Fishing is a common way of spending leisure time, for some it is a favorite hobby, others go to the reservoir for the sake of sports. The main thing is that all fishermen enjoy the process. And of course, everyone wants to bring home a good catch, and ideally a memorable trophy, which is then remembered for a long time as a source of pride. All fishermen, from professionals to amateurs, try to use different methods to improve their performance. fishing. Fish bait in the immediate place of casting the bait plays an important role. But how to deliver the bait to the desired point? A fishing slingshot is a device that, when used correctly, ensures that feed is accurately sent to the planned area.

Groundbait is an important attribute of fishing, which should be taken care of in advance. Especially if you plan to hunt for fish with specific tastes. The modern industry of fishing goods offers a wide selection of these products. Feeds are:

• universal;
• for certain types of fish (carp, roach, bream, etc.);
• containing in its composition special pheromones;
• including specific odors.

All this diversity is developed by scientists, chemists, ichthyologists, researchers in order to ensure maximum bite. So, what gives fish food:

• attracting individuals to bait;
• contributes to an aggravation of the feeling of hunger in aquatic inhabitants;
• relaxes attention, caution fish.

Many fishermen prepare bait with their own hands, everyone has their own recipes in stock. This process is simple, and the necessary products are most often available in any home. At the same time, finances are significantly saved, and there is also the opportunity to generously feed the fish.

Feeding fish with slingshots

At close distances, you can successfully throw lure with your hands. Of course, we are talking about a distance of up to 20 meters. But when the question is about long-range casting, it is difficult to do without a bait slingshot. Rather, it is possible without it, but achieving the goal will be very approximate, which will significantly reduce the likelihood and frequency of biting. True, you have to set aside a little time to acquire a certain skill. Proper use of the slingshot provides the following benefits when casting lure:

• range;
• accuracy;
• speed.

And also this tool is indispensable if the wind caught you on the pond, especially the oncoming and gusty one. It creates certain difficulties, even if a fishing slingshot is used, but it greatly facilitates the process.

Advice! In strong winds, it is worth waiting for the moment between gusts and casting during this period of time.

But not only the slingshot affects the accuracy of casting bait. Strength, speed, range largely depend on the size and weight of the bait balls. They need to be molded of the same shape and density. That is, it is important to take a constantly equal amount of food from the total mass and create balls from it, compressing the mass with the same force. Again, this takes practice. Take this question seriously, as even a slight difference in the mass of the balls significantly affects the accuracy of long-range casting.

How are fishing slingshots arranged?

The slingshot device has been known to many since adolescence. The slingshot for bait has the same design and principle of operation as those from which pebbles were thrown in childhood. They consist of a handle, strings and a cup to accommodate the complementary foods. But the system is slightly different, depending on the purpose of the instrument. Allocate:

1. Slingshots for small food. Suitable for spreading complementary foods in the upper layers of the water. Often this is a light, crumbly mass - maggots, pellets or mixtures that are of interest to fish. After casting the float, you need to constantly, in small portions, feed maggots in order to create a stream of sinking bait, including bait with a hook. It is better to choose a non-rigid cup, in the form of a small cone, to prevent premature loss of components. And also be sure to choose a handle that is comfortable for your hand, as this device will be in it all the time.

Advice ! When choosing a slingshot, you need to take into account the thickness of the gum, the farther you want to throw food, the thicker the harnesses should be.

1. Slingshots for casting bait balls. Used for casting large portions of feed. In this form, first of all, the type of cup is taken into account. They come in the form of a cone and a mesh basket. The former are suitable for initial feeding with small balls. The latter are effective for throwing larger balls; they hold well in the basket and do not crush. And also you need to pay attention to the reliability of fastening the rubber bands to the handle.

It is good if the fisherman has several such devices in his arsenal. This makes it possible not to become a hostage to a situation, such as a change in the usual place of fishing and, as a result, inability to throw the bait.

Making a slingshot for feeding with your own hands

A homemade slingshot is a good alternative to a store bought one. It is not difficult to make it, especially since the male sex has had these skills since adolescence. The only thing to consider is that you will need more durable raw materials, since the weight of the bait balls is rather big.

