Introduction

Welcome to the Ultimate Guide to Shooting Rubber Bands! I'm Tim Morgan, and I'll be your host as we tour through the fascinating and ever-changing realm of rubber band shooting. But before we continue, I must state a disclaimer: I take no responsibility whatsoever if, while you are trying out these experiments, some poor, unsuspecting person or animal walks by and gets one in the kisser. Now that that's covered, on with the show! History Because of a serious lack in government funding on topics such as the Study of the History of Rubber Band Shooting, not much is known about this yet compelling field. If you need to take a class to keep your GPA up, you've found your course. The textbooks are thin and jokes are numerous! As far as the cutting-edge bandohistorians know, rubber band shooting started only a few decades after the first half-decent rubber bands were manufactured. It was a boon to mischevious kids: the worries of the slingshot were gone. You could easily conceal the weapon, you didn't have to load it up before shooting, and the number of delivery methods provided effective warfare in any situation. Rubber band shooting has come a long way from its early and pathetic roots. Kids would take the rubber band, mount it on their thumb, and shoot. This would lead to instability in flight and painful misfires, especially for chronic shooters. Now our techniques are better, allowing minimum wind resistance across the band's surface area and reduced loading time, from decision-to-fire to band breakaway. Of course, with a future of heat-seeking, flight-path correcting, electro-optical rubber bands and rubber band chaff and flare dispensers, who knows what could happen. (Just kidding about most of that.) Selecting a Rubber Band Choosing your rubber band is one of the most important rituals a young and fresh band-slinger must do. This is an activity which is best guided with the assistance of a master, as part of the long and complex journey to rubber band enlightenment. The rubber band you eventually choose to wield will depend on a variety of factors, including how you shoot, where you shoot, wind conditions, hand size, and much more. Try many styles of rubber band in many situations and discover what works for you. Watch the thickness of your rubber band. Bands too thick will become too taut and cause injury the carpal tunnel and various other parts of the hand. Thinner rubber bands will load easily, but won't go as far and may snap. In other words, the thicker the band, the more momentum, but the more it hurts to load and fire. Find your own equilibrium through experimentation. An ideal thickness for most hands and conditions might be one-eigth of an inch (about 3 mm). The diameter of your bands is also important. Smaller bands will have more momentum, but may become too taut and snap. Larger bands collect slack and won't travel as fast. A good circumference for most bands is about 4.875 inches (12.4 cm), but again, it all depends on the size of your hand. Real bandies measure size by index number; in this case, the ideal size is a Number 31. Many companies develop rubber bands, with varying degrees of reliability. Though my experiences may differ from yours, I am partial to the Band-It Rubber Company (Corona, CA). I also enjoy The Beacon Line by Schermerhorn.

Rubber Band Warfare

Before soldiers learn how to fire a gun, they must learn how war works. Like such, before you learn how to fire a rubber band, you must learn the mechanics of rubber band warfare. Then you shall understand when to fire, which is more important than how to fire. Strategic Overview The main objective in rubber band warfare is territory control. At the start of the war, you and your opponent both wield control over your respective territories. That is to say, anyone who dares venture into your territory would be easily repelled by you or your army. (I hope that is the case.) Thus, you are said to have control over that territory. In political terms, you own it. In a well-designed battlefield, you and your opponent control territory with a netural zone or no-man's-land in between. Ultimately, the goal for each of you is to push the extent of your control (or, to expand your territory's boundaries), until you control the entire map. There are multiple ways of doing this. The first, more classical way is simply to extend your control outwards. This involves a "push" of frontline forces. At some point early on in the war, the battle lines will be drawn, so to speak. That is, out in no-man's-land, you and your opposing force will have formed a line where your forces are attacking. If you can exert more power, you can push this line forward, while your opponents are forced to fall back because too many of their band-soldiers are being overwhelmed. Unfortunately, this method only works in the largest of rubber band wars. For more conservative battles of two to ten people, a much stealthier approach must be taken. Simply charging all five of your soldiers at the enemy will result in a really quick war where everyone's out of bands in five minutes, and you're all sitting there wondering how this could have been more fun. The most effective approach is sabotage. Well-placed, well-trained snipers to maintain an impenetrable defense. Silent agents who eliminate enemy troops before they even