# Another "which slingshot" thread



## Bellman (Jun 25, 2020)

Briefly, my Grandad made us wooden slingshots when we were young and we had more fun than a barrel full of monkeys. I used pellet guns (old Benjamins and 760's) for squirrel removal from my Grandmother's apple trees. I started using the old wrist rockets in the early 80's. Lots of squirrels with it too. I finally sold my 
last PCP rifle about a year ago because I wasn't shooting much and I got tired of having to keep 6k psi nitrogen and SCBA tanks around all the time. I've been thinking about slingshots for a couple of months and am ready to go ahead and get a new one. I do a lot of bow fishing and am very comfortable with instinctive shooting. I'll mostly be target and squirrel hunting. I could see buying or building a bow fishing sling bow at some point so w/o more information I naturally lean towards wrist supported slingshots. Given that info, what would be a relatively affordable slingshot to get started? I'm fine with flat or tubular bands and would want to be able to buy/make plenty of replacement bands. If I get the fever, I'll certainly upgrade as my shooting progresses. I'd like to be able to dial in a lot of velocity and energy. Thanks in advance!
Charles


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## Tag (Jun 11, 2014)

Welcome, enjoy your shooting slingshots


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## Grandpa Grumpy (Apr 21, 2013)

You really don't need a wrist braced slingshots with today's modern elastic. The draw weight on most elastic is between 6 and 10 pounds to shoot slingshot ammo. If you plan on using a slingbow to shoot longer arrows you will need some heavier rubber and a wrist brace might be handy. Some folks shoot fish with a normal slingshot using pana darts.


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## Bellman (Jun 25, 2020)

Grandpa Grumpy said:


> You really don't need a wrist braced slingshots with today's modern elastic. The draw weight on most elastic is between 6 and 10 pounds to shoot slingshot ammo. If you plan on using a slingbow to shoot longer arrows you will need some heavier rubber and a wrist brace might be handy. Some folks shoot fish with a normal slingshot using pana darts.


I really would have never thought that non wrist braced slingshots were a viable option for the velocity and energy needed for clean varmint shots before I started lurking here. What are the advantages of braced vs handheld slingshots. Also flat vs tubular? We started bow fishing with 42 lb draw (with a bow) and as the gar got bigger we slowly increased to 52-53 lbs because the fish are so thick that we weren't always getting clean through shots even with new tips. What sort of velocities and energy can be achieved with standard steel balls (maybe 3/8" ??) with handheld vs wrist supported? Sorry for the uneducated questions. Any recommendations on particular models in both designs? Any real disadvantage to to wrist braced designs? I'm looking for accuracy first and velocity/energy second. Thanks again. 
Charles


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## ghost0311/8541 (Jan 6, 2013)

You will like this one.


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## SJAaz (Apr 30, 2019)

F16s have a brace and some of the guys here rebuild them. Depending on how big your hands are, check out PPs line. Their sniper is burly enough to get the job done if you have med to large hands. And Bill will set it up the way you want to use it. Bands pouches, the whole smear.


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## NSFC (Mar 31, 2020)

I implore you desire for the best, and look forward to seeing your journey. Keep me posted please.

Explore the newest and greatest slings you can find but dont forget to keep things simple and remember your path that brought you here.

My suggestion is to make some naturals, and shoot those as well to make sure you have a balanced diet.


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## Ibojoe (Mar 13, 2016)

I’d go with the Scout LT from simple shot.com and call it done. You’d be hard pressed to out shoot it with a wire frame. Great all around frame made here in America I believe. Plus they have everything you need to keep it shootn.


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## Bellman (Jun 25, 2020)

ghost0311/8541 said:


> You will like this one.


I went and looked at those. It looks like a versatile platform. I really like that you can build only what you want so it's not crazy expensive. I'm going to look at a few more suggested models, but I like what I see. What are my best options for getting a LOT of ammo to shoot? I'm assuming I'll shoot steel balls mostly. Thanks for the links. 
Charles


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## Pebble Shooter (Mar 29, 2014)

With the plethora of slingshots available on the market, and the huge number of design templates on offer for D.I.Y. enthusiasts, there is no simple choice of one particular model - not to mention that individual preferences will differ tremendously.

That said, you will need to ascertain whether:

- You prefer tubes or flat bands, bearing in mind that flat bands can be cut and tapered, according to specific ammo, to a far greater degree than tubes;

- You prefer so-called "fist grip" or "pinch grip" slingshots. Pinch grip slingshots make it possible to reduce wrist torque to a maximum thanks to low forks, (improved accuracy and less wrist fatigue) whereas the forks on fist grip slingshots are generally placed higher above the wrist, which is where a wrist brace definitely helps to stabilize aiming and releasing the shot by removing wrist torque almost completely.

A pinch grip designed frame with low forks offers superior control of a slingshot without a wrist brace (in my opinion).

Ideally, you want to start out with bands or tubes that have a low draw weight, particularly while learning to master the correct shooting techniques. A slingshot with too powerful bands will destabilize your aim and cause fatigue after few shots.

Therefore, you may want to consider training with 7 to 8 mm steel ammo starting out at say 6 yards, and eventually at 10 yards: small ammo has a flatter trajectory, which benefits accuracy. You will initially be looking at flat band rubber thicknesses of 0.45 to 0.50 mm.

It is the well calibrated compromise between flat bands (rubber quality, thickness, cut length, taper) and the ammo size and type used that will determine the velocity obtained. Similar criteria apply to tubes, albeit with limitations.

The key issue is really how much you wish to spend on a slingshot. The reason I personally like Chinese-made slingshots is that they are frequently made of 304 stainless steel and wood (steer well clear of zinc alloy versions = pot metal or "Zamak"), and not some form of injection molded plastic commonly available from makers in Europe or the US. The latter will doubtlessly do their job, but may not stand the test of time.

