# Caveman Style~



## kobe23

*Ammo preference*​
*Which ammo, Why?*

Pebbles, Rocks (primitive)8120.10%Ball bearings (steel / lead)22154.84%Clay BB81.99%Plastic BB71.74%Hex nuts368.93%Others not stated (mind sharing?)5012.41%


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## kobe23

Jmp introduced me to Rocks and Pebbles, got addicted all his fault >.<
Changed bands on my 'fatty', currently using the Royal mail postman bands, decent quality. setup per strand 2x2x2x2, 3 per side, making a 6x6x6x6. shooting rocks and pebbles. They shoot slow but hit much(much more) harder than 8mm Steel(when using rocks and pebbles), haven't go hunting with them yet...









Well I had a walk around the area, found some discarded branches, sawed 3 'Y' twigs, the biggest made into 'Tiny'. 270mm in length, Fatty is not fat anymore when compared. 
setup:
-30mm x 240mm USA pro purple bands, 3 strips per side (tied Rufus Hussey's method)
-approx fork width 110mm, length 270mm, handle diameter 50mm
-handle wrapped with Royal mail postman bands for grip, synthetic leather pouch from Poundland fishing catapult 
P.S Fatty is fat and bad with primitive ammo, Tiny is killer! Fatty could puncture the wooden barrier fencing without sweat, but Tiny shoots them much faster!


















Discovery:
Rufus Hussey's fork band attachment gives extra life to the bands. Most people(including myself) use the Over-the-Top attachment, but on close inspection, the lowest band(closest to the fork) tend to fail before the top layers. This is resulted by the friction between the band and the fork when shooting. Many lines will appear on the bottom band(perpendicular to the band pull direction) even after first few shots. This could be easily noticed when 2 bands or more is used, which could be compared to the bottom bands. This is also proven when my wrist rocket is attached with flat bands the wrap-around method. Even after the connector bands at the pouch cut the flat bands, no lines appeared at all(no friction between fork and band when shooting)
Rufus Hussey's method does not involve friction between the fork and band. Maybe the fork should be longer for this setup, but I believe the old man did this after years of experience, not without a reason. If you are having trouble with band life using Over-the-Top, try Rufus's.
I am fairly new to slingshots(beanshooters?) and this is all based on my personal observation, please feel free to comment and advice. Cheers~


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## John-Boy

I believe steel/lead flies truer making the accuracy level higher, but then again pebbles are free


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## kobe23

Hmm yes true, bb's shoot much further with accuracy, but I think it still lies in the shooting distance. For over 10m, I would choose Steel/lead bb, but after some advice from Jmp, I found out rocks(not smoothed, some sharp edges like Rufus used) and pebbles could shoot with accuracy in 10m(approx). Sharp edges could be danger to the bands, but with selection(not too heavy) and a good pouch, this is not much a concern.
Just like most of us do, we tend to make a hole in the centre of the pouch so the bb could centre itself. So for an uneven shaped mass to centre, you will need a slightly curved(slightly bowl-like) pouch, so when released, the rock/pebble will centre itself before leaving the pouch.
As for trajectory, after shooting hundreds of them(almost a week shooting) as long as the shape is comparable to a sphere(meaning almost even mass distribution, not flat like-a-coin shaped) could shoot straight. The trajectory curve is not much of a concern because when shooting 20-30mm diameter rocks they don't propel as fast as bb's, so the effect from the uneven shape is not much.
The most important issue in shooting rocks is the pouch. It should be wide enough for the ammo. If pouch is too thin(portion of ammo can be seen above /below pouch), it is dangerous and inaccurate. If it is not centered, the ammo could not stay on the pouch before leaving the pouch, resulting in rotation of the ammo in upwards or downwards direction, and might flick back to the shooter...


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## jmplsnt

One thing a stone can do that round balls of any material will never be capable of is spinning/rotating in flight. This in turn creates what I think of as a sort of White Trash Rifling.....the spinning imparts a sort of stability to the projectile.

I have a kill with a lozenge-shaped stone at around 27 yards on a pigeon. This shot flew perfectly straight, as good as any lead shot I've fired and I can say that after shooting probably over 10,000 lead shot in my slingshot career to this point. Nico has a rabbit kill at this same 27 yards and I'm positive game has been taken a lot further out with pebbles from a slingshot.