know they are under attack. Swift soldiers who swoop into an area and establish an effective perimeter before any enemies can take defensive action. This is the modern rubber band battlefield, and unless you play by its rules, you will die by their sword. Which brings us to our next section. What are the Rules? If you read the previous section, you probably noticed my strategic parallels with actual warfare. No doubt you said to yourself, "But rubber band warfare and actual warfare are two very different things." True. But that's why, before each match, you should set rome rules of the game. A no-hands-barred rubber band fight, while certainly not without its charms, may not find favor with every band-slinger. Some criticize its lack of realism (comparing it to actual war in this case), others ask, "How does being hit by a measly rubber band actually affect your performance as a soldier?" Valid questions, of course. If people aren't actually dying because of rubber band impact, and you are going for realism, perhaps you should consider setting a rule where a rubber band hit in a critical area (read: head, chest) means the victim is "out." Some people find this harsh, however, as the occasional lucky shot at the beginning of battle means some poor band-slinger has to sit on the sidelines for the rest of the war. So, some people instigate 2-minute or 5-minute "penalties" for those hit by rubber bands. Others stick them in a "jail" or POW camp that can be freed by teammates, much like in Capture the Flag. Still others simply have the victim relinquish a certain percentage of his ammo to the opposing side. Each rule entails different strategies and tactics, and to cover them all would be far beyond the scope of this website. Consider learning by doing. And on the flipside, always follow the rules! If you got hit in the head by a band but you don't want to take the 2-minute penalty (for instance), don't sit there fighting it out. Just suck it up and do the time. No one's going to have fun if all you guys end up doing is yelling at each other about rules and regulations. Take your time out, and keep in mind that, in the long run, you're going to have a much better time. If two people have an argument about an event of war, figure out the fastest way to resolve it. Always keep the war going. If you have to stop and fight for ten minutes every time there's a difference of opinion, people will start to get edgy. Consider appointing a referee who can make a quick, decisive choice and have everyone just shut up and stick to it. Keep the war going. Defeating an Opposing Force A common newbie mistake in rubber band wars is to assume the only way to win is to shoot more rubber bands at the opponents than they are shooting at you. This is a fatal mistake. There are many ways to defeat an enemy, and the commander who does not consider a certain method of defeat will be defeated by it. Obviously, the simplest way to exert power is to simply shoot at the enemy. This is effective and shouldn't be ruled out as newbie fodder. By focusing your force at strategic locations on the battlefield, you can gain the mountains, while your enemy cowers in the valley. (In other words, consider which areas on the battlefield are most advantageous to your strategy, and swiftly take possession of them.) A second way to defeat an enemy is by disrupting or exhausting its supplies. Without rubber bands, how will your opponent exert its control over you? Rubber bands are the unit of power in this war, and if you take them away from your enemy, your enemy has no power. Where does the opposing force keep its rubber bands? Take control of that territory. Do not allow enemy band-slingers to get to their own supplies. They will shortly exhaust what little supplies they have left. On a similar note, a good defense for this strategy is to keep your supplies spread out across your territory, not all stashed in one location. Furthermore, you should keep your supply location and the knowledge of it heavily guarded. Thirdly, you could deny the opponent information. By establishing an effective barrier against sentries and spies, and by carefully concealing troop movement, you can make surprise attacks with speed and effectiveness. Finally, you can defeat an enemy through confusion. By frightening and panicking an enemy force, you can create confusion and turmoil. An unorganized force is a defeated one. This is perhaps the most important strategic lesson one can learn, so I'll repeat it. An unorganized force is a defeated one. If your troops know what they are doing and why, they will get the job done. If you, as a commander, know where the enemy is and why, you will understand enough about them to effectively counter their actions. As fighter pilots say, "Lose sight, lose fight." The Roles of Battle There are many different roles one can perform in a rubber band battle. An understanding of each of them is crucial towards using your advantages effectively. As it so happens, the best way to win a war is to exploit your advantages and utilize your enemy's weaknesses. Each of your band-slingers should decide early on what his skills are and inform the commander, so he can make relevant tactical decisions. The Soldier This is your basic blood-and-guts band-slinger. These guys should be good at getting bands off their arms and