# Video Review: Bill Herriman's Express Bands



## JoergS (Dec 17, 2009)

Bill Herriman (aka "Texshooter") is one of the greatest slingshot expert of the world. He has many years of experience and won some very prestigious titles in tournaments.

He does offer various slingshot products, like his band sets. These sets are available in several versions, each one made from natural latex. He tapers the bands, for additional speed.

This is a review about his "express" bands, the strongest he sells. They have been attached to the "Cougar", a slingshot that can take any kind of bands on the market.






The results are impressive! A .38 cal. steel ball (9,5mm) flew with 80 meters per second (262 feet/sec), quite impressive.

The bands have a very nice, smooth draw, and the preformed pouch is simply excellent.

Bill Herriman can be reached at [email protected]


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## ZDP-189 (Mar 14, 2010)

Nice video and a compelling pitch!


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## Brooklyn00003 (Feb 28, 2010)

woww 
It's interesting I never thought they are this strong. Can someone tell me what is the different between his this band sets and fish's hunterbands.Which one is better .... The hunterband lasted for me for 600 shots then broke how long is this gouing to less?


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## JoergS (Dec 17, 2009)

Hunterbands are a lot stronger, and will shoot a heavy lead ball with more energy. Therefore you need a low forked slingshot in order to draw them out.

Bill's bands last a long time. But 600 shots for a set of flatbands is a lot! Plus, flat bands usually break close to the pouch so you can re-tie them.

Jörg


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## njenkins (Feb 3, 2010)

I have both and for me I love Bill's sets and I have all of them. They are great quality smooth drawing rubber.


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## TruckeeLocal (Dec 23, 2009)

Hey Joerg what was your pull length when testing these bands? Also, what was the percentage of elongation?


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## Brooklyn00003 (Feb 28, 2010)

JoergS said:


> Hunterbands are a lot stronger, and will shoot a heavy lead ball with more energy. Therefore you need a low forked slingshot in order to draw them out.
> 
> Bill's bands last a long time. But 600 shots for a set of flatbands is a lot! Plus, flat bands usually break close to the pouch so you can re-tie them.
> 
> Jörg


Thanks for the info. Yes I reuse the hunterbands but now I am downt to 1 per side and pretty short but still going.I am surprise how long they hold up.


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## Tex-Shooter (Dec 17, 2009)

Wow Joerg, what can I say, that is more than I deserve! Thank you so very much for your very kind video of my bands Joerg. Joerg is maybe the most popular persons with shooters and with very good reason. He puts a great deal of time and effort in new inventive designs and is a great credit for the slingshot sport. His videos have inspired many shooters and have caused tremendous growth in the sport. His channel is a great slingshot channel. Bill Herriman


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## njenkins (Feb 3, 2010)

I couldn't concur more Bill.. Every recommendation Joerg has made have been great recommendations in my opinion. Very clear in helping people understand about the quality products and people we have in this sport.


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## Flatband (Dec 18, 2009)

I've learned a lot from Bill and his sets are well made and last long. Excellent review and overall observation by Joerg. Credit well deserved! Flatband


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## hawk2009 (Dec 30, 2009)

Yes Joergs videos certainly inspire people to take up the sport, and those bands of tex when shooting the smaller 9,5mm certainly were very fast indeed.could do with some videos of enthusiasts showing off their skills and powerful shooters on you tube the more the merrier.


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## ZDP-189 (Mar 14, 2010)

Hunting and target shooters might be interested to know what the optimal ammunition is for Express Bands.

I plugged Jörg's numbers from his video into a spreadsheet and calculated:

9.5mm steel (.38 cal) 3.52g @ 79.3m/s = 11.1J
14mm steel (.55 cal) 11.25g @ 62.8m/s = 22.2J
16mm lead (.66 cal) 16.80g @ 47.8m/s = 19.2J

_The above assumes (i) round shot; densities of (ii) steel BB (52100 alloy) 7.83 g/cc and (iii) lead 11.4 g/cc_; (iv) the same draw length; and (v) same distance/ negligible slowing.

If the assumptions are even very approximately correct, the heavy 16.8g shot achieved less energy than the 11.3g shot, i.e. _Express Bands are optimal below 16.8g_

I can't tell which side of the .55 cal the kinetic energy sweetspot lies. It could be more, but equally it could be less; I'd need more data points.

I would also be interested to see a table for drop measured at 10m on a bench rig. It sounded like the 16.8g ball dropped below the target.

Roundball.exe predicts:
9.5mm Steel -0.3"
14mm Steel -1.9"
16mm Lead -5.1"

As always, lighter balls have higher velocities. Extrapolating back to zero mass, the natural velocity of the bands is 85m/s (279fps), only slightly faster than the 9.5mm steel, so I think there'd be not much advantage of going lighter.


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## JoergS (Dec 17, 2009)

Good info, thanx. There is one major error: The 16 mm lead weighs 24 gramms (416 grains).

Regards from the sunny slingshot mecca, Alverton PA!

Jörg


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## Tex-Shooter (Dec 17, 2009)

The 16 mm *lead* weighing 416 grain and shot at 157 FPS yields 22.77 FP or 30.876 Joules, so it achieved the most energy of the three sizes shot. There is a break over point where the speed is too slow to be effective, but 157 FPS is still a good speed. Of course these speeds were achieved with a long draw length and not a lock out style draw. See my Blog on extended fork speeds to see what effects a longer draw length has on speed. -- Tex


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## ZDP-189 (Mar 14, 2010)

Thanks! I had accidentally used the density of steel instead of lead. That means the energy is 27.8J, zero mass natural speed 87 m/s. Have a nice trip!


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