles.


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## smitty (Dec 17, 2009)

Pecan tree natural fork with bicycle inner-tube rubber. I'd use one just like it again, but I don't think that kind of inner-tube is made anymore. This was 40+ years ago.


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## orcrender (Sep 11, 2010)

Fork was from an apple tree. The first bands from a bicycle inner tube. The bands were switched later that day with some from those old wide long rubber bands used by the post office.


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## geckko (Sep 9, 2010)

Hi
It was 23 or 24 years ago at the age of 7 or 6 years in Romania
I used a natural fork and some white/yellow flatbands they called in Romanian language 
"rubber from milk " shoots very good.

Greetings 
Sebi


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## Tex-Shooter (Dec 17, 2009)

My first slingshot! Well lets see, I think it was a natural White Oak fork cut with a pocket knife from overhanging limbs in the alley behind a neighbors house in about 1945. The rubber was pieces of red inter tube mounted over the top. It was tied on with another piece of red inter tube wrapped all the way down to the yoke and tucked back through. My ammo was of course nice round rocks about 1 inch in diameter. Yes, I got in trouble with several times. -- Tex


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## ARB (Dec 31, 2009)

I got my first slingshot when I was a kid in 1989. A Barnett Black Widow with standard Barnett tubes. I still have it - not with the original rubber obviously! I no longer shoot it as i find it crappy and toylike and the forks are much too close for my liking. Here is a photo of it beside my current favourite


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## NaturalFork (Jan 21, 2010)

I don't know how I acquired it but about 20 years ago I got a saunders wrist rocket. It of course had tubes back then. I shot everything out of it. My favorite thing to shoot was acorns I found in the yard. I was devastated when the tubes broke.


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## Henry the Hermit (Jun 2, 2010)

RecurveMaster said:


> I don't know how I acquired it but about 20 years ago I got a saunders wrist rocket. It of course had tubes back then. I shot everything out of it. My favorite thing to shoot was acorns I found in the yard. I was devastated when the tubes broke.


I don't remember my first, but it was home-made with red rubber from an old inner tube, I remember one with a hickory stick (no fork) and a single red rtubber band. Sometime in th early 50s, I saw "Robin Hood" and from that time on slingshots took a backseat to home made bows. In modern times, I had a wrist braced bent rod in the late 70s, but never shot it much because the pouch was very stiff and the only ammo I could find was .25 cal. Then the bands broke and I couldn't find replacements. More recently, (5 months ago) I bought a Daisy B52, and caught the disease.


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## keeco (Feb 28, 2010)

Bunny buster pocket shooter 1/2 in. gum rubber. Feb. this year.


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## philly (Jun 13, 2010)

Tio Angel was the sling shot maker of the family, he made all us kids one. Natural of course with inner tune bands. I was around 7 at the time, over 60 years ago. We kids kept the cook pot full. Being from the Basque country in Spain everything we shot, birds, chipmunks, rabits, whatever was cooked in a great pot with spanish rice. Those were the good old days. I wish I could go back. 
Philly


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## Flatband (Dec 18, 2009)

Here's a replica of my first one. Made from a coat hanger. Being from the inner city,there wasn't too many trees around. However,one of my other early ones was cut from a tree in the park-shh!! don't tell anyone!!!!







Flatband


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## Gib (Sep 21, 2010)

Flatband said:


> Here's a replica of my first one. Made from a coat hanger. Being from the inner city,there wasn't too many trees around. However,one of my other early ones was cut from a tree in the park-shh!! don't tell anyone!!!!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


went to see a larger image and it yelled at me!

"You must be Flatband to view this album!" haha


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## Flatband (Dec 18, 2009)

OOP's sorry. I have to transfer the picture to my public album. should be good now. Flatband


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## Darb (Sep 14, 2010)

I had one of these sometime circa 1977-1980ish ... I don't remember if it was mail order from an ad (like this one) in the back of one of my comic books, or of it was from an area sporting goods store. They've long since become illegal in NY.










I shot it with natural stones picked up from my neighborhood's beach, most of which were 1/2 - 1" ovals of quartz. I shot it a few hundred times until the bands broke, and then I vaguelly recall having trouble getting spare bands and reluctantly put it away, and it faded into memory. The LI Shootaround was the first time I've shot a sling since then, and was very nostalgic.


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## jmplsnt (Jan 1, 2010)

My first was the bent-rod Marksman with the shrink-wrapped plastic/wood handle and fitted with the late-80's Marksman tubes. Like everyone else on here I wish I had it still. I didn't kill anything with the exception of bottles and cans. The old school Marksman tubes weren't too bad until they changed them I think about five years ago. The new ones were so bad that I wrote Marksman an ugly letter!