The handle can be cut out of habit from tree branches of suitable thickness. The base is cleaned of bark, polished from small knots and dried well (if the branch is freshly cut, then it is advisable to dry it for a month). In the upper part of the bait slingshot, transverse cuts of a round shape are made, in which the free ends of the gum are fixed with a harsh thread. A leather cup is fitted to the other ends. For this purpose, holes are made in a dense leather flap, and harnesses are pulled through and fixed with a thread.

For the choice of raw materials, the fishermen turn on the free flight of fancy. A medical tourniquet is excellent as an elastic band, it is strong enough and stretches well, but you can pick up an elastic band of the desired thickness in hardware stores.

Everything that is unnecessary is used as a handle, for example, handles from an old saw, bicycle, roller. For branching, roller rods, thick wire, rods are also suitable. You can firmly fix the branching in the handle with an epoxy mixture. If you wrap the rod with heat shrink tubing, you get a great handle.

Advice! A cup can be made from the neck of a plastic bottle, which is placed in a hole in a leather flap. A small collar under the neck provides additional rigidity and a comfortable grip for the fingers.

They fix the parts not only with a strong thread, but also with electrical tape, a single-core electrical wire. In general, they use any improvised objects that your engineering idea will tell you, the main thing is to achieve structural strength.

The use of fishing slingshots

To use the slingshot effectively, you need to adjust the optimal length of the harnesses. In order for the balls to fall into one place, you need to pull the elastic band using the same force (of course, provided that the balls are identical in size and weight). Since in purchased slingshots the gum always comes with a margin, it must be cut off. The length of the rope should be such that when stretched it passes the limit of elasticity, reaching the limit of elastic stretching. After several trainings, all fishermen clearly feel this line. When throwing, harnesses should be correctly positioned in a vertical plane. This ensures:

• groundbait flight at an angle to the horizon:
• best sight;
• increased speed and accuracy.

The use of a slingshot, taking into account the indicated points, allows you to quickly feed the fish at the right point. As a reminder, bait balls must be molded to the same size and weight, the harness must be pulled tight enough and the food should be thrown at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the surface of the water in order to achieve the best shot range.

Wherever you fish, bait remains the most important element for luring it, especially when it comes to fishing with a regular rod, and a tool that will help you in difficult situations is a bait slingshot. After all, many fishermen try to throw tackle as far as possible from the shore, and if there is no feeder on it, then it is not always possible for even the most experienced to feed the fish there. But not everyone knows how to use this specific tool, which saves in some situations. So what is so difficult about it and how to use it effectively? And how to do something similar with your own hands?

As bait, it is preferable to use feeders or bait balls made by oneself, they are more convenient for casting and more effective than ordinary bread crumbs. But almost everyone neglects their diameter, and the effectiveness of your fishing depends on how much one hand-made ball will differ from another. The problem here is the weight of the products, which, with the same density, will vary greatly in mass depending on the volume, and, accordingly, both the casting accuracy and the baiting distance will suffer. So all the balls should be approximately the same diameter for your own convenience, and it is better to prepare them in advance.
The easiest way to stick to this nuance is by shaping the balls with one hand, this will allow you to take a contiguous amount of groundbait each time. You can even arrange their classification if the efforts during modeling with the right and left hands differ.

Thus, you can purposefully sculpt:

• big balls;
• small balls.

You should throw them one by one, first take the larger ones, this will allow you to “pick up” the necessary force of the bait casting slingshot without serious losses, and then you can switch to the smaller ones. Thus, the accuracy will increase several times, and with it the efficiency of feeding.

The use of two baits of different sizes is a common practice among experienced fishermen and athletes. It is especially useful for spinning fishing, as the starting bait is cast first, and after immersion, the residual bait is thrown in so that the fish does not swim far from the hook.

Naturally, in this case, a home-made slingshot is needed more than one, in order to make it more convenient to make complementary foods, you will need:

1. Power slingshots with large cups for initial feeding.
2. Feeding slingshots, with which you will already throw small clods.

It would be nice to practice accuracy in advance before fishing - this will reduce the consumption of complementary foods by several times. If you do not want to make several tools, then try to create a middle ground between them, which would be convenient to throw both large lumps and the remaining small ones. When using the same slingshot, your accuracy will increase several times, but the differences in the diameter of the balls should be much smaller and, accordingly, this is not suitable for every situation.

Remember, the more distance you need to cast the bait, the tighter you need to make the slingshot.

A perfect visualization of why shooting a slingshot with regular pebbles and groundbait would be this way, you'll see the massive difference in residual inertia between the two even with the same amount of effort.

One of the main stages of good fishing is pre-baiting the fish. A fishing slingshot is a useful device that simplifies the process of baiting.

You can buy a ready-made product, but it's easy to make it yourself - this will save money and allow you to create a model that is best suited for the chosen bait.

Using a slingshot helps to lure fish to a new place. It is easy to feed a fish at a close distance, but when fishing with a long cast, it is difficult to control the accuracy of the cast. To do this, use a slingshot - with its help, you can increase the accuracy of casting and throwing range for any type of lure.

Most experienced fishermen use their own bait. Dense circles are formed from the mixed mass, which turn out to be quite heavy.

It is difficult to cast such a circle over a long distance, it flies no further than the length of the rod. Lure remains near the shore and the fish does not notice it.

Fishing at a great distance brings a much larger catch. To facilitate the casting of the mixture from the shore, there is a slingshot for bait. Having mastered correct technique launching complementary foods, you can accurately direct it to the selected section of the reservoir at a distance of 20-30 m.

Types of slingshots

Depending on the type of bait, a fishing slingshot can be of two types: for light feed and for bait mixtures. Choosing the right model should be based on the type of bait.

For fine or crumbly feed

It is used for throwing food, consisting of individual particles that do not crumple into a dense mass: maggots, pellets and others. Such products are equipped with cups in which a small amount of complementary foods is placed.

It will be possible to throw it at a distance of up to 20 m, since the cup of such a slingshot is made of a lighter material, and the elastic band is much thinner.

To make the complementary feeding process more efficient, it is recommended to include in the mandatory set fishing tackle several slingshots with elastic bands of different lengths. So you can distribute complementary foods over a larger area.

The shape of the cup should be cone-shaped. This helps to prevent premature spillage of feed and to direct the cast more accurately.

For bait balls

A bait ball is a small dense ball that is formed from a viscous feed mass. They are useful for the first feeding in a new place or periodic supplementary feeding. Slingshots for bait balls are equipped with large round cups. They are made of tough heavy rubber - this allows you to strengthen the throw and increase the casting distance.

The calyx may be solid or mesh. The solid bottom is slightly convex, it is heavier and larger. It is inconvenient to use it: the ball can stick to the bottom, and the accuracy of the sight will fail.

The mesh cup gives better results. It can be used to cast multiple small balls and large balls. The elastic on such a product should be short and thick, otherwise it will not hold the weight of the cup, and the bait will crumble.

How to make a do-it-yourself fishing slingshot

A home-made slingshot is not inferior to a store-bought one in terms of quality and efficiency and will exactly match the characteristics of fishing in the chosen reservoir. In addition, the materials for it are much cheaper.

For the manufacture of a slingshot, you can use improvised materials. The hardest part is making the pen. A branch with a fork, rods from old rollers or dense wire is suitable for her.

The main thing is that the handle is comfortable, and the ends of the horn are of the same length and thickness. If wire is chosen as the material, it must be bent several times and wrapped with electrical tape on top - this will make the handle stronger.

In addition to the handle, to make a do-it-yourself fishing slingshot, you will need:

• rubber catheter or strong elastic band;
• insulating tape;
• thick fabric or leather;
• scissors;
• strong thread.

For the first product, it is best to choose a cup-basket. It is easy to make and suitable for any type of food. First you need to cut out a blank for a cup from the selected material.

It should be no more than 10-12 cm in diameter, otherwise the finished structure will turn out to be too cumbersome. Two holes need to be cut along the edges of the workpiece at the same level - an elastic band will be attached through them.

