# A little more in depth look at the Pocket Shot device.



## Bill Hays

By request checking out "The Pocket Shot"... similar to the old balloon and a bottle top shooters of long ago, but with much more powerful elastics and a wider mouth... this slingshot type device is capable of launching 3/8" steel ball bearings at over, a proven, 224 fps... this creates about 6 foot pounds and is just above the minimum recommended power for hunting a rabbit.
Later on 1/2" steel bearing were tried out and they were able to get up to 180 fps, which is 8 foot pounds and much better for hunting, although the slower speed may allow an animal to react and evade the oncoming shot if you are not close enough.

Much to my chagrine, when shooting the Pocket Shot at targets, I found it to be very difficult to aim and getting on target was not really intuitive to me either. I had the feeling that a smaller shooter, maybe a kid who knows how to shoot may be better... so I allowed my 6 year old son Ben to give it a go... Ben has been shooting slingshots since he was 2 years old and can now shoot almost as well as most decent Adult shooters.... anyway, he may have been able to do better if the rubber pouch was a little less strong... but as it was he wasn't successful at all.

After all is said and done, shooting the Pocket Shot device was an interesting diversion but I wouldn't recommend one over a slingshot of similar cost.

My recommendations for improving the design are maybe to have a pouch that allows for a greater draw length and a more ergonomic grip so that more traditional aiming techniques can be utilized.


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## bmlodge

Interesting review Bill. Glad I didn't order the pro pouches as the standard ones look pretty tough to pull back. It was weird the fact that the FPS got less and less, really odd.


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## Urban Fisher

Thanks Bill!! That was an awesome review! Those first few shots I thought for sure you were going to nail one of those goats...LOL!!!

I think you did a darn honest review. Very impressive considering this could almost be considered a "competitor" to your business. But you hit on some of the main facts that were my concern. As you stated, fun little shooter, but I think a real slingshot has much more versatility. As you said...with a real ss you can change bands, double them up basically experiment with different band setups. Also with that shooter it seems your more aiming from the hip. Nothing wrong with that, but I am a sight shooter. For me to be accurate/consistant over several shots, I need to aim! Also the mention of not being able to use rocks is also very valid. Sure I do most of my shooting with steel, but that is one of the greatest things about a ss, if you just want to plink around outdoors and not waste ammo...then you always have rocks laying around (not to mention how easy it can be to change a standard ss into a slingbow...even more versatility)!

Again thanks for the review Bill! Looks like a fun shooter for sure and I am considering ordering one for fun...but I don't think it can really compete against a true slingshot.


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## S.S. sLinGeR

I'll stay with a Y. thanks for the review Bill.


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## The Pocket Shot

First of all: Thanks Bill for taking the time to give our product a review.  We really appreciate it! What an expert you are in this field and we don't look at you as a competitor but more like a mentor we can learn from.

I wanted to point out a few things in your review that we noticed.

#1 Our product is designed to shoot small projectiles. 3/8 is really the max we would shoot. Our 300-350 FPS are done with 1/4 steel shot and below.

#2 Our 300-350 FPS is done with the Pro Pouch (blue), not with the standard.

#3 The pouches typically take 10-20 shots to get stretched out and start working appropriately so they are going to be stiff at first.

#4 The technique is greatly different than a slingshot (As you pointed out in the video) the beer can you hit at the end was more like a bow held up to eye level ......that was good!

I wish you were closer to Georgia and we could spend a day shooting stuff with it and show you in detail firing/pulling techniques and aiming. Just like a slingshot it takes practice to get good at. Its not something you can take out of the box and shoot the first time and hit with any degree of accuracy.

Again, thanks a lot for the review. We will put up a chronograph video this weekend for others to see.


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## PrideProducts

love the idea of this i think it would bee greatly improved with a handle that folded, would need some designing though...

like the concept of it i think something good will evolve from this product 

with it shooting at 350 fps it doesn't matter if you cant hit anything with. as bill says in the video there is no reall way of aiming it.

i think its a cool idea for a toy rather than a proper slingshot shooter like us guys and gals on here.

not sure it will catch on as a normal slingshot is easier to hold and shoots 100 times more acurate and with better sized ammo.

like the idea but in my opinion it would be better off in a toy store rather than a slingshot shooters pocket.

not sure it really improves on anything of a normal slingshot apart from reload speed but if i wanted something that reloads fast id shoot a pistol lol

i see the idea of the ballon like 'bands' being one that sound conceptually good, but for slingshot shooters its been done and the best think is flat bands and a leather pounch or tubes.

i'm not having a go here but just my opinion as a slingshot lover.

