# Twisted Pouch aiming?



## Sayaaaaah (Dec 14, 2020)

Hi all, new to the forum and new to shooting. I started about 2 months ago and basically went in and bought my first slingshot off of Amazon, a simple Chinese pinch grip slingshot. After about a week shooting a homemade janky catch box I made, I went and bought some GZK band making stuff... and also 3 more slingshots..  reading all of the advice on here i made my first set of bands opting to go with a 12-7mm just to try out with some 3/8 ammo. Having a good time with these bands (if anybody has any suggestions on other taper sizes, much appreciated). Then out of nowhere I got me a SS Hammer xt just because.. I know some must be thinking I went in deep too fast,but I couldn't help it!
ANYWAYS, to the question at hand, I started out twisting my pouch 90° so thumbnail to cheek and I use my middle and thumb to grip, and its very comfortable to me but band aligning is confusing do to the bands twisting, made the decision to shoot without the twist. Accuracy has increased due to the alignment but now I'm having ligament pain in my wrist and thumb.. I'd like to twist the pouch again, but aiming with the band twist I can't align as good. Any tips on aiming this way? I've searched the forum for answers but I couldn't quite find any specifics with aligning bands while twisting.
Sorry for the rant.
-Say


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## StringSlap (Mar 2, 2019)

Welcome! I shoot with a slightly twisted pouch too. The twist should be minimal just behind the fork tips, so use that area to be sure your bands are in alignment. You should also be able to see if the bands are too far in or out, or not at 90 degrees, to the frame. HTH


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## Grandpa Grumpy (Apr 21, 2013)

I don't twist the pouch but I start out with my thumb on the bottom. I feel I get a better release with the thumb down but I don't like the twisted bands when I turn the pouch. It is a little fiddly loading the pouch but it becomes easier with practice.


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## Tag (Jun 11, 2014)

Welcome


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## vince4242 (Jan 11, 2016)

Welcome! And you are not going to be the first to jump off the deep end as soon as you get hooked on slingshots.

Have the same issues with bands I was worried about the twist, as long as you do it the same way every time the twist shouldn't make any difference. As far as lining up the Bands I shoot with both eyes open which allows me to see the top band covering the bottom band. With the twist it won't be a perfect cover top to bottom bands but as long as you get the Bands one on top of the other you will do just fine. The most important part of accuracy is getting that release perfect and the same every time. If you find something comfortable that feels good that is going to be the most important thing to increasing your accuracy.

When I switch to shooting tubes all that became very easy, since the tubes are round it's very easy to get the two tubes stacked on top of each other. When I go back to bands now it's a little awkward because it's not that perfect stacking.

Cheers


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## Got Bands (May 12, 2016)

welcome to the forum


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## High Desert Flipper (Aug 29, 2020)

Welcome! Regarding twisting- many people have looked at it. There are even some good videos out on it. In the end it seems to not make much if any difference. As noted above the key is finding something that works and doing it the same way every time.


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## Sayaaaaah (Dec 14, 2020)

Thank you all! Thanks for the advice, I'm cross eyed dominant, left eye right handed and I hold ss in left. I read that I SHOULD switch hands, but I also shoot a bow like this so I'm kind of use to it.

I'm for sure going to have more questions in the near future, and I'm rebuilding my catch box with a few extra things so I'll probably post that too!


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## KawKan (May 11, 2013)

Lots of us "Pouch Turning Side Shooters" pre-turn the pouch when attaching flat bands. The result is an arrow straight sighting line along the top band with the bottom band aligned below it.

Arturo explains the mounting technique pretty well in this vid: 




Welcome to the forum!


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## Reed Lukens (Aug 16, 2020)

Welcome  
Turn the pouch like KawKan says 
If the pain continues, either switch to a lighter or longer band set up until it's comfortable again.


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## Sayaaaaah (Dec 14, 2020)

Thank you kawkwan for that video, really helps, really gonna try that tie method next time I make bands!


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## Alfred E.M. (Jul 5, 2014)

' ... twisting my pouch 90° so thumbnail to cheek and I use my middle and thumb to grip...

*I grip thumb & index (no twist) ... tried a half dozen dry draws using thumb & middle finger grip with and without twist ... felt uncomfortable pains back of my hand and wrist. * :iono:


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## Sayaaaaah (Dec 14, 2020)

I tried to use my index finger and thumb to grip but I get more of a speed bump with it. My middle finger just feels more comfortable, going back to twisting actually relieved the pressure from my wrist, but im going to try to tie some light linger bands like what Reed Lukens suggested and see from there.


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## Slide-Easy (Aug 16, 2020)

Twist it every time....it would be a hard habit to break, at this point.


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## KawKan (May 11, 2013)

This is a recent development for me, but probably as old as slingshooting.