There is another Rufus Hussey video from his appearance with Johnny Carson in which there is a closeup of his sophisticated ammunition and holder, namely a cut-down plastic milk jug holding a few pounds worth of crushed limestone gravel. I have done some work with this sort of rocks and as stated earlier I have found them surprisingly accurate out to ten yards distance but anything beyond that and they begin to defy the laws of aerodynamics.


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## kobe23

jmplsnt said:


> ... accurate out to ten yards distance but anything beyond that and they begin to defy the laws of aerodynamics..


I think because it obeys the law of aerodynamics they sway off course. hahaha >.<
but 1 thing I have been wondering, how to even shoot something at over 20 yards? I remember watching some videos hunting over 20 yards, but I couldn't even focus on a point(maybe the pigeon head) at 20 yards...


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## Nico

Stones/Rocks

Are my first ammo and anything after that is really something a rock shooter will pick up in the event that he does not have some good handy stones at the moment. I suspect that the use of Hexnuts was an original improvised ammunition from the some of the rock shooters in generations past and it seems to be so as I learned of hexnut from my father as he is a stone shooter too and he has used hexnuts and other ammo as a _substitute for good round or oval stones._ For me and mine the shoe is on the other foot, stones are the primary ammo and all else are substitutions for a good stone and it does become a habit/art form to collect round/oval stone wherever you are and you do develop an eye for these things.

What Jmp says is true about crushed limestone gravel they have an effective range of 10 yards and in the past I killed fowl i.e. doves, and inca doves and even large bullfrogs in Mexico with this crushed limestone gravel. The results are gruesome the dove would have the crushed limestone rock embedded in its chest or the small inca dove would be torn open by these rocks. Same is true with the big frogs they'd die from the impact to their head but the crushed lime rock would peel their flesh. Rather nasty but effective when you dont have else and have good close range shots. Still stick with the round stones and ovals and the intermediates to this shape and you have a deadly medium to longer range ammo. 
Nico


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## slingshot 0703

i shoot marbles, stones, bbs, hex nuts and something that is used under a horseshoe at winter time (ice weather conditions) its the heaviest ammo i have


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## wd40

Great slingshots, Kobe.

And good insight about Rufus' attachment method possibly extending band life.

I, too, have noticed the abrasion marks on the bottom band when rigged over-the-top and have experienced two or three band failures about midway on the bottom band.

However, all other band failures have occurred at the pouch attachment.

Still, I've always wanted to shoot some with the Rufus attachment, just to experiment. Your Tiny slingshot has motivated me to do just that. I'll give it a whirl this evening.

WD40


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## jmr13z

I have used 9.5mm steal & lead b b's but I have taken out lots of annoying starlings (a non native nuisance bird in america like the rock dove & house sparrow) with stale jelly beans & hard candy Even peanut M&Ms that stayed in the cabinet too long. The candy is biodegradable too. I guess it is a different meaning to the term death by chocolate. The handy to clean out wasp nest is a big pouch full of coarse sand but at a distance.


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## kobe23

jmr13z said:


> ...stale jelly beans & hard candy Even peanut M&Ms that stayed in the cabinet too long....


This reminds me of the hard spherical disgusting mints. Weight wise, will it do a clean kill?


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## jmplsnt

That's some good and interesting information about the hard candy, and I also enjoyed and appreciated the "death by chocolate" comment. While I will not be filling my pockets with mints for my next hunt I could see where the candy would be extremely useful.

There are some other thoughts I have regarding this but I will keep them to myself......but I really do like your cleaning out of the hated starlings (direct competitor to the lovely Eastern Bluebird) with hard candy that goes away either the next time it rains or when happened across by raccoon or opossum.

JMR13, we need to see some of your kill shots down in the hunting forum.....this sort of thing is right up my alley.


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## ERdept

You're just a softie. I see Bugs Bunny in the background.


