[SteveJ]

Just thinking ,wondering why there are so few of us shooters compared to other sports/hobbies. From what Ive seen online , shooting bbs with a 20 Buck bb gun is 10x more popular. Ive got a red ryder and a few other bb guns, but it just doesnt compare. the bb gun thing is just a example, just wonder why more dont enjoy this sport. Ive never been a team sports guy after little league, I think the team aspect appeals to most , maybe that part of it for some.. just musing, lol saturday night at 60 sure aint what it used to be

 

[wolfboi823]

I think it's partly because it's a tinkerer's sport, more so than some other sports. That and being a 20-some who came up in the tactical world, it's something you have to love to do to be into it. Self defense bleeds into guns which bleeds into hunting and vice versa. But hunting with slingshots is an afterthought to just enjoying the sport. Self defense is near non-existent. Not to mention marketing. Walmart would rather have you buy the Gamo and the pellets as opposed to the daisy and marbles.

Bottom line, you've got to love it and be willing to tinker.

Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk

 

[skarrd]

i think the basic aspect is that slinging is still looked at as a fun/kids game,by the majority of folks,because there are no real advertising,like ammo companys,or sports outlets,etc. shooting/archery sports have teams,sponsers,ads,magazines,etc,and you are completely spot on saturday nights at 60,def aint what they used to be

 

[Sean Khan]

When I watch these videos where you are supposed to "do it yourself"... make something.... in the middle of that the guy mentions some product that is needed to complete the job... "oh you can get it from Walmart.."... sure dude... what's a "walmart???"

Many people in such videos mention something so casually that we have to buy, they don't even notice it. What I am trying to say is, what other's here have mentioned... marketing is everywhere. If there is something that comes in an aerosol can or in a blister pack, that's what people go for. Making something with your hands... from scratch... who does THAT? Crazy people like us, that's who.

Other problem is, when you can get a gun for the cost of two cheeseburgers, having a slingshot is regarded as pitiful. I don't even tell people any more. They don't get it.

 

[High Desert Flipper]

I don't know why so few, but I don't mind it. To me, a few good people is far better than a crowd.

 

[bones]

i have to say something here....
I may not be 60....just 46. Not even sure if i'll meet 60. None the less though.
I love this thing of ours. We can put ourselves in a different place and forget things around us.
For example...cell phones, I friken HATE cell phones. I have a very hands on type of job. Most of whom i work with are stuck on a cell phone like a kitten stuck to mothers teet. It drives me crazy.
The other day i pulled out my ss and my boss who is only one year older then me was so glad to me do this. He asked me if he could have afew shots. of course i said. Long story short....he wants one now.
BTW....he is an ex police officer.
I wouldn't mind if slinging became the new norm. However i think i would make prices jump sky high.

 

[Ibojoe]

Before the format change it seemed like there was a bunch of us.
Being a special limited crowd keeps elastic prices down.

 

[SonoftheRepublic]

It never ceases to amuse me . . .

The few friends I have that are into the shooting sports could care less about slingshots. Every time I mention that I get more enjoyment out of my slingshots than I do my firearms, they just look at me kinda' cross-eyed like - "You talkin' 'bout that kid's toy? . . .What planet are you from?" But, anyway, that's OK 'cause my 'slingshot-time' has always been my solitary escape from the mad chaos of the world.

Seriously though, there's something about the juxtaposition of the 'seeming-simplicity-of-function' of the slingshot, side-by-side with the actual time and effort spent on what it takes to learn how to utilize this 'simple tool' to its fullest and most accurate potential, that keeps me endlessly entertained. 🤗

And yes, at age 64 . . . my Saturday nights ain't what they used to be either LOL!

 

[Reed Lukens]

For me, I made movies but didn't hit Facebook or buy anything online until this covid farse changed my shopping. I've been shooting since the 60's and never had a problem buying slingshot tubing in any Drug Store or Sporting goods place until now. I would have never looked online or even thought about there being slingshot shooting competitions had I been able to walk in to CVS on the way to shoot and grab what I needed from that same shelf that I've gone to 100 times... but they don't sell slingshots or anything anymore... So I drove over to Cabellas... They had some cheap garbage but no tubes or anything... I had always just grabbed my wrist rocket threw some spare tubes in the bucket, and out into the woods I went. I think that there's lots of interest, just a lot of people who like myself had never bothered looking online and still haven't today.
They've made it so that if I want slingshot supplies, I need to buy them online, it's a new day for all of us and I think that a lot of the new faces that we are all seeing on here are people like myself who have been driven to the internet to buy a simple slingshot.
The only reason that I found this forum was because it was my last resort... I had hit rock bottom... I was forced online to buy supplies and when I typed in slingsots, the slingshot forums came up.
So here we are enjoying each other's company and talking about one of our favorite past times.

