# barnetts! barnetts! barnetts! the good the bad and the ugly



## dang magpies

​
*would you recommend a Barnett slingshot to a friend ?*

yes 3031.25%no 3233.33%they are ok3435.42%


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## dang magpies

hey all

ive started this thread because lately ive heard a bunch of great stories about Barnett slingshots and just as many terrible ones so since this is the place for everything slingshots i want as many storys about Barnett slingshots as possible and don't forget vote in the poll

thanks, :king:


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## dang magpies

oh by the way this thread is primarily for experiences with Barnetts in hunting

thanks :king:


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## studer1972

I have a Diablo Pro II. It shoots straight, but I find it to be unwieldy. As far as the big, wrist braced forks go, I like the Saunders Falcon II or the Marksman 3061 Adjustable. There's certainly nothing wrong with the Diablo Pro II, but I like their bands the least out of the Trumark, Marksman, Daisy, and Barnett tubes I've shot. Trumark tubes are nice and fast, Daisy are stiff and hard hitting, Marksman are smooth but a little weak, and Barnett tubes are just meh IMHO. Saunders uses flatbands on most of their slingshots. They are smooth, fast, and hard hitting and have a wonderfully easy band attachment system. They can be used with Saunders' branded flatbands, custom cut bands, and possibly tubes. If you really like tubes, I like my Trumark FS-1 followed by the Marksman 3061 or 3060.

Saunders Falcon II http://www.sausa.com/product.php?id=3&category=16

Marksman 3061 http://www.marksman.com/3061_slings.php

Trumark FS-1 http://www.slingshots.com/html/sling-shots-fs1.html

There are a lot of crafters out there who produce wonderful handmade forks. It's worth checking the vendor section and buying from someone nearby if you can. I like my Pocket Predator better than any of the commercial models I own.


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## dang magpies

remember im trying to get accurate data so please be honest

thanks :king:


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## Crac

I voted no.

Good for plinking, you might take small game... But as a package I feel there are better options I just don't see any redeeming features.

Jorg did a video test of 4 different slingshots, Trumark S9, His "naughty boy", his "freddy krueger", plus one...

Jorg has also done a commercial slingshot shoot out video.

All I can say is it's like trying to compare multifunction penknife to a chef's knife.... Both are good for different things!


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## dang magpies

thanks studer ive heard the same thing about the diablo being unwieldy and just my looking at the picture i tell it denfiently is P.S what is yor experiance with the diablo in hunting

thanks :king:


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## dang magpies

thanks again crac for the advice im considering a milbropro mainly because it can be delivered to my country (middle earth)


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## dan-boy

I used to shoot a barnett black widow for about 2-3 years i got it, shot it twice then removed the wrist brace lol it was quite good bagged loads of game, I thought it was the dogs bollocks until I got my brass milbro and I havent picked up my old barnett since all in all some very good memories with it and its a good shooter but theres much better quality on the market for not much more money I wouldnt buy another barnett to be honest


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## dang magpies

thanks dan boy i have also looked at milbro pro slingshots as well and they SO much better

thanks


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## Adirondack Kyle

I would go for the milbro, I don't like wrist brace models, 
Saunders makes the best mass produced slingshot in my opinion, I have an sr7 ( original wrist rocket)


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## dang magpies

thanks ak


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## Imperial

dang, since i have no idea what your location is, cork is unknown to me, are wrist braced slingshots legal where you're at?

whats your experience with slingshots ? wrist brace are great to use if you have hand or wrist problems and want to use some stronger bands or tubing. but as always, its the indian not the arrow.


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## studer1972

dm: I haven't hunted yet. Squirrel and rabbit season isn't until September in MN. Need to work on my accuracy before then, too. Milbro has some nice looking forks. I am saving for one of their aluminum pocket predators.