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## EdB

Could you describe or post a link to information about the Rufuc Hussey band attachment? Thanks.


kobe23 said:


> Jmp introduced me to Rocks and Pebbles, got addicted all his fault >.<
> Changed bands on my 'fatty', currently using the Royal mail postman bands, decent quality. setup per strand 2x2x2x2, 3 per side, making a 6x6x6x6. shooting rocks and pebbles. They shoot slow but hit much(much more) harder than 8mm Steel(when using rocks and pebbles), haven't go hunting with them yet...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Well I had a walk around the area, found some discarded branches, sawed 3 'Y' twigs, the biggest made into 'Tiny'. 270mm in length, Fatty is not fat anymore when compared.
> setup:
> -30mm x 240mm USA pro purple bands, 3 strips per side (tied Rufus Hussey's method)
> -approx fork width 110mm, length 270mm, handle diameter 50mm
> -handle wrapped with Royal mail postman bands for grip, synthetic leather pouch from Poundland fishing catapult
> P.S Fatty is fat and bad with primitive ammo, Tiny is killer! Fatty could puncture the wooden barrier fencing without sweat, but Tiny shoots them much faster!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Discovery:
> Rufus Hussey's fork band attachment gives extra life to the bands. Most people(including myself) use the Over-the-Top attachment, but on close inspection, the lowest band(closest to the fork) tend to fail before the top layers. This is resulted by the friction between the band and the fork when shooting. Many lines will appear on the bottom band(perpendicular to the band pull direction) even after first few shots. This could be easily noticed when 2 bands or more is used, which could be compared to the bottom bands. This is also proven when my wrist rocket is attached with flat bands the wrap-around method. Even after the connector bands at the pouch cut the flat bands, no lines appeared at all(no friction between fork and band when shooting)
> Rufus Hussey's method does not involve friction between the fork and band. Maybe the fork should be longer for this setup, but I believe the old man did this after years of experience, not without a reason. If you are having trouble with band life using Over-the-Top, try Rufus's.
> I am fairly new to slingshots(beanshooters?) and this is all based on my personal observation, please feel free to comment and advice. Cheers~


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## YonakaYamako

I'm surprised the options for "All of the above" and "Whatever is handly at the time" are not listed. As I have done just that. Even paintballs, and frame bumpers have been used.


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## kobe23

YonakaYamako said:


> I'm surprised the options for "All of the above" and "Whatever is handly at the time" are not listed. As I have done just that. Even paintballs, and frame bumpers have been used.


you could select them all, it's multi-answers enabled. just select them all =D


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## kobe23

EdB said:


> Could you describe or post a link to information about the Rufuc Hussey band attachment? Thanks.


on this post you could see rufus hussey's band attachment method
http://slingshotforum.com/topic/7004-todays-effort/page__pid__72404#entry72404
his method is very similar to the over-the-top band attachment(pic below)


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## Nico

.....


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## Dayhiker

WARNING TO NICO: Off-Topic -- *DO NOT READ!!!*

Hey Kobe -- that is some brilliant kit you've got there! Can't beat A+ I have a PS2. I also carry a Swiss Army knife. Is the pocket fishing rig from Fish or from A+?


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## kobe23

Dayhiker said:


> WARNING TO NICO: Off-Topic -- *DO NOT READ!!!*
> 
> Hey Kobe -- that is some brilliant kit you've got there! Can't beat A+ I have a PS2. I also carry a Swiss Army knife. Is the pocket fishing rig from Fish or from A+?


I googled the picture. Hahaha... some random guy bought it from A+ and posted it on some knife forum. so... not mine >.<
I've only got naturals as the only boardcut I bought I gave to my coursemate


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## Xidoo

kobe23,
It is funny, here in Mexico we use that type elastic attachment method. It is used, only because is much easier to place rubber bands on the forks, just because of that. Saludos.


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## philly

I shoot flats exclusively and have NEVER had a band break at the fork with OTT set up. Thousands of shots over the last year. They always go at the pouch end. Maybe I am just lucky.
Philly


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## Imperial

only thing on the list of choices that i have not shot is clay. ive shot all others and also including peanut M&M s , breath mints, china berries(?), snails (fork hits are gooey), paintballs, gum balls, jawbreakers, hard candy, marbles, ball shaped bits of dry dog food (when i had dogs to shoot to, dont worry dogs werent hurt), cat treats, basically whatever i could fit in the pouch i would try it just once. im at the point to where if i see something small- i just wanna shoot it with the slingshot.


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## SlingtoFame

Glass marbles here! 1$ for a bag of 100 all day long. I would most likely shoot steel most often if it was cheaper.


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## justplainduke

3/8 steel for target.
7/16 for the hunt.


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## Deltaboy1984

Marbles are my daily ammo.