hope you dont take offence as i can clearly see how much effort you have put into it, awesome job btw 

all the best... Lewis


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## The Pocket Shot

love the idea of this i think it would bee greatly improved with a handle that folded, would need some designing though...

like the concept of it i think something good will evolve from this product 

with it shooting at 350 fps it doesn't matter if you cant hit anything with. as bill says in the video there is no reall way of aiming it.

i think its a cool idea for a toy rather than a proper slingshot shooter like us guys and gals on here.

not sure it will catch on as a normal slingshot is easier to hold and shoots 100 times more acurate and with better sized ammo.

like the idea but in my opinion it would be better off in a toy store rather than a slingshot shooters pocket.

not sure it really improves on anything of a normal slingshot apart from reload speed but if i wanted something that reloads fast id shoot a pistol lol

i see the idea of the ballon like 'bands' being one that sound conceptually good, but for slingshot shooters its been done and the best think is flat bands and a leather pounch or tubes.

i'm not having a go here but just my opinion as a slingshot lover.

hope you dont take offence as i can clearly see how much effort you have put into it, awesome job btw 

all the best... Lewis

No Offense taken Lewis. We love input! That's how we grow as a product and get you guys something of more value to you. Let me address some of the stuff in your post.

The product's name "Pocket Shot" is exactly that. It is an EDC slingshot. My philosophy for EDC is that-- "if I know Im carrying it, then I won't."

The "handle idea" would defeat the small size of it. Remember --it's only 2.3 inches. TINY> half the size of an IPHONE 4. We are going to make one even smaller down the road believe it or not that will have a thinner cap....but we are not quite there yet.

Accuracy: it is very accurate if you practice with it but keep in mind it is not shot really like a slingshot. (I think that is why Bill was having a hard time with its accuracy.) It is not really a slingshot at all if you think about! It's well...A POCKET SHOT!

Finally, we couldnt possibly sell this to kids. Way too dangerous. In the state of Georgia, you have to be 16+ to buy a slingshot....and that is one of those wrist rocket ones that we shot in our other video. With a ProPouch your well over 300 FPS+ so that could hurt someone pretty bad.

The two best things about it are it's size for EDC and it's reload speed IMO. There is nothing in the slingshot world that comes close to it's reload speed! Our President Shawn can get close to 30 shots in 1 minute. Yes, that is a shot almost every 2 seconds!

If you want to try something new give it a shot. (sorry for the Pun)


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## PrideProducts

True it is very compact but Bill and others have made some very small compact slingshots. Fir example this http://pocketpredator.com/gallery/x177.jpg
Which is probably smaller than the pocket shot. I can't see the point in making something smaller than your pocket because if it small enough to fit into a pocket then is EDC surely? A pocket shot seems very fun but for me it needs to be shooting 3/8 th inch ammo and more with a light draw weight. 
I think a folding handle would drastically improve this product. It wouldn't make it any buyer if it was designed correctly and it would increase the point-ability of it. Which alot of shooters look for in a slingshot frame, including myself.
Infact it is probably the most important thing for me.
Why? Increases your accuracy, makes it faster to get shots off when hunting. And makes the strain on your wrist alot smaller.
I would think about buying one of these if it added anything to my shooting experience but for me slingshots are a almost medicinal and relaxing. I don't go out out to try shoot as fast as possible but to waste time enjoy it and get away from the world. I actually take my time and deliberately be slow.
But some people want some things and others.... 
Cheers... Lewis


The Pocket Shot said:


