# What Have You Broken?



## Winnie (Nov 10, 2010)

Reading about Yosemite Sam's punching a hole in his downspout (Oh Crap, April 23) made me think of some of the things I've broken through the years in my quest to shoot.

I've been shooting a long time but the accidents that come readily to mind involved shooting from my truck. There is a spot overlooking Puget Sound not far from my office and for years I have parked after work and taken a bit of a break to unwind before heading home. I'll read a magazine or a journal or listen to the radio and shoot my slingshot out the passenger side of the truck, across the road and into a steep hillside. Twice through the years I have ricocheted a ball off of my thumb (due to a bad pouch) and broken my passenger side mirror. Having to pay over $100 each time I can fairly say that it was like adding an insult to an injury. Then there was the time that I clipped the 1/8 inch of window sticking up out of the passenger side door and, of course, the whole window shattered down inside the door. I can't remember what that one cost me, but, I don't shoot across the seat and out that window anymore.

All part of the price we pay for our sport.

winnie


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## PorkChopSling (Jan 17, 2013)

I almost broke my pointing finger on my left hand from a bad release, I've almost broken my wife's foot once again bad release and bad rock choice, that's about it for me  I consider myself lucky for having ot truly broken anything yet.


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## ShootnCoastie (Jan 26, 2015)

I posted this a while ago. Bad release from the pouch I think, 3/8 bearing took off at a wicked angle. Thank goodness it didn't shatter.


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## Viper010 (Apr 21, 2012)

Almost broke my finger a couple times, punched some holes in some walls (drywall board), a tackle box, some plant pots, a window or two, and I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting some.

Pfs learning curve was a costly one, and I've certainly learned to pay careful attention to my release by now. But I'm sure I'll break something again, eventually.


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## Volp (Aug 25, 2014)

I was shooting bareback at home...inside.....the catch box was next to the new TV (1week old) well.....boom!!! I killed the tv!! I laugh now but in that moment it was painful! 

Volp


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## ccolapietro (Apr 12, 2016)

I was embarrassed by this, add I'm sure it's going to cost dearly...









3/8 steel, 5ft tall window. Bad release and fork hit  Probably could have bought a very nice custom SS for what the apartment complex will charge...

Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk


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## Chuck Daehler (Mar 17, 2015)

Susi and I went to a local eatery, sat down and ordered. Impatient me, I went out back and did some plinking with rocks. Dang rocks. One hit me in the hand and that was a hammer hold at that. I came in oozing red stuff and a paper napkin served as a bandage...everyone was looking at me wondering what had befallen me...I just sat down and ate. Susi said, "If you'd just learn to sit down at a restaurant and be cool things like this wouldn't happen. Oh no, you go outside to shoot."

I murdered a few beer bottles sitting too close to my catch box with a flier, glass all over the garage.

Other than that, since I shoot the opposite direction of my house, and a bit up the hill, catchbox in the garage, I don't have too many mishaps. Some of my dogs like to sit and watch me shoot, some take off, dunno why, I never hit any dog 'cept a few suitors to my btch in heat on occasion, too pesty and too persistant in trying to circumnavigate my chain link fence, wanting to lovingly harvest my mutt's social services, and that was only shooting olive pits in the behind.

Edit...does a bow count?

When I was a kid (I was born at an early age) my dad and I were shooting in our home archery range. We decided to back way off down the street and see if we could hit the hay bails at about 50 yards. I had never shot that far except at the real archery range. Dad hit the bails. I aimed higher than I should have and didn't find my arrow. oops. My mother came charging down the driveway with the arrow with a stern look, looked like she could bite a nail in two. Jaw thrust forward and clenched...talking through her teeth. "Do you two know where I found this arrow? I heard a thunk sound and it hit an inch beside the big plate glass picture window on the window frame and bounced out into the driveway. It could have hit me in the head if I was weeding the garden or something." We stopped shooting, gathered up our stuff and went up to the house. Sure enough, the arrow impact point was an inch beside the plate glass, then in the early 60s, about $200, not to mention the impact on mother had she been unfortunate enough to have been in the way. We never shot long distance again in the home range. Luck was on my side for sure.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a poem...I modified it in third grade.

I shot an arrow into the air

It fell to Earth I knew not where.

(my mod follows)

Years later I found it in the end of a friend.


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## Imperial (Feb 9, 2011)

My pride


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## ol'school42 (Feb 13, 2016)

Christmas tree ornament that was in my lady friend's collection for years... well, she won't miss it till this coming Christmas.


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## bread (Apr 11, 2016)

Shot a hole through my Rubbermaid Storage Shed.... but I've 
been shooting less than a month. I'm sure it's not going to be the last!


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## Chuck Daehler (Mar 17, 2015)

I forgot to mention a flier ricocheted off the catch box framework a year or so ago and literally bounced off a fluorescent tube in the garage ceiling. It didn't break, a miracle it didn't. The slingshot angels were with me.

I realize some of you out there don't have a farm like I do and have to shoot, like Volp, in a cramped space (although he roams around quite a bit in the wild)...I used to live in the city off and on in my life, mostly off...I almost always had a bit of forest or outback to roam around in with fire arms, air guns and slingshots/bows even though I worked in "the city". I've almostalways found a place to live that the back yard bordered on wooded areas with some body of water close by or a creek, usually with fish and other wild life. In times in which I lived in cramped quarters I really missed the space.


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## Winnie (Nov 10, 2010)

Chuck, your close call reminds me of an incident in my office several years ago.

