# Shooting flechettes - survival bare back style



## Jax (Jan 8, 2011)

Despite dreadful weather a short video of how I shoot flechettes bare back style is finally there.
I used Robert Blair's short arrows made of wood with steel point, plastic vanes and comfortable rubber paint covered grip. They have excellent flight characteristics but I couldn't demonstrate how far and stable they fly because there is too much snow and I don't want to lose another one!
I also made two flechettes of my own today using an 8mm bolt or wood screw to be precise, 17cm long and 15cm after turning it into an arrow. It has a notch cut in the shaft like Blair's original one and duct tape fletchings. It's maybe twice as heavy as the wooden one and it flies ok but I machined down only half of the thread's hight when my angle grinder's disc wore out to the limit.
The flechette I made last month had no thread left at all so it was lighter and the center of mass was even further towards the front. It felt much nicer to shoot with and I liked it's fligh path better. However I lost it in deep snow I think this kind of shooting can be usefull in survival situations.
In second part of the video I'm shooting out of pure curiosity a Philipino style flechette launcher using chained rubber. I've shot them just a few times before filming to make sure all works fine. It feels like I could get accuracy comparable to conventional sling set up but I need to practise a lot before my personal final verdict.
This kind of launcher is not my main focus though.
My target is developing a decent hunting slingshot system capable of shooting all kinds of projectiles with emphasis on short and long arrows with enough speed and power to take down big game.
A tough goal and a big challenge but that's what makes me really tick! I love challenge








and here is the video:

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=3kqnjSdhJO4


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## projectile (Nov 6, 2010)

whoa!
don't you ever get fork hit ?


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## dragonmaster (Dec 24, 2009)

I figure if this video didn't show up that meant you had a hole in your hand. Ha Ha. good shooting hope to see more.


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## Marbles (Jan 23, 2010)

YUP THATS THE WAY TO DO IT, BUT IS SCAREY!!


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## dgui (Jan 12, 2010)

Hey JAX, Super demonstration shooting darts BareBack and accurate to, it appears that you do better BareBack, more control and placement of the darts rather than shooting with the Pana. I can see some other videos coming and you have opened up a whole new vista on this talent you have demonstrated though it is not for the faint. Your sort of like some kinda Nija. Great video, thanks for postng.


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## Jax (Jan 8, 2011)

dgui said:


> Hey JAX, Super demonstration shooting darts BareBack and accurate to, it appears that you do better BareBack, more control and placement of the darts rather than shooting with the Pana. I can see some other videos coming and you have opened up a whole new vista on this talent you have demonstrated though it is not for the faint. Your sort of like some kinda Nija. Great video, thanks for postng.


hey dgui, thanks for generous comments on my video. I also enjoy watching your shooting, the aerial shot was amazing! but no, I'm no Ninja although I've watched plenty of Ninja movies, maybe that shows








and more videos will follow but first I need to decide which of my stronger rubber to go for and fabricate heavier and stronger arrows. Before I got string to rubber connection right one of the test shots using medium strong tube bands sent that green arrow at a slight angle. It hit a head of a nail in the wooden plank and broke







.It looks like those arrows can't handle a lot more powerful bands, another issue with them is that when using much heavier draw bands I can't hold the arrow long enough to get full draw.It just slips out of my hand even though it has a notch at the end and I'm using gloves for better grip.
When I'm satisfied I got it all right, you'll see more shooting action for sure


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## dragonmaster (Dec 24, 2009)

You need to glue a wood bead to the end for a better grip


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## Rayshot (Feb 1, 2010)

Impressive and scary at the same time.


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## HOE (Nov 13, 2010)

You are truly brave to do that!! Impressive, most people won't even shoot with the slingshot itself, and yet you're using your bare hands.


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## Nico (Sep 10, 2010)

Very impressive!


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## BCLuxor (Aug 24, 2010)

dang I'd like to see just how close they are to your hand in slow motion awesome shooting though full credit.


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## Jax (Jan 8, 2011)

luxor5 said:


> dang I'd like to see just how close they are to your hand in slow motion awesome shooting though full credit.