A piece of gum no longer than 0.5 m should be cut in half. Draw one edge of each piece into the hole and tie it with a tight loop, attach the second to the top of the horn with electrical tape. The edge of the elastic, fixed in the cup, can be additionally secured by tying a knot with a thread.

The resulting product should lie comfortably in the hand. The length of the two pieces of elastic must be the same, otherwise you will not be able to make a throw. Creating a slingshot for fishing with your own hands is a simple process, but it requires care and accuracy.

Slingshot feeding technique

In order for baiting fish with slingshots to be effective, when using it, you need to follow a few rules:

1. To achieve an accurate throw, the slingshot should not be held straight, but slightly tilted back. This makes it easier to throw lure over a long distance and set the desired flight path.
2. It is more convenient to hold the product not horizontally, but vertically. The harness must be pulled as tight as possible. If the rubber for the slingshot was of poor quality or too thin, it will burst when pulled. Therefore, you should test it before catching: stretch it strongly several times, directing it in different directions. Elastic good quality will stretch evenly and elastically.
3. Bait balls must be of the same weight and size, otherwise, with the same casting force, they will scatter to different distances.
4. You should not change the casting angle - the range and accuracy of the flight are easier to control if you throw the balls from one position.

The wind can interfere with the normal flight of the bait ball. If it blows from the side, the casting distance will not be affected, but the accuracy will be lost, and the feed may spill along the wiring line. With a headwind, the ball will not be able to overcome the resistance, it will be thrown back.

It will take some time to master the skills of using a slingshot. But after a few dozen throws, it will be possible to regulate the force of the throw and set the desired direction of flight.

The top photo shows an almost complete analogue of our slingshot-arrow-throwers, if otherwise - a “sling” (well, that's what we called them). Here, arrows, or rather, darts, have a hook in the area of ​​​​the tip, which holds the strands. Once upon a time, we made them from electrodes with a special kerf-hook, but now, as you can see, this is a completely industrial product.

By the way, the top sample itself is positioned as “Powerful Hunting Tool Sniper Slingshot Folding Catapult Wrist Fishing Broadheads”, that is, “A powerful sniper slingshot-catapult for fish extraction mounted on the wrist” (!) and costs 35.99 USD.

And below is a more sophisticated and somewhere even “tactical” version of such a device. A lot of similar products are sold on Aliexpress or eBay.

In the photo below, we see a slightly different approach, largely borrowed from compound bows. Some of these hunting slingshots are equipped with archery shelves, known as "hairy" or Whisker, archery sights with several "pins (front sights). The tension and retention of the cords, as well as the shot itself, are carried out using.

The author of this creation, called "Falcon Slingbow", Randy Ratlin - is not a teenager. Yes, and his weapon is quite adult, the pulling force is 18 kg, or almost 40 pounds. According to the generally accepted classification among bowhunters, this is just the minimum level for hunting bows. Moreover, for individual "amateurs", which we can hardly imagine, the author produces perfect monsters with a force of 90 kgf! But even if we are talking about pounds, then with such a “slingshot” an enthusiast would quickly find himself in the friendly arms of the corresponding comrades.

And it's really not a joke. Bowhunter Sandy Brady caught the red deer shown in the photo from the Elite Slingbow hunting slingshot at a distance of just under 15 meters (how he got there, another story, one word - well done!).

You will laugh, but not only, say, hares, but even wolves were and are still being hunted in general with the help of ... whips. This weapon is not remote, but the so-called "manual", but very effective, moreover, like slingshots, it is now a common product that can be purchased at a specialized store (see "").

"Gearhead Archery T15 Pro Bows" - onion slingshot or horned bow?

Anyone who can immediately name the structure depicted in the first photo, uh, can immediately be given the title of archeri-guru of the 3rd rank ahead of schedule. Although fans of compound bows will simply guess about its purpose - by the characteristic loop on the bowstring, etc. "hairy" shelf "Whisker".

