- Location
- Chattanooga
I’ve often wonder that myself, so I hooked up my scale to my Big Shot and measured it.
I have a 3:1 MA with a Blake’s hitch catch and a quick release so it’s easy to pull the pouch to a position and hold it, well, and for that matter to release it slowly if I decide not to fire it.
Anyway, here are some pics of the test. I measured the force three different times for confirmation. The first two times I got just under 80 lbs; the third time, as shown in the pics, I got 75 lbs. The first two times I had the scale inverted and the last time I had it up right. I think the 5 lb difference may be that in the inverted mode, the weight of the scale body is measured, which would contribute to pull force.
Here’s the starting position:
Here’s the stretched position. I pulled the pouch pull strap to the top of the aluminum collar on the bottom section – that’s right at 30.5 inches of stretch.
Here’s what the scale read. Although the sunlight just about washed out the reading, the 75 lb mark is visible to the left of the red line indicator.
An interesting thing about this is that if we calculated the implied energy, assuming a linear triangular profile of the force vs displacement of the power bands, i.e.
E = .5 x force x displacement = .5 x 75 lbs x 30.5”/12”) = 95.3 ft-lbs.
That suggests that a Big Shot should be able to propel a 16 oz throw bag just over 95 feet, from the position shown in the pics. However, measurements I’ve done on latex tubing reveal that the force-displacement profile is far from triangular or linear. Hence, based on my measurements (other than the Big Shot) the Big Shot would not have anywhere near 95.3 ft-lbs of energy, nor could it propel a 16 oz bag 95 feet from the position I measured. My guess would be more like 60 – 70 feet.
I know, you’ve seen it shoot a 16 oz bag a hundred feet – me too, but not from the position in the pic – it had to be stretched further.
Another interesting thing is that whatever distance it would shoot a 16 oz bag, shouldn't it shoot an 8 oz bag nearly twice as far?
Nothing particularly revolutionizing about this, just thought it was interesting enough to post. It does help explain, perhaps, why it is so difficult to be accurate shooting high if you have to manually pull, hold, and release the Big Shot.
I recently shot an 82 foot 'window' shot with an 8 oz bag using the quick release. It took two tries. The first time I inadvertently pulled the bag back through the crotch and had to re-shoot it. To me, the release makes tons of difference in accuracy.
I have a 3:1 MA with a Blake’s hitch catch and a quick release so it’s easy to pull the pouch to a position and hold it, well, and for that matter to release it slowly if I decide not to fire it.
Anyway, here are some pics of the test. I measured the force three different times for confirmation. The first two times I got just under 80 lbs; the third time, as shown in the pics, I got 75 lbs. The first two times I had the scale inverted and the last time I had it up right. I think the 5 lb difference may be that in the inverted mode, the weight of the scale body is measured, which would contribute to pull force.
Here’s the starting position:
Here’s the stretched position. I pulled the pouch pull strap to the top of the aluminum collar on the bottom section – that’s right at 30.5 inches of stretch.
Here’s what the scale read. Although the sunlight just about washed out the reading, the 75 lb mark is visible to the left of the red line indicator.
An interesting thing about this is that if we calculated the implied energy, assuming a linear triangular profile of the force vs displacement of the power bands, i.e.
E = .5 x force x displacement = .5 x 75 lbs x 30.5”/12”) = 95.3 ft-lbs.
That suggests that a Big Shot should be able to propel a 16 oz throw bag just over 95 feet, from the position shown in the pics. However, measurements I’ve done on latex tubing reveal that the force-displacement profile is far from triangular or linear. Hence, based on my measurements (other than the Big Shot) the Big Shot would not have anywhere near 95.3 ft-lbs of energy, nor could it propel a 16 oz bag 95 feet from the position I measured. My guess would be more like 60 – 70 feet.
I know, you’ve seen it shoot a 16 oz bag a hundred feet – me too, but not from the position in the pic – it had to be stretched further.
Another interesting thing is that whatever distance it would shoot a 16 oz bag, shouldn't it shoot an 8 oz bag nearly twice as far?
Nothing particularly revolutionizing about this, just thought it was interesting enough to post. It does help explain, perhaps, why it is so difficult to be accurate shooting high if you have to manually pull, hold, and release the Big Shot.
I recently shot an 82 foot 'window' shot with an 8 oz bag using the quick release. It took two tries. The first time I inadvertently pulled the bag back through the crotch and had to re-shoot it. To me, the release makes tons of difference in accuracy.