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## TacticalHuntingSurvivalist

I use marbles


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## rubberpower

Almost exclusively marbles. Cheapest thing I can find


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## NaturalFork

I have recently switched to steel but you forgot to include glass ammo. I love glass.


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## Cake Bandit

I dug my slingshot out of the closet the other day and it has been slowly emptying the bag of marbles I found it with. Gotta' go with marbles.


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## lobodog2

Others Not Stated...Marbles are my 1st choice when just messing around. You would be surprised at how many you can recover by just walking around your yard after a shooting session. I buy them locally at a "Dollar Store" for a buck a bag.


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## rubberpower

I buy marbles 25 pounds at a time. Cheapest place I have found is Trumark. The 1/2" tracers are hard to beat for me. When shooting aerials you go through a lot of marbles and same goes for stump shooting in the woods.


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## blackthorn

Prefer "lead" most weight, with least mass! I use an archery release, can only use lead!

Regards
Blackthorn


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## RedRubber

I shoot cast lead 44's. When I get to shooting more accurately I probably will switch to steel.


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## newconvert

for now, since it winter and i built a trap for indoor shooting i am using dried peas, just so i don't break something, but i am gathering an assortment of ammo and ss's for more advanced and outdoor shooting


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## Hrawk

newconvert said:


> I am using dried peas, just so i don't break something


Shoot mini marshmallows and get a dog. That way you can't break anything and you don't have to clean up


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## newconvert

Hrawk said:


> I am using dried peas, just so i don't break something


Shoot mini marshmallows and get a dog. That way you can't break anything and you don't have to clean up








[/quote]

you are da man!


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## Sean

So far and having not tried shooting anything other than marbles and some very small shot
I enjoy the marbles. Cheap and big I stand a bit better of a chance of hitting what I'm aiming at.


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## fishjunkie

now that i am a mill write i am use ball bearing that i replace but i still cant pass up a good old stone on the ground


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## Rockape66

I shoot flintlock muzzleloaders, so I have an ample supply of .440 and .445 lead ball that I use. When I was a kid I used .392 lead ball that my mother shot in her flinter. They were absolutely deadly on bunnies.


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## NaturalFork

I voted steel bearings and other. The other being glass.


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## cheese

Imperial said:


> only thing on the list of choices that i have not shot is clay. ive shot all others and also including peanut M&M s , breath mints, china berries(?), snails (fork hits are gooey), paintballs, gum balls, jawbreakers, hard candy, marbles, ball shaped bits of dry dog food (when i had dogs to shoot to, dont worry dogs werent hurt), cat treats, basically whatever i could fit in the pouch i would try it just once. im at the point to where if i see something small- i just wanna shoot it with the slingshot.


poor snails


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## Shadowslinger123

kobe23 said:


> Jmp introduced me to Rocks and Pebbles, got addicted all his fault >.<
> Changed bands on my 'fatty', currently using the Royal mail postman bands, decent quality. setup per strand 2x2x2x2, 3 per side, making a 6x6x6x6. shooting rocks and pebbles. They shoot slow but hit much(much more) harder than 8mm Steel(when using rocks and pebbles), haven't go hunting with them yet...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Well I had a walk around the area, found some discarded branches, sawed 3 'Y' twigs, the biggest made into 'Tiny'. 270mm in length, Fatty is not fat anymore when compared.
> setup:
> -30mm x 240mm USA pro purple bands, 3 strips per side (tied Rufus Hussey's method)
> -approx fork width 110mm, length 270mm, handle diameter 50mm
> -handle wrapped with Royal mail postman bands for grip, synthetic leather pouch from Poundland fishing catapult
> P.S Fatty is fat and bad with primitive ammo, Tiny is killer! Fatty could puncture the wooden barrier fencing without sweat, but Tiny shoots them much faster!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Discovery:
> Rufus Hussey's fork band attachment gives extra life to the bands. Most people(including myself) use the Over-the-Top attachment, but on close inspection, the lowest band(closest to the fork) tend to fail before the top layers. This is resulted by the friction between the band and the fork when shooting. Many lines will appear on the bottom band(perpendicular to the band pull direction) even after first few shots. This could be easily noticed when 2 bands or more is used, which could be compared to the bottom bands. This is also proven when my wrist rocket is attached with flat bands the wrap-around method. Even after the connector bands at the pouch cut the flat bands, no lines appeared at all(no friction between fork and band when shooting)
> Rufus Hussey's method does not involve friction between the fork and band. Maybe the fork should be longer for this setup, but I believe the old man did this after years of experience, not without a reason. If you are having trouble with band life using Over-the-Top, try Rufus's.
> I am fairly new to slingshots(beanshooters?) and this is all based on my personal observation, please feel free to comment and advice. Cheers~


 I made a rubber band (stationery kind) slingshot threaded 4times when I was a kid. one strand broke in the end, after hundreds of hours of shooting. My first slingshot.