This unusual throwing weapon with the solid name "Gearhead Archery T15 Pro Bows" really has something to do with bows. More precisely, we have before us a kind of centaur, made up of a slingbow hunting slingshot and some archery structural elements.

Ordinary "SlingBow" in appearance is very reminiscent of classic slingshots, except that due to the serious effort of tension, there is a hand rest in the base here. And so the Gearhead Archery company from the state of Wisconsin decided to bring the “slingshot” shooting technique as close as possible to the archery that is much more familiar to bowhunters. The result of research in this direction was the T15 Pro Bows.

It has both rubber bands and a bowstring with the already mentioned release loop. STS vibration dampers are installed in the base. Drawstring length from 18 to 32 inches, pulling force up to 29 lbs, that is, according to Russian law, bringing the sample under the category of throwing weapons. This is already quite a hunting indicator. The manufacturer itself positions the T15, made of aluminum and stainless steel, mainly as a device for bowfishing (bowfishing) - archery hunting for fish:

For what those who wish can purchase a special body kit:

As you can see, this is a fairly simple device, where instead of an inertia-free coil, an ordinary plastic flask is used for laying the line. By the way, it is quite possible to build something similar for bowfishing with a crossbow or a bow from an ordinary PET bottle, except that the styling itself will have to be done carefully by hand, and not using a mechanism.

The Gearhead Archery T15 hunting slingshot is available in two versions, the second is the T15 XL (pictured) - as the name suggests, it is even closer in size to compound bows, its height reaches 23 inches instead of 16 for the T15 Pro . He also has a classic archery 3-pin sight in the base.

By the way, since I had to say, not quite the usual appearance is inherent in all products of the Gearhead Archery company, which produces a fairly wide range of arrow throwers. Here is a photo of the "T30 CARBON FIBER COMPOUND BOW", a typical representative of the entire model line.

It feels like the developers there are led by a former civil engineer - that compound bows, that crossbows are very reminiscent of some kind of truss structures, something like railway bridges. Obviously not elven devices, rather dwarves could create something similar. Only not Tolkien's, but Cruz's from the cycle "At the Great River", eagerly adopting the achievements of a fragment of technocratic earthly civilization that has fallen into their primordial world.

A few words about bowfishing in Russia

Immediately explanation. In Russia, bowfishing, that is, “hunting” for fish with a bow, as with any throwing weapon, is prohibited. Usually in regional documents it looks like this: “Users of aquatic biological resources are not entitled to harvest (catch) aquatic biological resources using piercing fishing gear, with the exception of recreational and sport fishing, carried out using special pistols and guns (hereinafter referred to as spearfishing)”

As you can see, there are exceptions - these are spearguns and crossbows for spearfishing. And the whole difference lies in the very name of this type: shooting is carried out from an underwater position, that is, no shooter equipment should be on the surface. And therefore, ordinary bows and crossbows are not even technically suitable for this, since their elastic elements are not designed to work in a dense environment.

However, if you are really interested in this case, then you will be able to find opportunities for legal bowphishing. For example, in private farms with artificial breeding of fish, mainly carp and grass carp. Of the "wild" species, the pike is the most common, which, with skill, can be easily seen under a layer of water.

"STS Raptor" Jurassic Bow

This photo is fully consistent with the phrase "Do not believe your eyes!", Here, in fact, everything is not what it seems.

Firstly, this is by no means a virtual sample of a Hi-Tech bow created in a 3D editor, but a real serial product sold and bought for shooting and hunting. Secondly, this is not a bow at all, but the most slingbow hunting slingshot.

The archery company STS (Shoot Tech Systems) generally stands out for the extremely non-standard appearance of its products, in particular, the AR-480 and AR-480 Mark II crossbows. But the point is not in appearance, but, say, in the double bowstring system, which allows you to shoot not only arrows, but also steel balls, acting as a Schnapper. Moreover, a 7-gram projectile develops up to 480 fps, or 146 meters per second. But back to the hero of our today's story.

So, his name is RAPTOR 28” (28 is the distance in inches from the axis to the axis of the blocks, ATA). The prototype, which appeared back in 2009, bore the same name - in the wake of the popularity of the most memorable characters in Jurassic Park. And it was there that the developers first applied the dual string system.

