# Slingshot deal on very short notice



## cantinawest

I thought some of you might be interested in this offer (albeit very late notice).
It's a Indiegogo deal that Pocket Predator is doing on their new line of slingshots that they are seeking to introduce to a wider audience.

I have followed them for a few years, and even own a couple of their slingshots, and I just could not pass up the great deal on several slingshots all at once for a good price...

So I jumped on board.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/pocket-predator-slingshots-new-generation-preview#/

IF you like slingshots for hunting, survival and just for fun, they have a really large and great line of slingshots.
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## crabapple

To easy to make at home.
I did not like the fund raiser on the page.


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## backlash

The Hathcock Target Sniper! Named for the greatest Sniper of the Vietnam era, Carlos N. Hathcock.

Invoking his name to sell a slingshot is low and maybe an infringement on his name.
Maybe his family would like to know what they are doing.
That alone makes me think they are scum sucking sleaze balls.


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## camo2460

backlash said:


> The Hathcock Target Sniper! Named for the greatest Sniper of the Vietnam era, Carlos N. Hathcock.
> 
> Invoking his name to sell a slingshot is low and maybe an infringement on his name.
> Maybe his family would like to know what they are doing.
> That alone makes me think they are scum sucking sleaze balls.


But, then again, maybe they got permission.


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## backlash

Hope they did, but I still think it's tacky.


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## cantinawest

*This company is "on the up and up"...*

Pocket Predator is a reputable company and has made a name for themselves on the internet and worldwide in the slingshot community, so they are more than just a fly-by night, flash-in-the-pan, company run by hucksters and shysters just out for a buck-on-a-scheme.

They were even approached by the SERE school in Washington State with a request to make a survival slingshot...

Here is a bit of information from their site:

When we were first approached by SERE school instructors to suggest a good survival slingshot for use by downed pilots and others in need of a real and useful tool... At first we were not on board with the whole concept. Our first response was, "We don't know that slingshots would be that good in a situation like that"... "They're not really capable of bringing down big game with depends on your life consistency and it takes a while to learn how to shoot one well enough so that you can harvest small game in enough quantity to make a substantial difference over trapping and fishing"...
It was the survival instructors themselves that insisted slingshots probably would be a good addition to the pilot's "ditch bag" as most survival actually depends on taking advantage of situations when they present themselves... for example, if there's water you might be able to fish... if there's clear and well used game trails you might be able to trap something... and if there's a rabbit that you suddenly come upon 30 feet in front of you, a slingshot is the correct tool for the job.... In other words they came back saying slingshots could have a place so long as they are small enough to be in the ditch bag in the first place, and if the slingshot is intuitively accurate enough so that the user can learn to shoot it effectively enough without years of practice to take small game from relatively short distances.
So yes, under those circumstances, a slingshot can and IS a good survival tool... of course it should not be your sole means of procurring food, but used in conjunction with other tools and strategies it does have it's place.
Now you may ask, which is the best slingshot for survival?... and of course the answer is, the one you have with you at the time it's needed! For example, due to size requirements the SERE slingshots are small enough to fit in a small "go" bag, and of course they are very strong and very versatile.... BUT, there's many others that can work just as well... so long as you have it with you when it's needed...

The Pocket Predator story:

Hello!
Let me introduce myself, my name is William Hays. I am the designer and creator behind the Pocket Predator slingshots.
I was born in Waco Texas in the mid 1960's and have been inventing, making and shooting one thing or another pretty much all my life.
Hunting and shooting sports are a passion of mine and when a weapon whether it be a bow, knife, gun or slingshot is well designed and accurate it brings a certain unexplanable joy to me when using it. When I worked in law enforcement, this love of accuracy helped me to achieve expert marksman rankings in both rifle and pistol.

The Pocket Predator designs were born of a challenge offered to me by a close friend. He knew I had designed and built improved knives and guns and was interested in seeing if I could do the same with the ergonomics and accuracy of a slingshot. Well, I had recently taken up shooting slingshots again after a long time off, so I took up the challenge.

