slinky shot

[lucasmorter]

i just bought one of those 5lb bags of 1/4 inch slinky shot from dicks sporting goods. i would advise against buying ths stuff. each piece of shot has a hole in it with a bunch of rough edges and flash that gets caught up inside the parachute chord. i have managed to make it work but it takes a lot longer. just made about 10 feet of slinky. my hands are so sore because before that i tied up at least 50 egg loop leaders. maybe i can collect dis ability and fish everyday now? ha ha ha

[fish_stalker]

Thank you for the heads up.

[sandrail001]

I have seen guys take the shot with the holes and either leave the tag off their knot long and then slide the shot over it and crimp the last one to hold them on the line. What also works good is heat shrink for electrical work. slide them in the tube and heat the ends, works just great

[lucasmorter]

Originally Posted by sandrail001

I have seen guys take the shot with the holes and either leave the tag off their knot long and then slide the shot over it and crimp the last one to hold them on the line. What also works good is heat shrink for electrical work. slide them in the tube and heat the ends, works just great

i want slinkies though, if i wanted to go that route i would just used split shots. the heat shrink is not going to be flexible like a slinkie its gonna be more like a piece of pencil lead. best option is to but the little jars of lead shot for making slinkies or to buy actual buckshot. i would just return this stuff but i already used alot of it for slingshot ammo (squirrels everywhere) before i started making slinkies for winter steel.

[Waterfrontfish]

Buy the lead shot at Bi-Mart, it's better and cheaper! Be well and fish on! Mark.

[KalamaGeo]

Originally Posted by lucasmorter

i want slinkies though, if i wanted to go that route i would just used split shots. the heat shrink is not going to be flexible like a slinkie its gonna be more like a piece of pencil lead. best option is to but the little jars of lead shot for making slinkies or to buy actual buckshot. i would just return this stuff but i already used alot of it for slingshot ammo (squirrels everywhere) before i started making slinkies for winter steel.

poor squirrels

[lucasmorter]

Originally Posted by KalamaGeo

poor squirrels

im kidding bout the squirrels, i feed the squiirrels around my place cuz i enjoy watching them. but thats a little off topic, drift fishermen be warned read my above post

[UncleRichie]

If you put a hand full on a hard surface and use some thing hard and roll them between the two with some preasure all the little dings and points will flatten out lead is really soft works for me.
Richard

[fishy2k]

I've never made slinkies although I have received shot and cord as gifts. How to you melt the ends of the cord and also make a small hole in it to attach a snap swivel?

Fishy

[King Kong]

Originally Posted by Waterfrontfish

Buy the lead shot at Bi-Mart, it's better and cheaper! Be well and fish on! Mark.

I bought some there last season and didnt care for it. Most of it had an odd shape and were not consistant in size whatsoever. A lot of the shot was too large and wouldnt fit through the trocar type device that I use to make the slinkies. What happened to the quality shot that was consistant in shape and diameter????

[lucasmorter]

Originally Posted by UncleRichie

If you put a hand full on a hard surface and use some thing hard and roll them between the two with some preasure all the little dings and points will flatten out lead is really soft works for me.
Richard

you sir, are what i like to call a genius.:ap plause:

[UncleRichie]

When I make slinkys I take a piece of 1/4 inch lead and slide the parachute cord on it about 1/2 inch then take a liter and melt it around the lead ,then just slide it off makes a nice mouth to slide the shot in to the cord . It does not get hung up most of the time. To seal the ends I just heat the end and a quick pinch
with your fingers seals it . ( it helps if you wet your fingers a touch first sos not
to burn your pinkys )

[69scout]

Go to the gun department at your local sporting goods store, and look for .330 buck shots. Thats what I use for my slinkies.
And to cinch the ends on the parachute cords I use a candle to heat the ends and pinch them down with a pair of needle nose pliers.

[lucasmorter]

i have the river snake slinky tool its pretty awesome. makes it alot faster.

[Sockeyeman]

Originally Posted by UncleRichie

When I make slinkys I take a piece of 1/4 inch lead and slide the parachute cord on it about 1/2 inch then take a liter and melt it around the lead ,then just slide it off makes a nice mouth to slide the shot in to the cord . It does not get hung up most of the time. To seal the ends I just heat the end and a quick pinch
with your fingers seals it . ( it helps if you wet your fingers a touch first sos not
to burn your pinkys )

I do the same as Richie, but use a wooden pencil instead of the 1/4" lead. Slide the cord onto the pencil and melt it to form a funnel - makes it easy to drop the shot into.

[Artwo]

Originally Posted by fishy2k

I've never made slinkies although I have received shot and cord as gifts. How to you melt the ends of the cord and also make a small hole in it to attach a snap swivel?

Fishy

First off, make sure you have the correct size cord for the shot you have. They also make a tool to help load the shot into the cord that helps a ton (Fisherman's has this kit).

This is how I make them............

Turn on the football game in garage (yes I have a tv in my garage/man cave)..........

Pour a cold beer............

Sit down at work bench......

Light candle..........

Melt end of cord with candle and sqish with pliers.......

Fill cord with shot until really really long (I'll make mine 3-4 ft. long)...........

To make individual sizes, start at the bottom of the long slinky you just filled up and count out number of shot to remain in the individual weight and cut at 1 shot above that number.......

Remove 1 extra shot, melt cord in candle, and squish with pliers......

Remove last shot in remaining cord, melt end in candle, and squish with pliers......

Count out next section as stated above.............

Repeat.............

You don't really need a hole in the end, you can just hook the swivel wire through the none melted part of the slinky cord at the top.

If you do like a hole (as I do) you can buy a pair of pliers that has a hole punch built in (Fisherman's has them). This is what i use to squish and then punch a hole in the melted portion at the top as I make them......