What does it give? Take a look at the photo. The upper jumper between the bowstrings allows the use of classic archery arrows, only with a shank turned 90 degrees. Below is a "nest" for steel balls, and not simple, but magnetic - it's clear why. Speed ​​performance in Schnapper mode is up to 485 fps depending on the type (and weight) of the projectile, and the 350-grain arrow accelerates to 295 fps, i.e. 90 m/s.

By the way, our old Bavarian friend Jörg Spreyv shot a Raptor through a chronograph and got real 488 fps, or 149 m/s with a 10mm ball (weight, alas, was not specified). The 12 mm analogue showed 119 meters per second. To be honest - very, very impressive!

And now the most interesting. The Raptor does not have traditional beam elastic elements, that is, flexible arms, all the mechanics are based on rubber bands (6 for each arm - see photo), which classifies the product into the “slingbow” category. Tension force is adjustable from 40 to a solid 80 pounds, its reset is also adjustable and is 60-80%.

The disadvantages of such a unique sample stem from the design features. This is an immediately noticeable complexity of the nodes (photo below), a certain bulkiness, and most importantly, fairly rapid wear and the appearance of "fatigue" of the rubber bands. Their replacement is not very difficult, they themselves are sold in kits plus the necessary silicone grease.

The manufacturer recommends its product for hunting use - with balls for "small game", that is, small animals and, first of all, birds, but with arrows - for any game, as with ordinary blockers. However, we have not been able to find any descriptions or videos with hunting scenes from the Raptors. Apparently, although this is extremely interesting (though not cheap), it is still more of an entertaining device.

"Hawaiian sling", or Slingshot for a partisan

Remember, in pink childhood, from an ordinary spool of thread and an elastic band from panties, we built a formidable weapon for throwing pencils? So, without knowing it, the younger generation reproduced the design of the so-called Hawaiian Sling, or Hawaiian slingshot:

Why Hawaiian? — well, the devil knows. Maybe the islanders from time immemorial, with the help of just such devices, hunted for one of their staple foods - fish. That's just where they took the rubber bands before the invention of rubber .... Most likely, primitive in comparison with modern spearguns and crossbows, but a fully functional device was popular with numerous tourists.

As you can see, this weapon is specifically for spearfishing. Even in its simplest form, the barrel is made of wood to provide buoyancy to the instrument.

Entrepreneurs could not pass by such a tempting opportunity - what kind of amateur performance is this, when every oncoming-transverse one is able to build such a wonderful device for himself? For free! Here, get a real industrial product.

The photo shows the first version of not just some Hawaiian Sling, but a whole Guerrilla sling, that is, the Guerrilla Slingshot. Oh how! The wooden fin on the hull, presumably, just provided at least some buoyancy and served as a convenient handle for carrying or catching floating weapons at depth.

However, the manufacturer - Headhunter Spearfishing Co - was not satisfied with his brainchild, and Guerrilla sling 2.0 was born:

The hull is completely made of Burmese teak, therefore, everything is wonderful with its seaworthiness. Other changes were made to the design, in particular, increasing the range by as much as 33 percent.

Last but not least, the Guerrilla Slingshot Version 2.0 is priced at $200. By the way, the manufacturer produces not only a whole range of ammunition, consumables and accessories, such as harpoons, tips, reels, cords, special gloves, but also T-shirts and caps traditional for such companies with their own symbols.

Here, learn, comrades, how literally from scratch you can build a profitable business. This is not school reels with rubber bands for you (us) ...

P.S. To be honest, we do not quite imagine a partisan hanging around under water and leading an invisible battle with chubs and pikes. For the purposes of the "people's war" :)) the weapons described in the first two chapters of this article would be much more suitable.

The video below shows training and boar hunting with Randy Ratlin's Falcon Slingbow reviewed today.