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## dang magpies

in response to your question imperial cork is the biggest of the 26 counties in the counties in the republic of ireland and wrist rockets are legal thanks agianbfor the posts

thanks :king:


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## Mrashid

Have you ever considered dankung? There slingshots are ment to be really good


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## Malleus

I love my Black Widow with folding wrist brace. The other Barnetts, Cobra and Diablo are too bulky for me although they perform as good as the Black Widow.

I hope to do some hunting with it soon but as yet I don't know what tubes to use, at the moment i just use the ones that came with it. If anyone can recommend hunting tubes I would be grateful.

As for Dankung style, they are very adaptable to different bands and easier to conceal but i wouldn't trade my Black Widow in for anything.


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## Bodhisattva

I had a black widow as a kid and a cobra later on , i currently have a pro diablo 2 . It is a bit huge but its fun to use , i have thera band black tubes on it . I use my Paul La Croissette for hunting ( the one in my photo)


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## Malleus

Bodhisattva said:


> I had a black widow as a kid and a cobra later on , i currently have a pro diablo 2 . It is a bit huge but its fun to use , i have thera band black tubes on it . I use my Paul La Croissette for hunting ( the one in my photo)


How do the thera band tubes compare to the Barnett tubes?

I'm thinking of upgrading my Black Widow tubes to something that can be used for hunting

but don't know what tubes to get.


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## Bodhisattva

They are much better and quite cheap off ebay . Worth upgrading


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## reecemurg

i wouldnt recommend the barnett catties for anything but plinking cans if im honest, they are too cumbersome, the strike 9 without the wrist brace is probably the best one there, as there isnt a wrist brace  you may find the traditional milbro catties too thin (like i did) and very un-comfortable to hold, dankung catapults are great, i use one for hunting very often


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## Malleus

reecemurg said:


> i wouldnt recommend the barnett catties for anything but plinking cans if im honest, they are too cumbersome, the strike 9 without the wrist brace is probably the best one there, as there isnt a wrist brace  you may find the traditional milbro catties too thin (like i did) and very un-comfortable to hold, dankung catapults are great, i use one for hunting very often


The wrist brace adds stability and therefore accuracy as the Barnett tubes are fairly heavy. The Black Widow with folding wrist brace combines the stability of the wrist brace with compactability. It's still too bulky to put in your pocket but it's ideal for putting in a pack. It's the only Barnett I would recommend.

If they could just make it fold a little smaller it would be perfect.

Wasn't there an American slingshot from the 60's or 70's that looked like a Black Widow only smaller.Not sure if the brace folded but if it did I'd say it was a nice little sling.


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## reecemurg

Malleus said:


> reecemurg said:
> 
> 
> 
> i wouldnt recommend the barnett catties for anything but plinking cans if im honest, they are too cumbersome, the strike 9 without the wrist brace is probably the best one there, as there isnt a wrist brace  you may find the traditional milbro catties too thin (like i did) and very un-comfortable to hold, dankung catapults are great, i use one for hunting very often
> 
> 
> 
> The wrist brace adds stability and therefore accuracy as the Barnett tubes are fairly heavy. The Black Widow with folding wrist brace combines the stability of the wrist brace with compactability. It's still too bulky to put in your pocket but it's ideal for putting in a pack. It's the only Barnett I would recommend.
> 
> If they could just make it fold a little smaller it would be perfect.
> 
> Wasn't there an American slingshot from the 60's or 70's that looked like a Black Widow only smaller.Not sure if the brace folded but if it did I'd say it was a nice little sling.
Click to expand...

i find wrist braces limit natural movement, making some shooting uncomfortable, unless you have bad or weak wrists, then the wrist brace isnt really necessary (unless you want it etc) if using tubes like thera band black or silver, then i would under stand, but remember people use milbro's with square elastic and they have no wrist support  and have a much heavier draw. at the end of the day, its all personal preference.


