# Anybody use Sparco rubber bands?



## Charles

I note that Office Depot in Canada carries Sparco 107 rubber bands. Has anybody tried these?

Cheers ... Charles


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## Dayhiker

Nope, but I'm willing to watch you take the plunge, haha!


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## Charles

Dayhiker said:


> Nope, but I'm willing to watch you take the plunge, haha!


Not a lot of action on this ... says they are pure rubber ... guess I will order some.

Cheers ....... Charles


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## AZshooter

i`d bet Sparco is somewhere between 50% to 80% rubber...with other fillers...I ordered Office Impressions off Ebay ( #33, #64 ) which cost a lot less than Sterlings...Specs are 80% rubber...620-721 psi elasticity...12 lb break strength ( based on 1/8 inch thickness)...I haven`t had a chance to use them yet, because I`m currently working with other brands.


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## Charles

AZ shooter said:


> i`d bet Sparco is somewhere between 50% to 80% rubber...with other fillers...I ordered Office Impressions off Ebay ( #33, #64 ) which cost a lot less than Sterlings...Specs are 80% rubber...620-721 psi elasticity...12 lb break strength ( based on 1/8 inch thickness)...I haven`t had a chance to use them yet, because I`m currently working with other brands.


Thanks! I'll give you my impressions of the Sparcos when I get my hands on them.

Cheers ..... Charles


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## Dayhiker

You're a good man, Charles. Thanks for offering to do the research.


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## Charles

I ordered a couple of boxes of Sparco 107 rubber bands ... figured the shipping would be the same for one or two boxes, so I just got two.

In appearance, they look to be the same material as my Alliance 105s and 107s ... also had the same feel. The Sparcos seemed to be just a bit thicker. So I tried measuring them with a micrometer ... always a challenge with rubber products because they compress under the micrometer jaws. Anyway, here are my rough results.

Alliance 105 ..... 1.20 mm

Alliance 107 ..... 1.48 mm

Sparco 107 ...... 1.65 mm

I cut tapers from a couple of Sparco 107s ... from 5/8 down to half that. I banded up a PFS and fired them through the Chrony. Here is a comparison of results for the Sparco 107 tapered bands with the Alliance 105 tapered bands, with the same pouch and draw length.

Sparco: draw weight 7 pounds

3/8 inch steel ... 173 fps

.46 cal lead ...... 144 fps

Alliance: draw weight 4.5 pounds

3/8 inch steel ... 160 fps

.46 cal lead ..... 129 fps

My conclusion is that the Sparco bands are a perfectly fine alternative to the Alliance. In fact, since the batch I got are a bit thicker, they actually give greater velocity, although at a higher draw weight.

Cheers ........... Charles


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## rockslinger

Thanks for the testing and for the info Charles!


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## AZshooter

Charles...Do you get the same count comparing the two brands?...I noticed that Universal brand usually has less bands per pound than Alliance (with about the same price).


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## Charles

AZ shooter said:


> Charles...Do you get the same count comparing the two brands?...I noticed that Universal brand usually has less bands per pound than Alliance (with about the same price).


By my count, I get 52 Sparco 107s, but only 50 Alliance 107s.

Cheers .......... Charles


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## AZshooter

Sounds good to me...Heavier rubber, better count (per pound)...And better FPS...Thanks for taking time to do the test ,Charles.


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## Sean

I just ordered 2 boxes from Office Depot. Thanks Charles.









sean


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## Sean

That was a quick delivery, two days, although it was within driving distance but I know have 2 huge boxes of Sparco 107 bands.

Charles did you just cut yours wherever or did you find a spot where best to cut a.k.a a seam? Thanks.

sean


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## Charles

I stretched each band out several times. I could see a place on the band where the edge was a bit crooked ... actually, there were two such places, more or less opposite each other. I cut at one of those spots. I do not know whether or not it really makes any difference. But you have lots of bands to play with!

Cheers ...... Charles


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## Sean

Thanks Charles, I'll stretch and have a look and cut. Yes it should keep me going for awhile.








Have yours been performing well for you since you got them?
sean


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## Charles

Sean said:


> Thanks Charles, I'll stretch and have a look and cut. Yes it should keep me going for awhile.
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> Have yours been performing well for you since you got them?
> sean


They are about the same as the Alliance ... not as much zip as Theraband, but they handle heavy ammo quite well. For better speed, you can cut them in a taper, but it will shorten their life. Just staight, they last a very long time. You can half double them for more speed and power, but the draw weight is a bit heavy for my taste. I am not used to shooting full albatross style, but I have just set up a frame with bands made from two full 107s cut in half. That is long enough to give me the albartross length pull, but I need to practice a bit with it. They are cheap and readily available, so I can't complain.

Cheers ......... Charles


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## Dayhiker

Charles I ordered some Sparco bands because of this thread when it was young. What they sent me was a box of "Universal" brand 107's. I tried them and they suck. Should have sent them back.


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## Sean

Very good Charles thanks. I'll play around with different configerations and see what comes of it.









Dayhiker,
Yeah if they'd have sent me another brand other than Sparco I'd have sent them back too.


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## Abe_Stranger

I've used those thick broccoli rubberbands as a kid, with a small PVC tube as a "fork." I know that what I just described is more of a slingbow, or something, but I used practice arrows and got many a shot from those produce aisle bands.


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## Sean

Abe,
Cool idea, I've seen those thick blue bands before at our produce stand. There's an idea to get people eating more broccoli.









sean


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## crapshot

got mine yesterday cut one band into flats put om natural sent some marble s flying next double bands pulls hard sent some 0 buck in target


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## Charles

crapshot said:


> got mine yesterday cut one band into flats put om natural sent some marble s flying next double bands pulls hard sent some 0 buck in target


Glad they are working for you. Not as fast as Theraband, but they do pretty well and are dirt cheap. I agree that double bands have a very heavy draw. You might try cutting one on a slight taper. You will get noticeably faster speed and a lighter draw. You can also half double them and get better speed with a lighter draw.

One of my more recent uses for the Sparco 107 bands (and the Alliance 107) is to use two of them at full length for the bands. Of course this gives a very long bandset. But I have been wanting to practice an albatross type draw. Full length 107s are just about right for this ... and the draw weight is not too bad. It has proven to be pretty snappy because of the long acceleration path for the ammo.

I am drawing about 48 inches or even better using full length 107s. Even knocking off 12 inches for the band length, that gives an acceleration path of 36 inches. On the other hand, using a 7 inch band length and drawing 34 inches as normal, gives me an acceleration path of only 27 inches.

And the good news is that after getting used to the draw, I am getting pretty accurate with it. Try it ... you may find you like it.

Cheers ....... Charles


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## crapshot

just coupled together sparco double bands attached to 3 inch 5/8 gum rubber tanggs using henrys sausage method the pull is softer than just using the doubles this might be good for heavy ammo .50 and up


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## Sean

Well, I have to say I'm really enjoying these rubber bands. We've been shooting marbles and having a ball out in the bush/field. Lite pull
and aside from my knot tying abilities, yet to be perfected I haven't had one break yet and I've put probably 400 rounds of glass through
them.

sean


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## ForkLess

Abe_Stranger said:


> I've used those thick broccoli rubberbands as a kid, with a small PVC tube as a "fork." I know that what I just described is more of a slingbow, or something, but I used practice arrows and got many a shot from those produce aisle bands.


Those are mean bands! I been wanting to make a mini auto broccoli band rubber band gun for some time now. Ouch!


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