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## Lionel P. Shotwad

BACK IN THE 70'S WHILE AT SCHOOL WE MELTED 80LBS OF POWDERED LEAD THAT WE GOT FROM THE R.O.T.C. RANGE THEN CAST THE LEAD INTO .49CAL MUSKET BALLS FOR OUR CLUB... WE SHOT AT FOIL PIE PANS THAT WERE SUSPENDED IN FRONT OF SEVERAL HANGING CARPETS WITH SHEETS BETWEEN AND BEHIND THEM LAST THE BROAD SIDE OF A CHESTNUT SHED. MOST HITS DID NOT EVEN GET TO THE BACK SHEET THEN THE BALL WOULD FALL DOWN ONTO A RUG BELOW TO BE REUSED OR RECYCLED. WE HAD SO MANY BIG HEAVY SHOT SO NO MEMBERS BOUGHT ANY OTHER AMMO AND THAT "OUR" LONG RANGE TARGET WAS ALMOST A MORTAR SHOT. WITH SHOTS AT SEVERE ANGLES AND THE BIG DROP... ITS KINDA LIKE SLOW PITCH SOFTBALL BUT WHEN "IT" GETS THERE... WHUMP!! THERE IT IS.. AS ALWAYS, L.P.S.


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## Lionel P. Shotwad

FOR SHOOTING IN TOWN WE USED JAWBREAKERS ,FIREBALLS(58-65CAL), OR THE SMALLER ONES THEY SOLD AT THE THEATER (ABOUT 30CAL)NOW I THINK THEY ARE SOLD BY WILLY WONKA AS EVERLASTING GOBSTOPPERS. THEY BREAK UP AND DECOMPOSE , THE CRITTERS LOVE THEM TOO... FOR TARGETS IN SNAP SHOOTING WE WOULD PUT THE SMALL CANDY DISC NECCO' S IN THE FORKS OF SMALL BUSHES THEN THE OTHER ONE OF US WOULD WALK THRU TO SHOOT THEM AS FAST AS WE COULD WITH OUR CANDY ECO AMMO.... AS ALWAYS L.P.S.


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## Imperial

Lionel P. Shotwad said:


> FOR SHOOTING IN TOWN WE USED JAWBREAKERS ,FIREBALLS(58-65CAL), OR THE SMALLER ONES THEY SOLD AT THE THEATER (ABOUT 30CAL)NOW I THINK THEY ARE SOLD BY WILLY WONKA AS EVERLASTING GOBSTOPPERS. THEY BREAK UP AND DECOMPOSE , THE CRITTERS LOVE THEM TOO... FOR TARGETS IN SNAP SHOOTING WE WOULD PUT THE SMALL CANDY DISC NECCO' S IN THE FORKS OF SMALL BUSHES THEN THE OTHER ONE OF US WOULD WALK THRU TO SHOOT THEM AS FAST AS WE COULD WITH OUR CANDY ECO AMMO.... AS ALWAYS L.P.S.


somewhere out there is a bunch of diabetic critters ... 







. better than me shooting gum balls and getting them poor animals blowing bubbles out of thier cavity or causing constipation .


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## Bruno529

Now that I have a good catch mostly marbles...I have some 3/8 stainless and white tracers to mess with. Before that I found some 43 cal paintballs on clearance (500 for $4.98) and before that I used dried garbanzo beans (chickpeas). I'll probably continue to use those to chase off the possum at night.


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## zamarion

well my main ammo is pebbles and rock but i have a fair amount of clay balls in case i need more precise shooting or in case i dont have rock anymore and then theres also this its made out of clay and has 3 curved wings that make it go pinpoint straight even if you shoot it sideways it will level itself out in midair


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## snowmann

Personally I prefer 13mm +15mm cast lead shot from a _(slightly modified)_ _*Do-It Cannon Ball Sinker Mold "CB-10-S2B" , *_but for practice & experimental shooting I use regular Paint-balls which are around 5/8" -or- 16mm... I've tried smaller ammo , steel 3/8" & such but I just have a hard time geting the same impact.


