![]() I've played around with shooting this way, and I'm 30-40% accurate from 0-20 feet. What's the most interesting is the way Rufus and others of that generation shot. I've killed game animals at almost 50 yards with a slingshot. I've done my fair share of hunting, and the shots one can achieve on game with slingshots are shocking. Around 160-180 fps and they fly very straight. Funny thing about rocks is that they fly perfectly fine as long as you keep them at a certain speed. Big pouch and rocks for ammo, and put food on the table with it. ![]() He used 5/8" wide straight cut gum rubber, 16" long. I've experimented with the same setup Rufus shot with, and had two uncles that shot very similar to Rufus. He was the Great Grand Father of our sport. I wondered if it was because of the size of the pouch and ammo combo not being able to go through the forks. Maybe he used that style because of the way his bands were rigged-folded against the forks with the drawing part facing downward. He drew the bands back a bit then stretched out his arm and the tilted his frame forward and released. The other thing was the way he drew back and released. He set his bands with the wings facing inward on the pouch. I have owned two of Rufus Forks and two things I've noticed about his style. I got the impression that Blue wasn't impressed by him. I asked Blue " did you beat him ? " he just smiled. Blue said he was a good shooter but not a great one. Blue said he challenged him and they shot a few rounds together. They lived a couple of hours away from each other. I asked Blue Skeen about Rufus and he told me that he went down to North Carolina to meet him. No question Rufus was a legend-especially shooting with rocks. Anyone know of Rufus shooting at longer distances, or even the regulation 11 yards? Anyway, I am NOT running down the skill of this legend, just remarking on what I observed and how far things have evolved. ![]() This makes sense, since a rock would probably go off course before it travelled 100 feet due to its irregularity. ![]() The one interview I found with an old friend of his said that he asked Rufus to shoot at a cooler/ice chest that was about 100 feet away, and Rufus pulled out a ball bearing to hit it with, rather than the rocks he normally used. Almost all of the shooting, cool as it was, was done from 4 (walnuts, quarters, etc) to 20 feet, with the average distance appearing to be about 10 to 15 feet. None of the video has him shooting at a great distance. So, I went back and watched all of the video I could find on Rufus (News briefs, home video, the Tonight Show episode, etc.), and here is my observation: People are making AMAZING shots from incredible distances and with very impressive speed. However, there has been a LOT of video of Slingshot shooting since Rufus pulled the bands. I remembered watching him and being in awe of his ability. Well, like many people, Rufus Hussey was someone that fascinated me enough to want to take up slingshots again as an adult. ![]()
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