# Bareback Essentials



## karaolos (Jan 12, 2014)

Hello friends! I have to say, you seem to have a great community built here...

My grandfather taught me how to make and use the traditional Y-shaped slingshot many years ago. However, he always used the bareback technique for his shots. His eyesight has gotten worse in the last few years, so I don't want to ask him to show me / teach me again. I do however want to learn to take shots the way he used to.

What materials should I use? Tube or bands? How thick / wide?

Any particular pouch that I should avoid, or prefer? How do I secure / tie the rubber on the pouch?

I don't think I'll use a keyring. I want to use a single piece of rubber since that's how my grandpa used to do it...

I've seen a number of videos by a forum member describing the control of the pouch so as to avoid hitting your hand. I understand the 90 degree twist of the pouch, but I'm not sure I get the "tweak"...

Also, my grandpa used to shoot with the rubber bands coming above the thumb - with the hand in a position which I would describe between a thumbs-up and a fist. The videos I've seen are mostly above the index finger. Any thoughts on this?

I appreciate the help very much. I apologise for storming you with questions.

Thanks.


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## kobe23 (Jun 28, 2010)

The thumb or index finger doesn't matter, 'it all depends on how you hold the pouch'. Twist the pouch 90 degrees and have it slanted a little bit upwards..


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## Lacumo (Aug 18, 2013)

Welcome to SSF! You've come to the right place to find the answers to your questions. Here's a short (partial) guide to where to start reading...

Bands---There's a Bands And Tubes section that has a world of information about bands and tubes. Spend some time reading there and you'll be well on your way.

Pouches--- Go through the Site Vendors Forum and look for forum members who sell pouches. There are at least three of them and they sell top quality pouches for reasonable prices. If you want to make your own, go to the "Newbie Question Forum" in the General area and read through the thread titled "Where do you get leather for pouches?" for ideas on sources of leather if you want to make your own. In addition to that, there's also a recent thread titled "Pouch Templates" in the "Templates--Support Topics" section of the DIY Slingshots forum.

Shooting Technique--Go through the "Art Of Shooting" forum in the Slingshot Shooting area. Tons of information about grip, aiming, follow-through and all other aspects of shooting technique there.

General Info--Spend time reading in the three forums in the DIY Slingshots area, the Newbie Question Forum, General Slingshot Discussion and Homemade Slingshots forum in the General area. For ideas on designs for making your own frames, the Homemade Slingshots forum and the Competitions Forum in the General area and the Gallery (near the top right of the Home Page) have hundreds of images of member-made frames. In addition to all that, the Search function can dig a lot of specific stuff up for you, too.

That's probably enough to get you started with your reading. All the answers to all your questions (and a lot more) are here. SSF is an encyclopedia of slingshot knowledge and experience. If you put some time and effort into reading, you'll be amazed by how much you can learn in a pretty short time--and--if you ever get really stumped by something, come back here to the Newbie Question Forum and ask away. Good luck with your research and happy shooting!


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## karaolos (Jan 12, 2014)

Thank you very much. I'll do some reading and report back if there are any problems. I appreciate your time.


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## jazz (May 15, 2012)

Hi karaolos and all,

Bareback system was the only one I used when I was kid and up to my grown up years when I first time made a forked slingshot.

If the the strength of the rubber was light we would use thumb, like in hitch-hiking to shoot over it. If it was strong we would shoot over the index finger but with rubber deep within the place where index finger and middle finger meet.

The pouch was normal - some good leather - but since at that time we used to shoot only rocks, and they sometimes can be large it was usualy somewhat larger pouch.

I remember that I would stretch the rubber where the rubber-to-pouch knot will be (somebody had to help me with that but, nowdays I have my jig system)

and tie couple of ordinary knots and use the ends to attach them to the pouch. Nowdays, again, I learned the constrictor knot and last year I made one bareback and used this knot. It holds well and it also gives you two ends that you will use to tie to the pouch. However, take a look on the internet there must be more secure systems.

I put those ends through the holes in the pouch but going twice before making couple of ordinary loops- sorry I do not know what that is in English and finaly burned and melted the ends. Also here, try to find better ways. (In this respect I suggest that you find videos from Romanianshaddow, he is our member here and he is a great bareback shooter. He uses simple knot to tie the cord to the rubber - here 



)

The most beautiful point with shooting bareback for me is that it alows you to shoot some kind of free style which looks something like this: you stand so that your shoulder and the hand which holds the rubber is turned towards the target and your other shoulder is in line with it, that is, pointing in the opposite direction so that it is in the line with the other shoulder and the target.

Then you stretch both hands - one toweard the target, the other one in the opposite direction - both way behind/in front of the respective shoulders but so that the height of the middle point of the stretched rubber is somewhere where your plexus is or higher toward the chest (more or less; but you can also "aim" with it if you like..) and then you release the pouch with a wide semi circular motion of the hand which holds the rubber, some kind of a large flip but done horizontaly; for example if it is your right hand, then it swings to the right in a sharp horizontal circular motion. Its realy true joy. It also forces you to shoot only looking at the target.

Regretfuly, I noticed that when I was a kid the rubbers were inner bycicle or tyre tubes, pretty lasy, not so fast as TBG for example. I also noticed that in the meantime I grew old and that I am not so fast as I used to be so I had couple of hits into my thumb and hand. I suggest that if you use bareback than make sure that your ammo absorbs much of the energy from the rubbers otherwise you might get hurt; anyway, wear some gloves, then it wont hurt..

hope this helps,

jazz


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