I had a couple of homemade gum flippers back in the 50s

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Originally posted by V-Tail:
Won't ship to VA either.

Dang!!

Absolutely. Mine would ride on the handlebars of my bicycle with a pocket full of taconite. Could launch M-80's 100+ yards. Have a daisy P15 now for when the geese visit the back yard.

Never had a Wrist Rocket, though I’ve shot them. What I did have was a beautiful handmade slingshot that my dad made when he was a Boy Scout. The Y-shaped frame was a perfect piece of wood, smooth as a baby’s behind. It really was a work of art. Makes me wonder what happened to it.

Somewhere between 1978 and 1980 I went to an outdoor show with my dad. He bought be a wrist rocket there. (we had "regular" slingshots at the house, but I guess he was intrigued by the "modern technology" of them. I can still remember him asking... "Now don't tell your mom. Do you have some place you can hide it?"

Somewhere along the line NY made sling shots with a wrist brace a deadly weapon and a felony to posses.

I probably still have it somewhere, but it hasn't had tubes on it since the mid/late 80's. Because it didn't shoot golfballs well, I didn't replace them. lol For a couple years when I was in high school, in the fall a couple nights week, after dark a bunch a friends would come over and we'd have sling shot fights in the neighborhood. We used hollow plastic golf ball, the kind with all the holes... stuffed with a certain amount of paper towel to give them extra weight. It was like poor man's paintball.
It was organized, with set rules, safety glasses and all. Civilized like, not those crazy dangerous rock fights we had as kids.

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Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by Copefree:
Oh yea! I loved my wrist rocket as a kid.

I actually just bought a new one last month. I was feeling nostalgic. They’re really cheap on Amazon and I bought a couple packs of 3/8” steel balls to shoot with it.

The Amazon description says that they won't ship to FL. WTF?

Aha! I can ship to my friend and he will bring it to me next trip. Nope. Won't ship to VA either.

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From the Amazon web page:

This item ships only within the U.S. excluding certain locales such as DE, FL, MA, NJ, IL, MN, NC, SC, TN, VA, and UT.

Apparently, they are not allowed in St. Augustine.

Never had a "wrist rocket" as a kid, always wanted one. I had to make do with home made wooden ones, cut from tree crotches, the bands from bicycle tire inner tubes. Serious velocity/range deficiencies, but I never heard the squirrels complain.

Some years back, nostalgic for my misspent youth, I splurged on a half-dozen or so different models on Amazon. One of these now stands ready for action in the mud room, but in suburban DC, I can't let the neighbors see me shooting it without serious repercussions. IIRC, another made it into the mystery box when it came through here, may still be in it.

I'm surprised no one has posted a link to the slingshot channel.

https://www.youtube.com/channe...lxkKqlvVqzRJXhAGq42Q

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Originally posted by Vanwall:
I'm surprised no one has posted a link to the slingshot channel.

https://www.youtube.com/channe...lxkKqlvVqzRJXhAGq42Q

You'd have to dig back in the archives to find actual slingshot stuff. Nowadays Joerg mostly makes rubber powered weapons and testing contraptions.

We had a crab apple tree. Crab apples make great slingshot ammo. Enough to sting your enemies, but not enough to kill them.

A buddy convinced me they were so much fun I bought one. After inspecting it to make sure everything was connected. I took a few practice shots. On one shot, the inboard tube let go at full draw leaving a nifty red racing stripe along my right cheek. I never trusted that thing after that. I’m just glad the tube didn’t detach from the handle first. I shudder to think what it would’ve been like to have that rubber tube piling into my right eye. Do wear some good eye protection guys.

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On one shot, the inboard tube let go at full draw leaving a nifty red racing stripe along my right cheek.

Hairspray on the yoke before you slide the band on, will never come off.

Had one until I shot out a window.

Lost it, and a little of my butt...

Link to original video: https://youtu.be/9ieWrWLjii0

I got into so much trouble when I was a kid with a wrist rocket. I used to sneak on to the local gun range on off hours and dig bullets out of the berms for my ammo. My best shot was nailing a snake right in the head while is was swimming across a small pond.

I never could hit a damned thing with mine. This guy though? He's the Jerry Miculek of sling shots.

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Originally posted by Gustofer:
I never could hit a damned thing with mine. This guy though? He's the Jerry Miculek of sling shots.

As good as he was, he's even better when you consider he'd just use inconsistently shaped pebbles and rocks. One bandset fits all? Trajectories, velocity and flight paths vary wildly with inconsistent ammo. The Bean Shooter was magic.

I will neither confirm nor deny ever having used a wrist rocket to hurl "shooter" marbles at a group of people I really disliked, but those people never fucked with me again.

I will admit to shooting in an open field where the was a house maybe 500 yards away. I never dreamed my WR could fire a marble that far, but the irate homeowner disabused me of that erroneous conclusion.

I may or may not keep one on my boat along with some freshwater egg sinkers to discourage sea lions from following the boat & stealing salmon off my line.