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## Crac

Malleus said:


> I love my Black Widow with folding wrist brace. The other Barnetts, Cobra and Diablo are too bulky for me although they perform as good as the Black Widow.
> 
> I hope to do some hunting with it soon but as yet I don't know what tubes to use, at the moment i just use the ones that came with it. If anyone can recommend hunting tubes I would be grateful.
> 
> As for Dankung style, they are very adaptable to different bands and easier to conceal but i wouldn't trade my Black Widow in for anything.


I was looking at the orange 'dubdub' aka rolyan exercise tubing... IMO it is the only thin wall tubing I can find with an kinda of cross section. I believe the size is 5070.

I swear a bit of hunting ought to turn up some local gems?


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## Malleus

reecemurg said:


> i find wrist braces limit natural movement, making some shooting uncomfortable, unless you have bad or weak wrists, then the wrist brace isnt really necessary (unless you want it etc) if using tubes like thera band black or silver, then i would under stand, but remember people use milbro's with square elastic and they have no wrist support  and have a much heavier draw. at the end of the day, its all personal preference.


I think it;s just the way I grip the sling. I don't like to hold it too tight and I find with the wrist brace I can just let the handle rest in the crotch between

my index finger and thumb. I just tried my Black Widow without the brace and it dosen't feel right, for me it needs at least a lanyard to wrap around the wrist.

It's over 25 years since I shot a Milbro but the one I shot had a nice place to put your thumb where the handle and fork meet. This helped to brace the sling so I don't remember having any trouble shooting it even though I was only about 13.

@Crac

I'll add orange dubdub to my list of things to try.


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## lightgeoduck

I love the feel of the barnett's handle, but don't like the forks. Saunder's forks and attachment is great as far as mass productions go, but I feel the handle is uncomfortable.... So with that being said I combined them..









LoveN it..

LGD


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## Malleus

lightgeoduck said:


> I love the feel of the barnett's handle, but don't like the forks. Saunder's forks and attachment is great as far as mass productions go, but I feel the handle is uncomfortable.... So with that being said I combined them..
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> image.jpg
> 
> LoveN it..
> 
> LGD


I have to ask,

Did you combine the Barnett fork and Saunders handle too?


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## lightgeoduck

Malleus said:


> lightgeoduck said:
> 
> 
> 
> I love the feel of the barnett's handle, but don't like the forks. Saunder's forks and attachment is great as far as mass productions go, but I feel the handle is uncomfortable.... So with that being said I combined them..
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> image.jpg
> LoveN it..
> LGD
> 
> 
> 
> I have to ask,
> 
> Did you combine the Barnett fork and Saunders handle too?
Click to expand...

I thought about it for a sec, but thought why would I want to combine the features of each slingshot that I didn't like?

However, I do have the parts,because well, you never know 

LGD


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## Nicholson

I voted yes I would recommend this slingshot to a friend because I did recommend it to a friend. A friend wanted me to pick out a slingshot for him for 10 bucks so he could go on a nature hike with me and I chose the Barnett black widow for him. I was impressed so I bought one too. The larger pouch allows to shoot good sized rocks at pretty good speeds and I wouldn't think twice to use it for hunting. He's shooting it quite a bit and getting pretty darn good with that slingshot so I'm thinking about giving him one of my scout slingshots when the tubes wear out on that walmart slingshot. The Barnett has him hooked on slingshots and he's always eyeing my custom slingshots so it is a good starter for under 10 bucks. hard slingshot to conceal though


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## whippetlad

Barnetts are ok if you want it as a starter I find them uncomfortable but my friend loves them but I prefer my milbro its down to personal taste. 
Thanks- whippet lad


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## Tube_Shooter

I went one better than the barnett and owned a eagle of sniper wrist braced slingshot it was a great slingshot but I did not like carting it around outdoors and the frigging thing always squeaked when opening the wrist brace alerting everything to my position Lol so what to do well its in my avatar the SPS, I don't need a bag to lug it around it's very quiet and I can easily cover it with my hand oh and its just as stable to shoot as my E.O.Sniper slingshot too....love it.


