[ConnorA9]

Hi all, I've just found an amazing setup to shoot 6mm steel balls with! Without really thinking about it, I measured out 18-12mm as the taper on the limited amount of .55 elastic I had left over, out of habit (that's the same taper my .66 bandsets are cut to for 8mm now), and when the ties and wraps were made, I test fired a few shots from about 5 yards on a thick cardboard box, and one on an empty dog food tin. The ball made a loud crack as it hit the tin, and went straight through, as you can see in the picture. Never before have I got that much power out of a 6mm shot before, with a slingshot. I definitely recommend trying it out.

 

[ConnorA9]

You're welcome! Yes, it certainly did haha! What's more, the can barely moved as it was hit

They're my favourites as well tbh, you can get them going fast enough, and with enough energy for good target shooting/plinking or even for small game if you do slingshot hunting. I find that 9mm and above are overmuch, as although they deliver a fair bit more energy, we have access to very snappy bands nowadays that are suitable for smaller ammo, they are a lot more expensive here, now and the range of heavier and larger ammo just isn't that impressive, in my opinon. Not that many people are using TBG anymore, especially since the company diluted the elasticity of the recipe in response to complaints, as far as I've heard. It's funny because when I look through old posts, I see a lot of people who weren't considering anything below 9mm in any sort of serious way, haha. How times have changed...

 

[ConnorA9]

Update : Here is what I found in terms of performance at different ranges. The 6mm steel balls weigh 0.8g each :

5-15m

Tins - Straight through, full penetration if empty.

Plastic Water Bottles - Penetrates if the bottle is full of liquid.

Drinks Cans - Straight through, the can barely moves.

25m +

Tins - Nasty dents.

Plastic Water Bottles - Knocks them over, especially if they're not full.

Drinks Cans - Straight through, there is more movement of the can.

This is about what you'd get with a 6 ft/lb air pistol, really quite impressive for such a setup.

 

[ConnorA9]

Made this today.