into the chests of enemy troops as fast as possible. They are meant to reduce the ability of an enemy to control a certain territory, and thus are the basic units of territorial advancement. Don't leave home without them. The Sniper These guys should be able to get one band on the head of one soldier, any soldier, guaranteed. Firing rate is of little issue here. You should use snipers to defend cruical outposts, but because one sniper can take up to 30 seconds to fire off a single band, you should consider placing them in groups, to fire in volleys. But be modest: everyone wants more snipers than they actually have, and an overreliance on them, like anything else, will make their weaknesses that much more easy to exploit. The Commander The commander is like the conductor of an orchestra. (Look, I'm just going to cave in and say "he" instead of "he/she," but women can be fine commanders, as well as men.) He decides what each troop will be doing and relays this information to the battlefield. He should have a firm understanding of the stuff I've been talking about for the last few pages; in other words, he should know how wars are won. Although in small battles only one commander may be needed, in the large wars groups of commanders may take control of smaller territories and collaborate together, possibly under a general (although that's very rare). The Spy The key word here is "silent." Before taking any action, a spy should ask himself, "What is the most silent way I can do this?" And this doesn't just apply to sound: a spy should leave no trace that he is or ever was where he is or ever was. Modern spies aren't just for counterintelligence (although still as valid a strategy as ever) -- modern spies have merged skills with snipers. A spy who can take an enemy down in one hit is a lethal and potent weapon. The best and most effective counter for a spy, however, is the sentry. The Sentry These people should have vision like hawks, hearing like dogs, and legs like tigers. This is the guy down the street, the one with the night-vision goggles and the Miracle Ear, and the telescope he uses to spy on his neighbors. Sentries should be on constant watch for enemy activity, and then run like the wind to the command center to relay this information. Sentries are usually lightly armed, and when attacked, should use their speed to their advantage. Conclusion The last few sections may seem like an overwhelming amount of information. Perhaps you are saying, "Hey, all I wanted was to get a few of my buddies and shoot rubber bands at them." Go ahead! No one is preventing you from simply having a deathmatch, and there's plenty of fun to be had just running around shooting bands at each other. But if, like some other people, you have the facilities and equipment necessary to scale an epic rubber band war, the previous section will prove an invaluable guide towards total domination.

Delivery Methods

This is the section 99% of you probably came for. Here we will discuss the many methods of arming and firing a rubber band. Proper mounting and delivery is critical towards making the rubber band go where you want it to. With practice, you should be able to mount your rubber band swiftly and before your opponent can disarm it. General Delivery Notes First off, don't pull the band too taut. Doing so will cause painful backfiring or snapping. Get a feel for each method and the relationship between tautness and speed so you don't overstretch. Watch out for backfire! This is a common problem among newbies. Releasing the band incorrectly or arming it incorrectly may cause the band to loosen or slip off a cruical finger, making for painful backfire. This hurts! Keep spare bands! Nobody likes to realize they have no more bands left. Always take more than you think you'll need, and know how to get to the restocking area with your eyes closed. It might be a good idea to keep five bands or so around your wrist for quick mounting. You can restock your wrist when you get a break. Before you go off into battle, loosen your rubber bands. Stretch them out in many directions a few times to loosen them up. Not doing so may result in snappage or backfire. If you are in battle for more than an hour, loosen them again. They get tight over time. Account for gravity. Barring air resistance, all objects fall towards the ground at 32 ft/sec2 (9.8 m/s2), regardless of mass or forward velocity. A bullet fired from a gun will hit the ground at the same time as a stationary bullet dropped from the same height. This means that at distances over a few feet, you may need to aim a little higher than you might expect to account for gravity's pull on the rubber band. On a similar note, lead your shots if necessary. If you don't know what leading is, allow me to explain. Imagine you are standing still, aiming at a target ahead of you that is running from your left to your right, as the picture explains. You fire your rubber band directly at the target. In the time it takes the rubber band to reach that point, your opponent has moved, and thus, the rubber band misses. You should aim such that the rubber band will arrive at the point the opponent will be at when the rubber band arrives. Since you probably can't do the integral calculus necessary in your head on demand, you'll just have to practice until you can get a feel for