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20-516: Other names include catapult (United Kingdom), peashooter (United States), gulel (India), kettie (South Africa), or ging , shanghai , pachoonga (Australia and New Zealand) Slingshots depend on strong elastic materials for their projectile firepower, typically vulcanized natural rubber or the equivalent such as silicone rubber tubing, and thus date no earlier than the invention of vulcanized rubber by Charles Goodyear in 1839 (patented in 1844). By 1860, this "new engine" had established

40-453: A 1946 Popular Science article details a slingshot builder and hunter using home-built slingshots made from forked dogwood sticks to take small game at ranges of up to 9 m (30 ft) with No. 0 lead buckshot (8 mm [0.32 in] diameter). The Wham-O company, founded in 1948, produced the Wham-O slingshot. It was made of ash wood and used flat rubber bands. The Wham-O

60-576: A degree that many subsequent paramilitary organisations have been known by that title – most notably the Provisional Irish Republican Army , which was a key participant during the Troubles in the north of Ireland. The contemporary IRA organisations each claim the sole right to the name, each insisting they are the original IRA's only legitimate descendant. The playwright and former IRA member Brendan Behan once said that

80-415: A part-time manufacturer of the aluminium -framed John Milligan Special, a hunting slingshot, reported that about a third of his customers were physicians. Slingshots are also occasionally used in angling to disperse bait over an area of water, so that fish may be attracted. A home-made derivative of a slingshot also exists, consisting of a rubber balloon cut in half and tied to a tubular object such as

100-484: A reputation for use by juveniles in vandalism. For much of their early history, slingshots were a "do-it-yourself" item, typically made from a forked branch to form the Y-shaped handle, with rubber strips sliced from items such as inner tubes or other sources of good vulcanized rubber, and using suitably sized stones. While early slingshots were most associated with young vandals, they could be effective hunting arms in

120-487: Is a name used by various resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to anti-imperialism through Irish republicanism , the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic free from British colonial rule. The original Irish Republican Army (1919–1922) , often now referred to as the "old IRA", was raised in 1917 from members of

140-409: Is one of the most prestigious competitions, attracting participants globally who demonstrate their accuracy and skill by aiming at various targets. Competitions and Events Types of Competitions Equipment Skills and Techniques Community and Culture Overall, slingshot sports blend tradition with modernity, making them an engaging and accessible activity for people of all ages. One of

160-466: The 2003 invasion of Iraq , Saddam Hussein released a propaganda video demonstrating slingshots as a possible insurgency weapon for use against invading forces. Slingshots have also been used by the military to launch unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Two crew members form the fork, with an elastic cord stretched between them to provide power to launch the small aircraft. On the Battle of Marawi ,

180-756: The 2019-2020 protests where they were used against the Hong Kong Police Force , by the Palestinians against Israeli forces . and by the Ukrainians during the Maidan Revolution in 2014. Slingshots have been used as military weapons, but primarily by guerrilla forces due to the easily available resources and technology required to construct one. Such guerrilla groups included the Irish Republican Army ; prior to

200-768: The Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army later reinforced by Irishmen formerly in the British Army in World War I , who returned to Ireland to fight against Britain in the Irish War of Independence . In Irish law, this IRA was the army of the revolutionary Irish Republic as declared by its parliament, Dáil Éireann , in 1919. In the century that followed, the original IRA was reorganized, changed and split on multiple occasions, to such

220-460: The addition of a suitable rest, the slingshot can also be used to shoot arrows , allowing the hunting of medium-sized game at short ranges. While commercially made slingshots date from at latest 1918, with the introduction of the Zip-Zip, a cast iron model, it was not until the post– World War II years that slingshots saw a surge in popularity, and legitimacy. They were still primarily home-built;

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240-402: The chance of a fork end failure is to utilize a tapered band, thinner at the pouch end, and thicker and stronger at the fork end. Designs that use loose parts at the fork are the most dangerous, as they can result in those parts being propelled back towards the shooter's face, such as the ball attachment used in the recalled Daisy "Natural" line of slingshots (see image). The band could slip out of

260-444: The dangers inherent in slingshots is the high probability that the bands will fail. Most bands are made from latex , which degrades with time and use, causing the bands to eventually fail under load. Failures at the pouch end are safest, as they result in the band rebounding away from the user. Failures at the fork end, however, send the band back towards the shooter's face, which can cause eye and facial injuries. One method to minimize

280-712: The first issue on any Irish organisation's agenda was "the split". For the IRA, that has often been the case. The first split came after the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921, with supporters of the Treaty forming the nucleus of the National Army of the newly created Irish Free State , while the anti-treaty forces continued to use the name Irish Republican Army . After the end of the Irish Civil War (1922–23),

300-411: The hands of a skilled user. Firing projectiles, such as lead musket balls, buckshot , steel ball bearings , air gun pellets , or small nails , a slingshot was capable of taking game such as quail, pheasant, rabbit, dove, and squirrel. Placing multiple balls in the pouch produces a shotgun effect (even though not very accurate), such as firing a dozen BBs at a time for hunting small birds. With

320-474: The neck of a plastic bottle, or a small pipe. The projectile is inserted through the tube and into the cut balloon, and the user stretches the balloon to launch the projectile. These so-called "balloon guns" are sometimes made as a substitute to ordinary slingshot, and are often used to create the "shotgun" effect with several projectiles fired at once. In modern times the slingshot has been used by civilians against governments. Examples of this are Hong Kong during

340-431: The slot in which it rested, and the hard ball in the tube resulted in cases of blindness and broken teeth. Daisy models using plain tubular bands were not covered in the recall, because the elastic tubing does not cause severe injuries upon failure. Another big danger is the fork breakage; some commercial slingshots made from cheap zinc alloy may break and severely injure shooters' eyes and face. Many jurisdictions prohibit

360-511: The soldiers of the Philippine Army's elite Scout Rangers were observed using slingshots with grenades as an improvised mortar to attack Maute and Abu Sayyaf forces. Slingshots, often recognized as tools or toys, are also utilized in various organized sports around the world. Competitive slingshot shooting, or catapult shooting, is gaining popularity, with events held in countries like Spain, Italy, and China. The Slingshot World Cup

380-659: The use of arm-braced slingshots. For example, New York Penal law 265.01 defines it as a Class-4 misdemeanor, and in some states of Australia they are also a prohibited weapon. Elasticity (physics) Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.237 via cp1104 cp1104, Varnish XID 208324119 Upstream caches: cp1104 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 07:47:48 GMT Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army ( IRA )

400-586: Was suitable for hunting, with a draw weight of up to 200 newtons (45 pounds-force ), and was available with an arrow rest. The National Slingshot Association was founded in the 1940s, headquartered in San Marino, California . It organised slingshot clubs and competitions nationwide. Despite the slingshot's reputation as a tool of juvenile delinquents, the NSA reported that 80% of slingshot sales were to men over 30 years old, many of them professionals. John Milligan,

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