> love the idea of this i think it would bee greatly improved with a handle that folded, would need some designing though...
> like the concept of it i think something good will evolve from this product
> with it shooting at 350 fps it doesn't matter if you cant hit anything with. as bill says in the video there is no reall way of aiming it.
> i think its a cool idea for a toy rather than a proper slingshot shooter like us guys and gals on here.
> not sure it will catch on as a normal slingshot is easier to hold and shoots 100 times more acurate and with better sized ammo.
> like the idea but in my opinion it would be better off in a toy store rather than a slingshot shooters pocket.
> not sure it really improves on anything of a normal slingshot apart from reload speed but if i wanted something that reloads fast id shoot a pistol lol
> i see the idea of the ballon like 'bands' being one that sound conceptually good, but for slingshot shooters its been done and the best think is flat bands and a leather pounch or tubes.
> i'm not having a go here but just my opinion as a slingshot lover.
> hope you dont take offence as i can clearly see how much effort you have put into it, awesome job btw
> all the best... Lewis
> 
> No Offense taken Lewis. We love input! That's how we grow as a product and get you guys something of more value to you. Let me address some of the stuff in your post.
> 
> The product's name "Pocket Shot" is exactly that. It is an EDC slingshot. My philosophy for EDC is that-- "if I know Im carrying it, then I won't."
> The "handle idea" would defeat the small size of it. Remember --it's only 2.3 inches. TINY> half the size of an IPHONE 4. We are going to make one even smaller down the road believe it or not that will have a thinner cap....but we are not quite there yet.
> 
> Accuracy: it is very accurate if you practice with it but keep in mind it is not shot really like a slingshot. (I think that is why Bill was having a hard time with its accuracy.) It is not really a slingshot at all if you think about! It's well...A POCKET SHOT!
> 
> Finally, we couldnt possibly sell this to kids. Way too dangerous. In the state of Georgia, you have to be 16+ to buy a slingshot....and that is one of those wrist rocket ones that we shot in our other video. With a ProPouch your well over 300 FPS+ so that could hurt someone pretty bad.
> 
> The two best things about it are it's size for EDC and it's reload speed IMO. There is nothing in the slingshot world that comes close to it's reload speed! Our President Shawn can get close to 30 shots in 1 minute. Yes, that is a shot almost every 2 seconds!
> 
> If you want to try something new give it a shot. (sorry for the Pun)


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## The Pocket Shot

Man that Eliminator with the folding arm is super cool! Never saw that before. Thanks for the link.


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## Bill Hays

Okay... first off, I don't really like to do reviews that much... but I was looking forward to trying out this product because it looked fairly unique and the concept appeared to be sound. When I ordered it, you let everyone know that I ordered it and said you wanted to hear my opinion on it on a public forum... and then a few other chimed in and that made it kind of difficult not to do it then.

So I just gave it my unvarnished opinion of how it (the experience) of shooting it and all felt to me and remarked on what my actual feelings are towards the product...

One of the reasons I thought this was going to be a blast to use, and I even ordered extra rubber pouches... was I thought it might be fun to make a sling-pistol or rifle out of it and increase the accuracy of the whole basic concept... or with a slight mod to an arrow, turn it into a pocket bow that can get decent fps.

I already knew the draw weight would be heavy, and I already knew that there was going to be no way to really be accurate with the unit "as is".

Now, I haven't had time yet to go about putting some of my ideas into design or action... but rest assured I will have some at some point in the future as to how to make the thing more ergonomic, more powerful, more accurate and easier to draw... this will take a little time however since I am already involved in doing other things at present, so when my schedule clears, or when I need a break from doing the work I'm already involved in... I'll take another look at the whole thing... but it will be on my own schedule though!


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## Chuck Daehler

Here I am a couple years later on a comment.

When I was a kid I saw in Popular Science magazine a similar thing using a condom as a propellant elastic. I did the balloon thing with a piece of pipe and it worked fine except I could not hit nearly as well with it although I did practice, as I could with my regular slingshots. It proved to be a school recess girl molesting toy several of us made and brought to school (and were confiscated by a teacher in charge of the recess field) and three days penalty of staying after school an hour writing on the blackboard as many times as we could, "I will respect everyone all the time".

I tried making a similar shooter from a piece of PVC pipe about a year ago inspired by the Pocket Shot and using a rubber diaphragm made of a rubber glove sleeve. It worked OK and penetrated an aluminum can with 9.5mm lead balls. Obviously it was nothing like the cone a Pocket Shot uses.

I think a folding pistol grip would be a marketable add on and that Pocket Shot is missing the boat by not providing that accessory. When people suggest things especially experienced and revered shooters, mfg's ought to perk up and take note and make that product.


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## inconvenience

Chuck Daehler said:


> Here I am a couple years later on a comment.
> 
> When I was a kid I saw in Popular Science magazine a similar thing using a condom as a propellant elastic. I did the balloon thing with a piece of pipe and it worked fine except I could not hit nearly as well with it although I did practice, as I could with my regular slingshots. It proved to be a school recess girl molesting toy several of us made and brought to school (and were confiscated by a teacher in charge of the recess field) and three days penalty of staying after school an hour writing on the blackboard as many times as we could, "I will respect everyone all the time".
> 
> I tried making a similar shooter from a piece of PVC pipe about a year ago inspired by the Pocket Shot and using a rubber diaphragm made of a rubber glove sleeve. It worked OK and penetrated an aluminum can with 9.5mm lead balls. Obviously it was nothing like the cone a Pocket Shot uses.
> 
> I think a folding pistol grip would be a marketable add on and that Pocket Shot is missing the boat by not providing that accessory. When people suggest things especially experienced and revered shooters, mfg's ought to perk up and take note and make that product.


