Slingshot

Simple slingshot

A slingshot is a small hand-powered ranged weapon. The classic form consists of a Y-shaped frame held the hand, with two natural-rubber strips or tubes attached to the upper two ends. The other ends of the strips lead back to a pocket that holds the projectile. The hand grasps the pocket and draws it back to the desired extent to provide power for the projectile, up to a full span of the arm with sufficiently long bands.

Materials needed

Slingshots are made up of two main parts: the frame, which is held by the user, and the power, which is used to launch the projectile.

• Y-shaped tree branch: For the frame, a dogwood, hickory, and oak branch are recommended. The branch does not have to be perfectly shaped as a Y.
• Deer antlers: Alternatively, deer antlers have an ideal shape and can also be used as a frame for the slingshot. A forked whitetail antler should provide the right size for small hands, while muley shed should be better for for larger hands.
• Rubber and leather: Slingshots powers are usually made up for high-powered rubber bands with heavy leather shot pouches to place the projectile in.
• Canvas: Besides leather, canvas can also be used to make a pouch.

Crafting instructions

When using a tree branch as frame, it should be left drying three weeks once cut or retrieved. In the case of antlers, the tine tips and file grooves near the ends should be cut off. Make sure that the bands have the same length. To attach the bands the frame, either a hole can be drilled (which should have a slightly smaller diameter than the band) or wrapped around the ends, in which case the bands ends should be trimmed. The pouch and the band ends can be attached the same way. Sandpaper can be used to remove blur, and wood oil finish can be applied when done.

Use

Slingshots can be used to hunt small game, including turkeys, rabbits and squirrels.

Dependencies

• Leather
• Rubber
• Wood
  • Slingshot
    • Hunting

See also

• Bow and arrow
• Hunting
• Sling
• Weapons

External links

• How To Make A Handmade Slingshot - T. Edward Nickens, 4 October 2010, Field & Stream
• How to Make a Deer Antler Slingshot - Frank Miniter, 8 April 2015, Outdoor Life
• Carolina Camera: The Sling Shot Man - CarolinaCamera, 30 April 2008, YouTube
• Natural rubber band slingshot: survival tips, make slingshot in forest - Pre Technology, 13 April 2021, YouTube
• Made With Natural Ingredients Slingshot | slingshot challenge |making in mountain |pre technology - Pre Technology, 14 September 2021, YouTube
• How to Make a Sling Shot - wikiHow, 8 December 2021

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Slingshot, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors).