# Struggling with fork hits...



## Slingshoot3204 (10 mo ago)

Hello, I'm back again, and a dozen or so ammo lighter XD. Jokes aside, I've been practicing for almost a week now, and I can't seem to stop getting fork hits. I shoot the sparrow from Simpleshot, with the 3/8 rated band. I shoot either 1/4 or 3/8 ammo, I'm planning to transition to 3/8 completely, but they seem to give me the worst time. I've watched Charle's videos on fork hits, Bill Haye's video on proper technique, and a few others, but I've just been having a rough time with it. I generally start off strong, with nearly pinpoint accuracy, then as I keep shooting I start getting the fork hits. I shoot with a hook grip as well. The only things I've narrowed it down to is that I'm not drawing back far enough, or I'm somehow moving my slingshot into the path of the ball. This sort of thing makes me wish I had a slo-mo camera lol. Thanks in advance!


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## brucered (Dec 30, 2015)

If you've only been shooting a week....stop swapping ammo and bands etc, stick with a single setup that works. Sorry to burst your bubble, but a week of shooting is nothing in the grand scheme of mastering a slingshot.

Practice, practice and more practice.

Define pinpoint accuracy? Is this from 10-12' like you mentioned in your other thread?


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## Slingshoot3204 (10 mo ago)

brucered said:


> If you've only been shooting a week....stop swapping ammo and bands etc, stick with a single setup that works. Sorry to burst your bubble, but a week of shooting is nothing in the grand scheme of mastering a slingshot.
> 
> Practice, practice and more practice.
> 
> Define pinpoint accuracy? Is this from 10-12' like you mentioned in your other thread?


At this point I can hit about a quarter sized dot from 15-20 feet. I think I'll stick with your advice and just work with 3/8 ammo and stop swapping


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## Peter Recuas (Mar 6, 2014)

If normal advise isnt working then you are a PFS oriented shooter, use this technique with any slingshot, trust me


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## brucered (Dec 30, 2015)

Slingshoot3204 said:


> At this point I can hit about a quarter sized dot from 15-20 feet. I think I'll stick with your advice and just work with 3/8 ammo and stop swapping


As per the other thread, you want to be able to shoot at 10m (33'). That is the standard for most target, competitions, badges, challenges etc.

Pinpoint accuracy at 15' is good, but not if you are getting multiple fork hits as well.


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## Slingshoot3204 (10 mo ago)

brucered said:


> As per the other thread, you want to be able to shoot at 10m (33'). That is the standard for most target, competitions, badges, challenges etc.
> 
> Pinpoint accuracy at 15' is good, but not if you are getting multiple fork hits as well.


I guess I should ask how long it takes on average to get adept at slingshot shooting, and if it's normal to deal with fork hits when you're first learning to shoot.


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## Slingshoot3204 (10 mo ago)

Peter Recuas said:


> If normal advise isnt working then you are a PFS oriented shooter, use this technique with any slingshot, trust me


So for shooting like this, would I intentionally tweak and twist the ammo for the shot? I'll have to try it, but it seems like a recipe for more fork hits lol.


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## Peter Recuas (Mar 6, 2014)

Slingshoot3204 said:


> So for shooting like this, would I intentionally tweak and twist the ammo for the shot? I'll have to try it, but it seems like a recipe for more fork hits lol.


You are already tweaking the pouch, thats the reason of your forkhits just learn to do it in the right axis


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## Slingshoot3204 (10 mo ago)

Peter Recuas said:


> You are already tweaking the pouch, thats the reason of your forkhits just learn to do it in the right axis


I'll give it a shot as well in that case.


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## Peter Recuas (Mar 6, 2014)

You can use alu foil balls as training ammo while try this, take care and enjoy


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## Whytey (Sep 26, 2021)

Are you shooting OTT or TTF?


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## tool (Oct 1, 2021)

@Slingshoot3204 "I shoot with a hook grip as well." Hook grip = pich grip? I started with a pinch grip in the beginning with a very small frame and I got fork hits all over. I switched the frame and started using a thumb brace, problem solved. I only had one fork hit since then, and it was due to a band failure.
Which fork do you hit, upper or lower? If upper, it may be because you let the frame tilt forward after release, then you narrow the gap and touch a fork.


