It takes a lot of practice to have the confidence to shoot at a living thing you intend to harvest for food, yet want to suffer as little as possible for its sacrifice.
Yeah, I meant shooting living things just because they are there. All living things are the same in that they are just trying to survive another day. But back to yoyos…
I love sling shots but I do not collect them. I use a regular 5 dollar sling shot from daisy. i always cut the standard bands in half for more power. I also cannot stand using a sling shot with an armband in the design. It feels horrible to me.
So many more I need to dig up on the old drive. So much fun. 50 cal. shot to 3/8" to BB. Custom cut bands and mostly natural’s. Some cut outs, layered, pyrography and PFS’s.
Card cutting fun @ 10m. Just ended up this way from the cut shot. lol Match lighting is a challenge too. Cut a can in half etc.
So slingshots are really fun and a nice hobby. Plus the Guinness World Record wasn’t that hard to get too. Well, in 2013/2014. Only 16 can’s in 1 minute. That’s been broken, and easily, since I could match that rate within a couple months of slinging, but coming with experience in tournament archery too. 10m is the standard distance and you can cut a playing card in half at that range with a decent band and 3/8 inch ammo. Light a single match at 50 yards and more in the wind!
You can find ‘Y’ split limbs in the woods or just print a template and cut them from a board. Cheap rasp from Harbor Freight work fine and cost $3. To thin of a board, laminate it with another board or another material. Band all sorts of power/speed with this stuff> Thera-band gold is a standard band material but used for work out people. Tapered shoots faster but doesn’t last as long as a flat taper. Double band and hunt small game if you want.
Cut pouches yourself from leather or buy them for $1.50.
Build you a catch box. Google it, but any cardboard box is fine & use a t-shirt backstop and retrieve all your ammo from it. Cut cans in half, playing cards, shoot spoons, light matches, etc.
Cheap pine board. Burn something on it and make it look neat. Pine can be beat with a chain, burnt with a torch or in a camp fire, and then sealed and banded and look mad max and shoot Bill Hays shots.
A hand cut sling from a scrap end of cherry board with a black palm wood swell. The ‘Hoss’ slingshot template is what I cut the pattern from. Peened it with nickel silver and brass like an old straight razor.
Much easier than you would think and most all will shoot very well. You can even just trace a design on a board and drill holes all around it if you don’t have a saw lol. I’ve seen so many creative ways to shape them. Mine is crooked/not perfectly square in area’s above but still came out nice.
Some crazy cool colors can happen. I’ve peeled the bark off of Osage and Cedar that were quiet remarkable. Osage is a beast and used to make bows from the long straight pieces that actually shoot harder as they age. Even a plain limb like holly, you can work on the shape/silhouette, or age/stain/burn it.
Also the great part of doing your own, you can custom fit it to your own hand. The palm swell fits perfect on this one with a repeatable grip from the finger and pinky wrap. This is a plain looking Osage Y. They always have something to admire imho.