it. Pistol The first method we'll cover is called the Pistol because it's the most common method of delivery. It takes a small amount of work, but in a short time it will become your primary rubber band delivery method. Delivery To mount, first hook the rubber band on the tip of your pinkie. Once it is on your pinkie, shape your hands like a gun, with all fingers curved inward except your thumb and index finger. Then use your other hand to pull the rubber band up, around the base of your thumb, and mount it on the center of your index finger. Try to mount it on the center of your index finger, because otherwise it might snap back and hurt your pinkie! To release, simply lift your pinkie up a bit, therefore allowing the band to come off the edge of your pinkie, whipping around your thumb and off your index finger towards your target. If a rubber band is too taught, you could hook it to your ring or even middle finger if necessary. Analysis This method is quick to load once you get the hang of it. It can be easily concealed and firing is simple. Aim is relatively low but good enough for hitting close human targets. Highly recommended for most situations. Statistics Speed: 11.71 MPH (5.24 m/s) Longetivity: 1.31 sec Range: 22' 6" (6.86 m) Accuracy: 40% Semiautomatic Pistol A variation on the Pistol, this method is called such because it is a semiautomatic delivery technique with lots of firepower. It was created by John Woo, a veteran band-slinger who described it as the "double-fisted 6-shot pre-ban high cap band assault technique." (That just about covers it.) What it is, really, is an ingenious way for shooters of the pistol method to fire up to 6 rubber bands in quick succession without reloading. Delivery Mount one band from your pinkie to your index finger as described in the Pistol method. Continue to mount additional bands on each of your remaining fingers. Do this for the second hand (it takes some practice) and you have 6 bands ready for rapid-fire. Mounting three bands on three fingers requires quite a bit of practice, meaning you'd better get good at it or find a safe place to hide and reload slowly. Analysis The technique for this method is generally the same for the Pistol method. But if you are planning to unload all of your rubber bands at the same time, do not release them simultaneously, but in quick sucession in the opposite order than you loaded them. This prevents misfires. Statistics Spread (2 bands): 3' 1" (0.94 m) Spread (3 bands): 4' 6" (1.37 m) Sawed-Off Shotgun This method is so-called because it is old and venerable -- one of the first methods designed. It is also very powerful, but lacks the accuracy of other methods. One needs to be careful about the high possibility of a misfire. Delivery Hook the rubber band on your thumb, towards the very top. If it's too low, your rubber band will not leave the thumb. To minimize the chance of pain, tilt your thumb so the nail is nearly parallel with the ground. Then pull the other side of the band with your other hand until it becomes as taut as desired. To deliver, simply let go of the side your are holding. It should leave your hand at decent speed. Try not to aim for a point too small, as the band is fairly fickle as to which way it goes. Aim in a general area, and hope for the best. If the band was mounted high enough, it should successfully leave the thumb with a minimum of pain. If it was too low, it will spin around the thumb and you will have to remount. Analysis This method is vintage and out of date, but it is very easy to understand and very flexible (see the variations, for example). You can control the speed, topspin, and much more. However, this means that it snaps more easily, too. Statistics Speed: 20.56 MPH (9.19 m/s) Longetivity: 0.76 sec Range: 22' 11" (6.99 m) Accuracy: 20% Variation: Rifling You can rifle the rubber band, as suggested by David Ruzicka, thus improving accuracy, by creating an asymmetric tension. Do this by mounting the band normally, then using your index finger on your dominant hand to pull one side of the band tighter than the other. This variation will improve accuracy to 60%. Variation: Scope If you need more aiming capability, consider mounting the rubber band on your index finger and then pointing at the target. Bring your arm up to your head and look down it like a scope. Fire away! This variation, suggested independently by M. Cadwell and Jesse Stopple, improved accuracy to 50%. Furthermore, Adrian Rodriguez suggests mounting additional bands on your aiming finger for rapid-fire delivery. Variation: High Drag A suggestion by Sun Wu Kong will increase drag until the rubber band will drop fairly rapidly after a short flight. By launching from your index finger instead of your thumb, and tilting that finger sideways, and pulling on only one side of the rubber band, you add drag and unpredictability to the flight. With this method, accuracy doesn't change. Variation: Twist Another way to rifle the rubber band is by simply twisting the band before launch (rotate your hand to get this effect). This forces the band to rotate in flight, giving it a much greater accuracy. This method, created by Alex Ütter, improves accuracy to 80%. Jaeger Rifle This method is named after the legendary rifle because it is slow, not too powerful, but pretty darn accurate. Delivery To