I love the handle Joerg made for it in his video. It combined classic slingshot ergonomics with the Pocket Shot's fast loading. Pretty nifty.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk


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## QuotidianPrepper

inconvenience said:


> Chuck Daehler said:
> 
> 
> 
> Here I am a couple years later on a comment.
> 
> When I was a kid I saw in Popular Science magazine a similar thing using a condom as a propellant elastic. I did the balloon thing with a piece of pipe and it worked fine except I could not hit nearly as well with it although I did practice, as I could with my regular slingshots. It proved to be a school recess girl molesting toy several of us made and brought to school (and were confiscated by a teacher in charge of the recess field) and three days penalty of staying after school an hour writing on the blackboard as many times as we could, "I will respect everyone all the time".
> 
> I tried making a similar shooter from a piece of PVC pipe about a year ago inspired by the Pocket Shot and using a rubber diaphragm made of a rubber glove sleeve. It worked OK and penetrated an aluminum can with 9.5mm lead balls. Obviously it was nothing like the cone a Pocket Shot uses.
> 
> I think a folding pistol grip would be a marketable add on and that Pocket Shot is missing the boat by not providing that accessory. When people suggest things especially experienced and revered shooters, mfg's ought to perk up and take note and make that product.
> 
> 
> 
> I love the handle Joerg made for it in his video. It combined classic slingshot ergonomics with the Pocket Shot's fast loading. Pretty nifty.
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more. Have been thinking about making one for the last week or so. Wish the plans were somewhere as I know I'll mess it up doing it freehand!


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## inconvenience

QuotidianPrepper said:


> inconvenience said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Chuck Daehler said:
> 
> 
> 
> Here I am a couple years later on a comment.
> 
> When I was a kid I saw in Popular Science magazine a similar thing using a condom as a propellant elastic. I did the balloon thing with a piece of pipe and it worked fine except I could not hit nearly as well with it although I did practice, as I could with my regular slingshots. It proved to be a school recess girl molesting toy several of us made and brought to school (and were confiscated by a teacher in charge of the recess field) and three days penalty of staying after school an hour writing on the blackboard as many times as we could, "I will respect everyone all the time".
> 
> I tried making a similar shooter from a piece of PVC pipe about a year ago inspired by the Pocket Shot and using a rubber diaphragm made of a rubber glove sleeve. It worked OK and penetrated an aluminum can with 9.5mm lead balls. Obviously it was nothing like the cone a Pocket Shot uses.
> 
> I think a folding pistol grip would be a marketable add on and that Pocket Shot is missing the boat by not providing that accessory. When people suggest things especially experienced and revered shooters, mfg's ought to perk up and take note and make that product.
> 
> 
> 
> I love the handle Joerg made for it in his video. It combined classic slingshot ergonomics with the Pocket Shot's fast loading. Pretty nifty.
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Couldn't agree more. Have been thinking about making one for the last week or so. Wish the plans were somewhere as I know I'll mess it up doing it freehand!
Click to expand...

Joerg is a good guy. If he has the plans hell send em

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk


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## Wooky

Bill Hays said:


> Okay... first off, I don't really like to do reviews that much... but I was looking forward to trying out this product because it looked fairly unique and the concept appeared to be sound. When I ordered it, you let everyone know that I ordered it and said you wanted to hear my opinion on it on a public forum... and then a few other chimed in and that made it kind of difficult not to do it then.
> 
> So I just gave it my unvarnished opinion of how it (the experience) of shooting it and all felt to me and remarked on what my actual feelings are towards the product...
> 
> One of the reasons I thought this was going to be a blast to use, and I even ordered extra rubber pouches... was I thought it might be fun to make a sling-pistol or rifle out of it and increase the accuracy of the whole basic concept... or with a slight mod to an arrow, turn it into a pocket bow that can get decent fps.
> 
> I already knew the draw weight would be heavy, and I already knew that there was going to be no way to really be accurate with the unit "as is".
> 
> Now, I haven't had time yet to go about putting some of my ideas into design or action... but rest assured I will have some at some point in the future as to how to make the thing more ergonomic, more powerful, more accurate and easier to draw... this will take a little time however since I am already involved in doing other things at present, so when my schedule clears, or when I need a break from doing the work I'm already involved in... I'll take another look at the whole thing... but it will be on my own schedule though!


If anyone would care to watch a real review, Game Keeper John has done a review on this Pocket Shot, it is a well done video, he actually shoots his and shoots it well!!


