Topband: Fw: The Slingshot Option

[W2PM]

Just one additional safety thing - look out for a bounce back if the arrow hits a tree trunk or branch. They can come right back to the origin very quickly. I always remove the original arrow tip as well although I'm not sure it would make a difference if the blunted, weighted end hit someone.  

All the junctions of the spliced lines on the monofilament as well as on the pull up rope should be smoothly taped to facilitate their travel in between tree branches and crotches in the limbs. 

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On Oct 18, 2010, at 23:55, VE2TZT <ve2tzt at arrl.net> wrote:

> I have tried many things, the best one is the bow/arrow with a 20 lb
> strength fishing line , the force of a bow is out of any competition.
> But there are many things to adapt and to know.
> Some tips :
> 
> SAFETY FIRST, THE BOW IS A WEAPON, THE USUAL CARE FOR THE WEAPONS MUST BE
> KNOWN AND FOLLOWED (CARE OF PEOPLE AROUND, NO CHILDREN, NO ANIMALS AROUND,
> RISK OF BOUNCING, PROTECTION GLASSES ETC...). IF YOU DO NOT KNOW THEM, LEARN
> THEM IN A CLUB FIRST.
> 
> About the arrow, I replace the tip by a golf ball, the tip is easily
> unscrewed and replaced by a drilled ball (golf or tennis) with a same #
> screw passing trough the ball. Of course a big washer is necessary to attach
> the wire and to prevent the screw to go back into the ball.
> The tip must be replaced because we will not want the arrow to stay drived
> in the trunk or a branch in case of bad shot.
> Additionally, the ball instead of the tip will make the arrow less dangerous
> (but still dangerous).
> The golf ball and the tennis ball have the same weight which is twice the
> weight of the arrow. so by adding a ball to the arrow one multiply its
> weight by 3 which is the good weight to permit the arrow to fall back down
> with a fishing line attached. If the arrow is not heavy enough, it will not
> be able to balance the weight of the fishing line on the other side of the
> branch and will not fall back.
> A last interest for the use a ball over a nut, is that the ball because it
> is bigger acts as a air break. The bow is so powerful that an free arrow can
> pass over several 100 ft trees before coming back to ground which can be
> dangerous and unpractical. I use the golf ball arrow for trees up to 100 ft
> and the tennis one for up to 50 ft.
> About the fishing line. I roll 250 ft of fishing line around a 10 inches
> cylinder (in practice an office paper bin). The cylinder is drilled
> perpendicularly and a boom is passed trough it. The boom is attached, same
> technology as an antenna, to a little portable mast itself supported by a
> parasol base. For the shoot, the axis of the cylinder is oriented in the
> direction of the target. The interest of that is the fact that 1) during the
> arrow climbing, the wire unrolls with less resistance than with a
> traditional fishing system, same thing when the arrow is going down slowly
> trough the branches and 3) It is far more faster and less tiring to roll
> back the wire this way after a shoot (I use a glove to avoid hands to be cut
> by wire).
> If the wire is too strong (more than 20 lb), it can be dangerous in case of
> blocking during a shoot, the arrow could come back in someone's head. It is
> a better thing in this case to see the wire breaking and the arrow to go
> away from me. Same thing if the arrow is blocked in the tree, sometimes it
> is possible to break the wire just at the arrow level by pulling hard on it
> and to get back the arrow.
> Before each shoot, I always verify several times that the fishing line is
> not in a position to be blocked. I particularly check that there are no any
> turn of rolled wire on the wrong side of the boom.
> If I do a bad shoot, I will never try to pull back the arrow with the wire
> through the tree. I always let the arrow go to the ground, then cut the
> wire, roll back the wire and re-attach the arrow to the wire when ready to
> shoot again. It prevents me from blocking the arrow in the trees by
> uncontrolled fall of the arrow and to get a fishing line mess when the arrow
> falls from the top of the tree with a big length of line all around.
> 
> Gilles VE2TZT
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Mel Crichton" <kj9c at iquest.net>
> To: <topband at contesting.com>
> Sent: Monday, October 18, 2010 8:41 AM
> Subject: Re: Topband: The Slingshot Option
> 
> 
>> I am also a die-hard bow/arrow user, having shot lines over 120 footers 
>> ....  a couple of options to consider:
>> 
>> To weight the arrow, tape two 1/2 inch nuts over the end of a target 
>> arrow.... be sure to tape well to cover the end of the arrow/nut 
>> combination in case the arrow takes a flyer... don't want the point 
>> sticking into something.... (I guess you could remove the point first)....
>> 
>> Paint the arrow with fluorescent paint if shooting in the woods (they are 
>> hard to find otherwise)
>> 
>> I shoot 8 lb line, then use it to pull 20# line, and THEN pull 1/8 inch to 
>> 3/16 inch rope.... less chance that the pull line will break if the rope 
>> snags. I use an old bow with about 60# pull.
>> 
>> Usually can place a line within a foot or two of ideal location in just a 
>> few tries... a lot less frustrating than using slingshot or throwing a 
>> weight
>> 
>> Mel KJ9C
>> _______________________________________________
>> UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
> 
> _______________________________________________
> UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK