# F-16 flat band starter slingshot



## Bellman (Jun 25, 2020)

I only recently joined the forum and have received lots of good advice on which design to get for my first foray into adult(ish) slingshots. Instead of ordering a cheap Chinese sling, my nephew told me he had an older F-16 that had been retubed with some mystery surgical tubing with a really heavy draw. After watching Simple Shot's video on using flat bands on wire frames, I decided to switch it over to flat TTF. I didn't have any of the Gold Theraband frequently mentioned, but have rolls of red, green, black, and grey in thicknesses of 0.21mm, 0.24mm, 0.35mm, and 0.54mm. After playing with strips of each, I settled on the grey/0.54mm. I tied up the old pouch with roughly 8" active length of grey non tapered at 25mm width. I'm probably getting 400% elongation. The bands feel like they're starting to stack up around that number. Tapered would probably work a bit better, but I'm just getting started and will experiment when I get a good assortment of GZK bulk band. All I had handy was marbles so I started at about 7 yards. I'm not any sort of deadeye yet, but my first 20 shots stayed in about a 10" circle. Since I'm shooting upstairs at my office ???? I wasn't able to play very long. I was really surprised how easily it shot and the velocity and energy it generated. It would absolutely humanely work for squirrels. I was planning to buy a Hammer or Scout and probably will at some point, but I have access to just about any material so my new plan is to shoot tons of marbles until I begin to get a feel for accurate instinctive shooting. I also went ahead and cut tanned deer hide (pliable, but not stretchy) pouches and a bunch of replacement bands so this should keep me occupied for quite a while. I'm sure I can improve my band attachment skills, but I'm actually really excited about this. Thanks again for all the advice and I'm welcome to any suggestions. Thanks. 
Charles


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## Grandpa Grumpy (Apr 21, 2013)

Looking good! Daisy F-16s are fun to play with and are just as accurate as any other slingshot. There are quite a few mods you can do to personalize your F-16. Here is mine. Notice I use the Chinese handcuff method to attach flat bands- very quick and no tools or tying needed. Check out some of the others in this forum.


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## Bellman (Jun 25, 2020)

Excellent video. I'll be switching to your attachment system ASAP. Tying isn't bad, but that's obviously a faster and easier way to do it. I'm gripping similar to you, but without the welded pieces. I am set up to weld so that may be coming as well. I'll also attach a lanyard soon. Thanks for the video!
Charles


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## Grandpa Grumpy (Apr 21, 2013)

Pocket Predator has these for flat bands and smaller tubes.









Pocket Predator also has an attachment to convert frames to a sling bow.

A lot of folks look down on these bent rod frames just because they are inexpensive, but if you modify and custom fit them to your hand and your style of shooting they will be just as accurate as any frame out there. The Barnett Strike 9 is similar to the Daisy F-16 but the handle is a little thinner, the forks a little lower (less strain on the wrist) and the fork gap isn't as wide.


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## MOJAVE MO (Apr 11, 2018)

Welcome to the Forum and the F-16! I copied Grandpa Grumpy's complete setup awhile back. It is my only slingshot that is ALWAYS ready to go!









Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk


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## Bellman (Jun 25, 2020)

Thanks for all the information. I've had my indoor hallway shooting range set up since I got home yesterday. I started with .625" marbles. My wife brought home a bag of .5" marbles last night. I'm not sure if it's normal, but I like the feel and heft of the larger ones better. I'm only shooting 6-7 yards, but most shots are staying in an 4-5" group with occasional 8-10" flyers. Changing to flat bands really made all the difference. I would never have believed that shooting a non braced slingshot could be so easy and fun. Im sure I'll still buy a Hammer or something later, but I can see shooting this every day.

Charles


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## Bellman (Jun 25, 2020)

MOJAVE MO said:


> Welcome to the Forum and the F-16! I copied Grandpa Grumpy's complete setup awhile back. It is my only slingshot that is ALWAYS ready to go!


Quick question. Does your lanyard assist in shooting at all or is it just a lanyard to clip or hang? Thanks. 
Charles


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## Grandpa Grumpy (Apr 21, 2013)

Bellman said:


> MOJAVE MO said:
> 
> 
> > Welcome to the Forum and the F-16! I copied Grandpa Grumpy's complete setup awhile back. It is my only slingshot that is ALWAYS ready to go!
> ...


The lanyard if properly adjusted acts similar to a wrist brace and let's you have a relaxed grip with your fingers. Mine is just a loop of paracord.


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## Bellman (Jun 25, 2020)

Grandpa Grumpy said:


> Bellman said:
> 
> 
> > MOJAVE MO said:
> ...