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## Tentacle Toast

I've several that I keep exclusively for company; I find that people who've never shot a slingshot before "take" to them more readily at first, & I suspect that's due to the large pistol grip handle, & the feeling of stability with the wrist brace (in fact, when given the option, a majority of first timers gravitate to the Barnetts, at least with my company, anyway). In my opinion, it's a great "gateway" sling. It usually isn't long before I hear "how does THAT one shoot?"


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## Tentacle Toast

...I just leave those gimmicky "stability control" weights unscrewed, as I don't think they offer much in the way of function, & they look like some type of alien insect attached (referring to the Diablo).


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## Toddy

seeing how this is the hunting section. I will say that I have killed more game with a black widow than all the other frames I have owned put together. A small and very well thought out frame imo. The modern ones are not built to the same standard as the originals unfortunately but still a very good hunting tool.


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## August West

Toddy, with what elastic?


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## Toddy

I used to use their standard stuff but then got converted to the dark side by Trumark tapers


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## SteelBallViking

I have a Barnett cobra and a black widow Both decent but not very accurate, my wife LOVES the black widow.


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## Sharpshooter II

I find the barnett magum tubes great - they shoot 12mm lead pretty well.

but for the slingshots themselves i find them pretty poor i own all the range of slingshots from barnett and i found them great when i first started but ....... Then i got a gamekeeper ! then their was no going back . - cheers


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## Aries666

Think I have tried every wrist rocket and such brands found on the shelf. I too find them to be unwieldy and difficult to perfect. I feel one should never feel like they are fighting the slingshot.


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## zippo

bought a barnet a while ago, sold it the week after... just bad grip, and it snaped on me :/


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## Aries666

In my opinion the shooter on the shelf even worth shooting is the black widow. Anything else just doesn't function as well as a homemade or custom. But not by much.


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## Aries666

I wonder if barnett, marksman and other shelf shooter manufacturers even know how bad their slingshots are???


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## Randysavage

I don't like the wrist rockets they have but I do enjoy the strike 9 and recommend it to people, that narrow fork is pretty fun  I have a few barnetts I have a cobra but I have it away, it was a good shooter however I just do not like wrist rockets anymore. They are great for starters but for wire frame Id go trumark like ths s9 and I do like that daisy f16 I think it is. but the strike 9 has never done me wrong


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## wll

Aries666 said:


> I wonder if barnett, marksman and other shelf shooter manufacturers even know how bad their slingshots are???


I think they are basically after the kid market, and most boys will use them for a while and get discouraged.

The American slip over the fork mounting system is very, very hard on the bands and does not leave many options open, unless you read these forums and learn how to customize your catapult, In addition the bands that come with many are overpowered, the Daisy F16 as an example has horrible bands IMHO. Saunders and Marksman make much better bands.

IMHO, one of the finest slingshots commercially made were the origingal Wham-O's ........ very simple, very good bands and good velocity. If a slingashot like that came back on the comercial market at a good price point, I think it would sell, especially if had an OTT option.

Just my thoughts on Barnet, Marksman, Daisy and others that use the slip over the fork method of mounting.

wll


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## 1Wally

First ever catty I owned was a Barnett Strike 9, I would have been about 7 years old, I loved it back then and wish I hadn't lost it. I had the black widow in my teens and never really got on with it. Wrist braces I really don't need. I just think there are so much better cattys out there.


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## Java

In the U.S. the Black Widow is available just about everywhere, no matter how small the town. I gave my nephew one for his birthday. I helped him remove the wrist brace, (making it a Strike 9) and mount Trumark Tapers on it. When he wore those out I helped him mount flat bands on it. When he got his first job, he spent his first paycheck on a Scout. Mission accomplished. I love Black Widows. (Actually I love Strike 9s, but Black Widows are easier to find around here.)


