gnasher16 30,046 Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 I had my first ever go with a catapult today and in all honesty i was f****n useless i couldnt hit a barn door ............not to be defeated im going to buy myself one and practise......Ive looked over this section of the site but cant seem to find much about the absolute basics. A.....Is there a particular catty suited to a beginner ? B.....Is there a right and wrong technique ? C.....Is it something that comes with practise or something you need to be naturally talented at ? Any advice will be much appreciated Quote Link to post Share on other sites
the big chief 3,099 Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 i think most of it is down to practice and feeling comfertable when shooting i use to use a black widow but now i can't shoot that type at all lol i bring the elastic past my ear look down the band and the left fork i place where i am going to shoot i am sure other folk will shoot diferent to me but thats how i do it try bpr see if he has any catty's up for sale that should get ya going Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Longers7 720 Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 Try swapping your shooting technique mate, a lot of people have the forks facing up, I can't shoot like that, try side shooting, basically turn the catty 90 degrees. I also pull the elastic to the same place every time I.e your ear, cheek mouth etc then find a point on your catty to use to aim at the target. Hope this helps... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
brookie 1,193 Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 I had my first ever go with a catapult today and in all honesty i was f****n useless i couldnt hit a barn door ............not to be defeated im going to buy myself one and practise......Ive looked over this section of the site but cant seem to find much about the absolute basics. A.....Is there a particular catty suited to a beginner ? B.....Is there a right and wrong technique ? C.....Is it something that comes with practise or something you need to be naturally talented at ? Any advice will be much appreciated gnash get a fork that fits nicely into your hand not to big the knuckle on the fore finger just coming to top of fork and the joint in your thumb on the top of the other .hand holding the fork out stretched and pouch coming no further than to your lip corner any more and your over stretching .or lastic to long etc in this case you will lose power and or over shoot .new lastic will always feel awkward .once youve shot it a few times youl start to get a feel for it .much like a set of darts i spose .just keep shooting it until you get the feel for it .and only shoot it yourself so as not to over stretch the lastic my one lad is 6ft 6ins and nearly 20 stone he plays hell with me when i dont let him use mine .he just take all the play out of it .i hope ive explained it enough so as you can get the gist of what im saying 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
B.P.R 2,798 Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 Hey gnash.... Being fairly green compared to some of the old timers... ive had to experiment with various techniques/frames and ammo to find what suits me... My advice would be to get a decent catapult... not a shite one off ebay (theyre not all shite- some good guys selling on there) .... Frame wise... the world is your oyster.... theres sooooo many to choose from... from all kinds of wood... to aluminium and everything inbetween... Same goes for shape... I would go for a basic catapult...in either multiplex... or hdpe... traditional shaped... thats capable of taking the flatbands (theraband gold) ... and the tubes (dankung...dub-dub) ... That way you can experiment with what you have without paying for another catapult... And find what suits you. I would stick with ONE catapult to start with... and shoot that for a long period of time... 6months + ... I was guilty of changing frames too quickly and therefore didnt become accurate(ish) with one single catapult.... Accuracy will come with practice... as it does with most things... practice makes perfect... You need to find a way thats accurate for you... theres lots of ways to shoot a catapult... from the way you hold the frame... hold the pouch...draw the bands to.... Sounds complicated... but you will just naturally do it a certain way that fits you... I hold the forks vertical... take my point of aim from the top right fork.. draw the bands to my cheek just under my eye and shoot!... Some hold the catty sideways...but i cant hit feckall that way! ... Whatever you choose... just keep at it... changing as you go along until you find a way that your accurate... then stick with it.... and get more and more accurate ... Good luck ... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gnasher16 30,046 Posted February 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 (edited) Thankyou very much chaps .....not knowing a good catapult from a bad one i have nothing to compare to but this one i was using had double theraband gold whatever that is...all the realtree camo finish etc.....cant say as it felt altogether comfotable in my hand but again not having anything to compare to.... how comfortable should it feel ???.....hence i thought id buy one and see whats what..... I dont think the chap who was showing me how to do it had much more of an idea than i did he just happened to have one thats all !........As ridiculous as this will sound....the biggest problem i had was deciding what hand to hold it in would a right handed person draw the bands back with the right hand or left ? ........I tried both and there