Before you go any further, a lanyard around the wrist can solve these issues, then you can use your palm without any pressure on your digits.. I don't like lanyards, but it's better than hammer grip, or gosh forbid, a commercial wire-frame., But you can still get a new slingshot on the basis of needing an ergonomically designed lanyard hole . Heck, the right insurance might even pay for it.

 

There is a plethora of pinch grips out there.

 

I was the complete opposite. Started off with pinch grip frames, but they aggravated my carpal tunnel issues at the base of my thumb/wrist juncture. Especially big frames like the PP HTS. Tried a thumb brace frame and it worked out fine. That's all I shoot now, except for an occasional OPFS or Conus.

 

I have been shooting BBs steel and the heavier copper coated lead BBs, I don't feel a thing.

 

I lost a day of shooting at the last East Coast Slingshot Tournament because arthritis flared up in my left thumb. I took Ibuprofen, Dick Riley shared some Aspercreme, but all I could do was trade slingshots and lies for a day. I couldn't hold my ukulele, much less a slingshot. A beer can at the campfire was not a problem, as I recall.
I tried out several options after that. I think the Taurus frame will help. Lighter ammo and bands certainly do. I wouldn't shoot a squirrel with them, but for spinners or paper, 1/4-inch straight cut flat bands of .60 or thinner are good for up to 5/16-inch ammo. I still shoot thumb-braced most of the time - but have options.
And keep that problem hand in a glove. Nobody's going to see it for a while, anyhow! Well, maybe your wife, but she already thinks you're a crazy old coot! LOL!

 

Hi all, coming over to you from the slingshot forums for the first time. For me I have the same issue with the thumb brace after an injury while harnessing up a horse. I love the Taurus very ergonomic but my favorite by far is the D1 from slingshooting.com. it has a titanium head with adjustable Forks so you can set up exactly as you like and a very solid fiber optic sight. I have combined it with the Dragon Emperor 2 handle for my perfect slingshot! I will say I could get the Taurus in a wider fork width that one would be just as good but I am have a Fork width of 98 mm

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Vince, welcome to the other side!
I like the idea of the adjustable width to fine tune the anchor point. Might need to pick up one of these some day soon. Not sure about the tube part, but know that it works for you quite well. Thanks for sharing.

 

Yes it is a very good slingshot I have a link from catapult Carnage where he does a full review of all the different options and what you can get with it. If you want the link to the video. The handle that comes with it originally works just fine but the dragon King to handle just makes it so comfortable more than any handle I've ever tried.

 

About tubes, I switched over to tubes full-time in September and never look back. As far as shooting 3/8 and smaller for target shooting they are amazing and last for thousands of shots. I still will use .6 simple shot bands for hunting but that it's something I'm not ready to do quite yet.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I'm sure we all would like to see the CC review on the frame options.

 

Here's the link took catapult Carnage's video. The slingshot review starts at 8:48 minutes.

This is the video I watched that made me take the plunge and spend the $50. Like I said the handles in the video are comfortable but nothing like the Dragon King 2 handle which will add $28 to the order.
Just to put a find a point on how much I love the D1 slingshot I have bought four of this exact model as pictured above! I have one for each type of shooting I do so I don't have to change my bands out.

Cheers

 

My thumb issue is probably not arthritis. No problem holding the uke for most chords. Just a problem with my playing. Range of movement is not an issue. Just discomfort to pain at the wrist end of the metacarpal bone when bracing pressure applied. Real zinger if I stub the thumb tip. Right now indoors shooting on a 5 meter range. Using lighter bands for the 3/8" steel (20/10 taper. 0.6mm). Tried 0.5 thick bands shooting some 1gm, 9mm rubber ammo. Lot of bounce back. Got tired of picking up ammo off the floor. For now it's shooting Hammer grip with the Hammer XT with the Hammer LT head and the arm/wrist brace. Tarus in route. Hopefully the joint will heal up. I prefer the thumb brace grip.

 

Old guy as far as ammo goes I also tried the 3/8 I started indoor shooting with the same rubber ammo and found a lot of bounce back myself. If you switch to ¼" steel which is also one gram you will avoid all that bounce back and it is very accurate for target shooting. At 5 meters you should be able to put some really like bands no matter what you're shooting. You can pick up a pack of 250 ¼" steel from Walmart for under $5.

 

My hands are pretty banged up as well. Arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, several breaks in both, years of mechanic work, farming, truck driving. All the fun stuff.

Sometimes I get some relief from wearing a tight “mechanix” glove. I usually have a couple pair close by. One size large that is comfortable and one size medium that is a makeshift compression sleeve of sorts.

 

Man that’s a great idea! I’m going to give it a shot myself, albeit on a commercial wire frame though lol

 

Awesome work and great ingenuity! My hats off to you brother! I’m happy that this is working well for him and he can keep on enjoying shooting with out discomfort and pain.