To make a slingshot with my own hands, I was prompted by one fishing trip that took place last season. There was a moderate wind that day, which often changed direction. Caught on the lake from a boat and bait with the wind blowing in the back was not particularly difficult. But as soon as it changed to a side or oncoming one, it was impossible to feed accurately. The bait was blown to the side or she lay down in front of the boat, not even reaching a meter to the float. At first, when the wind blew from the side, I tried to swim across and stand downwind, having previously marked the place of fishing with a foam buoy, but scared away all the fish, and the bite began in an hour and a half.

Returning from fishing past the village, I saw how the children on the street were shooting at tin cans with slingshots. Immediately came the idea of ​​​​using a slingshot for bait. After several trial options and experiments, I found the most suitable design for myself, which I want to talk about.

I bend the slingshot from soft iron or brass wire with a diameter of 6 mm, drawing it in Figure 1. I put a piece of thin rubber tube on the handle. I hammer a wooden insert inside the tube, Figure 2. It will prevent the handle wire from bending and create volume for it (it is convenient to hold it in your hand).

From a jar of Undevit vitamins I cut off a glass 40-45 mm high, in the center of the bottom of which I drill a hole with a diameter of 3 mm.

I cut out three strips from soft leather. One 150x20mm in size - for attaching a cup to an elastic band, and two 50x20 in size - for attaching an elastic band to flyers. I took the skin for these purposes from the top of an old boot 1.5 mm thick. The use of thinner leather will cause it to tear after a while, while thicker leather will be quite hard and rough.

I make a hole in the center of a long strip of leather with an awl and, using a short bolt, two washers and an M3 threaded nut, connect it to the cup, drawing in Figure 3. In this case, the raw surface of the skin (internal) should be outside the cup.

This is necessary in order to create additional friction for the fingers, which allows you to squeeze the cup with less effort when shooting. Then, pressing this strip of skin against the walls of the cup, I tightly tie it (6-10 layers) with a thin nylon thread. Before this, it is desirable to "wire" the nylon thread with a mixture of bitumen and beeswax, taken in equal proportions. I melt them by stirring over low heat in a tin, and then pour them into cold water. After the mixture has cooled down a little, I take it out of the water and, pressing it with my hand, I give it the shape of a ball.

I rub the thread well with this composition. Now, from the remaining pieces of skin, I make attachments for elastic bands to the flyers of the slingshot. To do this, I fold the skin in half and stitch it with a nylon thread so that it can be tightly put on (with a little effort) on the flyers, Figure 4.

I make an elastic band for a slingshot from 5-6 pieces of “noodles”, which is used for donoks as a shock absorber. It is elastic, stretches well and is quite strong.

I carefully thread the ends of the rubber bands into the previously made small cuts in the skin with a blunt screwdriver and tie them with 10-15 turns of wired thread. At the same time, I try not to transfer the gum in this place. The optimal length of the elastic is 150-170mm.

When tying "noodles" it is necessary to ensure that all the pieces in the bundle are the same length, without sagging one of them. This affects the accuracy of shooting. Now I put leather clamps on the fliers, and the slingshot is ready to go.

When using loose bait (crackers, mixed fodder, millet), it is necessary to make a small conical bag from the newspaper into which bait is poured. I fold the edges of the newspaper inward. Then, placing it with a sharp end inside the glass, I slightly press it inward. In this case, it is necessary to ensure that it does not sit tightly in a glass. Pulling back the glass and taking aim, I shoot at the floats. When hitting the water, the bag opens and the bait is poured into the water. When shooting with such a slingshot, one important circumstance must be taken into account.

It is necessary to aim and shoot a little further than the floats (1-2m). Since different bait has a different specific gravity, then this distance will be different. The lighter the bait, the closer to the floats you need to shoot. If you often catch with one bait, then the slingshot very quickly “shoots” as it should. After fishing, the rubber band with the cup is removed and hidden inside the cup.

The sizes of a slingshot and a glass can be changed at own discretion. But at the same time, it must be taken into account that the distance between the flyers should be at least 2.5-3 times the diameter of the cup. Otherwise, when shooting and inaccurate centering of the cup relative to the flyers, it will hit one of them, and if the bait does not sprinkle, it will lie under the feet of the angler.