High End general stainless steel dankung hunting slingshot II

Simply one of the lightest and most elegant yet strong and powerful slingshots I own. It is ideal for a 'concealed carry' and yet is simple to use, fits a Western hand very comfortably and will easily carry double DK 1745 tubes for hunting. 9.5 mm steel balls will take down a rabbit of pheasant easily but at same time is nice for simple lower power target shooting for fun.

I dropped by a gold purchasing shop this afternoon and brought two DanKung General II frames, as well as some gold. The gold shop uses an expensive Olympus GoldXpert machine to analyze the metals before purchasing gold from customers.

One General II frame was purchased in May 2014 and the other in October 2015. Three different magnets prove that the old G2 has no attraction but the new G2 has a strong enough attraction to lift one fork completely off the table.

Here is what the Olympus analyzer said:

Old General II:
Cr = 18.39%
Fe = 71.64%
Mn = 1.85%
Ni = 8.12%

Newer General II:
Cr = 19.0%
Fe = 71.02%
Mn = 1.50%
Ni = 8.47%

Cr = chromium, Fe = iron, Ni = nickel, Mn = manganese
According to online data, a 304 stainless alloy should have 18-20% chromium, 8.0-10.5% nickel, 2% manganese and some traces of non-metals. The balance of the mixture would be iron. The two G2 frames seem to be right for the 304 stainless steel claim.

I am no chemist but at least I know that there is no zinc in these DanKung frames. We also know that a small difference with a 304 alloy, even within specs, can turn a magnet attracted frame into non-magnet attracted. It appears that a magnet will not confirm the alloy.

Review - DanKung General II

The DanKung General II isn’t mentioned very often on the American based slingshot forums but I think this frame is mistakenly overlooked by potential customers. The DK General II (G2) is a fine example of Chinese slingshot elegance. This frame is nothing like a simple bent rod design or a radical design with points and sharp edges. The G2 has a casted and polished frame with well thought out structure and contours. I find the frame to be comfortable to shoot, accurate and very pleasing in appearance. The designer made wonderful use of rounded contours, placement of flattened areas, flared sections, thinned areas, bends and loops. A paracord hole was even put in the top of the handle to hide the starting strands of the cord. Many frames require the cord to be looped over the bottom of the fork throat giving a somewhat unprofessional appearance.

I mentioned in other reviews that I am a fan of small slingshot frames. The G2 may appear large in pictures but in reality is only slightly larger than the DanKung Palm Thunder. The fork ears are actually smaller than the Palm Thunder and the handle waist is the same size. The frame fits my average western hand very well. The frame length provides good leverage without excess handle hanging below the lower edge of my palm.

The General II frame is cast 304 stainless steel with a paracord wrapped handle and rubber fork sleeves. The small fork ears are rounded on the tops and the small size seems to contribute to the band stability. The smaller ears don’t give the tubes much movement area. Frames with large loops/ears are known to be somewhat problematic with tubes rolling or positioning differently for each shot. I don’t find this problem with the General II, although I do have to watch the tubes carefully when drawing the Palm Thunder.

The only negative comments I have about the G2 is about the original fork sleeves and the way the grip was wrapped from the manufacturer. After my first shooting session I immediately changed the sleeves and wrap to something that I found more comfortable. I found the original “licorice stick” fork sleeves to be a bit short and uncomfortable. An upgrade to longer Theraband black tubing was a huge improvement in comfort at almost no cost. The sleeves slip on with a bit of effort but an application of rubbing alcohol makes the procedure a lot easier. The original handle wrap felt fine but the pinky hole was a bit tight for my finger. This was easily remedied (without cost) by removing the paracord, re-applying and leaving the pinky hole section unwrapped. The pinky hole section was then wrapped with a short piece of Theraband black flatband. All was great after these minor modifications.

Measurements
Overall length = 4.75” (120 mm)
Width across frame at fork loops = 3.4” (86 mm)
Width between forks = 1.75” (44.5 mm)
Fork loop outside diameter = 0.85 (21.5 mm)
Fork loop inside diameter = 0.40” (10 mm)
Width at top of handle (incl wrap) = .83” (21 mm)
Width on outside of handle (at widest) = 1.42” (36 mm)
Width on inside of handle (incl wrap) = .67” (17 mm)
Frame thickness = .30” (7.5 mm)
Total weight with wraps and tubes = 5.1 oz (145 g)

Tubes & Flatbands
The G2 came equipped with double 1745 tubes measuring 8.0” from pouch end to fork. The pouch measures 1” x 2 3/4” and comes with two holes per side. The tubes were too much for my strength level but were easily converted to a useful single strand set.

The General II will accommodate the thin Malaysian tubes, the thicker Theraband style tubes, flatbands, and solids. The skinny Malaysian tubes can be shot single strand on each side, full doubles, or even in a pseudo taper style (partial doubles). I’m mainly a skinny tube shooter when it comes to the Chinese style frames. Full doubles or singles seem to work best for me. One of my favourite combinations is single 1745s measuring 6 ½” -7” long with ¾” to 1” loops at the forks. With 3/8” steel ammo this combination delivers 190-200 fps with a 32” draw length. Double 2040 tubes at 6 ½” are another option that I sometimes use with this frame.

The General II easily accommodates flatbands with the use of 1/2” tapered rubber stoppers (ala Ocularis style). The flatbands are held in place by slipping the plugs into the fork ears and pinning the band between the plug and the inside of the ear. The bands can be secured for OTT or TTF shooting styles.

Overall Opinion
The General II is a wonderful little pocket-able slingshot and happens to be my current favourite for a flat frame. Shooting is comfortable with the thumb on the lower fork ring, index finger just below the upper ring and pinky in the dedicated handle hole.

The approx 3.4” fork width allows me to aim at the target using the junction point of the tube and fork while anchoring on the inside of my ear for 10 yard hits (sideways shooting). Hand slaps are never a problem with the G2 even when using heavier tubing like single 2050 or pseudo-tapered 1745. Accuracy is good with the G2 and it’s a fun little frame to shoot. As with my Palm Thunder, I enjoy shooting plastic golfballs from 10 yards and pop cans from 20 yards. The General II is definitely a frame worth considering.