When the stainless version was released at the start of the year, like the S-Airship 90, it was just a matter of time. My favourite grade of stainless too, 420. 😁 Seriously though, that is it this time. No more.
I've been a big fan of the S-Airship ever since it came out a few years back. When I saw the new 90mm version got released at the start of the year I knew I'd have one eventually. I set the 90 up for 9.5mm steel and the og 85 is set up for 8mm steel. Both are brilliant. I'm just glad I only bought 2 frames and 2 lots of pouches. That's all, just the S-Scepter and the S-Airship 90, and the 2 lots of pouches. Nothing else. Nope. Not me. I have discipline.
Got myself a S-Scepter from SniperSling. It's been on my want list for a while and I managed to free up some cash. Very positive first impressions. I'm very proud of myself too. I managed to control myself and only get one frame and some pouches. That's it, just the one frame, and the pouches. Nothing else.
Many cans have fallen to this warrior today. It's a bit pouch slappy but the bands are a touch heavier than they need to be.
It makes a nice ringing noise if you hit the lower half. Hitting the upper half makes a hard smack noise. I've got a few more of the steel cones so once this one is totally mashed I can make another, probably improved a bit. The bands on that frame are shot out, I can feel it, they've lost their snap a while back, but I refuse to quit until they split.
Dug out an old frame that I haven't shot for a while, threw a random tube set together, and grabbed some lil 6mm balls. 1632 tubes half butterfly draw. It's been a few years since I've gone this light and I'd forgotten how much fun it can be. Gonna put some paracord on this I reckon.
Cherry Laurel natural fork, 22/15mm taper, 165mm active length, 0.6mm SS black, 9.5mm steel at 10m.
23/13mm taper, 165mm active length, 0.5mm AK Velocity, 8mm steel.
Headed back to the pile of Cherry Laurel to get a bigger fork. I despise the tree/shrub, but the wood shows promise. I've heard it can be prone to splitting even after it's dry. This has been cut down for a couple of years and I got a good fork, plus a nice bit to see how it behaves cut on the bias. I'm going to leave it a couple of weeks to see if it splits at the new cuts. I don't want to fill up my drying crates with it until I know it's good.
It didn't need a lanyard but I needed an excuse to use the awl. The slingshot shoots great, 9.5mm steel ammo.
Yes, I know my Farmer X needs cleaning. The purple gunk on the scissors is from opening a truck load of Vimto based frozen treats, and I refuse to clean them until they stop functioning or summer ends.
At some point I'm going to have to accept that this is just compulsive behaviour. Better than crack tho.
I'm making these often enough to invest in the proper tools for the job, should have the funds soon. Shaping the tips by hand is a fair bit of work.
I got these two how you see them. Both need stripping and servicing and I'm capable of doing that work, however, from previous experience I know that a good stripdown guide can save much time and swearing, so any recommendations for one will be greatly appreciated.
When you're looking for a particular frame and you open the draw to this mess you know you've let things get out of control.
S-Airship is fitted with 1836 at the tips and 1632 at the pouch, 170mm active length shooting 8mm steel. Nice balance.
S-SYNX 90 is wearing 1842 at the tips and 2040 at the pouch, 170mm active shooting 9.5mm steel. A little over powered, lil bit of pouch slap, but the smack on the can is deeply satisfying. Heavier draw than necessary, more tuning needed.
Is there any real advantage to doing this? Not really, aside from the rapid acceleration. I have some heavier draw sets made up for heavy ammo, I think, as always with tubes, thats where the real advantage of tubes comes in. Flats will always have the advantage on contraction rate, but that starts to mean less when the ammo is heavy enough to stop it reaching that contraction rate. Flats are a sports car, tubes are a work truck. Imo.
SniperSling Ghost TTF. 22/12 taper, 165mm active length, 0.5mm AK Velocity. One of my favourite TTF frames. Personally I find it shoots best with a lose(ish) grip allowing the tips to square up naturally.
Start with the big one, if you hit, move to the next smallest, if you miss, return to the start.
For years the majority of my shooting has been outside and on the move, very little time was spent at the catch box shooting at a measured consistent distance. Recently that seems to have flipped, not sure why though.
On a side note, that little bead retention frame is remarkably easy to shoot, it's a lot of fun.
I confused the Shootin' Shack with one of my other sheds and tried to put an old motorbike in it. So I made a sign to avoid any future confusion. It's a bit rough but it'll probably need replacing after I hit it with some heavy flyers.
I'm not worried about hitting them, I'm not THAT bad a shot, but I don't want to startle them. I've developed a good relationship with the farmer and his workers, who are his kids, and this herd were very good with my dog when she decided to go over and say hello. I couldn't see my dog, but I could see the herd all huddled together and when I got over there Storm was in the middle saying hello to each and every cow. They just seemed to be interested to see us both on their side of the fence. So, in all honesty, I just don't want to startle them. Annoying though.
This thing has become a regular visitor to my pocket for the dog walks. I just drop it in my back pocket and forget it's there until there's something to shoot at. It has picked up a few scuffs, but I don't mind that.