# Why should I use a lanyard (said defiantly)?



## Rayshot (Feb 1, 2010)

I wear prescription glasses.

I am not a user of lanyards. With the small SS I shoot it would be a good idea. I have had a few times one band break while at full draw leaving the remaining band on the opposite fork to twist the catty out of my hand come back at my hand and face and get a painful smack on my knuckles from the catty and a slight graze on my cheek. That is one reason I know lanyards are worthwhile.

This time with a nice smoothly finished catty I just stepped outside to take my first shot and obviously was not as careful and at full draw the catty slipped out of my hand and returned to my face both bands pulling (.04 latex 20 mm taped to 13 mm with 7 inch active). A rather "snappy" band set.

Just think if this was a broken fork from a board cut.

You decide.... should a catty have a lanyard?

I took the one's just a minute or so after it happened when it dawned on me, to share for an object lesson. The cut on my bottom eyelid still has me stumped exactly what made the cut both were bigger bumps than the pictures show.


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## oldmiser (Jan 22, 2014)

if nothing else eye protection..my friend you was very lucky..~AKAOldmiser


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## Can-Opener (May 11, 2013)

That looks nasty enough to stick in your memory for a while. Thank goodness you are OK. This could have had a way worse outcome. Hope your wounds heal quickly.


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## Imperial (Feb 9, 2011)

usually when a slingshot gets baptized by blood, its animal blood, not human blood.

good to see youre okay. recently, ive been leaning towards using lanyards, just easier on the hand to hold.


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## mr. green (Nov 3, 2012)

That's scary. Thanks for reminding all of us to shoot safe.


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## rockslinger (Nov 16, 2010)

OUCH! Boy a lanyard would have saved the day!

Heal quick Ray, thanks for posting it may save someones eye!


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## quarterinmynose (Jan 21, 2012)

Dang Ray, close call. Glad to see it's not any worse, that could of been super ugly.

Heal well my friend.


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## SmilingFury (Jul 2, 2013)

Wow, sorry to see you got hurt. I started using lanyards in the last two months and actually enjoy their relaxing effect on my grip in addition to the safety benefit. Good on you Ray for sharing this experience. Lanyard and eye protection is the way.

Heal fast man,
SF


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## treefork (Feb 1, 2010)

I'm an avid user of lanyards .


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## M.J (Nov 1, 2010)

Oh my!! I'm glad you're ok! Well ok enough, anyway that looks to really smart!

...It wasn't the slingshot I made you was it?


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## Beanflip (Sep 11, 2010)

Ouch! That sucks. Thanks for sharing and I'm glad it's not any worse.

I've only considered lanyards for the relaxed grip and preventing the occasional annoying drop. I hate scratching up a frame that way. Though I think your reason is the best. 
My pinky hole allows for the relaxation and locks it in hand.


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## Metropolicity (Aug 22, 2013)

yikes! THAT'S a battle wound. Thanks for sharing.

I have been shooting frames with palm and pinky swells lately and found that I could relax my finger and thumb a bit.

Remember, not that you need it with your new lady in tow, but chick's dig scars!


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## Kerry Cornelius (Nov 11, 2014)

Thanks for sharing!!! Lanyards for me from now on.


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## toolmantf99 (Feb 16, 2012)

Lesson learned the hard way for sure! Glad it was not worse! I just can't imagine you as a pirate (eye patch joke) :shakehead:


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## Rayshot (Feb 1, 2010)

M.J said:


> Oh my!! I'm glad you're ok! Well ok enough, anyway that looks to really smart!
> 
> ...It wasn't the slingshot I made you was it?


No. Can you believe it? I am taking the most expedient route to get some shooting each day if possible with all I have had on my plate, so only been shooting what is familiar and fast.


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## Emitto (Sep 11, 2013)

Glad you are ok mate, same happened to me shooting careless, one of my tubes broke, the catty came back and hit me in my jaw, (It felt like a GOOD punch)i took about a week for me to move it without pain, NOW I use lanyards even tho I don't like the LOOK of it. Lesson learned.

Wish you a swift recovery.

Cheers.