We do have a competitions forum where everything is listed, you can still earn your badges and then paste them into your signature. Getting that set back up should be pretty simple. The SOTM on the other hand, like Matt has said, he needs some help... especially right now. Someone with the time could throw together an SOTM if it is something that you want to do. I would think that one or more of the vendors could set one up in just a few minutes 🍻

As far as the badges, if we can get a section that shows the badges, we should easily be able to copy and paste them into the signature line, but that will come in time 🤠

 

[Tombo]

Not too many Filipino people on the forum as far as I can tell - but it seems like shooting of slingshots is MUCH more common there than it is here, particularly in rural areas. As a 7 year old visiting my family's home village, I spent the better part of the month we were there shooting home made slingshots with my cousins at whatever we could find to shoot at. Chickens mostly, haha. But we weren't any good, and so the chickens were unscathed. But the men of our little village would take the slingshot from us, and hit whatever they were pointing at, and all us little kids were so impressed.

It was there in the Philippines that I was first introduced to flat bands, the first time I had seen a tie in, etc, and it would be nearly 30 years before I became reacquainted with slingshots with flat bands...

Here in the states, daisys with overly powerful/extremely inaccurate tubes (mostly due to stock mounting method, as it turns out) were the norm, even though they looked nothing like the slingshot that Bart Simpson played with... Maybe that's why most kids never got that far into them. I dabbled enough to need a few new tubesets, but not long enough to put the time into overcoming the poor accuracy.

Anyway, now that there is good info out there about being accurate with a slingshot, I wouldn't be surprised if they become more popular with the next generation. I know my kid will get training when he's old enough!

 

[Pebble Shooter]

In my part of the world, slingshot shooters are few and far between, and you have to look really hard in local gun shops to maybe find something Y-shaped. When you do, it's merely one of those el cheapo bent rod frames with horrible tubes and an over-sized pouch: not exactly very motivating to get started in the first place, a bit like cold spaghetti in the pan on a Monday morning. Moreover, the days when kids would make improvised slingshots with whatever they could find in dad's tool shed, or on building sites, are long gone.

Shooting is something kids do now by selecting pseudo-heroes with virtual weapons in a video game and pressing buttons with added sound effects. Tell them about the great times you had building tree houses and general outdoor fun, and they'll look at you rather bored. "Dennis the menace" with his natural slingshot in the back pocket ready for action is sadly a thing of the past, and doubtlessly something regarded as "uncool" by the present younger generations, possibly more interested in airsoft guns and electronic games.

Most people out there are simply unaware of what modern slingshots are capable of in terms of accuracy and power output. In earlier forum discussions about the subject, I emphasized the need for a governing body like a recognized international slingshot federation to promote the sport - as is the case with archery. I would assume that it should not be an impossible task to find sponsors willing to back relevant slingshot-related events and well tailored marketing campaigns to transform slingshot shooting from mostly solitary backyard plinking into a competitive sport, possibly with the potential of taking part at the Olympic Games one day - why not? China, Spain, and Italy show what is possible.

For now, I can only reiterate that the new owners of this forum would be wise to restore the stars and badge system we had until recently. Indeed, competition is motivating and yields some truly astonishing results. Maybe, just maybe they will read these lines and those written by other forum members concerning the unnecessary changes made with this new forum format.

 

[Ibojoe]

This was once a thriving forum. Nothing to get 20 likes on a post. Boy that time is gone.
Seems they are just collecting and selling cookies. It was a placenew people could come and get amazing answers to their questions and keep their interest going in slingshots. The new mods didn’t even know what one looked like.
The competition’s we had kept it interesting to me. I worked hard to get them. Now that’s gone for the plain fact that if they gave my badges back, they’d have to give everyone badges.
When I joined my goal was to encourage and promote the building and shooting of slingshots.
Ive built and given away hundreds of frames hoping one would stick, and finally one did. He’s got a big family too so it’s sifting all the way down to the grandkids. Makes it all worth it.
Don’t give up guys, just keep pushing them till one sticks.
Of nearly 10000 posts, this is my longest. I just know there are others with my passion.