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## Bill Hays

Wooky said:


> Bill Hays said:
> 
> 
> 
> Okay... first off, I don't really like to do reviews that much... but I was looking forward to trying out this product because it looked fairly unique and the concept appeared to be sound. When I ordered it, you let everyone know that I ordered it and said you wanted to hear my opinion on it on a public forum... and then a few other chimed in and that made it kind of difficult not to do it then.
> 
> So I just gave it my unvarnished opinion of how it (the experience) of shooting it and all felt to me and remarked on what my actual feelings are towards the product...
> 
> One of the reasons I thought this was going to be a blast to use, and I even ordered extra rubber pouches... was I thought it might be fun to make a sling-pistol or rifle out of it and increase the accuracy of the whole basic concept... or with a slight mod to an arrow, turn it into a pocket bow that can get decent fps.
> 
> I already knew the draw weight would be heavy, and I already knew that there was going to be no way to really be accurate with the unit "as is".
> 
> Now, I haven't had time yet to go about putting some of my ideas into design or action... but rest assured I will have some at some point in the future as to how to make the thing more ergonomic, more powerful, more accurate and easier to draw... this will take a little time however since I am already involved in doing other things at present, so when my schedule clears, or when I need a break from doing the work I'm already involved in... I'll take another look at the whole thing... but it will be on my own schedule though!
> 
> 
> 
> If anyone would care to watch a real review, Game Keeper John has done a review on this Pocket Shot, it is a well done video, he actually shoots his and shoots it well!!
Click to expand...

Your opinion is noted!


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## QuotidianPrepper

inconvenience said:


> QuotidianPrepper said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> inconvenience said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Chuck Daehler said:
> 
> 
> 
> Here I am a couple years later on a comment.
> 
> When I was a kid I saw in Popular Science magazine a similar thing using a condom as a propellant elastic. I did the balloon thing with a piece of pipe and it worked fine except I could not hit nearly as well with it although I did practice, as I could with my regular slingshots. It proved to be a school recess girl molesting toy several of us made and brought to school (and were confiscated by a teacher in charge of the recess field) and three days penalty of staying after school an hour writing on the blackboard as many times as we could, "I will respect everyone all the time".
> 
> I tried making a similar shooter from a piece of PVC pipe about a year ago inspired by the Pocket Shot and using a rubber diaphragm made of a rubber glove sleeve. It worked OK and penetrated an aluminum can with 9.5mm lead balls. Obviously it was nothing like the cone a Pocket Shot uses.
> 
> I think a folding pistol grip would be a marketable add on and that Pocket Shot is missing the boat by not providing that accessory. When people suggest things especially experienced and revered shooters, mfg's ought to perk up and take note and make that product.
> 
> 
> 
> I love the handle Joerg made for it in his video. It combined classic slingshot ergonomics with the Pocket Shot's fast loading. Pretty nifty.
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Couldn't agree more. Have been thinking about making one for the last week or so. Wish the plans were somewhere as I know I'll mess it up doing it freehand!
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Joerg is a good guy. If he has the plans **** send em
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Can you tell what it is yet...


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## Chuck Daehler

Definitely a handle serves this device well. But I really don't see the point other than just the joy of experimenting, and that's fun enough, when a regular slingshot with regular and easy to make bands does the same thing and I think better. Possibly someone could duplicate the old version that used a condom. Of course a full butterfly could be had with a condom that would do some righteous chronographing. The two ragamuffins I ran around with as a boy were two years older than I. One was a golden gloves fella who taught me how to fight (at the expense of a few puffy lips, black eyes and nose bleeds). The deal was we were to sneak into our parents' bedrooms and raid the box of condoms usually found in a dresser drawer. We did. Next day we met (summer vacations are means of rambunctiousness) and compared the trophies. Each had a stretch about as far as our wingspan (full butterfly). We made, using wide mouth plastic bottle top ends, some fierce shooters out of them and had wars with soybeans and navy beans, lucky we didn't (ready Matt?) shoot our eyes out. The condoms lasted a while then one by one the tips gave out. I forget which brand was best. I was prepube then but got my "education" from my older amigos as to what condoms were for. Eight years later I tested the theory.


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## lobohunter

A couple years later yet with my own set-up









Sent from my Z719DL using Tapatalk


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## Pebble Shooter

With regard to the difficulties of aiming with a "Pocket Shot", would it be possible to create a compact, but nevertheless clear aiming device based on the classic mirror system of reflex cameras?

The line of fire of the circle center could thus possibly be visible of the top edge of the Pocket Shot, while a change in the angle of the reflecting mirror (via a setting screw) could in principle enable setting the device for specific relevant distances.

See the very basic idea in the diagram.


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