My Modified Pump Action Hex Nut Slingshot Rifle

Hello all, I made my very first slingshot last week. It's a modified version of Jörg's M10 shooter that takes larger 1/2" hex nut ammunition. I will post a proper video of this sometime next week after my friends get a chance to shoot it. One of them has a Canon SLR so I can get some 60 FPS footage to better calculate the muzzle velocity.

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I'm using a lighter band set here because I don't want to break my plywood creation before I've had a chance to play with it. It seems like it would hold up well enough, but I want to start off cautiously...

There are a few flaws and features I never got around to implementing, but I hope you like it. (Thanks and bye bye.)

 

Thanks guys! Failure, the bolts do add some weight over regular screws, but #8 hardware isn't *too* heavy. A full magazine of hex nuts adds to the weight more than that.

G_Y, that's a good idea, I will give it a try.

 

It may very well happen but I have a few more modifications I'd like to make first, like a permanent rear sight among other things. I'll detail future plans a bit more once I get a proper testing video up.

Stay tuned, and thanks for the support guys!

 

I used:
[~$5] 1/4" plywood board (effective thickness of 5mm)
[~$10] #8 machine screws, nuts, flat washers
[~$4] bag of 1/2" hex nuts
[~$5] 1/4" neodynium disk magnets (got a pack of 30 on amazon)
[???] about a foot of theraband (your cost will vary, but I bought a roll of 6 feet, so it's a tiny fraction of the bulk cost. maybe $2 or so for this slingshot)
[???] 4x1" pine board for the slingshot forks. 6 feet at home depot for under $8, so I used less than a dollar's worth of it.

Elmer's glue (didn't have wood glue, but it sets nicely if you give it time)
Krazy glue (for the magnets)

Scrap plastic (like from credit cards) to reduce friction in certain areas.

I would say the total cost is maybe around $30 if you have the tools and determination.

 

I worked on it over about a week and a half, couple hours a day and taking a few days off. If I had more tools it would've gone faster, but I had to make sure everything I wanted to do was feasible with a dremel, a drill, and a jigsaw. Sanding also took up a fair amount of time, since I wanted to attain a good level of finish.

I'm sure Joerg could finish it in under a third of the time, with his arsenal of tools and experience.

Edit: And about 25 rounds is the magazine capacity.

 

Glad you like the aesthetics

Moving the magazine tube had two reasons:
1) like you said, *theoretically* it's better for accuracy. the barrel lines up closer with your line of sight.
2) I had been hoping to better approximate the ergonomics of a real shotgun, including loading nuts from the bottom, or even make some sort of removable magazine.

In the end though, the removable magazine/shotgun-style loading was just absolutely too ambitious for a first-time builder like me. Maybe next time...

As for the first point, I put a small sight on the front of the slingshot, and a raised sight at the rear. It combats bullet drop, and has the added effect of making it easier to aim. I didn't put enough of a drop on the rear stock so getting your eyes level with the top of the barrel is slightly awkward. With the raised rear sight, my cheek isn't pressed so hard against the stock.

I'll point that out when I make a proper Joerg Sprave style test/demonstration video.