 

[MakoPat]

Reading this post is encouraging.

Y'all can't hear me, only see my type. So bare with me and get your salt grains...

I still see good and helpful people here... and I even see potential for format (i.e., we can load pics, vids, and gifs faster and easier now... it just took me a minute to learn the icons).

All the information and lore is still preserved here. And while the admins are learning what we all want and need... we, the slingers and makers, can organize our posts/competitions ourselves.

I would love to see a more centralized national slingshot shooters organization. I'd join immediately!! Pay my dues and all like that.

I know we can do it. In 2020 I likely stumbled and blundered my way into holding the largest meet/shoot in North America. Haha... mostly because SEST and ECST were canceled.


Back to Steve's question. Why so few?

1. It ain't as easy as aiming a firearm, nor as loud and sensational. For us that's likely a plus.

2. The tinkering and learning process is endless. Again, we love that... most people want a 2 week course.

3. It is true that kids love those point and click video games with friends. We, middle age and up, developed in our youth by being outside and moving around and using our hands.

Not to say that kids won't come to enjoy this sport/ tradition/lifestyle... just that how they learn it will be different. May be smaller bites and indoors, which is fine. I shoot indoors and love it. I love outside better, most days.

4. This is the most accessible and inexpensive and sustainable and shooting sport in the world. It is easy to learn and challengihg to master and comes with baked in variety.

It can be a solo or team event because there are as many games as we can make up.

Just remember to do some door knocking and ask your neighbors if they have a few hours to talk about slingshots.

 

[Sean Khan]

do some door knocking and ask your neighbors

Maybe they do that in "Spock with a beard" Universe. We don't do that here.

 

[wolfboi823]

Another good point as to why this is was raised by some of our members that I didn't account for.

The younger generations not going outside as much. While it depends wholly on the individual, I related much to this until I was about 12, when my family moved from Cleveland, Ohio to BFE West Virginia. My parents at that point gave me a bit of breathing room because it was safer, let me start hunting and (micro) fishing on my own. But when I tasted that freedom, I was more concerned with my .22lr (I don't think kids should be free of guns, but at that time I definitely shouldn't have been given free reign with one) than tinkering around and doing semi-scientific experiments. I think if kids are given a bit more freedom and from a younger age and maybe mentored a teency bit instead of controlled like everything they do results in death, maybe more children would gravitate to the sport. Example: I'm the youngest dude I've met whose into slingshots and I got into as a young adult, and I was born in the 90s. And some of y'all have been doing since y'all was kids and were born in previous decades.

 

[Henry the Hermit]

Nothing can ruin a sport more thoroughly than being adopted by the masses. I'm thankful we are a small, niche sport and hope we remain that way.

 

[High Desert Flipper]

Nothing can ruin a sport more thoroughly than being adopted by the masses. I'm thankful we are a small, niche sport and hope we remain that way.

Well put! I was looking for a way to express that thought, but the best I could come up with was that I hope slingshots wouldn't ever become the bud light of shooting sports. The most popular is usually far from the best.

 

[Henry the Hermit]

Well put! I was looking for a way to express that thought, but the best I could come up with was that I hope slingshots wouldn't ever become the bud light of shooting sports. The most popular is usually far from the best.

Any "beer" that includes the words "Light" or "Lite" should remain in the horse.

 

[Reed Lukens]

Nothing can ruin a sport more thoroughly than being adopted by the masses. I'm thankful we are a small, niche sport and hope we remain that way.

Hey Henry 🍻
Do you have copies of the badge avatars?
We should see if they can be added into the signatures area or...?

 

[Pedroito]

some people should design and engineer a self defense oriented slingshot (which will of course never be more viable than most self defense weapons but allow slingshotters to have an extra use for their ability), allowing for multiple things at once, like a swiss army knife but for slingshot

imo should have 3 bandsets in one frame, one for precision small ammos, one for fast reloading with any type of ammo, and one for bigger ammos and butterfly shooting short range

that could give another incentive to slingshoot !