Thus, here is an example of what I would look at if you want a quality slingshot for target shooting (I recommend the seller Piao YU at Aliexpress):

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000459540696.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.6adf4ef0hGe7pZ&algo_pvid=c3783ef5-0129-4319-af95-fbc07d7f6edc&algo_expid=c3783ef5-0129-4319-af95-fbc07d7f6edc-11&btsid=0ab50f6215932058428494507e3ff3&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_

If you do have a preference for wrist-braced slingshots, then this may fit the bill to shoot larger ammo and for hunting: Saunders (USA) have been making wrist rockets for decades.

https://sausa.com/product/double-eagleii-wrist-rocket/

Food for thought...


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## vince4242 (Jan 11, 2016)

Welcome to the farm I am new here too. I would suggest going to the Starship thread. These are similar to wrist Rockets only modern and updated. I have made one out of three quarter inch PVC that has a 6in Edition off the end and is dead accurate and works amazingly! I will be uploading pictures and plans of it this weekend. There are also some very simple plans if you want to cut plywood to make a Starship as well. It is so stable and very low profile over your wrist unlike the old wrist rocket.

Vince


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## Cjw (Nov 1, 2012)

I would go with the Scout from simpleshot. Will shoot any elastic you put on it. Shoots tubes great . And for about $40 it's a great slingshot.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


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## vince4242 (Jan 11, 2016)

I 2nd the Scout, shoots very well and Handel's almost any type of graph you want to use. The starship is more stable before slingshot Scout is awesome.


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## Bellman (Jun 25, 2020)

Pebble Shooter said:


> With the plethora of slingshots available on the market, and the huge number of design templates on offer for D.I.Y. enthusiasts, there is no simple choice of one particular model - not to mention that individual preferences will differ tremendously.
> 
> That said, you will need to ascertain whether:
> 
> ...


This is like an entire meal for thought????. I appreciate all the input. I've ordered clones of other things from Chinese vendors over the years with good success and this looks like a great way to try different designs without a big financial commitment. I think I'm going to go ahead and order a couple of different ones and start learning what I like. Thanks again for all the responses. 
Charles


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## devils son in law (Sep 2, 2014)

Welcome aboard, always remember how much fun you had with the "wooden slingshots" your Grandpa used to make, the magic is still there.


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## vince4242 (Jan 11, 2016)

I second what Devils just said. I bought a scout to see where to start, then I took the Scout and made my own design and now that's what I shoot. I don't shoot the Scout at all anymore it's just a $40 wall ornament because I was able to cut my own. Good luck!

Vince


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## mcrow (Oct 31, 2015)

You can go a lot of ways.

The Hammer gets you a slingbow/slingshot combo for $80.

That's the best way to get up and running with both.

The scout is a great slingshot for all levels of shooters for about $35.

You could make your own slingshot for nothing. I make some of my own now just using a for branch, some rasps and files.

Sent from my moto g(7) optimo maxx(XT1955DL) using Tapatalk


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## Bellman (Jun 25, 2020)

I think for starters I'm going to buy a low fork Chinese handheld, a good assortment of bulk flat band, and get my feet wet. I've got unlimited supplies of SS, Ti, aluminum, carbon, leather, etc, so I can experiment with a lot of homemades once I see what I do and don't like. I'm pretty sure I'm going to end up fully down the rabbit hole ????. This is an unusually friendly and helpful forum and I'm enjoying all the input.

Charles


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## ForkLess (Aug 15, 2018)

Bellman said:


> I think for starters I'm going to buy a low fork Chinese handheld, a good assortment of bulk flat band, and get my feet wet. I've got unlimited supplies of SS, Ti, aluminum, carbon, leather, etc, so I can experiment with a lot of homemades once I see what I do and don't like. I'm pretty sure I'm going to end up fully down the rabbit hole . This is an unusually friendly and helpful forum and I'm enjoying all the input.
> 
> Charles


Most my shooting is instinctive, I love very low PFS "ForkLess" at full butterfly. OTT is best for this anyways, learn how to tweak the pouch. My preferred sling is the Tiny Tiny Turtle by Can Opener, there is a free template here somewhere. Its small & fits to the hand perfectly. When you make them your self you can form it to your hand. I find my self re shaping purchased slingshots most the time anyways. Speaking of purchased slingshots, the Hathcock Sniper from Pocket Predator. Will get you hitting bottle caps right out the package after watching his video. Not good for instinctive but extremely accurate, like a rifle of the slingshot world. Well happy shooting, maybe wile you wait for your new toy, make a new toy? Get you started faster!

Have fun!


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## vince4242 (Jan 11, 2016)

I have to agree with trying different designs. I have tried every design and it finally landed on the hammer grip. I was able to make my own and it shoots really well and so much better than any other does gripping method I've tried. Once you start shooting you will figure out what works for you and it's a lot of fun making your own and experimenting. By the way I tried the pickle fork and hated it did not work for me not my cup of tea.


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## OldGuy (Jul 20, 2020)

Went through a process of trial and error. aka. wasting $s. Recommend the Scout XT as a first slingshot. Why? You can shoot with either hammer, clinch or brace grip. Decide on which grip you prefer with one slingshot vs. multiple slingshots. You can easily switch between bands or tubes. You can easily switch from shooting TTF to OTT. One slingshot to figure out which grip, what type of elastic and which technique you prefer. One other suggestion. Determine your draw length. Set bands or tubes at a specific elongation ratio. Select a thickness and taper matched to a specific ammo to more or less eliminate variables. Like most things in life we get hung up on the hardware. Need to focus more on the process, technique if becoming competent is your goal. If collecting slingshots is your goal. Go for it. Freedom of choice, goals....


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