Bands and wishbones

The bands are the gun's engine. Latex rubber, 14 to 20 mm in diameter, stretched to about three and a half times its length, drives the shaft; the wishbone at the band's end hooks into the shaft's notch. Rubber loses power with age, sun and salt whether it is used or not, and a gun that shot flat last summer and drops shafts this summer usually needs nothing but new bands.

Getting bands right is cheap and changes the gun completely: the right diameter and length for the shaft gives a flat, accurate shot; too much rubber gives recoil and bent shafts; too little gives a shaft that arcs.

Diameter:

• 14 mm: light, easy to load, for short guns and small fish.
• 16 mm: the standard single band on a 75 to 90 cm gun with a 6.5 to 7 mm shaft.
• 18 to 20 mm: long guns, two-band setups, big fish. Hard to load.

Length: cut so the band is stretched about 3.2 to 3.5 times when loaded. For a single band that means roughly a third of the distance from the muzzle to the first notch; suppliers give tables and most shops cut to your gun.

Wishbone:

• Dyneema wishbones are quiet, kind to the shaft, and take shark fins; they wear and need checking.
• Metal wishbones are durable and take notched shafts; they can slip on a worn notch.
• Articulated metal wishbones combine both and cost more.

Buy bands from a reputable supplier with a recent production date; latex that has sat in a shop window for a year is already half dead. Pure latex, amber-coloured, is the usual best; black-coated bands last longer in sun and are slightly slower.

Cut to the gun and the shaft, not to a habit. A short gun with a light shaft wants one 16 mm; a 110 cm gun with a 7.5 mm shaft wants two 16 to 18 mm bands. When in doubt, less rubber and a sharper tip.

Rinse, dry in the shade, store unstretched in a dark bag. Rub with talc if they will sit for months. Inspect for cracks at the wishbone ends before each session; a band that shows white lines when stretched is finished. Change them every season regardless.