When shooting marbles these days, I usually grip the ammo, not the pouch. Without twisting this aligns my hand in the same orientation as holding the pouch and twisting.

The Chinese shooters call this grip "Shanghai" or just "Hai" style. It's popular with the speed shooters.

Thought I'd toss this into the mix for what it's worth!


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## StringSlap (Mar 2, 2019)

KawKan said:


> This is a recent development for me, but probably as old as slingshooting.
> 
> When shooting marbles these days, I usually grip the ammo, not the pouch. Without twisting this aligns my hand in the same orientation as holding the pouch and twisting.
> 
> ...


I've tried a few times but just haven't found the right pouches to use. Let's just say that I've had a few shots with a "high pucker factor"!


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## hoggy (Apr 17, 2017)

i shoot all my ott frames with a 90* pouch twist


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## snydes (Jan 9, 2021)

Was wondering exactly this lately ... I've been watching alot of Nathan's video's and noticed he always rotates the pouch 90° so his 4 knuckles are horizontal (instead of 4 knuckles being vertical like my hold). For a 30-32" common draw length, is there any perceptible advantage to rotating the pouch 90° (I notice I get more band slap & seem to have a harder time getting a consistent anchor point with a rotated/twisted pouch).... thanks !


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## snydes (Jan 9, 2021)

snydes said:


> Was wondering exactly this lately ... I've been watching alot of Nathan's video's and noticed he always rotates the pouch 90° so his 4 knuckles are horizontal (instead of 4 knuckles being vertical like my hold). For a 30-32" common draw length, is there any perceptible advantage to rotating the pouch 90° (I notice I get more band slap & seem to have a harder time getting a consistent anchor point with a rotated/twisted pouch).... thanks !


Just thought I'd throw this question out there one more time if anybody could help with any advantage to twisting the pouch ... thx all !


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## StringSlap (Mar 2, 2019)

snydes said:


> snydes said:
> 
> 
> > Was wondering exactly this lately ... I've been watching alot of Nathan's video's and noticed he always rotates the pouch 90° so his 4 knuckles are horizontal (instead of 4 knuckles being vertical like my hold). For a 30-32" common draw length, is there any perceptible advantage to rotating the pouch 90° (I notice I get more band slap & seem to have a harder time getting a consistent anchor point with a rotated/twisted pouch).... thanks !
> ...


No advantage or disadvantage. Shoot what works for you.


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## Sayaaaaah (Dec 14, 2020)

snydes said:


> snydes said:
> 
> 
> > Was wondering exactly this lately ... I've been watching alot of Nathan's video's and noticed he always rotates the pouch 90° so his 4 knuckles are horizontal (instead of 4 knuckles being vertical like my hold). For a 30-32" common draw length, is there any perceptible advantage to rotating the pouch 90° (I notice I get more band slap & seem to have a harder time getting a consistent anchor point with a rotated/twisted pouch).... thanks !
> ...


Since writing this up, I've chose to keep the twist because it is more comfortable to me, I've done days with and days without the twist using paper, and without the twist I see it a smidge more accurate but I feel the fatigue in my hands more. And the bit if accuracy for me isn't enough to switch.


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## Alfred E.M. (Jul 5, 2014)

snydes said:


> snydes said:
> 
> 
> > Was wondering exactly this lately ... I've been watching alot of Nathan's video's and noticed he always rotates the pouch 90° so his 4 knuckles are horizontal (instead of 4 knuckles being vertical like my hold). For a 30-32" common draw length, is there any perceptible advantage to rotating the pouch 90° (I notice I get more band slap & seem to have a harder time getting a consistent anchor point with a rotated/twisted pouch).... thanks !
> ...


*Some think the draw hand is more comfortable when it's allowed to rotate in 90* - maybe so, I still don't twist.*


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## Harry Knuckles (Sep 28, 2020)

snydes said:


> snydes said:
> 
> 
> > Was wondering exactly this lately ... I've been watching alot of Nathan's video's and noticed he always rotates the pouch 90° so his 4 knuckles are horizontal (instead of 4 knuckles being vertical like my hold). For a 30-32" common draw length, is there any perceptible advantage to rotating the pouch 90° (I notice I get more band slap & seem to have a harder time getting a consistent anchor point with a rotated/twisted pouch).... thanks !
> ...


The advantage to me twisting the pouch is that I can intentionally make the "speed bump" which gets the ammo away from my face and avoids forks hits. Getting the speed bump consistent enough to aim well is the hard part.

I made this slo-mo video so I could see it for myself.


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## snydes (Jan 9, 2021)

THanks guys for the intel on twisting the pouch ... and that video is amazing - can really see how the pouch reacts upon release in slo mo :thumbsup:


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## Reed Lukens (Aug 16, 2020)

:headbang: Excellent shooting of those Harry Knuckles :headbang: 
Pun intended


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