# Natural Gum Rubber , What A Pleasent Surprise



## fsa46 (Jul 8, 2012)

I bought some tapered ( 9/16" to 7/16" ) Natural Gum Rubber bands from SimpleShot and must say I am pleasantly surprised. For whatever reason, I didn't think I'd be a fan but thought I'd give it a try and I'm sure glad I did.

I shoot all the usual flats and tubes but never really likes the way they shot the big ( heavy ) ammo. I know, I tried many different configurations and some shot
fine but they just weren't for me.

These tapered Natural Gum Rubber flats fit the bill and is exactly what I've been looking for.

This is my first experience with these so I set them up on a ShuttleCraft. They measure 9 1/4" from fork to pouch.

If you notice below, I coped out the band where the band sets in the pouch, not where I tied it. I tied it with four wraps of party balloon.








This is interesting. The rubber is to thick to use the match stick method and I wasn't sure how to attach it to the forks. I just slid it between the "U" single to give it a try to see if it would slip out. If you notice the marks I put on the band to see if in fact they were pulling out when shooting. After repeated shooting they aren't budging.

The only thing I might try different is putting the " dead end " outward instead in.

















I have been shooting 7/16" and 1/2" steel balls with this set up and absolutely love this for shooting the heavy ammo.

It just goes to show, things aren't always what we think. Don't be afraid to try different things, like me, you might be pleasantly surprised.


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## treefork (Feb 1, 2010)

Nice shooter !


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## oldmiser (Jan 22, 2014)

you can make a loop & use a match stick It will hold fine...I use it on my RH rotating slingshot with gum rubber 5/8" straight cut 12 "long

using 7/16" ammo..~AKAOldmiser


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## fsa46 (Jul 8, 2012)

I wasn't worried about it holding OM, I stretched the heck out of it and still couldn't get it into the "U". If you say you did it I'll give it a try again and see what happens.

Thanks for the heads up.


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## fsa46 (Jul 8, 2012)

I might add, Nathan ( SimpleShot ) has these on a Christmas sale at 25% off for a couple more days. A super price for this quality Natural Gum Rubber.


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## oldmiser (Jan 22, 2014)

fsa46 said:


> I wasn't worried about it holding OM, I stretched the heck out of it and still couldn't get it into the "U". If you say you did it I'll give it a try again and see what happens.
> 
> Thanks for the heads up.


How thick is the Gum Rubber your using? Mine is 1/16" inch Maybe you got the thicker Gum Rubber...

I am having camera issue's for focus but you can see the loop & match stick OM


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## grappo73 (Dec 15, 2015)

Well done!!!


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## fsa46 (Jul 8, 2012)

OM, I checked my bands and they measure 1/16" also. After reading your first reply, I went down and checked my other RH frames. The "U" on all my other frames have a wider gap so that was the problem and I just opened them a little on that frame and all is fine now.

I never noticed it before because I only shoot .030 and .040 flats in that frame, ( when using flats ).

By the way, I use the paper sticks from Q-Tips for the match stick set up. I like them because they're thinner than match sticks, look neat and do the trick.


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