# Indoor shooting?



## bmlodge (Feb 26, 2013)

Hey people,

Anyone have any ideas on how to shoot a catapult indoors without the risk of making holes in the wall? Outside is bad enough in my parents garden. I hang a towel on the washing line and hang a can in front of it. It works but I can never find the all the steel ball bearings even with a magnet!! I always hit the towel, sometimes the can  from about 10 + metres. I'm using 8 mm steel so the towel stops it. I just don't really want my dad breaking the lawn mower on a 8 mm ball bearing. If I was shooting anywhere else losing the ball bearings wouldn't bother me its because its my parents garden really.

I know you can get make shift nets etc I was just wondering if any of you guys had come up with an unbelievable idea?

Cheers,

Ben


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## Rayshot (Feb 1, 2010)

I doubt he will break the lawn mower. But that being said, I mow over 3/8 and 7/16 ammo several times a year and that is on dry mulched leaves and a small percentage of mulched bark and what ever ends up under the trees I shoot under. The only way I see him hitting ammo is if somehow it stays "teed up" on some peculiar tuft of grass.

As for indoor shooting. Good luck with not ever making a mistake.


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## bmlodge (Feb 26, 2013)

Yeah, true I guess, last thing I want is a hole in the wall from a stray shot. Did think about buying plastic ammo but its just not worth the hassle.


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

There are lots of good ideas for backstops and catch boxes on the forum. Just cruise around and you will find them. Here are a couple that I use:

http://slingshotforum.com/topic/20712-two-backstops-catch-boxes/

Cheers ..... Charles


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## ZorroSlinger (Dec 12, 2012)

An option - Gobstopper safe-type candy ammo. Being about 1/2" (12.7mm) has a heftier feel than small air soft plastic bbs. If you have catchbox and shoot at soft-type targets like leather or thick'ish rubber mat shapes, the candy will survive a little while & somewhat reusable but eventually GS will crumble a little at time ( but still affordable cost for safe-type ammo). Some use GS random outdoor plinking (candy biodegradable). If limited indoor shooting distance, make target size smaller to increase target hitting difficulty.

Gobstopper (UK Amazon)

Catchbox examples

Soft targets 1

Soft targets 2


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## Imperial (Feb 9, 2011)

roll up some foil or pieces of paper. even gum wrappers . with this type of ammo , you dont need to fully stretch your bands, just enough to launch it .


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## treefork (Feb 1, 2010)

A catch box with a backing blanket to protect wall. Working well for me for lots of years. NEVER had an incident. Its only a sling shot.


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## Incomudro (Jan 12, 2012)

Charles said:


> There are lots of good ideas for backstops and catch boxes on the forum. Just cruise around and you will find them. Here are a couple that I use:
> 
> http://slingshotforum.com/topic/20712-two-backstops-catch-boxes/
> 
> Cheers ..... Charles


Charles, you don't happen to have a parts list of sorts for that folding PVC unit, do you?


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

Incomudro said:


> Charles said:
> 
> 
> > There are lots of good ideas for backstops and catch boxes on the forum. Just cruise around and you will find them. Here are a couple that I use:
> ...


Well, nothing formal. But it should be pretty clear from the video. Let's see ...

You need some 3/4 inch pvc pipe fittings: 4 elbows, 3 Ts, and one straight junction

You need some 1 inch diameter wooden dowel: 5 pieces 3 feet long, two pieces 4 inches long, three pieces 6 inches long

You need some duct tape.

You need some sort of straight rod ... piece of cane, stiff wire, broom handle, or ???

Old shirts or other material for the backstop.

Rough tote box for the catch box.

One of the Ts has to be bored through with a rat tail file or a hand grinder so it fits easily over the dowel.

Except for the pvc fittings and the diameter of the dowel, none of the dimensions is really critical. You can scale it up or down to suit yourself.

Cheers .... Charles

Amendment: I just watched the video and note that the frame is only two feet wide instead of 3 feet wide. So for that you only need 3 pieces of 1 inch dowling 3 feet long, and 2 pieces of 1 inch dowling 2 feet long. But as I said, the dimensions are not really critical.