I have a patient who, in his eighties, is one of my best patients and travels over two hours to see me. He lives up in the mountains and is an avid hunter and outdoorsman.

We got on the topic of slingshots and so I pulled mine out of my pocket to show him - keep in mind that I keep my slingshot always loaded (there are pictures on my bio. that shows how I do it). It had a 7/16 steel ball already loaded and so in the process of checking it out he grabbed the pouch, pulled it out of the slot, unwound the bands, pulled it back about six inches past the slack, looked out of one eye like he was aiming a gun and let go. My office overlooks Puget Sound so I have these large 4ft x 5ft windows in my dental operatories. The ball hit the window with a wack but didn't break. "Oh" he said. "I didn't know it was loaded".

We were incredibly lucky and still laugh about it now and again.

winnie.


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## Yosemite Sam (Feb 18, 2016)

Winnie, very interesting subject, and glad to see I am not the only one who shoots things they are not supposed to. I am very interested on how you keep the SS loaded. Went to your profile page and could not find any images.


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## Winnie (Nov 10, 2010)

Sorry Yosemite Sam, I thought I had posted them long ago. I do have photos of other assorted slotted slingshots on my page but they aren't banded so it's hard to see how I do it.

This is the slingshot I have carried everyday for over five years. It's got pretty good patina.


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## Yosemite Sam (Feb 18, 2016)

Got it. The ammo goes in the pouch, the punch is folded then slid in the slot at the bottom of the handle. NICE! Any problems with wrapping the bands like that. Would they fail any sooner if wrapped as opposed to not wrapping them? Thanks for the extra effort posting the picture.


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## Peter Recuas (Mar 6, 2014)

6mm cristal from the backyard door with an inocent 4.5mm bb, it didnt pass trought but made a big (frustum) conical hole when ricocheted


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## truthornothing (May 18, 2015)

Several holes in drywall, A hole through a hollow closet door(that post is on the forum somewhere) I fixed that with a dowel and wood putty and if you didn't know you would never know. Acouple months ago I poked a hole through a chair back. the gf hasn't noticed yet. a walnut dowel and some putty and she never will Wink wink


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## truthornothing (May 18, 2015)

> Posted 04 August 2015 - 11:35 AM
> 
> It knocked the chip all the way out. I bought an oak hardwood down and a flush cut saw. The 1/2 ammo punched a perfectly round 1/2 inch hole and the dowel is a snug fit. I am going to put some gorrilla glue on the tip of the dowel that goes against the inside back of the door and a little on the hole edges and then flush cut it when done. Its your classic golden oak color so a golden oak touchup the the end and some brown sharpy artisticlly applied to mimicc the wood grain and we will be good. Its about knee high so no poster nor hook will work


I knew it was on there


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## Vetryan15 (Feb 7, 2013)

never broke anything, But accidentally hit my dog with a richot. once. that was years ago
@Winnie. I spent 3months out on Orcas Island, in 2014. it's beautiful out there. I worked an organic farm for 3 months. 
Ryan


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## Winnie (Nov 10, 2010)

Yosemite Sam, Wrapping the band doesn't shorten it's life. Each band length and slingshot require their own wrapping pattern but it isn't under any real tension so it doesn't change anything.

Ryan, 3 months on Orcas is pretty sweet duty. A couple of friends own a kayak touring/training business there. I've spent quite a bit of time on Orcas.

winnie


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## Vetryan15 (Feb 7, 2013)

I unfortunately didn't get the opportunity to do much, i think I I had 3 or 4 days off the whole time. job didn't work out, or else I would probably still be there. I met alot of the locals, by hitchhiking. I am from NJ. u can't do that here.


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## Yosemite Sam (Feb 18, 2016)

Winnie,

Thank you. I have SS cut from a template, that I can cut the slot and carry loaded as well. Thanks for the tip.


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## LVO (Sep 25, 2011)

My pinkie!!

http://slingshotforum.com/topic/29975-rts-pinkie-smashgross-picture/?hl=pinkie


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## Yosemite Sam (Feb 18, 2016)

LVO said:


> My pinkie!!
> 
> http://slingshotforum.com/topic/29975-rts-pinkie-smashgross-picture/?hl=pinkie


Ouch! Being new, I am going to try and follow the advise of the more seasoned slingers in an attempt to prevent such happenings.


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## RyanL (May 22, 2014)

I think the only thing I've broken was a 8' florescent light bulb caused by a ricochet. It was messy. Otherwise I've been pretty fortunate. A lot of dents on one of the walls in my basement and even a few on my work bench in the garage.


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## mopper (Nov 17, 2012)

A couple of years ago, when I was still pretty new to slingshots I set up a catchbox in a long corridor in the basement of my mother's house. The catchbox was only two feet away from a large mirror that had been hanging there for the last 35 years, and before that god knows how many years in our previous house. Don't ask me what I was thinking, nothing most likely. Well, the result was predictable. The poor thing must have been tired after all that time anyway and probably didn't mind much when I swiftly and cleanly released it from its earthly toil by means of double TBG, a 12mm steel ball and a solid frame hit. My mother was away on holiday at the time and I was housesitting, so I had enough time to replace the mirror. She hasn't found out yet, and with any luck she never will.


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## Henry the Hermit (Jun 2, 2010)

I was shooting 1/4 steel from a very small shooter, into a catch box in my son's garage. I got the bright idea of trying a marble. Got a fork hit and a roughly 45 degree deflection directly into the side door. My smart-aleck son attached the SSF decal.


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