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## Wingshooter (Dec 24, 2009)

Man I am glad you are all right. That could have been very serious.


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## GrayWolf (May 14, 2012)

Ray, I'm happy that it was not a permanent injury. Heal fast and get back to shooting.

Todd


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## Creakyboy (Feb 15, 2014)

Hope You get well soon mate, glad it wasn't too serious.


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## flipgun (Nov 14, 2012)

I am very pleased for your sake that it was no worse.


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## Rayshot (Feb 1, 2010)

Emitto said:


> Glad you are ok mate, same happened to me shooting careless, one of my tubes broke, the catty came back and hit me in my jaw, (It felt like a GOOD punch)i took about a week for me to move it without pain, NOW I use lanyards even tho I don't like the LOOK of it. Lesson learned.
> 
> Wish you a swift recovery.
> 
> Cheers.


You know I feel your pain. I have been resisting using lanyards because the shooters I like to make I want to keep as much of the wood as possible. This accident may push me to stop resisting.


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## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

WOW, WOW Ray thank goodness you are OK. Slingshots are very dangerous, and the reason I am overly cautious, I have lanyards on all my slings and ALWAYS wear eye protection. You are very fortunate that eye lid hit was not higher !!

Anyway, glad you are OK, stay safe !

wll


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## Quercusuber (Nov 10, 2011)

Oh my goodness, sir...

I'm so sorry, Ray  Glad it wasn't any worst. I guess you were lucky, in a painful sort of way.

A blunt reminder of the nasty power of slingshots. Safety first, always.

Have a speedy recovery. Hope you get back to slinging again...it can't happen twice, not in this manner.

All the best

Q


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## Henry the Hermit (Jun 2, 2010)

Thanks for posting the pics, Ray. We all need a reminder from time to time that our toys can bite us. I'm glad it wasn't worse.


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

Ray, my dear friend ... I am soooo sorry this happened. I send my best wishes for a quick recovery ... and may this be a "once in a lifetime" occurrence. Boy, that looks soooo painful. If it were me, I would make up some heroic tale about defending some lady's honor in a bar fight ... less embarrassing ..... Hang in there ....

Cheers ...... Charles


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## ruthiexxxx (Sep 15, 2012)

I used to have braided lanyards on all my shooters as, by twisting them tautly round the wrist, they can make effective braces making it easier to pull heavy poundages without wrist strain. Nowadays I fix rigid wrist braces to all new slings but still keep the braided lanyard for my survival slingbow so it will fit more easily in the bugout bag. The TTS tubes are a heavy draw and the lanyard makes a real difference


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## leon13 (Oct 4, 2012)

Oh Oh fast recovery my slingshot-friend
Cheerio


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## flipgun (Nov 14, 2012)

Oh! I forgot! To save you from a poke in the eye with a stick?


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## stinger (Jul 6, 2014)

Got yourself good. So glad it wasn't worse. I few mm's one way or the other.... Ouch bud, heal fast!


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## The Gopher (Aug 25, 2010)

I always use lanyards, I don't see a single downside to using one and there are many upsides.


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## Pilgrim (May 3, 2014)

Sorry that had to happen, heal quickly!


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## honorary pie (Feb 12, 2015)

Hmmmm, perhaps I mistook the post, but the lesson I'm reminded of here is ( I still don't like lanyards) in the areas of band maintenance and checking your bands Before shooting.. Not that these things don't happen, but the issue may have been avoidable before ever pulling the slingshot to draw. I'm sure a lanyard would have avoided the injury, but it seems a lot like driving away with no brakes, and blaming the airbags for the crash..

I'm very glad you're OK, but seriously, I only have a dozen or so super pouches left, please don't shoot your eye out before making me more, I still appreciate the perfectly centered holes.


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## Rayshot (Feb 1, 2010)

The Gopher said:


> I always use lanyards, I don't see a single downside to using one and there are many upsides.


The only downside might play out like this;

Early one fresh and sunny summer day, at your favorite secluded spot, merrily plinking away at stumps, sticks, the odd leaf and what other object is the fancy of your ammo, and THEN......a BEAR comes out of seemingly nowhere!

