Slingshot Bow Thing

[Parnell]

There was a new show on Disc. Channel last night - Beyond Survival with Les Stroud.  He visited a tribe in Sri Lanka, the Vedda, that made a quickie green slingshot bow thing.  I've never seen anything like this, and didn't quite get it, as far as how it could shoot a rock without hitting the bow.  Did anyone catch this?  I'm sure it'll be on again.

[Pat B]

I've seen pics of these"pebble bows". I'd be afraid of hitting my hand with the rock. They must work OK because they have been using them for a while.

[JW_Halverson]

Was it a bow with a pocket in the string where you would normally nock your arrow?  If so, I think the technique is to rotate your wrist out rapidly as you release the string.  None-the-less, I see a sharp (and painful) learning curve...both in shooting the crazy thing and developing new and unsuitable vocabulary

[Parnell]

They showed it being shot and it certainly looked/sounded like it worked just fine.  He did hit his hand, JW, you must be right about the wrist thing, still don't get how it doesn't strike the bow.

The string was different, it was like a double string with a pocket on it.

[mullet]

 I'll Pass! I'll just sling sticks. I don't like "Shot's from the Doctor" either.

[Lombard]

I saw the episode just last night. It looked as though it blistered a rock with enough velocity to take down small varmints. If Les wasn't all mellowed out on beetle nuts or whatever that red stuff was, he might have been a hurting unit when he shot himself.