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It's been a long time since I last properly used a catapult. As a kid, I had a Black Widow - the last time I saw it was just after discovering that a glass marble could leave a nice round hole in a window - that cost me the catty and a bloody good wallop :laugh:

 

Scroll on 30ish years, things seem to have evolved a bit and, there's some very nice cattys and, some very skilful people using them :yes:

 

I've got fond memories of going out with Grandad as a kid to help check his snares - he'd always have a catty with him. There'd usually be a couple of pigeons in his pocket by the time we got back.

 

I've recently bought a PPSG from Nath on here - he's a good chap and, this is a quality bit of kit - I like how it fits my hand so well.

 

Work has been very busy lately so, I've only recently had the chance to try it out.

 

Nath sent it with a couple of GZK bandsets - I think these are 20mm x 200mm. I found these to be right fiddly little buggers to tie to the forks but, I got there in the end.

 

I had a quick go with some 9.5mm bearings and 12mm lead in the back garden - nothing too clever, I just wanted to see how the catty felt to use.

...... beginners luck let me hit at a tennis ball at about 15yrds.

 

It did feel nice to use.

I'm comfortable holding it in my right hand, tilted to the side and, pulling the pouch back with my left hand.

 

With the GZK sets, I could draw back as far as my chin but, I felt that a draw to my ear would be more comfy so, I put in an order so that I could experiment ......

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The TBG, craft knife, metal ruler, hole punches, cutting mat and 12mm bearings arrived recently :thumbs:

 

...... Still waiting on the 10mm bearings.

 

I grabbed a pair of rigger gloves from work so that I can cut the leather off to make pouches.

 

I cut some bands at 30mm x 300mm and, managed to get them attached.

..... the longer draw is more comfortable and, it feels more natural but, I don't think the bands need to be this wide - I'm going to try some the same length but 20mm wide.

 

The keen eyed among you may spot that I've already scored a couple of fork hits :rolleyes:

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I've read and watched a lot of stuff about cattys over the last few months and, I guess at the moment, I need to figure out my anchor point and aim point. Then, just keep practicing until I can be consistent.

 

At the moment, I think my anchor is to bring my knuckle to my ear lobe.

 

I had a go at a box stuffed with cardboard this morning - the cross is drawn on a sheet of A4 and, the shots were taken from 15 paces.

 

There was a couple of times when I suspect I tilted the forks and, completely missed the box :o

 

So far, I'm liking this - I like the idea of experimenting to find what works. I found making the band set theraputic and, I'm going to enjoy practicing and improving :thumbs:

 

I'm going to try different sized band sets and, spend a few hours practicing on targets on one of my permissions.

 

I'm looking forward to hunting with this but, that's a way off right now - lots more practice needed first :yes:

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The TBG, craft knife, metal ruler, hole punches, cutting mat and 12mm bearings arrived recently :thumbs:

...... Still waiting on the 10mm bearings.

I grabbed a pair of rigger gloves from work so that I can cut the leather off to make pouches.

I cut some bands at 30mm x 300mm and, managed to get them attached.

..... the longer draw is more comfortable and, it feels more natural but, I don't think the bands need to be this wide - I'm going to try some the same length but 20mm wide.

The keen eyed among you may spot that I've already scored a couple of fork hits :rolleyes:

25mm straight cuts about right on mine ok for targets but will nail the odd pigeon as well, sometimes it pays to ignore the aiming dimp as well, I find the corner of the fork suits me better, goodluck happy shooting and when you finish pinging the fork just get a bit of emery cloth and buff out the marks

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​jon I taught my youngest daughter how to use a catty when she was 7 ,she practiced every few hours a day ,shes 14 now and still puts the lads to shame with her shooting including me,its amazing how good you het with the right band and ammo and practice mate

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​jon I taught my youngest daughter how to use a catty when she was 7 ,she practiced every few hours a day ,shes 14 now and still puts the lads to shame with her shooting including me,its amazing how good you het with the right band and ammo and practice mate

. I did give a catty to a young lad of around 10 years old when I was having a mooch round his dad's land with the dogs and for a lad that had never fired a catty he started hitting everything he aimed at within minutes I was so impressed I made him a little catty and a bag of bearings up and gave them to him he was the most naturally gifted person I have ever seen with one and I hope he,s kept it up, it's nice to hear your daughter has kept it up, I give quite a few catty,s to youngsters in the hope it will get them out and off the computer for a bit and give them an interest in the outdoors, dried chick peas and small elastics are great fun for young kids, it get,s them started without putting all the windows in
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Acorns are another good practice ammo , I've always found adults tend to overthink a situation unlike children who seem to be more relaxed in the same situation. Having read this forum for a time now it got me thinking about how I myself aim .

And to be honest I don't think I do, the only thing that runs true with every shot is the position of the stick hand in relation to the pouch hand , be it above the head or below the waist . When rat shooting most shots are snap shots as it's mostly at rats on the hoof that afford little or no time for aiming and thinking , when it feels right "release" .

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Instinctive aiming was the only way I used to shoot and I've taken duck, pigeon and rabbit whilst they were on the go. But I bought myself a scout and practiced anchor point ect till I've become pretty proficient at it and shoot a lot better now ( more kills), I also use the same ammo (9.5mm steel) for practice, plinking and hunting, I find doing that I can adjust my anchor point slightly to shoot over distances without loosing confidence .

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