From some of the pictures I've seen I thought it might be acting as a brace, but so far I haven't found the sweet spot where it does much. I guess I'm going to have to play around with it to get it just right. I still can't believe how easy and comfortable it is with a higher grip and flat bands. It doesn't take much wrist effort at all to shoot. The Theraband is only .54mm and is a light draw, but it feels like a decent place to start.

Charles


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## MOJAVE MO (Apr 11, 2018)

Bellman said:


> MOJAVE MO said:
> 
> 
> > Welcome to the Forum and the F-16! I copied Grandpa Grumpy's complete setup awhile back. It is my only slingshot that is ALWAYS ready to go!
> ...


Same as what Gramps said. For me I have dropped too many Slingshots so it is also a slingseatbelt.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk


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## Griffo (May 22, 2020)

Welcome Charles

This is my updated Barnett Strike Nine. 8mm stainless steel collar clamps, with the forks reversed for safety. Rubber end caps for a more finished look.

My preference is for hammer grip and instinctive aiming - that is gripped like a hammer and both eyes open trusting to what's left of functioning grey stuff between my ears to figure out the rest.

HTH


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## SLING-N-SHOT (Jun 5, 2018)

Griffo said:


> Welcome Charles
> 
> This is my updated Barnett Strike Nine. 8mm stainless steel collar clamps, with the forks reversed for safety. Rubber end caps for a more finished look.
> 
> ...


Looks great.....was wondering if the set collars mess with your line of sight or aiming point any ?

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## Griffo (May 22, 2020)

> Looks great.....was wondering if the set collars mess with your line of sight or aiming point any ?


No, I don't notice they do. The outer diameter of the clamps is 16mm (5/8") if this helps.

When I aim I don't look down the bands or use a mark on the frame, my eye focus is entirely on the target and the frame is out-of-focus, if this makes sense.

Both eyes open and, as I said before, leaving it to my head to do the spatial awareness calculations and adjust my aim. Aim quick, shoot fast is my philosophy. Sometimes it actually works too!


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## Bellman (Jun 25, 2020)

Griffo said:


> > Looks great.....was wondering if the set collars mess with your line of sight or aiming point any ?
> 
> 
> No, I don't notice they do. The outer diameter of the clamps is 16mm (5/8") if this helps.
> ...


With the exception of having a fixed anchor spot on my right cheek, that's exactly how I aim for bow fishing. The draw length on the F-16 is long enough that I don't have a fixed anchor so I'm strictly looking at my target through a fuzzy fork. I've got a lot of practice yet, but everything's staying on target so far. 
Charles


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## Griffo (May 22, 2020)

Yes, I still have a consistent anchor point with my pouch hand (left hand on left jaw). It's what's happening with my grip hand which is largely subconscious.

Certainly satisfying when you can look at your target without consciously aiming and knock it over. Practice, of course.


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## Bellman (Jun 25, 2020)

It's taken me a little while to find a consistent aiming reference on the frame, but when I found it I added a small zip tie so it's easier to see exactly where to aim. Since I've only been shooting from 6 yards, poi is a little high and this makes it much easier to shoot. Guess I'm not shooting as instinctively as I thought????. Thanks for all the suggestions.

Charles


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## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

Bellman said:


> I only recently joined the forum and have received lots of good advice on which design to get for my first foray into adult(ish) slingshots. Instead of ordering a cheap Chinese sling, my nephew told me he had an older F-16 that had been retubed with some mystery surgical tubing with a really heavy draw. After watching Simple Shot's video on using flat bands on wire frames, I decided to switch it over to flat TTF. I didn't have any of the Gold Theraband frequently mentioned, but have rolls of red, green, black, and grey in thicknesses of 0.21mm, 0.24mm, 0.35mm, and 0.54mm. After playing with strips of each, I settled on the grey/0.54mm. I tied up the old pouch with roughly 8" active length of grey non tapered at 25mm width. I'm probably getting 400% elongation. The bands feel like they're starting to stack up around that number. Tapered would probably work a bit better, but I'm just getting started and will experiment when I get a good assortment of GZK bulk band. All I had handy was marbles so I started at about 7 yards. I'm not any sort of deadeye yet, but my first 20 shots stayed in about a 10" circle. Since I'm shooting upstairs at my office I wasn't able to play very long. I was really surprised how easily it shot and the velocity and energy it generated. It would absolutely humanely work for squirrels. I was planning to buy a Hammer or Scout and probably will at some point, but I have access to just about any material so my new plan is to shoot tons of marbles until I begin to get a feel for accurate instinctive shooting. I also went ahead and cut tanned deer hide (pliable, but not stretchy) pouches and a bunch of replacement bands so this should keep me occupied for quite a while. I'm sure I can improve my band attachment skills, but I'm actually really excited about this. Thanks again for all the advice and I'm welcome to any suggestions. Thanks.
> Charles


Isn't it great that a $4.97 cent slingshot from Walmart can, with a little bit of ingenuity be turned into a very, very good slingshot that will do things that a much more expensive sling will do.

i love mine, have not been using them that much as I'm on another kick, but I really love the F-16 as all my F-16 postings will attest.

