# FlatCat "Hunter" experiment (with results!)



## Byudzai (Aug 31, 2013)

Hola,

ECST showed me the virtues of a fast band/tubeset -- trying to whack the 70 yard gong with a 170fps steel ball is a lot of wishful thinking. I stuffed two tubesets of 1/8" black latex tubing through each hole of my original green FlatCat and got a sweet increase in speed. (see photo at end) Got me wondering if I could make one with four holes instead of two, since the two-in-one-hole sets you up for twisting of the tubes in that hole.

Drilling four holes with two keeper slots on the sides introduces the (probably trivial) problem of different distances from the inner opening of the hole to the keeper slot, so I added a central slot to keep those distances even.

The result? Now I get 210fps with a 3/8" steel ball with a 12.6lb pull weight. I'll have to see how that compares to flatbands -- if you know off the top of your head I'm all ears. I want to believe that an array of tiny tubes can approach the ballistic appeal of flats.

I will say that the fiddle factor goes up, with getting two knots at the pouch etc. Still frees you from the need for jigs to tie pouches or forks, which means a big roll of tubing will keep you going in the field no matter how many tubesets you break. The alternative would be to just use 2040 tubing but, as Matt and I discussed at ECST, thicker tubing is slower and heavier.

Also discovered that peel-n-ply G10 (or whatever it's called) is tricky to separate! 
I didn't doll this one up so forgive the rough finish.


























Looks like this original test setup also contributed to increased tube wear at the holes. I normally get little to no abrasion where the tubes go through the forks, but this photo shows them getting roughed up.


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## Jack739 (May 30, 2013)

Holy Smoke Byu, thats a rig!
Now 4 strands per side is something remarkable and i think i've never seen a cleaner attachment  Awesome work Bro


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## gaia (Jan 24, 2014)

That looks awesome! Could that ever go into production?


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## leon13 (Oct 4, 2012)

Jauser
that's a workout 
Monster for me


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## bigdh2000 (Feb 9, 2015)

Nice layout.


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## oldmiser (Jan 22, 2014)

Mercy me that is a lot of pull 12.6# Would make a great Hunting rig tho...just shot life on the tube sets,,,,a person could just use the upper hole's for just

target or plinking..when time for hunting season ~~set up the lower set of hole's....So let me ask just much of the time would some one use the 4 tube set

per side? yeah 2040 tubing would seem right......Looks very good....~AKAOldmiser


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## Byudzai (Aug 31, 2013)

oldmiser said:


> Mercy me that is a lot of pull 12.6# Would make a great Hunting rig tho...just shot life on the tube sets,,,,a person could just use the upper hole's for just
> target or plinking..when time for hunting season ~~set up the lower set of hole's....So let me ask just much of the time would some one use the 4 tube set
> per side? yeah 2040 tubing would seem right......Looks very good....~AKAOldmiser


I'm with you on this. Maybe it's silly, and better to just use a single 1/8" tubeset for targets and 2040s for hunting with the two-hole design. I'll have to test speed vs pull weight of this setup vs 2040s and see if there's any advantage.

One nice thing about this setup is there's almost zero tangle after each shot. four short tubes drop your pouch right where you want it for reloading.


Jack739 said:


> Holy Smoke Byu, thats a rig!
> Now 4 strands per side is something remarkable and i think i've never seen a cleaner attachment  Awesome work Bro


kind words from my flatbad attachment hero!


v.d.s said:


> That looks awesome! Could that ever go into production?


if it ends up being the right design, yeah. gotta play with the chronograph and see if it's actually much better than looped 2040s.


leon13 said:


> Jauser
> that's a workout
> Monster for me


haha it does have that exercise equipment look ;-)


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## SharpshooterJD (Oct 9, 2012)

Great looking frame man! Josh


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## Emitto (Sep 11, 2013)

Pretty soon you will ended up like your avatar!  JK!

Looks freaking awesome! Really hi tech!

Cheers!


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## flipgun (Nov 14, 2012)

You see quite a few Chinese "Hunting" rigs with 4 tubes.


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## BCLuxor (Aug 24, 2010)

Byduzai, you should be able to break 200fps with looped 2040's I got a hobbit draw at 30" and can on a warm day touch 230-240fps ..


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## Byudzai (Aug 31, 2013)

BCLuxor said:


> Byduzai, you should be able to break 200fps with looped 2040's I got a hobbit draw at 30" and can on a warm day touch 230-240fps ..


any idea what the draw weight is to get that speed?


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## BCLuxor (Aug 24, 2010)

15lb rings a dinger if I recall , have not had the luggage scales out for some time


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## BCLuxor (Aug 24, 2010)

6.5" dead draw to 30" under load @15lb I got it back in my archive posts on small draw high speed set ups . . . Ill have a root about for the topic


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## bigron (Nov 29, 2012)

Byu,that's a great looking new attachment design


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## Byudzai (Aug 31, 2013)

Did some experiments with the chronograph and luggage scale.

Contenders were 1) FlatCat with looped 2040s 2) FlatCat with double-looped 1/8" latex tubing 3) joemcdogwad's beautiful OTT shooter with&#8230; some kind of flatband.

I kept shooting and trimming until all three slingshots were getting the same projectile speeds on the chronograph.

I then measured pull weights. Results are unsurprising:

1) 13.4 lbs with looped 2040s
2) 12.6 lbs with double-looped 1/8" tubes
3) 10.4 lbs with flat latex

Curiously, my speeds started out at a rocking 227 fps and, for no clear reason, plummeted to 205 fps as I kept shooting. Nothing else changed in the environment. I did notice my pull weights drop a little too. Latex&#8230; fatigue or something?

Anyway, conclusion is that double-looped 1/8" tubes give a very small advantage in pull weight, a quick return of the pouch to neutral position for reloading, and a whoooooole lot of extra fiddling that's not worth it.

Flatbands win on ballistics, with the price of shorter life, tied attachments, and tangling.

2040s were the longest when trimmed to speed, but only by half an inch or so.


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## Emitto (Sep 11, 2013)

Yup hard to beat latex flats for speed, and I am a tube shooter!

Thanks for the info!

Cheers.


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## oldmiser (Jan 22, 2014)

I shoot 2040 looped tube..think 7" length..I would have to measure..pulling 11# so good for hunting small game....I set it up and use it for both target & hunting

that way it stays the same all the time....So when fall hunting season is here I do not have to relearn shooting heavy pull again..any way this works for me..OM


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

Good info!!! Thanks for the investigation ...

Cheers .... Charles


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## lunasling (Apr 5, 2015)

Lookin good


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## you'llshootyereyeout (Apr 5, 2014)

Great info!! I just got a roll of 1/8" tubing and am looking forward to using it.


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## M.J (Nov 1, 2010)

2040s rule.
I keep trying to tell people...


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## peppermack (Dec 10, 2013)

M.J said:


> 2040s rule.
> I keep trying to tell people...


Totally agree with you MJ!


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## Byudzai (Aug 31, 2013)

I tested the looped 1/8" tube last night. Trimmed down to about 5", short as I can go to still get full draw at 34" draw, I got 175 fps with a 9 lb draw. Super nice stuff for target shooting.


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## M.J (Nov 1, 2010)

I'd like to try that tube single-per-side for butterfly.


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## e~shot (Jun 3, 2010)

Thanks for the info


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