# Homemade aiming sights for my homemade slingshots



## Pebble Shooter (Mar 29, 2014)

Hello to all,

Inspired by the well-designed fiber optic sights that come as standard on many Chinese-made slingshots, I created my own fiber optic sights using 10 mm wide hollow square sections of aluminium, which are available at most hardware stores.

I have found that proper sights definitely improve my accuracy when using an anchor point, as one has a reliable reference point, as opposed to a simple groove or some other form of vague reference mark on the slingshot fork used for aiming. I ordered some 1 mm red optic fiber at Aliexpress ("Mr Yang's Outdoor store", a good vendor) which works reasonably well for this experimentation: luminosity may be better with the fluorescent green optic fiber they sell.

Here is the direct link, if ever:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/50cm-0-75mm-Fiber-Optic-Bow-Sight-Replacement-Pins-Compound-Bow-Archery-Accessories-Red-Yellow-Green/32854082591.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.468c4c4dXyEgE3

My sight unit is actually fairly easy to make, but I would recommend using a drill stand to ensure that everything fits nicely: I've attached some photographs of the sights used on my homemade stainless steel rod and a birch plywood board cut slingshots. The steel rod slingshot is what I use to shoot 12 mm steel ammo on my "magnum" days... . I shoot my slingshots sideways.

The beech wood blocks inserted in the steel rod slingshot for flat band attachment help tremendously when it comes to fitting sights, whereas a section of 4 mm steel rod was inserted laterally in the fork of the birch plywood slingshot. A 3 mm rod thickness would certainly be sufficient here, but this is what I had lying around when I set out with this project: the structural safety of the fork should nevertheless not be at risk here. The O.T.T. band movement does not interfere with my sight system in any way, which is crucial.

Attaching such a sight unit directly on the bent steel rod slingshot fork is possible, but the hollow square section (tube might work too) needs to be wide enough to allow drilling & tapping for a grub screw to hold things in place: I am working on something suitable for that purpose. Moreover, as the lower end of the square section extends into the steel rod fork loop for tubes, one needs to ensure that everything is very smooth here to avoid friction as far as possible.

Have any of you designed & tried similar sights systems? If so, please share them here.


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## urbanshooter (Aug 23, 2017)

Wow... that is superb amd very detailed! Thanks for sharing.. I just hope we don't see your design being sold next week in China!


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## Pebble Shooter (Mar 29, 2014)

...no worries, the Chinese have been making their own superb slingshot sights for a number of years now - like the photos shown below:


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## urbanshooter (Aug 23, 2017)

yeah they have... I've only one with sights on it and I had to install my own fibre optic rods because it came without. No biggie though...


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## crypter27 (Oct 13, 2010)

*awesome work*


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## Tremoside (Jul 17, 2013)

Hi PebbleShooter,

I use PSE (sight) replacement pins on my recent TTF shooter.

https://www.amazon.com/Bow-Sight-Replacement-Pins-Exclusively/dp/B00CHSCJ7A/ref=sr_1_3/130-3840640-2692101?ie=UTF8&qid=1543225218&sr=8-3&keywords=pse+sight+pin

The diameter is smaller than 1mm, somewhat 0,6mm. Prefer red over green, but that's personal for everyone.

I also shot recurve type sight on my Spanish frame. The circle width the centered pin in the middle.

FiberOptics are great, but I'm less precise when shooting with them. Made a comparison and my accuracy improves with sights, but peak performance suffers, because if I try to force correcting my aiming (using the sights) I can't manage the micro-motoric skills needed.

Currently using sights ON/OFF and looking for a midway that uses a sighting system, but relies on the natural aiming skills a bit more.

Interesting topic, thank you for sharing content!

Mark


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## skropi (Mar 22, 2018)

Tremoside said:


> Hi PebbleShooter,
> 
> I use PSE (sight) replacement pins on my recent TTF shooter.
> https://www.amazon.com/Bow-Sight-Replacement-Pins-Exclusively/dp/B00CHSCJ7A/ref=sr_1_3/130-3840640-2692101?ie=UTF8&qid=1543225218&sr=8-3&keywords=pse+sight+pin
> ...


That sounds like ttf to me ????


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## SLINGDUDE (Aug 15, 2018)

Very cool!


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## Covert5 (Feb 7, 2018)

PebbleShooter that is some awesome detailed work! Great job!


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## Pebble Shooter (Mar 29, 2014)

Just a small addendum to this fun topic:

The sights must be placed as close as possible to the "flight path" of the flat bands over the forks to optimize alignment with the desired point of impact (POI) in terms of height.

This is achieved by rotating the square aluminium section with the fiber optic rod closer to the slingshot fork, as shown in the photo attached herewith. The rounded shape of the bent rod slingshot forks does not allow for a more practical design (well, maybe there is a way...there are no problems, only solutions, right?)

Clearly, one needs to ensure that all surfaces of the vertical section of the sight unit exposed to the bands are as smooth as possible to avoid potential abrasive action on the bands as they fly across the forks after each shot release.

Just thought I'd add this important detail after shooting with this (potentially very accurate!) setup in a semi-butterfly style: my 12 mm ammo now goes where I want it to go with this contraption: bent rod slingshots can be difficult to aim with.


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## BushpotChef (Oct 7, 2017)

Thats very cool and quite tidy & functional looking! I've attached bits of fibre optic to some OTT frames in the past & had excellent results, I also have an S-Shock from Sniperslings that came with FO pins & its a tack driver as well. I've seen somone (Gamekeeper John maybe?) set up a pic on a TTF frame by splitting the band down the middle & running each half on either side of the sight. It looked very clean & functional as well I've just never given it a try myself.


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## crypter27 (Oct 13, 2010)

BushpotChef said:


> Thats very cool and quite tidy & functional looking! I've attached bits of fibre optic to some OTT frames in the past & had excellent results, I also have an S-Shock from Sniperslings that came with FO pins & its a tack driver as well. I've seen somone (Gamekeeper John maybe?) set up a pic on a TTF frame by splitting the band down the middle & running each half on either side of the sight. It looked very clean & functional as well I've just never given it a try myself.


*so true*


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## Biker_Bob (Mar 26, 2020)

Neat job on the sights.

On my homemade made my sights finger adjustable for elevation (because you need to adjust that all the time depending on range) and tool adjustable for windage (because once set it stays where it is).

The thing that really improved the accuracy though was my "Gimble Sight", which eliminates errors due to holding the frame at the incorrect angle. Have a look (page 2) and maybe it could be useful for you?

https://slingshotforum.com/topic/122702-heavy-metal/


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