Actually, I did have one brief flirtation with a method that was an alternative to launch lugs. For Flight C-12, I built a contraption which took the place of the lower launch lug, a clamp-like device which grasped the lower fuselage with two pins. It would remain attached as the rocket rose from the pad and travelled the length of the launch rod. After departing the launch rod, the device was supposed to release the rocket from its grasp, and fall away, drifting to the ground with a small parachute. The upper launch lug was made such that it would fit into a tube in the upper fuselage under spring pressure, and simply eject from the rocket once the launch rod was cleared.
Unfortunately, the system did not work quite as intended. Indeed, the device did not release the rocket properly after leaving the launch rod, as the rocket swerved at quite a sharp angle from its intended vertical trajectory. Nor did the upper lug eject as planned. So this method was then scrapped in favour of the simple launch lug system, and this particular episode is best remembered as--what was I thinking at the time?!