The first thing I did was do an internet search for slingshot shooting and techniques. After looking around quite a bit I found some pretty good examples to emulate and develop my own Shooting style and slingshots from. One person goes by the name Bill "Tex" Herriman (two time National Champion) and another was an Englishman by the name of Neil Bingham... as well as looking at past video footage of tournaments held in Europe and America.
By looking at what was accomplished in the past it allowed me to kind of get an idea of what might be possible in the future. I just KNEW more was possible when I saw Mr. Bingham hit a soda pop can about 10 times in a row without missing... that told me slingshots CAN be shot with enough consistency to make them interesting for further developement... and by watching Tex Herriman shooting I was able to figure out a technique that would allow me to pull the most accuracy from a frame.
At that time hitting a soda can sized target 9 out of 10 times was considered an almost "world class" feat... and in fact most of the tournaments I watched would have been won by someone who could do just that.
My path was clear and I had an achievable goal... to create a better slingshot and to shoot it well enough that it's accuracy could rival the best of the best.... what was needed then was some other people's work, so that I could figure out first hand what does and what does not contribute to a better frame.

In the process of testing out many different manufacturer's slingshots and some custom slingshots as well, I came to the conclusion there was much that could be improved upon.
Furthermore, I concluded that accuracy in any slingshot comes from REAL consistency. Bands, pouch, frame, ammo, ammo path and whether there's fouling from the pouch and or bands.. how you hold and how you release are all variables that can lead to diminished accuracy if the slingshot is not properly designed or good shooting practices observed.

Design, invention and innovation:

First, almost every slingshot I had seen was simply a reworked "Y", in fact many were actually a "Y" or a "y"... The shooter has to contort and conform to the slingshot to shoot at the correct angle instead of the slingshot being designed to fit the shooter's hand and natural shooting style properly.... that leads to inconsistencies in shot to shot hold.
Second, the materials used in the manufacture of the slingshots I'd seen were not the best for the purpose with which they were serving.
Third, the elastics used in the propulsion system for slingshots can be widely varied in type. No single slingshot could properly utilize different types or different attachment configurations... such as shooting over the top of the forks or shooting through the forks with tubes and or flatbands.
Fourth, after trying a lot of things out, designing and building many different concepts and reviewing slow motion footage of bands I came to the conclusion that the most consistently accurate setup is for through the forks (TTF) shooting. That led to my simple invention of redoing the forks so that the bands are tied around the outside of the forks instead of pulling against a slot... this gave the least amount of shot fouling in the same size frame... and since everything is in line when drawing, no part of the fork obscuring the line of the band, it's the easiest method for true precision aiming and "intuitive" shooting.
This simple innovation, where you aim a slingshot the same way as a tubed weapon changed everything.... It increased consistency and accuracy... it made the frame virtually "handslap" free, and because the pouch goes through forks straight, it causes the pouch to open up completely before reaching the end of it's elastic stroke... That means return to sender (RTS) shots are basically a thing of the past as well. Adding all the advantages together makes for a more pleasant long term shooting experience, and thus allowed the next level of shooting to be realized by many all over the world.... because when there's no handslap or RTS to contend with you're able to use better, more trational types of aiming concepts. For example, keeping everthing in one aiming line for a true point and shoot method and now since there's no need for flipping you can shoot lighter ammo with much greater speed without the fear of a punishing slap to your holding hand... this making the trajectory much flatter causing the impact point to be much closer to the aim point.