deliver, simply hook the band towards the top of the thumb and index finger of the same hand. Then raise your hand to eye leve, point the rubber band at the target, and then bend your thumb downward. If mounted correctly, it should leave the hand with good accuracy. Analysis This method does not win any award for speed; however, it does have a high accuracy. This method should be used for the surprise attack, when time is on your side and speed isn't neccessary, but accuracy is. Statistics Speed: 10.72 MPH (4.79 m/s) Longetivity: 1.06 sec Range: 16' 8" (5.08 m) Accuracy: 70% Mini-Crossbow This method, invented by Joseph J. Tease to kill cockroaches, is called the Mini-Crossbow method because it allows you to accurately aim your rubber band. It is somewhere between the Sawed-Off Shotgun and Sniper methods. Delivery First you must mount the rubber band on your middle finger of your non-dominant hand (e.g., your left hand if you're right-handed). Mount the rubber band as high as you comfortably can. Then, lowering your non-dominant arm into a resting position, pull the band as taut as you safely can, along the length of your arm. Bring both hands up together, keeping the band taut, to face your target. Cock your head and use your arm as an aiming reference. The important thing here is to keep the rubber band parallel with your arm. Your arm is an aiming reference, and the rubber band must go where you point your arm. Once you have your aim comfortable, let go! Analysis This method is slow to load but makes for fairly accurate firing when done properly. In fact, it's probably the best accuracy-for-speed tradeoff you can make without a pen handy, and without any loading time limits. And when the tumbleweed rolls by a classic country-western standoff, this "duelist's" method can't be beat. Statistics Speed: 16.15 MPH (7.22 m/s) Longetivity: 0.95 sec Range: 22' 5" (6.86 m) Accuracy: 60% Sniper Rifle The Sniper method is so-called because it is a very accurate but very slow delivery method. This method is perfect for people who have a high perch and no one at their backs, so they can take single shots at people below. It would also be a good idea to have a shield or something to duck under after you make your shot, as reload time can be as long as 3 seconds. Delivery This method is a sister to the Sawed-Off Shotgun method. Instead of using a normal-sized rubber band, you will need one with a much larger diameter. I'd suggest something twice the diameter of a normal band but no thicker. To start, you need a pen. Pencils' tips can break off. Hold your oversized rubber band by a side, letting the other side fall to rest on the ground. Place your pen atop the section on the ground, then pull the band taut. Lift the pen and band (now mounted on the tip of the pen), holding the band between your thumb and index fingers. Stretch the band very tight. Aim and fire. Deadly accurate! Analysis You're going to need a lot of oversized bands, because after you see how accurate this method is, you'll want to stay in your outpost for a long time. You might also want a stash of normal bands in case you have an ambush on your hands, as a three-second loading time is unacceptable for meelee combat. Statistics Speed: 10.57 MPH (4.73 m/s) Longetivity: 2 sec Range: 31' (9.45 m) Accuracy: 90% Semiautomatic Sniper Rifle This method, suggested by band-slinger Clark Fry, is named as such because it is accurate and quick to load. Plus, you can fire off multiple shots in quick succession. It uses rifling to attain its accuracy, and thus is a close relative of the rifling variation of the Sawed-Off Shotgun. Delivery Delivery of this method takes some getting used to, but with careful concentration and a little time, you should be able to master it. First, you should have the thumb, index, and middle finger of your dominant hand pointing upward. All others should be closed into a fist. Arrange the three standing fingers such that they form a triangle (think of a stool resting upside-down). Wrap the rubber band around these fingers, at a comfortably-high altitude. Now, make your index finger of your non-dominant hand into a hook, and latch it onto an exposed part of the rubber band. Pull it a little taut, so that it is firmly attached. Now, while pulling the non-dominant index finger away, thus making the band more and more taut, slowly allow the rubber band to slip off your index and middle finger of your dominant hand, leaving only your thumb and the index finger of your non-dominant hand. Now, using free fingers, check to see if the band is taut on one side and loose on the other. If not, try again. If so, tilt the thumb downward (so the nail is nearly parallel with the ground). To release, simply lift the index finger and allow the rubber band to fly off the thumb. To get the semiautomatic capability, load multiple rubber bands onto your dominant hand, hooking the index finger of your non-dominant hand into each one and firing them in succession. At the fastest, you should be able to release them ever 1 and a quarter second. Analysis If you're an aspiring sniper who has a little soldier in him, the semiautomatic snuper rifle can't be beat. While not as hard-hitting (literally) as the sniper rifle method, it packs a rapid-fire punch that's useful in tight situations. Statistics Speed: 9.68 MPH (4.34 m/s) Longetivity: 