Hi luxor, I'm keen to find out myself how close the arrow is to my hand, a slow motion video will follow as soon as I can get hold of a suitable camera. I'm sure it's very close but it's not so dangerous as it may look.
I might be wrong but all my experience tells me an arrow cannot pass under the line of rubber attachment.
It can fly exactly through that line (unlikely as this would require not a slightest flip of the hand holding the slingshot or rubber in my case, and who can hold it absolutely firm?)
In most cases an arrow passes over that line due to intended or unintended flip. I started this kind of shooting with a big flip every time but soon I realised the bigger the flip the harder it is to be consistently accurate so now I flip only as much as I feel necessary.
But please don't take my word for it .I've got no hard evidence like slow motion recordings. I believe this might be less true for shooting with a pouch, especially if balance between rubber, pouch and ammo is not right.
And a big thank you to all who responded so kindly to this video!







.


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## Bugar (Dec 24, 2009)

Wellll= Impressive= kinda scarey= But it works-Great idea











Jax said:


> dang I'd like to see just how close they are to your hand in slow motion awesome shooting though full credit.


Hi luxor, I'm keen to find out myself how close the arrow is to my hand, a slow motion video will follow as soon as I can get hold of a suitable camera. I'm sure it's very close but it's not so dangerous as it may look.
I might be wrong but all my experience tells me an arrow cannot pass under the line of rubber attachment.
It can fly exactly through that line (unlikely as this would require not a slightest flip of the hand holding the slingshot or rubber in my case, and who can hold it absolutely firm?)
In most cases an arrow passes over that line due to intended or unintended flip. I started this kind of shooting with a big flip every time but soon I realised the bigger the flip the harder it is to be consistently accurate so now I flip only as much as I feel necessary.
But please don't take my word for it .I've got no hard evidence like slow motion recordings. I believe this might be less true for shooting with a pouch, especially if balance between rubber, pouch and ammo is not right.
And a big thank you to all who responded so kindly to this video!







.
[/quote]


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## ifix (Jun 11, 2012)

Jax said:


> dang I'd like to see just how close they are to your hand in slow motion awesome shooting though full credit.


Hi luxor, I'm keen to find out myself how close the arrow is to my hand, a slow motion video will follow as soon as I can get hold of a suitable camera. I'm sure it's very close but it's not so dangerous as it may look.
I might be wrong but all my experience tells me an arrow cannot pass under the line of rubber attachment.
It can fly exactly through that line (unlikely as this would require not a slightest flip of the hand holding the slingshot or rubber in my case, and who can hold it absolutely firm?)
In most cases an arrow passes over that line due to intended or unintended flip. I started this kind of shooting with a big flip every time but soon I realised the bigger the flip the harder it is to be consistently accurate so now I flip only as much as I feel necessary.
But please don't take my word for it .I've got no hard evidence like slow motion recordings. I believe this might be less true for shooting with a pouch, especially if balance between rubber, pouch and ammo is not right.
And a big thank you to all who responded so kindly to this video!







.
[/quote]

i agree with you that bareback is not as dangerous as it looks. i think it's a bit safer because you can be very precise on how you get your hand out of the way without having to worry about the fork. the same holds true if you're using a pouch. if your load is particularly heavy you can give your hand a slight angle so that gravity doesn't pull it towards your hand.
i have one question. why are you using two pieces of rubber and not a single loop in the video?


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## capnjoe (Jun 3, 2012)

Wow! Gotta put on your big boy pants for that one... Good thing I keep an extra pair in the glovebox. That was scarily impressive and accurate, JAX.
Bunnies are dead and from the looks of it a small pig or deer would fall prey too. I take my hat off to your boldness, sir.


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## Mr.Teh (Feb 28, 2012)

looks dangerous, but funny.....have a good time


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## Quercusuber (Nov 10, 2011)

Well, I'm impressed with your shooting skills!!! (kids, dont try this at home!)
Bravo!!


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## Btoon84 (Nov 22, 2011)

i would destroy myself doing this. nice job dude


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## mrpaint (May 16, 2012)

I think I may try this, with bands tho instead of tubes... ill post the pics of my hand with the arrow in it


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