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## Slingshoot3204 (10 mo ago)

tool said:


> @Slingshoot3204 "I shoot with a hook grip as well." Hook grip = pich grip? I started with a pinch grip in the beginning with a very small frame and I got fork hits all over. I switched the frame and started using a thumb brace, problem solved. I only had one fork hit since then, and it was due to a band failure.
> Which fork do you hit, upper or lower? If upper, it may be because you let the frame tilt forward after release, then you narrow the gap and touch a fork.


I use a hook grip with thumb brace, and I’m only hitting the upper fork.


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## Slingshoot3204 (10 mo ago)

Whytey said:


> Are you shooting OTT or TTF?


I’m shooting and OTT


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## Karloshi (Apr 6, 2021)

My thoughts would be to check your pouch release. If you are holding thumb up then try just dropping your trigger finger down to release the pouch. Other possibility is you are not keeping the frame parallel like Tool said or maybe when moving to aiming position you are moving just the arm holding the frame instead of pivoting at the hips to keep everything in line.


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## Whytey (Sep 26, 2021)

Hmmm, are those the 0.7 22-18 black band sets that come with the Sparrow new?
If so, those bands are pretty heavy for a beginner and can fatigue your arms with loss of draw strength after a short period of shooting. This could be causing you to push your frame hand forward and down on release due to strain.
Also, if you have cut your bands shorter to the SS recommended 500% active band length which is OK for a seasoned shooter?
Just wondering.....


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## Slingshoot3204 (10 mo ago)

Karloshi said:


> My thoughts would be to check your pouch release. If you are holding thumb up then try just dropping your trigger finger down to release the pouch. Other possibility is you are not keeping the frame parallel like Tool said or maybe when moving to aiming position you are moving just the arm holding the frame instead of pivoting at the hips to keep everything in line.


I think the pivot might also be an issue, I’ll remember that when I practice today


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## Slingshoot3204 (10 mo ago)

Whytey said:


> Hmmm, are those the 0.7 22-18 black band sets that come with the Sparrow new?
> If so, those bands are pretty heavy for a beginner and can fatigue your arms with loss of draw strength after a short period of shooting. This could be causing you to push your frame hand forward and down on release due to strain.
> Also, if you have cut your bands shorter to the SS recommended 500% active band length which is OK for a seasoned shooter?
> Just wondering.....


I have cut down the bands, and the band weight may also be playing into it. I started watching my hands and I noticed that it tends to fall just a little bit after every shot. I think that might be the issue but again I’m not sure. How would you recommend holding the slingshot to combat that?


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## Reed Lukens (Aug 16, 2020)

For whatever reason, I get fork hits with the .7 simpleshot pre-made band sets also because they're too heavy for the clay ammo. I put one of the old ss sets on the other day and started smashing my 7/16" clay into my forks right off... They work great for steel and ttf, but I went to using .5 or less a long time ago now... so that was a wake up call. I'm going to try it again this morning with some new 1/2" clay that I picked up from Amazon. If it's hitting in the same spot every time, double check the stretch ratio on each band... 
I've only had it happen a few times and it was always with simpleshot's pre-made bands that came with their slingshots.


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## Slingshoot3204 (10 mo ago)

Peter Recuas said:


> You can use alu foil balls as training ammo while try this, take care and enjoy


So I practiced for a few hours yesterday both with the ammo and the aluminum foil, and for some reason I get way less fork hits with the aluminum foil then the ammo. I think it might also be about distance as well. Bad news is that my band ripped so I need to retie on another band and hope that my rhythm doesn’t get messed up.


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## mattwalt (Jan 5, 2017)

I'd start by shooting smaller ammo - bb's or even 6mm (also heavyweight airsoft pellets) . Also try with no pouch twisting... And as Brucered said - swop out the bands... Could be wear - or could be one has a slightly heavier draw/longer than the other.

I suspect it could well be canting the frame - be sure its 90º to the force of pull - my son really struggles with canting and gets like 1 forkhit for every 3 shots on average.

I'd also suggest taking photos or a video of you shooting - the guys here could quickly figure out what the deal is. Also knowing where on the frame you seem to be getting the most hits...


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