was good and bad points to both but i couldnt help thinking there must be a correct way to do this !.........Brookie you said about over stretching and i think that might of been a mistake i was making trying to give it the old powerful caveman act .....because ive got decent grip strength i found myself squeezing the life out of it but then when i let go of the pouch i couldnt seem to let go of it straight......i tried bringing it back to my eyeline,my ear,chin...........holding it horizontal,vertical.......just couldnt get the hang of it...............that was when i thought f**k it i,ll come back to this when ive got some advice how to do it !! Maybe as Bpr says its just a case of experimenting until i find a way i can get accurate......just seems a long way off at the moment .........just out of interest what is classed as good going ?.....like what sort of size target from what sort of distance would you expect to be succesful more often than not ? Edited February 12, 2014 by gnasher16 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
B.P.R 2,798 Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 (edited) It depends how you hold the catapult....will affect how comfortable something is... Some catapults are made to be held a certain way... others are 'multi functional' .... Heres the best picture i can find of how i shoot my catapult. I hold the forks differently.... but my lad has good form ... I brace the forks like so... But others will use different holds... rm2508 grips his 'hammergrip' which is the traditional way i suppose... like so.... Then theres forks to the side.... 'sideshooting' ... You just have to find what works for you... and keep at it...keep at it...keep at it.... Gnash... i have just bought 3 blanks and in the process of finishing them... 2 are already gifted away to westy and longers... But if you want the 3rd one... Im short on paypal by a tenner for some birch ply to make some more... If you make up the tenner... il finish it and send it you... banded up ready to shoot... Its a good basic shape... will accomodate most grips and IMO would be a good beginners catapult... Its the middle one ... ... Edited February 12, 2014 by B.P.R 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gnasher16 30,046 Posted February 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2014 I love that top picture really makes me realise how inadequate i am seeing a littlun who looks like he,s forgot more than i know ......Id say the third pic down is how im holding it only my fingertips go white where im holding it so tight.....think im probably trying too hard and not relaxed enough if truth be told ! Excellent Bpr id appreciate it pm me your paypal and i,ll send it over.....i have no idea what these things cost mate so im happy to pay the going rate dont skimp on it for my sake .....much appreciated anyway thankyou. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
B.P.R 2,798 Posted February 13, 2014 Report Share Posted February 13, 2014 No need to try and squeeze the life out of it mate....just grip it tight enough so its not gonna slip out your hand and smack you in the face.... Id happily gift it you.... it didnt take much work at all... but im needing some new ply to make some more slings... So a tenner seems fair for both? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gnasher16 30,046 Posted February 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2014 Well im happy with that if you are.....i,ll drop you a nice little bit of postage on top anyway you,ve given me good advice.....thankyou mate Quote Link to post Share on other sites
brookie 1,193 Posted February 13, 2014 Report Share Posted February 13, 2014 Thankyou very much chaps .....not knowing a good catapult from a bad one i have nothing to compare to but this one i was using had double theraband gold whatever that is...all the realtree camo finish etc.....cant say as it felt altogether comfotable in my hand but again not having anything to compare to.... how comfortable should it feel ???.....hence i thought id buy one and see whats what..... I dont think the chap who was showing me how to do it had much more of an idea than i did he just happened to have one thats all !........As ridiculous as this will sound....the biggest problem i had was deciding what hand to hold it in would a right handed person draw the bands back with the right hand or left ? ........I tried both and there was good and bad points to both but i couldnt help thinking there must be a correct way to do this !.........Brookie you said about over stretching and i think that might of been a mistake i was making trying to give it the old powerful caveman act .....because ive got decent grip strength i found myself squeezing the life out of it but then when i let go of the pouch i couldnt seem to let go of it straight......i tried bringing it back to my eyeline,my ear,chin...........holding it horizontal,vertical.......just couldnt get the hang of it...............that was when i thought f**k it i,ll come back to this when ive got some advice how to do it !! Maybe as Bpr says its just a case of experimenting until i find a way i can get accurate......just seems a long way off at the moment .........just out of interest what is classed as good going ?.....like what sort of size target from what sort of distance would you expect to be succesful more often than not ? fit the whole fork into your hand gnash dont bend your wrist forward or backward its all one action you can hold it sideways anyways you want to if your right handed hold the forks in your right hand pull the lastic back with pouch in your left hand till base of your thumb touches outside of your lip corner it should line up with your left eye then mate .always aim for the head especially if your shooting roosters in the dark .if you miss you can always have another shot .if you hit in the breast they usually fly of bawling theyre heads of and getting others birds to leave the roost making hell of a noise .its surprising cos once you do get the feel of your forks and get your eye in you will get quite accurate /great buzz i still get even now when im dropping a few and il wind my lads up as well .i was driving home thru some lanes not long ago and a bird was running up side of hedge and i jumped out of the car and hit smack in the head from about twenty yards .shots like that still give me a buzz or a rabbit bolting out of a hedge and you drop it .