To get it all started the first thing I did is research the best materials to use for the making of a slingshot. The materials needed to be light but not to light. They need to be strong but not brittle, and they need to be able to be formed into somewhat complex shapes... and if at all possible, the materials need to have an attractive finished look.
Keeping all that in mind I settled on using a variety of space age and a few traditional materials... To name just a few... G10 & G11 composites, Dymondwood, Micarta, phenolics, multiplex woods, aircraft aluminum and super strong high tech resins!
The next thing I did was to design the slingshot to fit the hand, grip, wrist and forearm with proper ergonomics so it lines up properly when you grip the slingshot and point it at the target with a more natural, unstressed feel. Instead of the other way around where you try and make your hand conform to the shape of the slingshot, the slingshot conforms to you and your shooting preferences. After much experimentation I found the grip types, sizes, styles and angles that allow optimal strength and stability to be applied with a non-wristbraced grip for a slingshot... because I also decided that "no wrist brace" is the way to go as braces limit concealment and in many jurisdictions are in conflict with the law.
After that I invented many different types of Universal Fork tips, which allow for use of all types of flatbands and tubes in over the top (OTT) or through the forks (TTF) shooting configurations... Evolving from a simple hole drilled beneath the band groove in an OTT shooting slingshot for using tubes in addition to bands and that being copied by several will known makers.... on to over 20 different styles of Universal Fork configurations settling on a few... My favorites being the ones that allow a simple tie on method for around the outside of the forks attachment of flat bands... and also settled on a couple of tip designs that allow for fast small tube changouts while still allowing for the possiblity of "one line aiming" concepts.
The forks I settled on allow the highest degree of accuracy and strength, without having weird or unusual looking things like lasers or sights needing to be added to the forks to maintain accuracy.... and by going with a simple tie on method, the attachments are faster to put on for the average person... plus one never needs to worry about having to use a tool or losing small parts when you simply want or need to change out bandsets.

The result of all the research and experimentation is the Pocket Predator series of slingshots!
No one has been able to produce a more accurate slingshot than these. Some say "accuracy is with the shooter", and that is true to some degree... but that statement is misleading too. The very best of shooters shoot more accurately with the best of tools, which is why there is a market for highly tuned sniper rifles for example... it's easier to hit the target with better equipment.
In slingshots accuracy is in consistency, and the Pocket Predator slingshots are designed to bring out the highest levels of consistency in the shooter, which allows for more accurate shooting. It is no accident that cards are easily cut and matches are lit using them... That's the kind of accuracy they were designed for in the first place... things most people would have believed impossible to do with a slingshot, easily accomplished by MANY good shooters using Pocket Predator and Pocket Predator styled slingshots!

2011
Our first year was a treat, inventing many new designs... and even more new attachment methods like the TopSlots and looped clamping in addition to several other new universal fork designs.... putting up a gallery on the website made up of examples of works that have been done. Introduced the economy line of slingshots so every one can afford a nice slingshot... or if a person just wants a "knock about" model in addition to the more expensive high end models.
Business keeps growing and the future looks great.... AND the accuracy "bar" possible for a slingshot... it's not just cans anymore... we can light matches!

2012, and as you look at other websites that sell slingshots you'll notice there's many that look like many of my designs... well, it's been said that imitation is the greatest form of flattery. So I'm very "flattered" to see designs like my Ranger (complete with one of my universal fork designs) or Hathcock or SEAL being so closely copied and so aggressively marketed... "Flattered" indeed, as some are now trying to claim credit for things that didn't even exist before I made them in the first place!
Anyway that being said, as we try to maintain the lead in cutting edge design and innovation, we haven't forgotten about price and the reason we all love slingshots in the first place.... so we offer affordably priced models in some of the best materials you can find, all with a true eye to what it takes to be as accurate as possible with one of the "simplest" weapons in existence!

2013, it's been quite ride so far... business has expanded so much that it in itself has become a self standing concern. Now we've had customers in over 90% of the countries on earth with a very respectable rate of growth... The future looks bright for the further developement of slingshots.
As the year draws to an end I can say for certain, things have changed and will never be the same in the slingshot world... and we feel honored to have played a fairly significant role in the evolution of slingshots. Where once it was considered a true world class feat to hit a soda can 9 out of 10 times... we now have many people who can do feats of marksmanship with a slingshot that most expert marksmen can't do with a gun... Just check out the Super Shots page and see how far we have all come in a very short period of time!

2014,.....


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