# thera tube



## jesse

hi,
i want to start hunting with the slingshot so can any body recomend which thera tube will be sufficient? i will be using 12mm lead balls.
thanks,
jesse


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## Henry the Hermit

jesse said:


> hi,
> i want to start hunting with the slingshot so can any body recomend which thera tube will be sufficient? i will be using 12mm lead balls.
> thanks,
> jesse


I got an average of 145 fps with TB Green and 12 mm lead. That's about 8 lbs/ft of energy. The Green pulls about 16 pounds which is fairly hefty for old coots with arthritis, but if you're in good shape, Black or Silver may be better for hunting. An alternative would be Yellow or Red doubled. I haven't clocked my doubled Yellow shooter yet, but it is faster than single Green and pulls about 20 pounds.

Henry


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## NaturalFork

I heard the red ones were good. I personally have not tried thera tube ...


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## Henry the Hermit

NaturalFork said:


> I heard the red ones were good. I personally have not tried thera tube ...


TB Red tubes are good for all-round shooting, but are less powerful than Green. Here is the order of power for TB tubes.

Tan
Yellow
Red
Green
Blue
Black
Silver

I haven't tried Tan, Black, or Silver, but to get good hunting power from Yellow or Red, I would suggest doubling them. As with flat latex, the thinner (weaker) tubes will be faster than the thicker when each is matched to its optimum projectile.


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## Nico

How come no one ever mentions Thera-tube Blue?

I was looking at the list and its one above Thera-tube green and one knotch under Black thera-tube, looks like the blue tubes would be good for a hunting set-up, maybe its time to experiment.

Nico


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## Henry the Hermit

Nico said:


> How come no one ever mentions Thera-tube Blue?
> 
> I was looking at the list and its one above Thera-tube green and one knotch under Black thera-tube, looks like the blue tubes would be good for a hunting set-up, maybe its time to experiment.
> 
> Nico


Thanks Nico, I did leave it off my list. Experimentation is good.


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## Nico

I'm game for the experiment and I will report my findings on thera-tube blue


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## TastelikeSnozberries

I've used blue, and while Nico will have a much better report I can say that it pulls pretty stiff but hits hard and consistent even with 5/8 hex nuts and 1/2 hex nuts with .44 lead hammered in (currently my heaviest 2 ammo types). If used right (heavy slow ammo and proper shot placement), I don't see why it wouldn't be lethal and reasonable on small game


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## Nico

TastelikeSnozberries said:


> I've used blue, and while Nico will have a much better report I can say that it pulls pretty stiff but hits hard and consistent even with 5/8 hex nuts and 1/2 hex nuts with .44 lead hammered in (currently my heaviest 2 ammo types). If used right (heavy slow ammo and proper shot placement), I don't see why it wouldn't be lethal and reasonable on small game


I'll have to give Thera-tube blue a try then.. My formula for success in hunting with slingshots is to stick to original slingshot hunting concept of _killing with blunt force_ the motto of the stone user. Unlike the modern day use of small steel balls or small lead balls that rely on penetration to kill similar to an air rifle.

My chain set-ups are intended for heavy ammo

The formula is: heavy projectile with moderate speed = knock down impact, stopping power. I dont rely on penetration for the kill with my slingshots, the impact of a heavy projectile will stop small game even if an errant shot hits the body you can finish quickly. 

That being said I think that blue thera-tubes are worth a try..

Good thread

Nico


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## BCLuxor

I brought 6m of black and blue tube a long while back when I was first getting my feet wet with slingshots.. I hated the stuff I really felt like giving up if black and blue were the most that a slingshot could achieve then it was rubbish.... two years later I'm glad I did not give up because I have found some amazing elastic and rubber . the problems I had with the large diameter blue and black were that they were a pig to draw and adding more length gave no power unless you got the sweet spot right on the band size there was no tune to be played on these rigs they always shot "limp" well that's my opinion anyhow people like Joerg have used this stuff.effectively.


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## smallholder1

i use red thera tube with 9mm lead ball easy pull and good enough power for small game out to 20 yards here is a pic of a small pocket natural i made.


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## stelug

i agree red and green are the way to go for hunting, mostly birds. Green way better than red. Doubled yellow iare amusingly drowing but to me doesn't pack the blunt force wich (correcly) refers ours master hunter Nico . Somhere here on this forum there should be an old post with my testing based on the software chrono.


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## bootneck

theratube black was what i used to use as a kid, cut to 5.5 inches from pouch to fork i,ve killed allsorts with it, green feels too weak to me and i certainly wouldnt try to shoot squirrels with it where as the black stuff kills with a chest shot from any angle, crushing ribs on both sides, normally splitting the heart open as well, gut shots still kill or at least stop them for a followup shot and head shots cave there skull in


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