BTW: I like your simple mod a lot ;- )

wll


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## Bellman (Jun 25, 2020)

wll said:


> Bellman said:
> 
> 
> > I only recently joined the forum and have received lots of good advice on which design to get for my first foray into adult(ish) slingshots. Instead of ordering a cheap Chinese sling, my nephew told me he had an older F-16 that had been retubed with some mystery surgical tubing with a really heavy draw. After watching Simple Shot's video on using flat bands on wire frames, I decided to switch it over to flat TTF. I didn't have any of the Gold Theraband frequently mentioned, but have rolls of red, green, black, and grey in thicknesses of 0.21mm, 0.24mm, 0.35mm, and 0.54mm. After playing with strips of each, I settled on the grey/0.54mm. I tied up the old pouch with roughly 8" active length of grey non tapered at 25mm width. I'm probably getting 400% elongation. The bands feel like they're starting to stack up around that number. Tapered would probably work a bit better, but I'm just getting started and will experiment when I get a good assortment of GZK bulk band. All I had handy was marbles so I started at about 7 yards. I'm not any sort of deadeye yet, but my first 20 shots stayed in about a 10" circle. Since I'm shooting upstairs at my office I wasn't able to play very long. I was really surprised how easily it shot and the velocity and energy it generated. It would absolutely humanely work for squirrels. I was planning to buy a Hammer or Scout and probably will at some point, but I have access to just about any material so my new plan is to shoot tons of marbles until I begin to get a feel for accurate instinctive shooting. I also went ahead and cut tanned deer hide (pliable, but not stretchy) pouches and a bunch of replacement bands so this should keep me occupied for quite a while. I'm sure I can improve my band attachment skills, but I'm actually really excited about this. Thanks again for all the advice and I'm welcome to any suggestions. Thanks.
> ...


It really is amazing! I was convinced coming into this that I absolutely needed a wrist supported slingshot. They're not even on my radar any more ????. Quick question. I was on fire (relatively speaking) last night with 1/2" marbles. My 1000 3/8" steel balls came in today. It was pretty obvious that my pouch was a bit big for 3/8 so I went down appropriately. I hit everything initially, but then every shot started hitting right of my POA. I used Kentucky windage to stay on target, but what would typically cause a noticable shift in windage? My anchor point hasn't changed, it's just hitting to the right. Thanks in advance!

Charles


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## Grandpa Grumpy (Apr 21, 2013)

Bellman said:


> wll said:
> 
> 
> > Bellman said:
> ...


If the shots are hitting to the right are hitting pretty much in the same spot I would say the bands are getting tired. Try pulling back a little more to see if they come back to center. If the shots are all over to the right then it is probably a pouch release problem.


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## Bellman (Jun 25, 2020)

Grandpa Grumpy said:


> Bellman said:
> 
> 
> > wll said:
> ...


I had actually attached a new Precise 0.75 mm bandset with a tiny microfiber pouch. Looking at it closely this morning, I had one of the bands attached at the forks about 8 mm shorter than the other side. Fixed that and it's back to dead on. Thanks for sending me in the right direction. I'm definitely excited about getting my new PP Taurus, but I could easily live with the F-16 forever without much complaint.

Charles


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## Bellman (Jun 25, 2020)

I've been shooting my Mini Taurus TTF a lot and more recently a Scout set up OTT. I saw my F-16 and decided to shoot a couple dozen 3/8" steel balls with it tonight. The other frames are really nice, but the F-16 definitely holds it's own. It's a really comfortable pinch grip with tubing on the wire frame and is just fun to shoot. Thirty second band changes are nice too. Hard to beat for slightly under $5.00 . I really appreciate everyone encouraging me to start really simple and have fun. I'm definitely having lots of fun.

Charles


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## Bellman (Jun 25, 2020)

I decided to get the F-16 out tonight and shoot a bit. The bands are a touch long so it's a really easy draw and lots of fun to shoot. What a great little slingshot ????.

Charles


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## sbevans311 (Apr 9, 2019)

That looks great!!
Steve


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