You run for the place he won't be able to follow and as you nimbly dart through the trees and underbrush the lanyard gets snagged on branch that won't let go and bear snags you. :yeahright:


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## Rayshot (Feb 1, 2010)

honorary pie said:


> Hmmmm, perhaps I mistook the post, but the lesson I'm reminded of here is ( I still don't like lanyards) in the areas of band maintenance and checking your bands Before shooting.. Not that these things don't happen, but the issue may have been avoidable before ever pulling the slingshot to draw. I'm sure a lanyard would have avoided the injury, but it seems a lot like driving away with no brakes, and blaming the airbags for the crash..
> 
> I'm very glad you're OK, but seriously, I only have a dozen or so super pouches left, please don't shoot your eye out before making me more, I still appreciate the perfectly centered holes.


I might misunderstand your post. This post is an object lesson for those like me, that lanyards are good.

Yes, many mistakes and accidents surely can be avoided with more attentiveness in the situation. I've always recognized the value of lanyards. Some shooters can slip more easily from one's grip like the one I use.


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## Smashtoad (Sep 3, 2010)

Thanks for this. Great post


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## SimpleShot (Aug 30, 2012)

Glad your eye was not hurt Ray. Then again, someone else might have had a chance at winning a tournament...said in jest, of course! Lanyard up


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## Flatband (Dec 18, 2009)

A graphic and solid example for using safety glasses when shooting and a good argument for lanyard use. I know a lot of shooters who don't use glasses. This image is the reason you really should think about it. Your eyes are too valuable. As far as the lanyard,I'm down with it for sure. Another reason for lanyard use is it actually gives you a little more wrist support when wrapped around. Glad you're okay Ray and I just love what Nathan said " Maybe now someone else will have a chance to win a shoot!" HAHAH!!!!!! Love it Bud!!!! :rofl:


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## Tentacle Toast (Jan 17, 2013)

Eesh, Ray...thanks for sharing. I'm glad it wasn't as serious as it could have been. I tend to remove the lanyards from many of my slingshots, but this gives me pause. Granted, I ALWAYS wear safety glasses, but with that much less a chance of preventable injury, maybe I'll rethink am'...

...on the plus side, if these pics get out, we'll probably see a mob of new emo teens flocking to the site so they could cry tears of real blood, too...


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## fsa46 (Jul 8, 2012)

WOW, sure glad it wasn't even worse. If that isn't an eye opener ( no pun intended ) nothing is. At the very least I'll be wearing eye protection from now on.

Thanks for sharing.


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## Smashtoad (Sep 3, 2010)

Yeah...I always wear glasses too. I sold a lot of my naturals at reptile swap meets I go to, and always stressed safety glasses on every single shot.

Had a guy one time pick one up and go into a real fast, long draw. I said, "whoa whoa...be careful." There were kids all around...I'm talkin about a shoulder to shoulder crowd. He said, "It's ok...I'm an archer." Great...don't blame me if one of those tubes breaks and smacks you in the eye...right?

I never considered that I could let the catty itself slip and come back on me. That is some scary stuff.

Glad you're ok, Ray.


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## Nobodo (Nov 5, 2014)

I wear prescription glasses too; they are made of trivex so the glass itself is very safe.

However, they are shaped like regular eyeglasses and not like safety glasses (don't wrap around).

Sometimes when I am aiming I take note of what part of the glasses I'm looking through, and I notice that it is right at the edge of the lenses, so there's more open area near the line of sight than I think I feel comfortable with.

If I was looking through the center of the glasses while shooting it wouldn't be an issue, but I don't.

I'm thinking hard about ditching the prescription glasses and just wearing the wrap-around safety glasses, either that or get prescription glasses in the safety glass shape.

Seeing the pictures of your mishap make me think that way more strongly.

The hit on the cheek is unfortunate, but no big deal.

The hit on the eyelid is really the one that bothers me; thankfully you are ok but it makes me realize the same or possibly worse could happen to me with the glasses I wear.


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## Smashtoad (Sep 3, 2010)

Nobodo...