1.35 sec Range: 19' 2" (5.84 m) Accuracy: NYT Bazooka This method is named as such because it is used to launch not the rubber bands but projectiles. It is also very accurate. This method is good if you are down to one or two rubber bands and the war is hardly over. Delivery Hook the rubber band on your index finger and thumb of the same hand (it doesn't have to be high up). Separate your hand, making the band relatively taut. Place the projectile in front of the exposed section of the rubber band, and pull back until taut. Release. The band will snap forward, sending the projectile to your target. Projectiles can be anything of decent mass and small size: rocks, folded-up pieces of paper, and even tacks (if you're very mean). Preferably you'd want something with dimples in it or a small drag coefficient. (See the Physics of Rubber Band Shooting.) Analysis Account for the new physics here. You aren't shooting light rubber bands with a topspin; you are shooting projectiles of varying masses, so aim accordingly. But if you are low on bands and high on assorted debris, this is the method to use. When shooting a standard ball-point pen facing forward (for maximum pain, of course), the statistics are: Statistics Speed: 15 MPH (6.71 m/s) Longetivity: 1.61 sec Range: 35' 5" (10.80 m) Accuracy: 40% Spear The spear method, brought to my attention by William G. Roberson III, makes your snapped rubber bands useful once again. It is simple to deliver, very flexible, and can be considered the basis on which all other methods are built. Delivery Simply pinch one side of the rubber band (which is now actually a rubber strip) and use the other hand to pull the strip taut. Aim along the line of fire, and release. Releasing is actually the trickiest part of this simple method: the secret is to release your fingers in rapid sequence, starting with the hand nearest to you. This ensures that the rubber band flies off away from you. The slightest error will cause backfire or a dead fire. I recommend practicing this method in safety and comfort before attempting it in battle. Four or five tries and you should have delivery sequencing down. Analysis Though the potential for backfire is high, there really is no other way of getting rid of a snapped band. Plus, this method has a much more gratifying strike: instead of merely bouncing off the target, it whaps the target across the length of the strip in one fluid, whiplash motion. This is far more satisfying. Plus, it's recommended by one of the original Tuskeegee airmen, so you know it's gotta be good. Statistics Speed: TVTT Longetivity: TVTT Range: TVTT Accuracy: 60%

Defensive Action

War has two parts: offense and defense. Focusing on one will become your undoing. To be a true rubber band master, you must be able to execute effective offense and defense on demand, and be able to decide quickly when each is appropriate. Disarming Other Shooters Disarming rubber band shooters is easier than you think, and with a little practice it should become second-nature to any shooter. If your opponent has mounter his rubber band in the style of the Jaeger Rifle, Bazooka, or Sawed-Off Shotgun method (in other words, close to the top of one finger while being pulled back by another), disarm it by lifting the part of the band mounted on the closest finger to you, and letting go. This will cause the rubber band to backfire, hurting your opponent and giving you time to plug a band in his chest. If your opponent has mounted his band in a way similar to the Pistol method, simply flick the finger closest to you. That will cause the finger to lift up, making the rubber band backfire onto his pinkie. With any other method of mounting, just grab onto the most exposed part of the rubber band. You have to grab onto both parts of the band, as the picture explains. Otherwise it can still be fired at your hand. Though grabbing onto it doesn't normally cause backfire, it still does keep you safe while you perform appropriate close-range martial arts. If your lucky opponent has chosen the Sniper Rifle method, I suggest mounting your shield in front of you and running as fast as you can in his direction without slowing down. You will not survive an unshielded attack on a sniper alone. Shielding Yourself If, like the majority of games, being hit by a rubber band entails more than a little pain (e.g., a 5-minute penalty), you will need some way of preventing rubber bands from hitting you. Helmets and shields work wonders in this area. A simple shield can be constructed out of cardboard or some other firm, light material. It should be able to stand upright so you can put it down while reloading. Alternatively, it could be attached to your arm, leaving your hands free. When using a shield, do not bother trying to locate the rubber band in midair. By then it will be too late. Simply point your shield at the hand of the attacker -- it should be big enough to account for gravity's influence. If you're getting pummeled by rubber bands at it really hurts, consider wearing a thick sweater. Watch out for the latex jackets! Those things go zwip, zoop, zwip, zoop when you move and can easily give away your location. Keep your head protected, too. Goggles and a helmet should be considered if there's a sniper on the other team who's particularily fond of the eye. (Mean little twerp...)