Nick I have been given four resorteras from Mazatlan by my amigos on the boat; three of them were naturals fitted with the round solids and the elastic was brand new. I think with some digging you might be able to find a resortera seller down there who might be able to fit you out with a roll of the stuff. (I don't work on that boat anymore or else I might could help you but I'm somewhere else now).


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## dragonmaster (Dec 24, 2009)

It was like a twisted coat hanger fitted with office rubber and a leather pouch cost 10 cents then


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## Nico (Sep 10, 2010)

smitty said:


> Pecan tree natural fork with bicycle inner-tube rubber. I'd use one just like it again, but I don't think that kind of inner-tube is made anymore. This was 40+ years ago.


Ah Smitty,

Sounds like you got to enjoy the classic red innertube bands, I have some Gary gave me which I'm saving for a classic fork.
Awesome, I imagine you had some good times with your slingshot I'm a post red innertube era slingshooter.


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## Nico (Sep 10, 2010)

Tex-Shooter said:


> My first slingshot! Well lets see, I think it was a natural White Oak fork cut with a pocket knife from overhanging limbs in the alley behind a neighbors house in about 1945. The rubber was pieces of red inter tube mounted over the top. It was tied on with another piece of red inter tube wrapped all the way down to the yoke and tucked back through. My ammo was of course nice round rocks about 1 inch in diameter. Yes, I got in trouble with several times. -- Tex


Tex,

Your a classic! Your set up sounds like one my grandfather told me he used who is in his mid 80s right now only he used a Mezquite natural and used to tie down with the same red innertube its a shoot over just that you pull against the ties. He said he took a lot of jackrabbits, rabbits, doves, pigeons with his slingshot to help feed the family.

Wonderful I love hearing about these experiences








Nick


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## whipcrackdeadbunny (May 22, 2010)

Barnett Black-Widow; my brothers bought one between them, when I was about six, I remember them shooting stones up into the air, then running inside ... I played with it a few times.


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## Nico (Sep 10, 2010)

Flatband said:


> Here's a replica of my first one. Made from a coat hanger. Being from the inner city,there wasn't too many trees around. However,one of my other early ones was cut from a tree in the park-shh!! don't tell anyone!!!!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Flatband that is awesome that you have a replica of your first slingshot!

Wire coathanger slingshots are dear to me, not my first but one of the slingshots I used frequently we called them alambre resortera. I started making these wire coathanger slingshots when my parents banned me from collecting natural forks (worked in a family tree service) to make slingshots, because I was being too naughty.

I still make wire coathanger slingshots, they work well and kill quite well 
Here's one I made with the red #32 rubberbands 3 per link with the original attachment








Here it is adapted with spanish loops made from boot laces








Strong enough to take a crow with 1/4 oz sinkers

Thank you for sharing your first slingshot

Nick


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## Nico (Sep 10, 2010)

jmplsnt said:


> My first was the bent-rod Marksman with the shrink-wrapped plastic/wood handle and fitted with the late-80's Marksman tubes. Like everyone else on here I wish I had it still. I didn't kill anything with the exception of bottles and cans. The old school Marksman tubes weren't too bad until they changed them I think about five years ago. The new ones were so bad that I wrote Marksman an ugly letter!
> 
> Nick I have been given four resorteras from Mazatlan by my amigos on the boat; three of them were naturals fitted with the round solids and the elastic was brand new. I think with some digging you might be able to find a resortera seller down there who might be able to fit you out with a roll of the stuff. (I don't work on that boat anymore or else I might could help you but I'm somewhere else now).


I think your right jmp

Would take some searching for the good round solids but worth while and they have a great longevity can last up to 6 months regular shooting. As for the old marksman tubes yes they were very good in the 80s its what my pop used to use and I had a few naturals strapped up with the then marksman tubes. But as I said before being a minor in Calif in the 80s made it to where I learned about the cadenas and soon stayed with the cadenas for obvious reasons.


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## Nico (Sep 10, 2010)

geckko said:


> Hi
> It was 23 or 24 years ago at the age of 7 or 6 years in Romania
> I used a natural fork and some white/yellow flatbands they called in Romanian language
> "rubber from milk " shoots very good.
> ...


Hi Sebi,

Do they still have this elastic and was it easy to acquire? Sounds very interesting as I enjoy improvised slingshot bands the most.

Nick


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## danny358 (Oct 3, 2010)

i started with the black widdow then the cobra and diablo.after that i moved onto natural forks but used the barnett bands because i never were to get anything different i now use flatbands on natural forks.


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