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## Randysavage

I like the black widow I normally change the bandset to flats but honestly I pretty much use scout. I have taken a crow at almost 40 yards with a Barnett. May of been a trumark tho I can't remember


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## wll

Here is a pic of one of my Barnett's. I have a few of them and they are all done the same way, works great.

Don't have any set up with rubber because I'm not using them now. The OTT attachment works just great and the forward forks add about an 1 1/2 to the draw length when you figure in where it normally attaches and where it attaches now.









I set up one of my friends with one as an emergency tool just this way and he loves it.

wll


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## New dog old tricks

I had a Barnett strike 9 a few years ago. Very basic but I had no complaints. I hunt with my own builds now days but every now and then I shoot it for a little bit of fun.


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## poekoelan

I have a very old Whamo Powermaster. It's a folding wrist brace type. Except for the cheap plastic handle that cracked the first time I dropped it, it is very well made. I made a solid hickory handle for it. Can't tell you how many band sets I've gone through on it, mostly the premade big box tube sets. I still shoot it today. Mostly with flats though. Strange, I use flats on it and for my home made forks I usually use tubes. Guess I do things backwards.


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## Mr-W

I have a black widow, (from 1996, I was 12 and my dad gave me the money to buy it. My mum took it from me and she gave it back to me this year (im 30 now haha) but its the original solid steel model made in England before they were cheaply mass produced.

Ive banded it up with plum dub dun and this thing can launch lead like nothing else! Id never hunt with it, its not accurate. But fun factor 10/10 lol.

My hunting setup is looped 1745 and .44cal lead. Brilliant setup

Draw steady - shoot straight


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## Chuck Daehler

My marksman 3061 is the hardest hitting frame I own due to the extended forks providing a longer draw to my anchor point. It's comfortable and I don't have to grip it...it stays in my hand open handed. My Trumark folder is hard on my radius bone, I added a foam tube (piece of thick pipe insulation) and it's better but still uncomfortable. By far I much prefer the web arm brace design of Marksman.

As to hunting with my 3061, when I was shooting one day a pest bird which eats crops here, and craps all over everything, happened to be within range and I nailed it square on the thorax...instant death, didn't even flutter, just fell over, 12 meters approx., 3/8 lead ball. The bird is larger than a robin or quail but smaller than a pigeon. That Marksman demon is deadly. Not as deadly as my Barnett self cocking 125# crossbow though.


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## NaturalFork

People like to bash commercial stuff. I have honestly never shot a barnett. However I do like saunders and even trumark stuff. Bottom line is that the Barnett stuff can undoubtedly shoot just as well as anything.


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## Mrbeaaattie

I just bought a strike 9 very accurate with 1/2 inch steel strong bands on it but I'm a big bloke so find it easy lol wrapped handle with daNkung handle wrap and it's comfy good quality and accurate


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## JediMike

Yeah, love Trumarks, find them accurate and cheap to run.
Have a Barnet cobra which I emsaculated so it's now a kind of de facto Diablo. I use it as my rock lobber and it's great. nice sold frame, nice deep forks, sturdy construction.


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## JediMike

1Wally said:


> First ever catty I owned was a Barnett Strike 9, I would have been about 7 years old, I loved it back then and wish I hadn't lost it. I had the black widow in my teens and never really got on with it. Wrist braces I really don't need. I just think there are so much better cattys out there.


I have my first slingshot, an old old black widow I took the wristbrace off. Still shoot it today 20 years later.


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## fred45

never had a Barrett but I just ordered a Truemark wrist brace the non-folding alum one. we had one in the neighborhood as a kid I think I traded a toad, we called him Pee toad, he peed when you picked him up. that toad and the wrist rocket were traded all around among us kids, it was the only sling that got any use, we did make some nattys and used newspaper bands, but we did not know the folded braiding, we did double up the chains still could not get the power of the wrist rocket


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