The Physics of Rubber Band Shooting

To truly understand how to shoot a rubber band, one must have a firm understanding of the physics of rubber band shooting. The next section will explain the mechanics of the forces at work when a rubber band is shot through the air. Forces at Work When a rubber band is in flight, three forces act on it: gravity, horizontal drag, and vertical drag. Gravity relentlessly pulls every object toward the ground at an acceleration of 32 ft/sec2 (9.8 m/s2). This means that, every second, your rubber band is falling towards the ground 32 ft/sec faster. (Actually, other variables are at play here, but for now, we will assume there are only two forces at work.) Because rubber bands are usually in the air for a little over one second, gravity's effects are noticeable and appreciable. The second force is horizontal drag. Fore more information, read the next section. The third force is vertical drag. Vertical drag opposes the force of gravity, in essence, weakening its pull. Vertical drag plays a small but noticeable role in the rubber band's flight; without it, the rubber band would fall to Earth at the same speed as a rock. Unfortunately, so many factors come into play that it would be nearly impossible to calculate vertical drag. We can do a few informal tests, however. Dropping a smooth rock (which has almost no vertical drag) and a rubber band side-by-side, we see that vertical drag slows gravity's pull by about 4%. Note that there is no forward-facing force. There is a small force at the beginning, when you release the rubber band (which we will get into later), but once the band is in the air, no forces are compelling it to move forward. Air Resistance Air molecules constantly strike a rubber band in flight, slowing it down. This process can be generalized by the formula F=1/2*cA<rho>v2, where c is the drag coefficient, A is the cross-sectional area of the side facing the wind, rho is the air pressure, and v is the velocity of the object. Because I don't have access to a wind tunnel, I'll simply estimate the drag coefficient from being anywhere between .4 and 1. This is very conservative. The cross-sectional area, in this case, is equal to one-half the circumference of the rubber band times its width; for a standard rubber band circumference of 12.4 cm and thickness of .3 cm (as mentioned earlier on this website), our area becomes .000186 m2. Rho, the air density, is 1.29 kg/m3 at STP (standard temperature and pressure). According to the Pistol method, the velocity is 5.79 m/s (we'll take this to be about standard). We multiply these together and we get an air resistance of between .0016 N and .004 N (N = newton, a measure of force). Because F=MA (force = mass*acceleration), we simply divide these numbers by the mass of the rubber band to get the acceleration air resistance will impart on the velocity. Your typical rubber band weighs around .5 g, so you get an acceleration of .0032 m/s2 to .0081 m/s2. This means that every second, the rubber band decelerates by .0032 to .0081 m/s. When you consider the fact that rubber bands are only in the air for about 1 to 3 seconds, you can see that air resistance plays a very small part in a rubber band's flight. Potential Energy Physics describes rubber bands under a class called springs. Springs are any object that, when stretched, store potential energy to be released later as kinetic energy. There are formulae we can use to calculate the amount of energy, and then, how fast a rubber band will go when its potential energy is released as kinetic energy. Note that these formulae are describing ideal springs: rubber bands, like anything else in our imperfect universe, are not ideal. Some of the energy released when you shoot a rubber band goes into heating your hand, the air, and the band, creating a sound, and deforming your hand and the band. But enough energy becomes kinetic to make these formulae accurate enough for our purposes. To work with these equations, we must first know the spring constant of our rubber band. To do this, we need a weight of any size. I picked a a 500-g weight from a scale set. I then fashioned a holder to attach to the rubber band out of a paper clip. First, we must let the rubber band hang naturally. We then measure the length of the rubber band. In my case, it's 5 cm, or .05 m. Next we must attach the weight and measure the new length of the rubber band. It's now about 7.5 cm, or .075 m. Then we subtract these two values to get .02 m, and put that under the weight (not the mass) of the weight. (500g is 4.9 N). 