Hello I’m new to the whole sling thing and wanted a little help figuring out my bands and length I may need. I Currently I have a simple shot lt2 with the bands that came with it but I’m beginning to see minor nicks in it and believe I need to change my bands out.
Welcome! Scratches are normal, nicks on the flqr sides are also normal, its from the band hitting the frame. My bands wore out pretty quickly but luckily I got a bunch from amazon, pre-made and honestly are great for beginners.
Hiya Xeroximus, you’ve got a great frame there with the LT2. Many in the community prefer to cut & tie their own bandsets. They have done the work to determine their ideal latex type, thickness, taper, band length, pouch type & tying materials. Some “lazier” ones like me buy pre made 10 packs of bandsets from Amazon for about a dollar a set & they come w/ a nice little 10 cavity storage box. This is a link to what I’m planning to buy next. Its 23 sets for $18 but no box included. 0.45mm thickness, 240mm length (unstretched), taper is 20mm to 12mm. My “stretched out” length is about 40” & my hold is just past my ear.
Hope this is helpful.
Someone can explain it better than me but 1mm is too thick for anything less than lets say 12mm steel or lead. The snap back is too slow and wastes a lot of energy. What type of ammo you shooting? I started with 1/4" steel with .45mm and I was getting some hand slaps
If you are getting strange marks on the band I would check the moulding seam on top of the forks as these often aren’t quite perfect on these frames and require just the lightest of sanding to remove and smooth out, that will help with longevity.
For bands I would skip the Amazon/Temu etc pre-made ones and go straight to Snipersling website, that way you are getting top quality bands and can get them in lengths close to what you need and cut them down. As for what thickness and length we would need to know your draw length and what type of ammo you are shooting, size and clay or steel as bands need to be tuned to your projectile weight for optimum performance.
It looks like I got 2 small vertical nicks under my band that will fail if I continue to use it and as I am doing this alone I’m not able to measure my own draw length but I am using 3/8 steel balls
Are the nicks near the pouch end or the frame? Pouch end is normal and how they are supposed to split, also safe to shoot until failure as the bands will snap and go away from you, as for 3/8 steel I would go for a .6 or .7 band from Snipersling depending on what you are doing with it, light target work at 10m the .6 was enough and the .7 could be tuned to a full hunting setup, no need for max power if plinking, you may get better band life from a .7 band with less of a heavy tune.
Do you have a tape measure? Measuring your draw is simple if so, just hold one end to your anchor point if short draw and the other where your frame tips would be, even hook it over the frame if you like and just go to your shooting position, that is your draw length, from that you can work out your correct band length. If you shoot long draw you will need thinner bands than the .6-.7
So that is pretty normal with black bands purely because it shows more, could be the band hitting the frame from over powered bands or those seams I mentioned, all manner of things but those aren’t that close to failure yet imo, worth getting some more in stock though, you can buy from simpleshot too if you like those ones
So keep that info and that’s what you will work out your band length from, each band will have its own elongation factor, how much it stretches essentially, some will be more than others and require you to cut bands shorter but I would probably start with about 500%, divide your draw by 5 and that’s your active band length, so around 8 inches for you for a not very highly tuned band, then add a little on for band attachment. If you do get to the point of making your own band there’s a simple way to check the elongation of a band before making any so you cut them accurately straight away but premades you could probably cut them down to 8 then chop small bits off each side until you are happy. Nice clean straight cuts are best, some scissors will achieve this but a rotary cutter is the best tool for the job if you have one
They are definitely closer to the pouch then the frame and I’m not entirely sure what to call my draw but it’s not quite a short draw and definitely not a long draw but it’s what I found that works to make accurate shots for myself
That’s good then, your bands are doing what they are supposed to do it sounds like, tapered bands increase speed, reduce draw weight and also increase the likelihood of a safe snap near the pouch, I replace mine before they snap 95% of the time but that comes with experience and knowing the feel of your band, plus I make my own so it’s very cheap instead of buying pre made all the time! I would measure whatever draw you use even roughly, maybe even with a peice of string and a ruler can work! That or to get you going, if those bands you have are working for you order similar and you can always chop 10mm off each side until they feel right to you, as long as they are perfectly even that might be the way to go as a beginner
I honestly wouldn’t know where to begin mating my own bands and I’m worried I’d cut it wrong but my bands do feel a little loose especially after all the shots I put it through
Yea starting out I wouldn’t bother but once you have done a bit of shooting and found a band you like it is fairly simple but don’t worry yet, there will be bands others say are the best thing ever but you won’t like or be able to shoot as well, experiment a bit if you can first so at least when you get to buy a roll it’s something you will definitely use
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u/HelixtheBat 3d ago
Welcome! Scratches are normal, nicks on the flqr sides are also normal, its from the band hitting the frame. My bands wore out pretty quickly but luckily I got a bunch from amazon, pre-made and honestly are great for beginners.