I bought these for working over my magnifying readers when doing detailed dremeling...work great. These are smoked...you can get them in clear too...

http://www.amazon.com/Escort-Over-Prescription-Prescription-Matching-Sensitive/dp/B001922GRS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1428422681&sr=8-3&keywords=over+the+glass+safety+glasses


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## Urban Fisher (Aug 13, 2014)

Ouch!!! But Ray I can honestly say I know exactly how that feels...because the same thing happend to me! Many years ago but almost the exact same story. Mine was that one of my bands snapped at full draw. The resulting torque from this twisted the slingshot in my hand basically causing me to lose grip on it. And after that it came back full force right upside my face!

Glad your ok and yes, lanyards are a good thing. As Ruthie mentioned they can also be used as wrist braces.


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## deadeye (Jan 2, 2015)

Holy crap, the worst I ever got was a clip on the hand. Hope you heal quickly bud, because that sucks


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## honorary pie (Feb 12, 2015)

Wasn't sure how to quote properly .. But I knew when I opened my sarcastic mouth that karma was going to teach me something today. While mulling over my response to Ray's injury, and whether I was out of line suggesting that better band maintenance could have prevented his injury, it happened. A spontaneous band break . I was about three quarters through my draw, and my right band snapped, with no warning about two inches shy of the pouch (super sure super pouch by way, nudge nudge).. Mind you I had inspected my bands only two shots prior to this and saw no apparent signs of detrimental wear. Luckily I kept a grip on my catty and nothing injurious took place. I should note that the band itself had been shortened and reused after two or three previous breakages. 
So in retraction to my previous stupid-headed comment, spontaneous snappage will occur from time to time, regardless of diligence in maintenance. Perhaps I'll have to give a lanyard and honest try. Glad you're okay Ray.


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## Samurai Samoht (Apr 6, 2013)

I'm really glad that it wasn't worse and hope it heals up quickly for you Ray. I'm a stickler for wearing safety glasses when shooting but I just might try adding a woven lanyard now.

If anyone is interested I found a youtube video showing the simplest paracord weave I've ever seen.






Cheers,

Tom


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## slingshooterPT (Feb 22, 2014)

Glad to see you´re right!! I don´t want to imagine if was a broken fork...


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## fsimpson (May 13, 2014)

sorry you got hurt ray . heal fast . thanks for posting this for everyones consideration . might be time for me to lanyard everything up -----frank


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## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

These are not the best pics in the world but they show what I do with ANY sling that does not have a Lanyard hole and don't want to put one in.

Here is a pick of my Mule and beside it is a loop on paracord about 18-19 inches long.









Next is the paracord loop set under the sling.









Next is the bottom of the loop pulled up through the top loop.









And finally my fingers inside the loop ... if my hands get wet and the slingshot should slip out of my hands, the Looped Lanyard stops it from coming back and smacking me.









I have done this on may slingshots that I did not want to put a lanyard hole through and it works great ..... it is very fast to do and just might save someone the pain that Ray went through getting hit. This leaves the handle smooth feeling and uncluttered, for me tying a knot on the handle makes for an awkward feeling grip, this does not do that.

I was going to post this in another place, but I thought more folks would see it here to help them.

wll


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## Rayshot (Feb 1, 2010)

wll said:


> These are not the best pics in the world but they show what I do with ANY sling that does not have a Lanyard hole and don't want to put one in.
> 
> Here is a pick of my Mule and beside it is a loop on paracord about 18-19 inches long.
> 
> ...


Fantastic show and tell!! Love it!


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## honorary pie (Feb 12, 2015)

A slip in grip eh? You might have found yourself a niche there. Very cool. Maybe even incorporated into build?


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## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

Rayshot said:


> wll said:
> 
> 
> > These are not the best pics in the world but they show what I do with ANY sling that does not have a Lanyard hole and don't want to put one in.
> ...


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## Smashtoad (Sep 3, 2010)

Cool


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## Chuck Daehler (Mar 17, 2015)

I bought eye protection and use it sometimes. Now I think I'll use it always. Sheesh, what a wound and what luck you didn't shoot your eye out (ode to Matt).

