Carrying a bow around tends to attract attention. Not the good kind either. Your neighbors start asking questions. Passersby wonder if you’re late for a medieval reenactment. Even if your intentions are perfectly innocent, a full-sized bow and a quiver of arrows are hardly what most people would call discreet.
That is why gadgets like the Pocket Shot exist. It ditches the bow entirely, using a rubber pouch to launch projectiles instead. In a completely unrelated coincidence, YouTuber ZNA Productions decided to work on a similar concept. The idea first struck him when he used three office rubber bands to help launch a hand-thrown arrow, which led him to wonder what it would be like if he could do it in a pistol-style form.
Instead of launching steel balls, he wondered if the same concept could send a full-sized arrow downrange. The result is what he calls a Pistol Crossbow, or Slingbow if you prefer. It is essentially a slingshot wearing a pistol grip, firing full-length arrows without the limbs of a traditional bow.
Yes, it looks a little ridiculous. It also looks ridiculously fun.
Built around a custom wooden grip, an aluminum slingshot fork, and heavy latex bands, the contraption stretches the arrow itself to store energy before launching it. There is no bow in sight, yet 32-inch arrows leave the launcher at around 120 feet per second, according to the creator. It is not replacing your compound bow anytime soon, but it is far more capable than its compact appearance suggests.
Images: YouTube (ZNA Productions).
