Slingshot Inventors:
Carl Tinker

Deciding which inventor to feature in the premier issue of "SLINGSHOT the Magazine" would have been a very difficult choice except for the fact that Carl Tinker was the inventor who was responsible for connecting Rodney Wolf and myself. This lead to adding several new slingshots to my collection, a life long friendship, the starting of several slingshot tournaments, and the formation of the National Catapultry Association.

Carl and I were in close contact during the 70’s when I started my mail order slingshot business. Carl’s slingshot, Killdeer, was one of the main models in my catalog. Carl and I sort of both went out of business in the late 70’s.

Carl started his small manufacturing and mail order business in the 50’s as a retirement project. His first slingshot model was the Deerslayer, which he marketed for two years before replacing it with the smaller model, Killdeer. The smaller model Killdeer was both lighter to carry and cheaper to mail, but still an excellent slingshot. I have always included it as one of my favorites to shoot.

In the early 70’s, Carl disposed of all the slingshot castings to a local
manufacturer of toy steam locomotives who was going to melt them down to use with his products. Carl had received so many requests for the Killdeer that he had to buy back several hundreds of the castings to fill orders.

I would like to see both of Carl’s slingshot back on the market. It is a shame that so many of the super slingshots of the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s are no longer available.

I am willing to buy, trade, or beg for one of Carl’s Deerslayer slingshots for my collection. I would also like to know what ever happened to Carl as I lost track of him when I stopped selling slingshots by mail. Please contact me with information at:

paladin@slingshots.net