Catapult construction

Claim 1

A compact catapult for launching projectiles for target practice, plinking and the taking of small game comprised in combination of the following: a. an elongated base having four pillars mounted to the top thereof and arranged in pairs so as to make up a front pair and a rear pair; b. two anchoring posts also mounted to the top of said base so as to be positioned intermediate between the front and rear pairs of the pillars; c. four conically grooved reels mounted by low friction bearings on said pillars so as to be freely rotatable; d. an elastic cord fastened between said anchoring posts and stretched so as to pass around the reels and fit into the conical grooves, becoming partially tensed and having a center portion between the rear pair of reels which is perpendicular to the line of fire of the catapult; e. a pair of closely spaced marks imprinted on the elastic cord in the middle of said center portion, the marks serving to define an accurately reproducible loading point for projectiles; f. an aiming device with a horizontally and vertically adjustable peep sight mounted on one of the front pair of pillars; g. a handle fixed to the bottom of said base permitting the catapult to be firmly held in one hand; whereby a U-shaped projectile can be directly placed over said center portion of the elastic cord between said marks without the need for a projectile holder such as a pouch, the cord drawn back so as to tense it further and then released to cause a U-shaped projectile to be propelled along the line of fire.