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## Ordie69

Marbles for my tubes and plastic and steel bb's for my office band shooters.


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## Incomudro

I shot slingshots a lot in my youth through my late teens.
I sometimes used marbles, sometimes aquired steel shot, and my friends and I made our own lead balls with a Cabelas mold for a while.
Still, having no money and little ways of aquiring "real" ammo - rocks filled in a lot.
Quartz which was most likely to be round - or resembling round was preffered.

Now, as an adult - being able to purchase 25lbs. of bearings is a luxurious God send!
I have_ lots _of ammo, when I want it - and when I run out, I can just order more!

I'll never shoot a rock again unless I find myself in a survival situation.


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## Bostradamus

i mainly shoot marbles, second steel, but i'll try shooting pretty much anything that's close to being round...


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## Sofreto

Steel balls 3/8 - 1/2


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## sniper62

Marbles , but I just ordered 25 lbs of 3/8 steel so I believe that's going to change.


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## snowmann

QUESTION : For anyone using Steel Balls, in the range of 1/2" - 5/8" /or/ 13mm - 16mm

Does anyone find them on Ebay -or- other Online supplier in the States ??? (for a reasonable amount of $$) for bulk quantities /Lbs. , of say 10-to-30 Lbs bulk lot(s) ?? even seconds or mixed lots would do !!!

IF SO, Please share your source, or PM me, all I can seem to find is Suppliers from China, and "No Offense", but I'm not looking to deal with a Chinese company , wait a month + on production & then deal with shipping hassle & then drive down to the Charleston shipping port to pick up my "Wooden shipping box of steel balls" & go through Customs/Import paperwork hassles, just to get some good shooting ammo ???... BTW, I am Located in the Upstate of SC. in the USA. Thanks

on the other hand, maybe I should find some chinese company & import hundreds of Lbs of various steel balls and start re-selling them on eBay ??? and or onlne ???


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## Sofreto

@ snowmann...I buy mine from BIG 5 in CA. Not sure what they stock back East. Link below for SC stores...give one a call and see what they have.

http://big5sportinggoods.locationsnear.com/SC/


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## Wingshooter

http://flippinoutslingshots.com/store/accessories/steel-ball-bearing-ammo/


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## snowmann

thank you both for the fast replies, I'll check them out....


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## treefork

Royal Steel ball located in Sterling Illinois. 25 LB minimum order. ( $ 1.50 per lb) + shipping


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## sniper62

treefork said:


> Royal Steel ball located in Sterling Illinois. 25 LB minimum order. ( $ 1.50 per lb) + shipping


25 lbs is $57.50 shipped to Georgia


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## trobbie66

I use 3/8 steel, lots of 5/8 marbles and bags of english mints. Rocks have been used when I run out of ammo on a trekk.


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## Semper Rogue

Back when I my Barnett was in military service, I shot 3/8 steel balls that I found scattered on the ground of an auto recycler parking lot. Probably a few thousands in various stages of rust. They did good service but my 'shootin' tubes were anemic at best and prone to cracking due to extreme heat flucuations. Some places were hot and some were cold, some at the same time. Ah. Military service. lol

As a youngster, my merry group of friend used a local clay. Generally we'd locate a rutted road and break off chunks of the tire molded ridges. We would put these in plastic bread sacks, the plastic grocery bag had not been invented yet, and marched off to a concrete foundation of some long forgotten house. Memorable as the whole foundation seemed to have been poured as one. Not one strata layer as you see in most foundations. I digress - forgive me.

At this site we would pound out the clay and sort it by color, the darker stuff was the clay itself everything else was impurities. All around the site were clumps of decomposing drywall. Somebody stacked a pile and left it. The weather broke it down until it was white, crumbly mess. Well, we scraped through the mess and scooped out the "whiter" area and brought it back to clay grinding area. Same process, ground it down with a pile of bricks someone left and soon we had a pile of reddish clay and white "chalk" I would gather. I don't recall the mixture, probably 60/40 clay.

