Saunders is one of the oldest slingshot manufacturers, and has greatly helped and supported slingshooting for the last five decades. The first slingshot they sold was the "Wrist-Rocket that was invented by Howard Ellenburg. Later on, Howard started his own successful brand: Trumark. It is currently owned by his son, Mark Ellenburg, and, among other slingshots, still produces the original wristrocket, named Trumark Ws-1.
Saunders introduced the Falcon 1 and Falcon 2 slingshots in 1972. They were, at that time, absolute high-tech. In fact, their design stil superseeds most contemporary slingshots.
Saunders' commitment to slingshots didn't stop at producing them. They held several tournaments in the 70ies and 80ies, invented targets for them and helped other enthusiasts making their own tournaments. The introduction of the Falcon 300 in 1974 shows their commitment to serious target shooting. They later added the Folding Falcon, Double Eagle Hawk and the Sr-7.
Saunders and Trumark are the only two brands who realized that the lifespan of latex tubing band that is pushed on the fork can be greatly improved by cushioning the sharp shock when the band extends fully forward and gets a sharp kink at the fork end. Trumark introduced the rotating prongs, Saunders put synthetic studs inside the tubing. These studs bent along with the bands, forming a more shallow curve instead of the sharp kink. This design was later changed to heavy rubber collars around the band and, recently, to the fly-over design with
flatbands that completely eliminates the problem.
The Falcon 1 had a slim handle and was sold without wristbrace, which was available seperately. It had, as far as I know, only rounded plastic tip protectors.
The Falcon 2 is one of most famous (and most often copied) slingshots. It set the trend for all the later moels that use this fork and brace layout.The long brace and very powerful bands made it an excellent hunting slingshot. It first had the flexible inner fork ends, then the outer rubber collar. In 2008, its fork was changed to accomodate the flatbands. So this is by far no vintage slingshot, you can still find a lot of shops that sell it.
The Falcon 300 was a true tournament slingshot. It had long stabilizers and a slightly lowered fork for better leverage against the pull force. It was sold in the middle of the 70's, and 80's, during the "golden age" of slingshooting.
The Double Eagle was first equipped with two attachment studs on each side to accomodate dual tubular bands. It was sold for about 10 years, then it was discontinued. Now, it is sold again, with the flatband attachment system.
The Hawk is a simple classic slingshot without wristbrace. One would except it to be just as popular as similar models from other brands, but a minimally higher price made it a well-kept secret. Which is a pity, as the well-designed handle, robust metal frame and high-quality bands gave it all that was needed to be one of the best performers in its class.
The new Hawk features the same handles, but a different metal frame and the attachment system for flatbands.