4.9 N divided .02 m is a spring constant of 245 N/m. Note that this is very large; this can be expected, as rubber bands aren't terribly springy. Knowing the spring constant, we can use the formula E=1/2kx2, where x is the difference between the natural and stretched length and k is the spring constant, to calculate the potential energy at a certain stretched length. The length of the rubber band in my hand, when using the Pistol method, is about 20.5 cm, or .205 m. We plug that in and we get a potential energy of 2.94 J. Assuming all of this will be converted into kinetic energy, we can use the formula KE=1/2mv2 to calculate the velocity upon release. It turns out to be 3.43 m/s, or 11.25 ft/sec, or 7.67 MPH. Rifling Rifling, in this case induced by differential loading, is a physics concept that allows rubber bands to be more accurate in flight. When a rubber band flies in midair, any variations in its air resistance graudually build up to create a sizable deflection. By spinning the rubber band, we can utilize gyroscopic precession to balance out these forces. Because the resistance acts on an object that later moves to a different angle, the effective direction of that force is altered. It is also canceled out by the forces encountered by other sections of the rubber band. Many of the methods have variations involving rifling. Rifling gets its name from the grooves that circle the barrel of a rifle, causing the bullet to spin as it exits the barrel. The spinning bullet stabilizes its flight and improves accuracy. Other projectiles that use rifling include arrows (which have slightly angled feathers that induce a spin) and frisbees. There are two ways to spin a rubber band. One is to create a tension difference across two sides of the rubber band, which creates a frisbee-like spin. This is accomplished in many ways, mostly by pulling one side of the band more taut than the other. For examples, see the variations of the methods involving rifling. The second is to create a twisting, bullet-type spin. This can easily be accomplished by twisting the band between the endpoints to form a figure-eight pattern. When fired, the band untwists and continues to twist as it heads for the target. This method also helps lift the band to clear the thumb. The tension-differential and twist methods can be combined, but the accuracy difference is negligible. --AÜ

Conclusion

Well, if you managed to read through all of that, you can now officially call yourself a Master Band-Slinger. But before you go off to save the world for freedom and democracy, there's a few closing tidbits I thought you ought to know. General Safety Tips Now, I know you can't think of everything I've said and I'm about to say while facing six opponents with huge bags of spare bands, but you should practice these situations until they become autonomous. The biggest rule I can stress is stay safe! Rubber bands can backfire and cause mayhem, so take the necessary precautions to avoid or retard self-inflicted harm. Stay wary of material objects, as well. In one fight, one lucky snipe from myself happened to strike a dangling ball from a kitchen light, which then shot up and put a nice, fat crack in the light fixture. To this day, no one in the family knows it was me... And here's another biggie: rubber bands shot at you cannot go through walls! Most people seem to forget this when faced with insurmountable opposition and a chance for safe haven. Clean up afterwards. Nobody's wife (or husband) likes to see rubber bands sitting in the chicken soup she had left simmering on the stove while she went out to buy some more carrots. ("Interesting flavor, honey...") Don't take it personal. I've seen a lot of people who just can't seem to have fun. If some obstinate sniper's getting really obnoxious, get a sextuple-band-firing kickass soldier on his behind. Fight fire with fire. Don't break the rules and start a bar fight. Remember: we're playing with rubber bands here. Keep the martial arts to a necessary minimum. Finalé Congratulations! Now you are a rubber band-shooting master. Remember, the force you now possess is potent, and must be used for the purposes of Good only. Do not let this web page get into the hands of evil! Oh yeah, and sharp shooting! Additional Notes Created on August 13, 1997 by Tim Morgan. Redone on April 9, 2001. Copyright ©1997-2001 Tim Morgan. All rights reserved. Revision History I. Original release II. Added a new method, specifications; fixed typos and errors III. Added new method, renamed methods, fixed typos and errors IV. After an inexplicable surge of e-mail, redid entire website. Hope you like the new look! Specifications on Statistics Distance and time records were recorded in a hallway at near-ICAO conditions and no winds. Figures are not exact, but around +/- 30%. Speed represents the average velocity throughout the rubber band's flight, and is interpolated from distance and time. Accuracy is a figure representing my ability to hit a 12"-by-18" target 10 feet away with 10 tries. Your mileage may vary. NYT = Not Yet Taken. TVTT = Too Variable to Tell. This page was designed in an old version of GoLive CyberStudio and SimpleText. Graphics were done in Color-It!. Pictures were taken with a Canon XL1. No animals were harmed during the making of this website. OK, OK, my cat got hit by a band once accidentally and she ran away, but that's why I put in the disclaimer. Awards & Recognition