Water was added and a still lump was made. Surprising that none of us became bakers. We would get a certain elasticity out of the lump, adding and subtracting water unless we had a kid named "Berman" along - who expertly did all the measuring and got it right. Our clay was then rolled out into cigar shaped tubes and then chopped into small sections. Small hands then expertly rolled the sections into balls, some better than others. Again if "Berman" was there, all the balls were expert in size and weight. God bless him.

They would be covered with a piece of rotting canvas that someone found long before our time and left to dry. I remember a few times where we wandered through in the dead of winter and found our work untouched. We had forgotten to come back for it and it was always nice to have loads of extra ammo. I am going to try and remember the process and make some for old time sacks.

As for hunting qualities, to us it was magical as the shots almost always got a kill (birds, reptiles,etc.) but I think this was more due to uniformity as rock gravel was iffy at best. I liked it because a hard hit on something almost always resulted in a nice puff of reddish clay dust.


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## BuBsMuBollock

8mm lead for me and 9.5 steel but yeah if it fits in the pouch ill give it a go


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## Guest

Cast .33 inch (8.4 mm) lead. Why? Carry farther and shoot flatter than 9.5 mm steel because they weigh the same and are smaller diameter. Also I have a mold which casts 20 #00 buck at the same time. I can cast 200 shot in less than half an hour.


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## johnny test

I like white marbles for their tracer ability.


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## Pawpawsailor

I like metal ball ammo for the consistency in shooting... I'm not crazy about glass marbles because, eventually, there is going to be a cut foot or some kind of injury where broken glass is left behind. It is impossible to clean it up entirely. The rest is just too irregular.


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## capnjoe

I shoot whatever will fit through the forks. And I mean that! Seeds, nuts, coins, marbles, steel, toy soldiers, beads (a length of about 4-5 beads is like chain shot), rocks, pebbles, candy, fireworks.... If it fits it ships!
I prefer marbles for fast draw, aerials, and can whopping. The steel is best for consistent accuracy. I used to buy from a bearing maker, but found that Nathan sells it cheaper through Flippin'out. He is now fast to a big fish...me. 
Carefully selected river rock pebbles are growing on me. We have a giant pile on them in my neighborhood and nobody else is using them.
Paw's right about the marbles. They shatter something fierce when struck properly. I have stepped on more than one shard and drawn blood. Everybody else wears shoes..
I hate shoes!


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## Smashtoad

capnjoe said:


> ...everybody else wears shoes..
> I hate shoes!


You got it rough, Skipper...I'm pi**ed that you get to spend your days on a boat fishing, and get paid for it.

Someday I'm gonna talk my wife into moving out of Indiana. Life isn't fair!


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## capnjoe

It's not all it's cracked up to be... my grass ain't no greener'n yours.

Don't be peeved, just come fishing!


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## flipgun

Hex nuts are cheap. Clay is cheap. Make clay balls with hex nuts in the middle. :shrug::


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## Berkshire bred

i put steel bearings / lead because i do not shoot lead but i do shoot a lot of steel. this is because if you buy it in bulk it is not to expensive and it hits hard.


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## zhop

i use the tips of 9 ml bullets that you buy when you get reloading stuff


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## rapidray

Ball bearings cause they fly better!


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## Lewey

I like steel ball bearings because I work at a ball bearing factory. We generate a 55 gallon drum of scrap ball about every 4 months. I just go out and scoop up a box whenever I need them. They range in size from 1/4 inch up to around 5/8 inch. High quality precision ammo!

Bill

www.lewca.com


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## capnjoe

Lewey said:


> I like steel ball bearings because I work at a ball bearing factory. We generate a 55 gallon drum of scrap ball about every 4 months. I just go out and scoop up a box whenever I need them. They range in size from 1/4 inch up to around 5/8 inch. High quality precision ammo!
> 
> Bill
> www.lewca.com


Lettuce be friends. Shall we?


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## AhnkoChee

I'm a broke cheapskate so I try to find cheap ammo. I get cheap 1/4" steel balls from China, and I like marbles though they are getting pricey. I cast my own .360 diameter lead balls but use these sparingly. I bought a bulk pack of round plastic beads from a craft store for cheap, they fly good for ten yards they curve away, great for popping stray mutts trying to poop in my lawn or getting obnoxious when I go out to check my mail. I like jawbreaker candy but they too are going up in price. Macadamia nuts in the shell make great ammo but hard to get now since I move from Maui which had plenty trees everywhere.