Using this method I can turn out a bunch of different size slinky weights in a game time.

Hope this helps...........

Tight lines

[lucasmorter]

thats exactly how i make them with a candle. i like a hole in mine also, i just use a heady gauge sewing needle in some pliers to make a hole. once i have crimped a few i heat the needle on with some pliers and stick it through the crimped part on the end.

[crobarr]

the lead balls with the hole are also nice for making jigs like first bite does it, except he uses brass beads.

last year i started messing around with some new ideas (for me at least), and found myself dragging out my slinkies. what brand where the shot that where not consistent in shape and size? i still have some OLD oregon tackle shot, but i'll be needing some more soon enough.....

[oregonboybend]

I melt a snap swivel right into the top of each slinky so when I rig up I use a three way swivel then my leader and snap on the slinky, I also use buck shot, it loads real nice. rarely snag these up, there great a idea.

[native steelie]

well heres my about slinkies
get rid of the large oversized shot crap. purchase some #7 or smaller like #9 shot for reloading shotguns. fills more space so you get more out of the volume of space and use less material. also its basically a little sand bag and when stuck between two rocks, the slinky conforms better to the space available to be pulled out easier. they also drag along things as apposed to "bouncing" which is MUCH softer. theres no doubt in your mind when a fish hits using this type of slinky compared to the larger sized buck shot styles

also all you need a is a little funnel and you can pour much faster then trying to slide each buckshot down individually. i found a pretty small funnel with a opening on the tube of around 1/4" to work the best

[Buglmn]

Originally Posted by native steelie

well heres my about slinkies
get rid of the large oversized shot crap. purchase some #7 or smaller like #9 shot for reloading shotguns. fills more space so you get more out of the volume of space and use less material. also its basically a little sand bag and when stuck between two rocks, the slinky conforms better to the space available to be pulled out easier. they also drag along things as apposed to "bouncing" which is MUCH softer. theres no doubt in your mind when a fish hits using this type of slinky compared to the larger sized buck shot styles

also all you need a is a little funnel and you can pour much faster then trying to slide each buckshot down individually. i found a pretty small funnel with a opening on the tube of around 1/4" to work the best

The reason I use the larger shot is because I want my slinkies to be as close to the same as I can. I use different size shot for different rivers. i.e. smaller shot and smaller slinkies for some of the coastal rivers, and larger shot and bigger slinkies for the bigger faster rivers. I don't want one bait running away from the other one because it is a little lighter than the other. I also like holes in mine. I use a safety pin and a candle to burn a hole in them. I've learned that if you burn it close to the end, the hard, burnt plastic will sometimes break before my main line if my slinky gets hung up.

[native steelie]

Originally Posted by Buglmn

The reason I use the larger shot is because I want my slinkies to be as close to the same as I can. I use different size shot for different rivers. i.e. smaller shot and smaller slinkies for some of the coastal rivers, and larger shot and bigger slinkies for the bigger faster rivers. I don't want one bait running away from the other one because it is a little lighter than the other. I also like holes in mine. I use a safety pin and a candle to burn a hole in them. I've learned that if you burn it close to the end, the hard, burnt plastic will sometimes break before my main line if my slinky gets hung up.

its not like you construct them any diffrent. a tiny hole wont lose really any of the smaller shot. i believe that the #7 size shot is around 1/16th of a inch, with your snap swivel ran through the hole, that should block any that may escape. i've never had any problems. yes, i will agree though that the larger shot is easier to weigh but after you fish them long enough you just know what holes and drift need with what water flow. maybe i spend too much time fishing lol

[spooledagain]

Had a similiar problem with getting oblong shot and was a big blistering hassle sliding them down the card so decided to give this a shot (no pun intended) not to mention when braid first came out and was all the rage I used it but didn't like the hassle associated with being hung up either the braid digging in your spool or wrapping the braid around your arm so went back to mono but recently started night fishing and went back to braid decided to modify my slinkies so went to using surgical tubing

Materials
surgical tubing 1/4"(about 3-4 feet)
shot ( I use .300)
scissors
couple Q Tips
Your choice of scented gels
candle
needle

I like to use the scented gels for simple lubrication you won't burn your hand sliding shot down the cord or the odd shaped shot won't get stuck either
I simply put some gel on a Q tip slide it in the tubing then slip the shot in the tubing ( Word to the wise don't squeeze gel into the tubing from the bottle at the end of the process your wife won't like the oil stain on the carpet or couch ) put in your desired amount of shot snip about a 1/2" above last shot for swivel then take your candle heat up needle and poke 1 hole (not 2 ) through the tubing then put your swivel on and your good to go!!!

[Buglmn]

Native, How do you organize your sizes? Do you count the shot in your cord, or cut them to length? Just wondering how you make sure they are the same weight.

[digifyd]

Waterfrontfish....

Are you talkin about the shots you can use for slingshots or just the normal fishing shots? I looked at the slingshot ones at bimart in the past and they are way cheaper and look like they would work...

[lucasmorter]

Originally Posted by digifyd

Waterfrontfish....

Are you talkin about the shots you can use for slingshots or just the normal fishing shots? I looked at the slingshot ones at bimart in the past and they are way cheaper and look like they would work...

he is talking about the slinky shot that comes in the little white jars nest you the slinky chord in the fishing section. its basicly like .250 buckshot which you can also use just go to the ammo counter and ask for .250 lead shot.

[Fish_N_Russ]

I make my own shot, 1/6 and 1/10 oz sizes. They make real nice slinkies or caterpilars depending on what you use for tubing material..........I have many lbs of it if anyone is interested.

[crobarr]

what is the diameter of the shot? and how much per lb.?