Thank you for disclosing your indicents.

Fortunately I don't shoot small catys. Mine are large and ergo and don't want to twist and turn as would a small caty. And I also double band most of the time so if one band breaks it's not a violent torque. Maybe I should change my avatar to me with some amber eye protective glasses I bought and "sometimes" use. I only have one good eye, the one that had recent cataract operation. If I smack myself in that eye it's not going to be good with that fake plastic lens embedded in my lens capsule. Then my wife Susi will have to drive and that is shear suicide.

Being an arm brace fan for several of my SSs, I would like to try a lanyard, for they resist the back torque at the pinkey so the pinkey doesn't have to take the brunt of it...sort of like an arm brace. I'll rig up a couple to see how best to do it. Thanks for your post.


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## Btoon84 (Nov 22, 2011)

DAng!!!!! Ray, I'm glad you're alright. Thanks for sharing the dangers with us. I don't use lanyards either, and have had a few slip out of my hand... Dang that stinks! Sorry that happened sir.


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## DougDynasty (Jul 8, 2013)

I don't know how on earth I missed this thread until now but my goodness Ray I'm SOO thankful you're ok my friend. Wow what an unfortunate thing to have happened. Thank God you are ok. So sorry to hear of this. I hope u heal fast buddy. You're one of the good guys and definitely don't deserve anything like this. Man I hate it


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## erniepc1 (Jun 7, 2014)

OUch! I haven't been on here much lately. Life has been a little full. Amazing what you miss when you don't monitor daily. Sorry to see the hurt. Hope you are healed up and shooting in the black again. (with a lanyard, right). Take care and sling em down range.

Might be a good post for a poll. Who uses lanyard? What kind? Who does not use lanyard and why not?


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## CanH8r (Dec 3, 2013)

Ray,

Thanks for posting this. I've recieved some great lanyards recently and they've just sat in a draw. I watched a Canopener vid where he stressed the importance of them and they still sat in the draw. I mainly shoot a solid steel frame, I shudder to think how much MORE ugly I'd be if a sent it flying into my face! Those lanyards will not sit in the draw any longer now. Hope you recover fast my friend.

Jeff


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## fred45 (May 15, 2014)

See you'll shoot your eye out! Ouch Ray!! I put my safety glasses on Matthew this weekend. I did buy some for all the kids but did not break them out, I am now. I am also going to use that slim braid to make lanyards, also that quick loop looks good too. Get well soon Ray


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## slingshotnew (Oct 29, 2014)

No no no........!!!!!

Inviato dal mio HUAWEI Y600-U20 utilizzando Tapatalk


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## The Pocket Shot (Sep 28, 2014)

Holy Crap Ray. That's terrible. 1 inch higher and I guess it could have been worse so that's the small silver lining. Be careful out there!


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## Cervantes (Jun 10, 2011)

I just got my Simple Shot Hammer in.. Forgot how easy it is to shoot with a brace, and a very comfortable one too, compared to the old school wrist rockets.. Also makes it harder for the slingshot to go ninja on your face.

I'll get to bracing the rest of my armory with gimmicky lanyards..


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## MacDaddy (Sep 9, 2016)

Things could have been much worse.I'm glad your ok.Remember scars just add character to a man.Get well soon!


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## MikmaqWarrior (May 12, 2014)

wll said:


> These are not the best pics in the world but they show what I do with ANY sling that does not have a Lanyard hole and don't want to put one in.
> Here is a pick of my Mule and beside it is a loop on paracord about 18-19 inches long.
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks for sharing this! 

Sent from my B1-770 using Tapatalk


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## VAshooter (Feb 10, 2015)

I never thought of a lanyard as a safety device. I always thought of it as something to steady the slingshot or to prevent losing it if you dropped it or did something else stupid. In the future I will think more about using a lanyard to prevent the sling from jumping up and hitting me if I offend it. I realize this is an old thread but the information is still relevant.


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## mostho (Mar 28, 2017)

Always good to resurrect this thread from time to time. Safety is always important, as the knowledge.


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