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## Dr J

I use pea rock from the garden store. They are river tumbled so are nicely shaped. I also like hex nuts. Jujube seeds have alo been used. They will go through a soda can at 25ft(approx 10 meters).


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## JohnKrakatoa

I shoot steel balls when shooting into a catchbox and pebbles and rocks and clay balls and all round seeds you can find in the wild.


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## D.Nelson

Lead and stones.

.36 for the feathers and I am using .40 for the fur. I look for the stones that are marble sized.


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## Blade

treefork said:


> Royal Steel ball located in Sterling Illinois. 25 LB minimum order. ( $ 1.50 per lb) + shipping


Oh wow! I had idea that was here( I live in sterling) I'm gonna have to go check that out.


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## wll

jmplsnt said:


> One thing a stone can do that round balls of any material will never be capable of is spinning/rotating in flight. This in turn creates what I think of as a sort of *White Trash Rifling*.....the spinning imparts a sort of stability to the projectile.
> 
> I have a kill with a lozenge-shaped stone at around 27 yards on a pigeon. This shot flew perfectly straight, as good as any lead shot I've fired and I can say that after shooting probably over 10,000 lead shot in my slingshot career to this point. Nico has a rabbit kill at this same 27 yards and I'm positive game has been taken a lot further out with pebbles from a slingshot.
> 
> There is another Rufus Hussey video from his appearance with Johnny Carson in which there is a closeup of his sophisticated ammunition and holder, namely a cut-down plastic milk jug holding a few pounds worth of crushed limestone gravel. I have done some work with this sort of rocks and as stated earlier I have found them surprisingly accurate out to ten yards distance but anything beyond that and they begin to defy the laws of aerodynamics.


"White Trash Rifling" OMG that is one of the funniest phrases I have ever heard, cracks me up ;- )

For me a steel ball of 1/2 to 9/16 is great ...also a lead ball 0000 OT Buck works very well also ;- )

wll


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## Larry Bourgeois

Semper Rogue said:


> Back when I my Barnett was in military service, I shot 3/8 steel balls that I found scattered on the ground of an auto recycler parking lot. Probably a few thousands in various stages of rust. They did good service but my 'shootin' tubes were anemic at best and prone to cracking due to extreme heat flucuations. Some places were hot and some were cold, some at the same time. Ah. Military service. lol
> 
> As a youngster, my merry group of friend used a local clay. Generally we'd locate a rutted road and break off chunks of the tire molded ridges. We would put these in plastic bread sacks, the plastic grocery bag had not been invented yet, and marched off to a concrete foundation of some long forgotten house. Memorable as the whole foundation seemed to have been poured as one. Not one strata layer as you see in most foundations. I digress - forgive me.
> 
> At this site we would pound out the clay and sort it by color, the darker stuff was the clay itself everything else was impurities. All around the site were clumps of decomposing drywall. Somebody stacked a pile and left it. The weather broke it down until it was white, crumbly mess. Well, we scraped through the mess and scooped out the "whiter" area and brought it back to clay grinding area. Same process, ground it down with a pile of bricks someone left and soon we had a pile of reddish clay and white "chalk" I would gather. I don't recall the mixture, probably 60/40 clay.
> 
> Water was added and a still lump was made. Surprising that none of us became bakers. We would get a certain elasticity out of the lump, adding and subtracting water unless we had a kid named "Berman" along - who expertly did all the measuring and got it right. Our clay was then rolled out into cigar shaped tubes and then chopped into small sections. Small hands then expertly rolled the sections into balls, some better than others. Again if "Berman" was there, all the balls were expert in size and weight. God bless him.
> 
> They would be covered with a piece of rotting canvas that someone found long before our time and left to dry. I remember a few times where we wandered through in the dead of winter and found our work untouched. We had forgotten to come back for it and it was always nice to have loads of extra ammo. I am going to try and remember the process and make some for old time sacks.
> 
> As for hunting qualities, to us it was magical as the shots almost always got a kill (birds, reptiles,etc.) but I think this was more due to uniformity as rock gravel was iffy at best. I liked it because a hard hit on something almost always resulted in a nice puff of reddish clay dust.


Thanks for the cool info SR. Nice to remember your old buddy Berman too.  lb


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