# Sticky  Slingshot Knowledge 101



## treefork

Here is a informative video on everything from building a catch box , how to aim and shoot , making a band jig , cutting and tying bands and tubes and how to attach . The most comprehensive slingshot informational video out there . Check it out .


----------



## Tag

I agree Treefork, Bill is an excellent instructor. Thanks Treefork for posting.


----------



## Skag

Fantastic video. Literally any question I might have had was answered.


----------



## SteelBallViking

Well worth a hour of time spent, I think this video should be pinned in the introduction page for new shooters to watch.


----------



## Urban Fisher

As soon as I saw this video hit Youtube I watched the whole thing. A very thorough explanation of how to get started in this wondeful hobby! Bill thanks so much for putting something like this together. You are a true ambassador of this sport.


----------



## Nobodo

I've seen this before, but have wondered...

at 9:26 Bill is demonstrating OTT shooting, and says that one of the problems with this type of slingshot is you're never sure where your elevation points are.

I haven't noticed that with OTT; can somebody explain what is meant by that?

Thanks,

Mark.


----------



## Aefr

Nobodo said:


> I've seen this before, but have wondered...
> at 9:26 Bill is demonstrating OTT shooting, and says that one of the problems with this type of slingshot is you're never sure where your elevation points are.
> 
> I haven't noticed that with OTT; can somebody explain what is meant by that?
> 
> Thanks,
> Mark.


I agree with you there mark, those are his thoughts on the matter, I don't have that problem either. This is this guys way of the slingshot and he was nice enough to share it with us. I was going to do something similar to this and post it in the art of shooting forum.


----------



## Dayhiker

Comprehensive indeed. This should get a sticky in the newbie forum. Bill is a top man in all aspects of the sport and very generous with his knowledge and help. I have learned a lot from him and so have many others.


----------



## Charles

Dayhiker said:


> Comprehensive indeed. This should get a sticky in the newbie forum. Bill is a top man in all aspects of the sport and very generous with his knowledge and help. I have learned a lot from him and so have many others.


Done!

Cheers ... Charles


----------



## Bill Hays

Okay, now I'm blushing a little... Thanks guys...

When I started in slingshots I had a LOT of questions and it was difficult to find some of the answers... so I've been trying to make it easier on others to get usable knowledge more quickly... If I might suggest one more thing though... if you could find a way to copy/paste or just use the html from my FAQ page at: http://pocketpredator.com/FAQ.html

That pretty well covers a lot of the most asked questions I had as a beginner, and from what I can tell it answers most in the newbie section here as well... The question/answers that are product/brand specific could be cut out and I think it'd work pretty well on the first post of this "101" thread...


----------



## calinb

Aefr said:


> I agree with you there mark, those are his thoughts on the matter, I don't have that problem either. This is this guys way of the slingshot and he was nice enough to share it with us. I was going to do something similar to this and post it in the art of shooting forum.
> 
> 
> 
> Nobodo said:
> 
> 
> 
> I've seen this before, but have wondered...
> 
> at 9:26 Bill is demonstrating OTT shooting, and says that one of the problems with this type of slingshot is you're never sure where your elevation points are.
> 
> I haven't noticed that with OTT; can somebody explain what is meant by that?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Mark.
Click to expand...

Mark, Aefr,

I just watched Bill's video to learn all the stuff I never figured out as a kid! I think Bill was referring to the side effect of the over-the-top (OTT) bands slingshot having a narrower fork than the through-the-forks design (TTF). At least the OTT slingshot that Bill demonstrated was narrower. I don't know about others, because an OTT slingshot doesn't necessarily have to have a narrower fork than a TTF slingshot. The OTT band routing and anchor point enables narrowness. (Even with a narrower fork, the OTT bands and projectile don't get fouled.)

When the "sighting fork" side of the slingshot lies closer to the centerline of the fork and the "internal ballistic" trajectory of the projectile (its path before it's released from the pouch), as it does in the OTT model, a shooter "must hold" under (hold a sight picture on the target where the target position is in "mid-air" above the fork) to hit anything but very distant targets. "Holding under" like this is more challenging than holding "dead on" or nearly dead-on.

But I'm recently "born again" to slingshots and, other than being an engineer into many types of guns and shooting sports, what do I know?

I haven't owned a slingshot in nearly 50 years but recently bought a slingshot from Wally World to shoot some fishing weights and leader lines over tree limbs that needed pruning (over 50' up, in some cases). I used the light haul lines to pull 550 paracord and a chainsaw chain style survival saw up over the limbs. It worked great! (Got me hooked on sling shots.)

It also worked to prune the trees.


----------



## jazz

hi treefork, thanks for posting this video here!

hi Bill, thanks for your efforts to share your knowledge with us!

cheers,

jazz


----------



## JRSC

It might be a dumb question but something I've wondered. Does the distance of the prongs on a slingshot help with accuracy? Kind of like the brace height on a bow?


----------



## ghost0311/8541

How are you shooting fork up or fork side ways.


----------



## JRSC

ghost0311/8541 said:


> How are you shooting fork up or fork side ways.


Sideways and kind of use the tip of the side of the prong as my front sight post.


----------



## ghost0311/8541

Yeah that's how I shoot too.