I also forgot to say that I used eyebolts with washers and nuts to make it easy to suspend targets from those arms at the top of the frame. I like to use rubber bands to suspend the targets and fishing swivels at the eyebolts. That way things do not get all twisted up as you shoot, and the rubber bands give with the force of the striking ammo.


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## flipgun (Nov 14, 2012)

I suggested to some one the other day using pencil end erasures as indoor ammo.They shoot well in spite of their shape and don't bounce around like plastic or rubber. If you power down to an indoor shooter, You should be fine. (I think.) I guess now I will need to get a piece of dry wall to find out..


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## bmlodge (Feb 26, 2013)

Awesome guys. Cheers for the input. Charles, love the indoor catcher, very clever design. Thanks for listing the 'ingredients' too 

Ben


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## lightgeoduck (Apr 3, 2011)

Incomudro said:


> Charles said:
> 
> 
> > There are lots of good ideas for backstops and catch boxes on the forum. Just cruise around and you will find them. Here are a couple that I use:
> ...


This doesn't fold, but easy to put together and take down... I use it at home and it is great....

Here is ray's thread http://slingshotforum.com/topic/12340-my-cheap-easy-very-portable-catchboxstop/


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## Arturito (Jan 10, 2013)

Another idea similar to pen rubber is if you to use the old retired band sets for ammo. Cut 1cm stripes and roll them with some tension to make cylinders and when you reach the appropriate diameter tie around at center with a constrictor knot.


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## Berkshire bred (Mar 4, 2012)

to be honest i do not think that indoor shooting is worth the risk as it is just to easy to mistime the realease or get a fork hit or a ricochet and for windows to be smashed. i would sugest that you make a wooden framed catch box with several layers of material in the back, possibly tee-shirts and use this in the garden.


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## GoodShot (Dec 28, 2012)

Idk i just know


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## bmlodge (Feb 26, 2013)

That's what I do in my parents garden. A towel over a washing line with a can + paracord. With a big plastic box underneath. Still loose ammo though when I hit the can, which does actually get fairly frequent from about 10 metres away. For an indoor setup I thought of using a clothes horse with a box underneath. It is risky though. I've only had one misfire since I started using slingshots about 3 weeks ago.


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## Northerner (Nov 9, 2010)

I shoot indoors all winter long. All I use is a worn t-shirt stapled to the side of a hobby table. Behind the t-shirt I have a wide canvas sheet, nylon sheet, and an old leather skirt that my wife was tossing away. For a target I prefer plastic golfballs hanging from a string. To get 28' I shoot through two doorways in my basment.

Cheers,

Northerner


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## qwerewq (Mar 5, 2013)

Cotton ball if your not trying make it go far


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## Incomudro (Jan 12, 2012)

Charles said:


> Incomudro said:
> 
> 
> > Charles said:
> ...


That'll help a lot Charles, i thank you!


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## Bob at Draco (Feb 18, 2013)

Great video on a couple nice back stops. Being able to take it down is a smart move. Mine is more permanent but is in my welding shop. I use a kitchen rug my wife was going to throw away for the striking surface. Shooting my heavier hunting SS, I have gotten a few shoot throughs even on it. I had planned on making a rack to hold it in a "V" in toward the back. That way there would be no straight on hits to the striking surface. Your model with the fold out back leg would work great for doing this by tying the rug back to that leg. Thanks for the idea.

By the way, you are right about the size of that Airedale, he is huge. I have a good customer that has a couple and they act just like yours, happy go lucky and wanting some loving. Looks like they have not a mean bone in their body. The man that owns them said they are not like that with every body though. He swears they know evil when it come there and has nearly eaten a couple of people alive. I could never imagine it as they are so sweet with me. He just may be right.


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## Incomudro (Jan 12, 2012)

I'm going to look into this one too 'duck.

Thank You.



lightgeoduck said:


> Incomudro said:
> 
> 
> > Charles said:
> ...


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## Northerner (Nov 9, 2010)

Bob at Draco said:


> Great video on a couple nice back stops. Being able to take it down is a smart move. Mine is more permanent but is in my welding shop. I use a kitchen rug my wife was going to throw away for the striking surface. Shooting my heavier hunting SS, I have gotten a few shoot throughs even on it. I had planned on making a rack to hold it in a "V" in toward the back. That way there would be no straight on hits to the striking surface. Your model with the fold out back leg would work great for doing this by tying the rug back to that leg. Thanks for the idea.


