# Handslap solution



## scooters (Apr 27, 2015)

Those of you who share the problem I have, weakness in the hand due to arthritis might appreciate this.

When I release, my hand has a tendency to tilt forward bringing the thumb and forefinger into alignment of the bands as Charles so eloquently demonstrates on his Hand Strike video.

as I build strength back into my hand I've started using a glove to protect it. The glove I'm using is a German one that looks like it might be designed for schlager dueling, It's a soft leather glove with a chainmail back. The mail is modern and doesn't have rivets or sharp edges which minimises damage to the bands to the level of hitting your watch band.. Anyway, the chainmail and leather combo does a great job of protecting from ammostrike.

you can get these gloves on ebay but they are expensive. not sure where i got hold of these.


----------



## Byudzai (Aug 31, 2013)

or go for a TTF slingshot!


----------



## JTslinger (Jan 26, 2015)

Pics of said glove?


----------



## treefork (Feb 1, 2010)

Lighter weight bands .


----------



## Henry the Hermit (Jun 2, 2010)

The only "cure" for handslap is to match ammo with bands and use the lightest band/pouch combo possible to get desired power.


----------



## Lee Silva (Feb 9, 2013)

Sir Henry just pinned the #1 culprit...

In general, Shooters are still using too much rubber. Way too much, in many cases.... such a hard habit to break.


----------



## Urban Fisher (Aug 13, 2014)

Byudzai said:


> or go for a TTF slingshot!


This is what I did! No more hand slaps and my accuracy actually improved!


----------



## Imperial (Feb 9, 2011)

matching ammo to bands/tubes strength is the best solution. another is tabs, it deadens the rebound.


----------



## scooters (Apr 27, 2015)

Thanks all, Bill is making me a Hatchock at the moment and I've asked his opinion about bands/ammo. In the past I have always used commercially bought Barnett cattys with wristbraces and tubes etc.

Anyway, for those interested, here is the type of glove I have been using:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Chainmail-Gloves-6mm-ID-natural-/261660838408?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3cec338a08

Obviously they are very expensive at £45 not including the postage from Germany.

The pair I have did not come from here, I think a relative bought them some years ago thinking they were fishmonger's gloves without realising that they weren't suitable as a filleting knife would slice through the leather without knwing it was there. However, the washers the chain mail is made of are smooth cornered so there are no sharp edges for the bands to abraid against.

They're also very handy for pruning thorn bushes and roses and for hand to hand sword or axe combat should that ever become necessary!


----------



## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

This is what I wear all the time. I just want some protection of my fingers on the return of the rubber tubes. This works great as I shoot OTT and the way I attached the gypsy ties allows for full movement and occasionally I get smacked, and yes it used to hurt, not now.

Bought this on ebay, and like I said I always use it when i shoot !









wll


----------



## poekoelan (Jan 1, 2013)

I have found a way ( works for me, your results may vary ) to eliminate most hand slap. It's all in how I attach my bands. I tried for weeks to shoot OTT, and no matter what bands I used or how heavy my ammo was, I always got slapped. The only time I didn't get slapped was with a particular frame that was made to shoot around the forks ( TTF ). So what do you do if your favorite frame doesn't have the ears on the side to attach your bands to?

Here' what I do and it works for me. I attach the bands around both sides of the fork. Picture an OTT set up where bands are attached to only the front of the forks and lay over the top. Now run the bands down the back of the fork as well and wrap your fork ties, securing your bands around both sides of the fork. This is the functional equivalent to a "bands same side" set up, but much more secure. On a traditional BSS set up ( which is just shooting an OTT backwards ) the bands can have a tendency to slip from the fork ties as you pull against them because you stretch the fork ties slightly as you stretch your bands. But with this method as you pull against the side of the ties facing you and stretch them slightly, they tighten down on the other side of the forks.

At any rate, I found this to be a very secure method that eliminates almost all hand slap for me. It does require slightly higher forks if you're used to very short forks. I also thought that this method would cause my bands to fail near the forks as opposed to near the pouch. That hasn't been the case. Almost all my band failures still happen near the pouch. But I still inspect the bands regularly.

I think this method could also be classified as a TTF method because your bands and ammo are flying through the upper portion of the forks.

Like I said, it works great for me, your mileage may vary.

Edit: Your bands can fail at the forks if you have band grooves cut all the way around the forks. If your band grooves are only cut into one side of the forks it won't matter. Just make sure your band grooves are facing the target and not facing you if you try this. But I have found that you don't need any band grooves at all with this method. Another plus.


----------



## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

Yes ..... My OTT with gypsy ties leads to finger slap no matter I do, All my ammo and band configurations are using heavy ammo, but balanced with the correct tubes so that is not the issue, When using 3060 tubes and 214gr ammo, no one can say I need heavier ammo, I get the slap when using looped 1745's and the same ammo ------- It is the design of the attachment with the tubes going over the forks and back around that causes the finger slap ...... TTF does not do that. ... it is just a nature of the beast. Having an active shooting hand helps a lot also.

There is a ying and yang with every style of attachment. The archer three finger glove works like it was made for sling shot shooters, it works just great. I have two of them and they are on whenever I shoot !

wll


----------



## nike (Oct 26, 2013)

You said a lot of sense


----------



## scooters (Apr 27, 2015)

Right, I've been testing a new TTF H21 model from Eggy on this site. Its 18mm birch ply TTF ears with double TheraGold bands 20mm to 15mm

Shooting 14mm marbles from this was serious handslap even TTF.

I've been trying a number of different sizes of ammo 9.5 mm steelies seem the best for this setup and with my side TTF style. The penetration is awesome I was plinking cans from 12m this afternoon with a thick towel hanging to kill the balls. 50 balls shot the towel only stopped 20 or so, the rest went right through the towel blowing a hole in it, right through a dense holly Bush beyond and embedded into some dampish ply another 4 meters beyond that. I dug one ball out of a pine wooden post, it was embedded by 8mm.

Only one handslap and my fault totally as I wasn't paying attention and when I released my frame hand slipped (I'm better with 'y' shaped frames rather than Y shaped. Consequence was ball and pouch slammed into flesh between thumb and forefinger. Fortunately no penetration of the skin but a very impressive bruise and I think it scared my 8 year old son into not having a sneaky go behind my back!

Anyway, the Eggy frame is superb, it's very accurate and compact, easy to conceal and allows consistency. Egg sells them on ebay and here.

I'm going to need a more effective plinking box though or the neighbours might be upset


----------



## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

poekoelan said:


> I have found a way ( works for me, your results may vary ) to eliminate most hand slap. It's all in how I attach my bands. I tried for weeks to shoot OTT, and no matter what bands I used or how heavy my ammo was, I always got slapped. The only time I didn't get slapped was with a particular frame that was made to shoot around the forks ( TTF ). So what do you do if your favorite frame doesn't have the ears on the side to attach your bands to?
> 
> Here' what I do and it works for me. I attach the bands around both sides of the fork. Picture an OTT set up where bands are attached to only the front of the forks and lay over the top. Now run the bands down the back of the fork as well and wrap your fork ties, securing your bands around both sides of the fork. This is the functional equivalent to a "bands same side" set up, but much more secure. On a traditional BSS set up ( which is just shooting an OTT backwards ) the bands can have a tendency to slip from the fork ties as you pull against them because you stretch the fork ties slightly as you stretch your bands. But with this method as you pull against the side of the ties facing you and stretch them slightly, they tighten down on the other side of the forks.
> 
> ...


I can't visualize this, please take some pics, your idea may solve my problem ?

wll


----------

