# Deviant Mutant Ring Shooter



## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

Ringshooters seem to be getting more popular recently. Just do a search on "ringshooter", "ring shooter", and "ringer", and you will see what I mean. There is one particular bearded guy down in Panama who extols their virtues and recently has been using them to obtain amazing velocities with tubes (hello Henry!!!). I want to try for some of those high velocity shots with a variety of tubes and chained rubber bands. And I have a favored slingshot style ... my Mutant Ninja design, which evolved from Dayhikers Little Ninja. My problem was putting the two together.

The trouble is, it was not easy to marry a board cut Mutant Ninja with a ringshooter. Ringshooters are usually made by drilling a hole longitudinally down the length of the fork and using epoxy to set an eye bolt into the end of the fork. The eye is pried slightly open so that a tube can be stretched and popped into the eye, making for a quick change of looped and half looped bands. However, the boards I have been using recently for Mutant Ninjas are only 1/2 inch thick. I did not fancy my chances of drilling a straight hole down the forks, nor or maintaining sufficient strength of the fork to retain the eye bolt against the strain of the bands.

Sooo, being devious, I decided to make a deviant mutant ninja ringshooter. Instead of running the eye bolt down the length of the fork, I just drilled the fork front to back so the eye bolt is perpendicular to the front of the fork. Here are a couple of photos, front and side.



















For these photos, I have it set up with progressively tapered braids of those #32 rubber bands from Rubber Band Guns:

http://www.rubberbandguns.com/ammunition/ammunition-size-32-red

Nope, haven't tried those bands on a chrony yet, but I will soon.

The advantage of this deviant ring shooter is that it is easily applied to board cuts. It allows much faster and easier band changes than gypsy tabs. The disadvantage is that there is a loss of about an inch in draw length.

I have had a chance to fire only a few rounds, but it seems to work just fine. Just one more method ....

Cheers ..... Charles


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## Henry the Hermit (Jun 2, 2010)

Cool, Charles. Excellent variation on what I believe to be the best slingshot design of all time.


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## rockslinger (Nov 16, 2010)

Looks like a nice little shooter. The quick band change is a good feature.


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## The Gopher (Aug 25, 2010)

I have yet to try this style but it sure looks great.


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## rockzz22 (Oct 26, 2012)

looks cool to me


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## Northerner (Nov 9, 2010)

Nice frame! Got some dimensions... width, length?

Thanks,
Northerner


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## ruthiexxxx (Sep 15, 2012)

What a clever way to use the ringbolts ! I've only just started to try chain bands but they do seem surprisingly powerful


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

Northerner said:


> Nice frame! Got some dimensions... width, length?
> 
> Thanks,
> Northerner


This is actually the small version of my mutant ninja ... I scaled down the original version so I could make it modular and fit it disassembled into an Altoid tin. Here is the link to the design:

http://slingshotforum.com/topic/15556-altoid-box-mutant-ninja/page__hl__%2Bmutant+%2Bninja

Here is a link to the original, with pdf:

http://slingshotforum.com/topic/14225-mutant-ninja-in-oak/page__hl__%2Bmutant+%2Bninja

Cheers .... Charles


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

ruthiexxxx said:


> What a clever way to use the ringbolts ! I've only just started to try chain bands but they do seem surprisingly powerful


Thanks for the kind words!

There are a number of ways to use office bands:

1) cut them in half and stack them, just like using multiple flat bands;

2) use the bands uncut, full length, but loop the ends together forming a knot between each band ... commonly called chaining;

3) use the bands uncut, but each band is doubled ... starting at the pouch put a band through the hole doubling it over, then run the next band through the ends of the previous band, doubling it over, and so on ... commonly called braiding.

There is a lot of discussion on the forum. Here are a couple of places to start:

http://slingshotforum.com/topic/6428-chained-vs-flat-bands/page__hl__braid

http://slingshotforum.com/topic/12956-pros-and-cons-of-office-bands/

No single band type is perfect ... all have their uses. Office bands are readily available most everywhere, and configured correctly they give really good performance. I think it is worthwhile trying them, just so you have an alternative if you find yourself in a situation where other band types are not available.

Cheers .... Charles


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## ruthiexxxx (Sep 15, 2012)

Many thanks for the info Charles and the links. I shall deffo look into this more


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## inkspot (Dec 27, 2011)

Thanks Charles for this,think it is a great idea both in design and band opinions.Thanks for the links.


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## flipgun (Nov 14, 2012)

Maybe make the tips wider with a scallop and go over the top?


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

flipgun said:


> Maybe make the tips wider with a scallop and go over the top?


Frame design is always a matter of taste. If a wider frame suits you, then go for it. My usual mutant ninjas are set up with scalloped tips and banded over the top with both flats and tubes, as you can see from the links I provided. I have used them with Gypsy tabs over the top, and that also works fine. In this instance, I just wanted to take advantage of the quick change character of a ring shooter, but married with a frame style that suits my personal taste. I certainly would not suggest that this works for everyone. I see the creative gleam in your eye, and I encourage you to experiment!









Cheers ..... Charles


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## alfshooter (May 11, 2011)

It looks great.

A hug Mr. Charles ......... Alf


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## Dayhiker (Mar 13, 2010)

How did I miss this? Wicked cool!


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## cobyrne (Nov 24, 2012)

How would this setup work if you flipped the frame around and shot with the rings forward and the bands running OTT? Regardless, it looks like a reliable setup.

And now I'm off to learn more about chained bands...thanks for the links.


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

cobyrne said:


> How would this setup work if you flipped the frame around and shot with the rings forward and the bands running OTT? Regardless, it looks like a reliable setup.
> 
> And now I'm off to learn more about chained bands...thanks for the links.


I think it would work fine if the rings are large. In my case, the rings are quite small, and when I draw that way, there is some tendency of the some of the rubber bands to be forced out of the slot in the ring. Certainly it would be worth some experimentation.

Cheers .... Charles


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## Guest (Apr 3, 2013)

I think i will try this, right now I use chained rubber bands #32. But i might try the #33 from the same company.


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## bigron (Nov 29, 2012)

very cool shooter mr charles


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