# Thin Latex and it's Application in Hunting



## AppalachianFlipShooter (May 9, 2020)

I recently ventured into the world of short draw from what seems like a lifetime of strictly butterfly shooting. When I made the switch, I quickly discovered that the latex I was used to using wasn't going to work for the shorter draw style. The speed and power generated by butterfly draw worked great for thinner material, but was falling short (no pun intended) with short draw. I quickly ordered some pre-made bands from Simple Shot in .6 and .7 just to test a question. 
What thickness of latex is necessary to ethically take game at distances up to 20 yards? 
The experiments with the .6 and .7 latex didn't really impress me. The longevity of the latex itself was a lot less than I was used to, about half the number of shots I would get from a butterfly set and a different brand. The speed also wasn't that hot. With my butterfly setup I was running 320+ fps with 9mm steel. I wanted as close to that same speed as possible with short draw, because I thought that's what I needed. Absentmindedly leaving the fact that slingshots kill by blunt force trauma in the dust, I opted for speed instead. Using various thicknesses of latex from .5-.76, I started testing. All the same taper and active length to give a fair shot to all, 28-15 and 6 inch active. I found that while the lighter sets struggled to get the speed I needed, I couldn't use the .76 and other heavier setups regularly. The strain and fatigue on my wrist and arm lead to shaking after a few shots, and that made my accuracy suffer. 
I had an epiphany of sorts after this. I started thinking about what my two great uncles used and killed game with regularly. Either natural gum rubber or inner tube rubber and rocks. All straight cut, and anywhere from 12 - 16 inches long. I've experimented with gum rubber before, and the speed compared to modern latex is pretty dismal, to say the least. The fastest I could ever get it to go was around 180 fps, with 9.5 steel. Modern rubber, even variants of Theraband start between 240 and 260 fps. This put me back to the thinner latex. Finally, after several rounds of experimenting I found a thin latex that would kill a squirrel. Rabbits are easy to kill. Hit them in the head with almost anything and they're done. A squirrel is a different animal entirely. They're really tough. I've seen squirrels shot with a 22 magnum run over 20 yards with no heart left. I knew I wouldn't be hunting anything over 15 meters, so I started experimenting. 
I knew that .5 wouldn't cut it, and anything over .65 wasn't something I wanted to go with. I had to make the tapers to thin to be effective, so it was pointless to waste time on it. I finally settled on GZK .54 with a taper of 28-13. The draw was easy enough, and the speed with 9mm steel was effective. Killing effective, with head shots. I took several squirrels, birds, and a rabbit with the setup. Then I wanted to start using lead. 
I ventured into the world of lead ammo using 1 size, 36 caliber, or 9mm lead. Lead is a better ammo than steel IMO, because it delivers all of its energy into the target. Unlike steel that will bounce off a target because of its hardness, lead will deform when it hits the target and deliver all of its force into the target. It was great, but my steel setup struggled to launch it with the downrange authority I wanted. This is when I started looking at the weight of my ammo to make a good band match-up. This brought me to 32 caliber, or 8mm lead. It's a smaller projectile, but weighs the same as 9mm steel, 45 grains. It was exactly what I was looking for, and devastating to the furry quarry on the receiving end of my shots. I then went into the world of bean shooting, and was fascinated. The 8x11mm baby bean is an incredible projectile. The way they fly are second to none. To quote a friend of mine, they swerve but they work! There was only one issue. While they fly like mad and do insane damage to targets, they are heavier than my previous ammo. Weighing in at 49 grains over 45. That doesn't seem like much, but every grain matters in this application. I went back to GZK and started looking at other thicknesses. I got a roll of .58 and a roll of .62. These two thicknesses, paired with the aforementioned taper, are incredible. Their speed with steel breaks 300 fps, and with lead they are in the 280-290 fps range. This is more than adequate for hunting, especially if you're like me and go for head and neck shots exclusively. An old way of testing a hunting setup is by shooting steel cans. If you can penetrate at least one side from a given distance, it's a killer. I put a can at 20 yards away, and the results were exactly what I had been looking for. Penetration, and one heck of a dent on the other side. To quote Doug from Forged in Fire, it will kill! 
In conclusion, when looking for hunting setups, don't count out the thinner stuff. You don't need super heavy bands to kill a rabbit, squirrel, or birds. If you can shoot them without fatigue, then be my guest, but they aren't necessary for the desired results.

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## Island made (Aug 14, 2019)

All good stuff! Your right on the money. I love the thin stuff, I'm also a butterfly guy. I tried going to the short side a few times but I always come back to butterfly. I've shot that way since I was a little kid and I'm just so much better at it and it's way more comfortable for me. Also I find butterfly more instinctive, even tho I "aim" with butterfly I don't have to account for drop, even out to 80 or 100 yards shooting stumps or fence posts. My ammo hand instinctively draws to where it needs to be.

Less is almost always more. My current setup is... .5 elastic cut 3/4 to 1/2 with a 12" active for a 65" draw. If I'm using .6 I cut it 3/4 to 3/8" I chrony crapped out last fall, but shooting empty steel soup cans with 3/8" steel off my tail gate it goes completely through both sides of the first can and through one side of the second can a lot of the times.

The only place where I find thick elastic is an advantage is for really heavy ammo like .5 lead or .625 steel.


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## Harry Knuckles (Sep 28, 2020)

Why did you decide to go to short draw? Just curious. I also shoot butterfly just because it's a lot more comfortable for me. If short draw had advantages over butterfly I would struggle through the uncomfortable factor and learn how to do it but from my perspective you get faster speeds and a lighter draw with butterfly.

p.s. great write up, I enjoyed reading through your thought process.


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## AppalachianFlipShooter (May 9, 2020)

Harry Knuckles said:


> Why did you decide to go to short draw? Just curious. I also shoot butterfly just because it's a lot more comfortable for me. If short draw had advantages over butterfly I would struggle through the uncomfortable factor and learn how to do it but from my perspective you get faster speeds and a lighter draw with butterfly.
> 
> p.s. great write up, I enjoyed reading through your thought process.


The reason I went with short was to save on latex and to be able to come to full draw in a tight space, like a hunting blind. I love it

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## bingo (Oct 25, 2019)

Never try out bf but loving the .62 gzk 20 15 taper at the moment also with 8mm lead have not been out to try much did try it out on a steel can and did more than anough to kill a rabbit or squirrel

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## msturm (Sep 18, 2019)

Accuracy over horsepower is a great philosophy. I will argue that heavier bands are necessary in the cold. I shoot .65 summer, and .76 winter with 6.5 in active length and an inch to 3/4 taper. The cold temps up here force a heavier band and I shoot 11 mill steel and .410 lead with good results.

The key is finding what works for your style of hunting and keeping it accurate and comfortable. Good work on your research, and happy hunting.

May your pot stay full!

Msturm


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