Hi Bob,

Try a lighter material than a rug. Two cotton t-shirts will move more freely and absorb better than a heavy rug. I burned through about a dozen old towels before moving to the t-shirts. I once tried a small rubber backed rug but the shots went through.

Cheers,

Northerner


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## Bob at Draco (Feb 18, 2013)

Thanks, I'll try that. I'm lucky in that I can shoot to 75' in my welding shop and if I get a shoot through, it will only hit steel on the metal rack. It will make you jump though.


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## lightgeoduck (Apr 3, 2011)

Bob at Draco said:


> Thanks, I'll try that. I'm lucky in that I can shoot to 75' in my welding shop and if I get a shoot through, it will only hit steel on the metal rack. It will make you jump though.


But the hitting of that metal rack would be AWESOME to hear.. just paint a target on the metal and fire away 

LGD


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## Bob at Draco (Feb 18, 2013)

lightgeoduck said:


> Bob at Draco said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks, I'll try that. I'm lucky in that I can shoot to 75' in my welding shop and if I get a shoot through, it will only hit steel on the metal rack. It will make you jump though





lightgeoduck said:


> But the hitting of that metal rack would be AWESOME to hear.. just paint a target on the metal and fire away
> 
> LGD


The ricochets keep it exciting too.


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## B.P.R (Dec 28, 2012)

Simplest.

A box
A towel
Some string


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## bmlodge (Feb 26, 2013)

I gave in due to lack of a garden at present and rubbish weather. Here is my setup. Bought some plastic ammo just in case but I have shot 8mm steel balls. Quite proud of it to be honest 
Anyone got any good ideas of a target to shoot? I'm using paper targets at present but would like something that makes a noise without affecting the ammo shooting off at random angles if that's possible.

Cheers for all the feedback and help.

B


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## GoodShot (Dec 28, 2012)

Try jar lids the metal or aluminum one's punch a hole tie a thin line and your good to go


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## B.P.R (Dec 28, 2012)

Ebay. Chalk targets.

24mm im diameter.

They go "poof" IF you hit them.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20MM-THICK-HDPE-SHEET-500-GRADE-200MM-X-100MM-X-1-PIECE-/121037412377?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&var=&hash=item1c2e645819


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## Northerner (Nov 9, 2010)

I like plastic golfballs for targets. You can poke a hole through both sides and string it up. The dollar stores often have them by the dozens.

Cheers,

Northerner


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## Knotty (Jan 15, 2013)

Cut a target disk out of a thick leather belt or sandal. The leather target can be shot indefinitely and makes a different sound than when the backstop cloth is hit. Not as satisfying as the lid of a can though.

To keep it facing you, make two string attachment holes in the leather at about 11 and 1 o'clock.


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## bmlodge (Feb 26, 2013)

Cheers guys. Really good ideas. Just been shooting a jar lid. Won't last long though, too much of a good shot and it looks a bit battered now, lol. Love the leather idea Knotty, just going to order some. Much better than paper targets, although paper targets are fun for scoring etc.


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## bmlodge (Feb 26, 2013)

Right this is my final setup. Works pretty good. Thanks for the leather idea Knotty. I bought some off ebay. Not the thickest but it does make a distinctive sound and will last a long time.

Thanks for all the help people,

Ben


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## rowbow (Jul 12, 2021)

bmlodge said:


> I gave in due to lack of a garden at present and rubbish weather. Here is my setup. Bought some plastic ammo just in case but I have shot 8mm steel balls. Quite proud of it to be honest
> Anyone got any good ideas of a target to shoot? I'm using paper targets at present but would like something that makes a noise without affecting the ammo shooting off at random angles if that's possible.
> 
> Cheers for all the feedback and help.
> ...


Someone suggested on one of the forums that party poppers that explode on impact


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## Cass (Nov 16, 2020)




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## Cass (Nov 16, 2020)

Hi, that was pics of the two I made. 15 gallon barrels heavy gears in bottom to weight it and a solar light for night shooting. Holes are drilled in the bottom for drainage. Works well, I shoot outside, to many Windows inside.


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## SLING-N-SHOT (Jun 5, 2018)

Great setup Cass and I’m still envious of where you get to shoot ! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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