( like big kids lol ) im not into lead shot etc i cant get on with it .to me you wont beat round pebbles about inch in diameter from a river bed or the beach .they seem to fly very accurate and true and weighted just right .if you get to like a mooch with a catty gnash .il send you a proper old school catty made with forks ive got over 20 yrs old with proper bull nose lastic .shoot very true and drop a bullock Quote Link to post Share on other sites
leegreen 2,153 Posted February 13, 2014 Report Share Posted February 13, 2014 Are you gonna go smash some windows or is it monkey nuts over the park? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
B.P.R 2,798 Posted February 13, 2014 Report Share Posted February 13, 2014 Thankyou very much chaps .....not knowing a good catapult from a bad one i have nothing to compare to but this one i was using had double theraband gold whatever that is...all the realtree camo finish etc.....cant say as it felt altogether comfotable in my hand but again not having anything to compare to.... how comfortable should it feel ???.....hence i thought id buy one and see whats what..... I dont think the chap who was showing me how to do it had much more of an idea than i did he just happened to have one thats all !........As ridiculous as this will sound....the biggest problem i had was deciding what hand to hold it in would a right handed person draw the bands back with the right hand or left ? ........I tried both and there was good and bad points to both but i couldnt help thinking there must be a correct way to do this !.........Brookie you said about over stretching and i think that might of been a mistake i was making trying to give it the old powerful caveman act .....because ive got decent grip strength i found myself squeezing the life out of it but then when i let go of the pouch i couldnt seem to let go of it straight......i tried bringing it back to my eyeline,my ear,chin...........holding it horizontal,vertical.......just couldnt get the hang of it...............that was when i thought f**k it i,ll come back to this when ive got some advice how to do it !! Maybe as Bpr says its just a case of experimenting until i find a way i can get accurate......just seems a long way off at the moment .........just out of interest what is classed as good going ?.....like what sort of size target from what sort of distance would you expect to be succesful more often than not ? fit the whole fork into your hand gnash dont bend your wrist forward or backward its all one action you can hold it sideways anyways you want to if your right handed hold the forks in your right hand pull the lastic back with pouch in your left hand till base of your thumb touches outside of your lip corner it should line up with your left eye then mate .always aim for the head especially if your shooting roosters in the dark .if you miss you can always have another shot .if you hit in the breast they usually fly of bawling theyre heads of and getting others birds to leave the roost making hell of a noise .its surprising cos once you do get the feel of your forks and get your eye in you will get quite accurate /great buzz i still get even now when im dropping a few and il wind my lads up as well .i was driving home thru some lanes not long ago and a bird was running up side of hedge and i jumped out of the car and hit smack in the head from about twenty yards .shots like that still give me a buzz or a rabbit bolting out of a hedge and you drop it .( like big kids lol ) im not into lead shot etc i cant get on with it .to me you wont beat round pebbles about inch in diameter from a river bed or the beach .they seem to fly very accurate and true and weighted just right .if you get to like a mooch with a catty gnash .il send you a proper old school catty made with forks ive got over 20 yrs old with proper bull nose lastic .shoot very true and drop a bullock 20years old... forks nearly as old as i am ... Love hearing about the old school...who shoot pebbles and use square elastic etc.... Think we have it too complicated...with our theraband tapers and beanshot ammo ... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
brookie 1,193 Posted February 13, 2014 Report Share Posted February 13, 2014 im trying to copy pics of my photobucket to post on here and for the life of me i cant i get copy image location copy image etc etc then i come over to this page and back forward reload bookmark .ffs HELP lol Quote Link to post Share on other sites
B.P.R 2,798 Posted February 13, 2014 Report Share Posted February 13, 2014 im trying to copy pics of my photobucket to post on here and for the life of me i cant i get copy image location copy image etc etc then i come over to this page and back forward reload bookmark .ffs HELP lol http://www.thehuntinglife.com/forums/topic/286367-photobucket-tutorial/ ... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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