----------



## calinb

calinb said:


> Mark, Aefr,I agree with you there mark, those are his thoughts on the matter, I don't have that problem either. This is this guys way of the slingshot and he was nice enough to share it with us. I was going to do something similar to this and post it in the art of shooting forum.
> 
> I've seen this before, but have wondered...
> 
> at 9:26 Bill is demonstrating OTT shooting, and says that one of the problems with this type of slingshot is you're never sure where your elevation points are.
> 
> I haven't noticed that with OTT; can somebody explain what is meant by that?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Mark.
> 
> I just watched Bill's video to learn all the stuff I never figured out as a kid! I think Bill was referring to the side effect of the over-the-top (OTT) bands slingshot having a narrower fork than the through-the-forks design (TTF). At least the OTT slingshot that Bill demonstrated was narrower...<snip>


It's as I thought. I watched the video again and Bill discusses that it IS the typically narrower forks of the OTT shooter, compared to a TTF shooter, that makes finding elevation points more difficult. His discussion starts at 9:56 in the video. Narrower forks when used with his single line aiming system produce a higher point of impact (POI) relative to the aiming "line" than wider forks. Thus, a shooter must hold the sighting "line" under the point they are targeting to hit. Judging how much to hold under at various ranges (and without additional dimension reference aids at the target, in particular) can be challenging.


----------



## NoamAdd

I've watched this video a few times and found it quite inspiring. The guy makes it seem possible and is optimistic about the outcome for those that do the work. The mark of a great teacher.


----------



## mudfox

That"s great！


----------



## enryx518

This is great.!!! learned a lot anic:


----------



## kevmar

Great stuff.


----------



## Cogar

As a newbie, I find the video extremely helpful for getting started on the right foot. I haven't touched a slingshot since I was a boy, and my low skill then was probably the reason I drifted away.


----------



## VAshooter

Cogar said:


> As a newbie, I find the video extremely helpful for getting started on the right foot. I haven't touched a slingshot since I was a boy, and my low skill then was probably the reason I drifted away.


Welcome to the forum Cogar. I hope you enjoy your time on the forum.


----------



## gary61

This post marries in perfectly with my newbie post, while I was asking "what to use", this is a comprehensive "how to", awesome post thank you Bill.


----------



## Randroid

This will no doubt be a noob question. I recently received an HTS in only 3 days (Texas to Arizona). I recall reading about this topic, but got lost in information overload. The HTS side shooter has a dimple on the top fork ( if I'm holding it correctly) that is covered (hidden) by the top band. I think (I'm 72) the dimple ( tiny trough) is supposed to be used for aiming. I could be wrong. Would someone explain to this old Jarhead how this is supposed to work ?


----------



## Randroid

This will no doubt be a noob question. I recently received an HTS in only 3 days (Texas to Arizona). I recall reading about this topic, but got lost in information overload. The HTS side shooter has a dimple on the top fork ( if I'm holding it correctly) that is covered (hidden) by the top band. I think (I'm 72) the dimple ( tiny trough) is supposed to be used for aiming. I could be wrong. Would someone explain to this old Jarhead how this is supposed to work ?


----------



## Randroid

This will no doubt be a noob question. I recently received an HTS in only 3 days (Texas to Arizona). I recall reading about this topic, but got lost in information overload. The HTS side shooter has a dimple on the top fork ( if I'm holding it correctly) that is covered (hidden) by the top band. I think (I'm 72) the dimple ( tiny trough) is supposed to be used for aiming. I could be wrong. Would someone explain to this old Jarhead how this is supposed to work ?


----------



## Randroid

I don't know how or why this by was posted 3 times. Guess that's why no one answered. Sorry.


----------



## roirizla

Randroid said:


> This will no doubt be a noob question. I recently received an HTS in only 3 days (Texas to Arizona). I recall reading about this topic, but got lost in information overload. The HTS side shooter has a dimple on the top fork ( if I'm holding it correctly) that is covered (hidden) by the top band. I think (I'm 72) the dimple ( tiny trough) is supposed to be used for aiming. I could be wrong. Would someone explain to this old Jarhead how this is supposed to work ?


Yep. It's a nice little feature too. That little slit works like a sight. The moment your target appears, even just a little through that dimple, release!

Thanks for reviving an old thread. Never seen this video till now.


----------



## THWACK!

JRSC said:


> It might be a dumb question but something I've wondered. Does the distance of the prongs on a slingshot help with accuracy? Kind of like the brace height on a bow?


No.


----------



## THWACK!

Randroid said:


> This will no doubt be a noob question. I recently received an HTS in only 3 days (Texas to Arizona). I recall reading about this topic, but got lost in information overload. The HTS side shooter has a dimple on the top fork ( if I'm holding it correctly) that is covered (hidden) by the top band. I think (I'm 72) the dimple ( tiny trough) is supposed to be used for aiming. I could be wrong. Would someone explain to this old Jarhead how this is supposed to work ?


You are correct. Use that dimple as a point of reference to the bullseye. You may have to move the slingshot a little to the left or right to hit the bull, but basically, use the dimple as a guide.

THWACK!


----------



## ashikrafi

Nobodo said:


> I've seen this before, but have wondered...
> 
> at 9:26 Bill is demonstrating OTT shooting, and says that one of the problems with this type of slingshot is you're never sure where your elevation points are.
> 
> I haven't noticed that with OTT; can somebody explain what is meant by that?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Mark.
> 
> 2019 Slingshot champion is shooting OTT :naughty: ..This may bills thought...lets shoot what we comfort..enjoy shooting


----------



## nike

Treefork，very nice :violin:


----------

