The Outlet Jan 19, 2008

[Whopperhead]

It's too bad the discharge wasn't more reliable. Nice suit Brian. So Jon, Did you end up getting a fish with that sling? Also- about how far do you think you could shoot with that?

[Jon]

I got a couple- but missed a whole lot more!

I made two different slings. The first one was made out of PVC pipe. It has a very large opening which means i can have the shooting line go right down the tube with the shaft, but it's not as accurate as one with a thinner inner diameter.

The second one was made out of wood, but the internal whole isn't the best- I don't have a wood shop so the drill hole wasn't the best. I have since given the rest of the wood I had to a friend who does have a wood shop in his garage to drill it out better. I'm having him make a few of them with progressively larger holes in them. I didn't buy any fancy wood, just hacked up a wooden closet bar. In the end I should have 4-5 of these things with an average cost of about $4 a piece.

The trickiest part was to find something for the shaft to fit into on the bungee. I looked all over for a spacer like Chris had, but no luck. In the end I found some brass plumbing fitting that cost me $0.30 a piece.

I didn't want to ruin/loose a good spear shaft so I'm using welding rods for now- $1.25 a piece is a lot easier to loose than $35 a piece! The one shaft a I do have was from my Pneumatic gun. Pneumatics are nice guns, but very temperamental when it comes to their shafts. This one had some sort of ding in the base and wouldn't load into the gun anymore. It's what originally gave me the idea to make this thing. I drilled out the shaft and cut off the end piece to make it work.

I get about 6' of range with the shaft that has a line on it. I am sure that a full-blown sling would shoot further, but we don't have the vis for me to worry about something like that- yet.

Here's a shot of the PVC one. I forgot to take picture of the wooden one. No matter as it will be different by next weekend anyhow. I don't tie my rubbers on but use hose clamps instead- pretty low tech I know, but it's much easier for me to make quick adjustments to get it set like I want it.

One thing that I did do was to follow Connor's advice (cdavis) and mount the tubing ahead of my hand so I can grip the sling better- a great idea and one that will be used on any future slings I make.

For now I'm just glad it worked and was strong enough to catch anything. I was also very happy that the tag lined actually worked, otherwise I would have given up on the whole idea for around here.

Jon

[Whopperhead]

Looks cool! - with a tagged spear you could shoot a carp and HOLD ON! I definately want to use mine more - I'm wondering if it will just BLAST through the fish. I guess, I'll just have to try it and find out. These things could be the HOT thing for this up coming spring/Summer.

[ILDiver]

The nylon Spacer I got at Menards (similar to these

Amazon.com: RSN-06/16 Nylon Spacer, 1" Long x...
Amazon.com: RSN-06/16 Nylon Spacer, 1" Long x...

), it was with all their screws and bolts. It had a small hole all the way through, I just drilled a bigger hole about half way through, then another hole through the side. I'll have to look for the brass you used and give that a go.

When we go to Florida I'm going to look for a spring steel spear that won't bend as easy as these first ones I bought.

[Jon]

Thanks for the link.

I spent an hour at the Super Menard's by our house last weekend- as opposed to the small Menard's which is only a mile away. They had nylon spacers, but none of that size. I ended up buying those brass fittings instead after a lot of searching.

I ended up with about 10' of tubing, a wooden dowel long enough for a closet bar, a few hose clamps, a bag of zip ties, and a couple of welding rods. I know that a spring steel spear is in the future for me, but I want to practice with the welding rods for now. I've been getting better at taking shots from 15' away in my garage with them- no cardboard box is safe from me now.

The wooden dowel feels pretty good in my hand- just about the right length and diameter. The tubing is OK for now, but something thicker would give it more power. I'm certainly not worried about powering through something with it like I do with my pneumatic gun.

i did end up getting at least one fish with a welding rod today, but the set-up that had the regular spear shaft worked much better. All of these shafts are only 4' long, at the most, and I know the good ones I've seen on line are in the 5'-6' range. That's too long for what I want to do with it around here.

Here's a couple shots I just took.

You can see the two different types of slings I threw together- the PVC will go and everything will be wood in the future.

You can also see how the tubing should be attached- per Connor's expert advice. It really does work better than any of the other arm brace gimmicks that I've seen out there.

Another shot of the brass end fittings. I used a hose clamp on one and a zip tie on the other. i am not sure that I like either attachment method very well, but it does make for quick adjustments until I get it dialed in just right.

Last, is the hole I drilled in the back of my shaft to attach a line to the thing.

Jon

[ILDiver]

The plain wood slings I have seen online look very similar to yours Jon. The use string to tie down the band, so I think once you have it to your liking, you should be able to lash it down with not real issue. I may front mount my bands. Scott could turn his around and use it the same way. Not sure if it would need to be modded any.

When we go to Ft Lauderdale I plan to get better band material. The surgical tubing should work for pan fish, even without a full pull though.

The only benefit I see to the nylon spacer is the ability to drill the hole through the side. I'm not a fan of the metal clamps. I've cut myself on them before and that was on land.

I need to start carving my other piece of teak. I wish I had a lathe! I have thought about getting another piece or two of the teak if I can. I'll bring you a piece if I do. Not that the wood matters, but you may find it fun, I dunno.

[land shark]

nice pics Jon vis looks great! I like the sling idea you could conceivably make a baby one for pan fish wow what a hoot!

btw I have a wood lathe here

[Jon]

My main hope is that when my kids are a bit older I'll get a chance to head back down to the Bahamas. Since polespears and slings are the only things legal down there I want to be lethal with the thing- well, maybe not lethal, but at least not sucky.

Since I read the article on retrosub.com about adding a shooting line onto a sling it got me thinking about what I could play around with in the winter months.

I agree about the nylon spacer not cutting your hands up. I had no issues today with my 3-finger mitts on, but I could see it becoming a problem in our summertime temps.

Jon

[ILDiver]

I want to be able to use the sling in Florida also. And on pan fish up there in WI.

I'm sure the hose clamp works great, just a bad flashback

[ILDiver]

I'll have to try the Coconut or MCT oil, if I can find some. I've often felt the chill then noticed I'm hungry. I've thought about packing a powerbar in my float. Maybe the oil(s) will do the trick. Thanks for pointing towards that Jon.

[WreckRunner]

I just noticed this thread.......you guys got sling crazy all of a sudden.

I'm interested to see how the lines work with them. The shaft I always use is so big, it doesn't seem necessary. Most shots never leaves the shooter before hitting something.....it's 5 1/2 feet long or so.
I may be wrong, but I'd have a hard time picturing anything here getting very far with that shaft in it, unless it managed to find a wide open patch of course ocean sand in one of these muddy lakes.
But those pneumatic shafts may be a different ballgame altogether.....

Jon's going to be shooting those things through pieces of plywood soon.

It would not surprise me in the least if in a month you all switch to using powerheads or something...........and then 2 weeks later upgrade them to handle C-4.

[ILDiver]

C4....hmmmmm.....

[Whopperhead]

I actually have a .44 Mag Powerhead

[ILDiver]

Originally Posted by Whopperhead

I actually have a .44 Mag Powerhead

I'm shocked!

[Pinggene]

I've thought about making a small .22 powerhead to dispach a carp once speared, but that is as far as I got with it. Small & penlike...pop it on the head & your done...no more fighting the thing to put it on the stringer.

Gene