Making Slingshots with Grandpa Esplin

The following came from something Scott wrote in his journal recently.

When we were in Utah we asked my dad to help us make sling shots. I remember how we did this when I was younger and thought it would be fun for a repeat.

Step 1—Procuring Forked Branches:

Before our arrival grandpa had scouted out some forked branches during his walks around the neighborhood. Most of these came from overgrowth on an isolated trail away from homes. However, one or two came from yards in the neighborhood. When Jared asked why we were cutting grandpa’s neighbor’s trees I tried to explain how we were kind of on the dividing line between two yards so it must be ok. Grandpa gets away with these things—kind of like in the winter how he rides his quads on the paved neighborhood streets pulling grandkids on sleds. I don’t know how you gain this special license. Maybe it’s due to the poise and confidence he shows as he walks around the neighborhood with tree pruners. Mostly I think it’s because he is very kind and serves those around him.

Step 2—Whittling, Notching, Cutting, and Assembly:

For this next step we broke out knives in grandpa’s backyard. We shaved off the bark and notched the ends of the forked branches. We also cut out leather pouches. Eventually the kids grew tired and started to squabble a bit—fortunately it was not with sharp pointed objects nor with the prototype sling shot.

Step 3—Final Testing:

This was the best step of all. We drove down to Utah Lake and tested our sling shots for accuracy and distance. We shot at drift wood, seagulls and ducks. Ok… the kids shot at drift wood. I was the one who took aim at seagulls and ducks (but only when attention was directed elsewhere so as to set a good example). But the fowls didn’t have much to worry about.

We all had a great time and thank grandpa for such a fun event.