Slingshot... a good survival tool?

[Billy13426]

A slingshot has some upsides and some downsides....

Pros

1. Compact
2. Don't need to buy ammo
3. Cheap

Cons
1. Hard to aim
2. Not real powerful (still enough to kill a small animal if you get a good shot)
3. Can break some what easily

I have a question. How big of animal can it kill?

[hunter63]

Anything on the planet....it's all about shot placement. (same as a .22 lr)

Like anything else...it's what you make of it, how much you practice, how consistent you can get...and how close to the game....and it is possible to shoot arrows in one.

David did in Goliath .........

[LowKey]

A wrist-rocket type slingshot made out of metal and surgical tubing lasts a good long while if you take care of it.
Not at all hard to aim and considerably accurate if you happen to have a supply of 5/16 to 1/2" ball bearings around. Stones have really bad aerodynamics.
Accuracy comes with practice.

A sling is different and takes a lot more skill to aim but can have a lot more forceful impact and handles larger stones pretty well. And you can make one out of a good sized chunk of leather without having to worry about elastic band breakage or wear.

Used to play with both as a kid. Squirrels and rabbits can be taken with a slingshot. You can't be squeemish about finishing the job though as it may not outright kill them.
Was never good enough with a rock sling to actually hit the woodchucks that got in the garden. The slingshot just made em run faster.
Both are currently illegal in my state, in theory. The laws on that are a little confused.

[Grizz123]

google "slingshot forums", there are incredible slingshots and even more incredible shooter out there. You can get set up for under $50 and they are not that hard to aim

[crashdive123]

It all depends on the size of your slingshot.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AySuafZ8to#t=145

[kyratshooter]

This is a greatly discussed topic on the British forums where they are forced to contemplate survival with crappy gear or no gear.

Their view is "that is all they have so that is what they will use". The reality is that just because that is all you have does not necessarily mean it will work.

The answer to what you can kill is "not much". You might get a rabbit if you hit it right, birds, chipmunks. Big animals,,, no way!

If you hit a human with one you might be able to addle them, but you might just make them mad enough to rip off you head and pee down your neck. The old thing about no one wanting to get shot with anything loses credence after the first rock bounces off a heavy jacket, or misses completely, and the guy comes at you instead of running away from you.

There is more to consider than just power with a slingshot. The rubber used for the spring bands decomposes in UV light. They only last about a year before they rot and fall to pieces. I have a set made from surgical tubes that decomposed in the package stored in a drawer, so that is a year, plus or minus, from purchase and not a year from opening the package.

If the use of firearms is not a possibility I would waste no time on a "wrist rocket" and move straight to the bow.

[LowKey]

"Surgical tubing" comes in a number of grades and lately has been replaced by non-latex types so getting harder to find the good stretchy stuff. My original wrist rocket back in the 60s lasted a good 8 years before the tubing started cracking at the stress point at the attachment end. It took a couple trimmings before getting too short. It never got left in the car or in the heat and never left out in the sun. But it isn't a survival tool unless you have a pocket full of ball bearings.

With the sling you could get a subsonic "crack" out of it if you did it just right. And you could get enough leverage to shred bark off trees or knock other larger rocks off the wall. Rocks as ammo just will never get you the accuracy you need. Wouldn't want to use either against a bear or a human. More'n likely you would just tick them off enough to kill you.

Agreed, a bow would be much better. That is my new "hobby."

[phreshayr]

In the hands of an experienced user, a slingshot is definitely a survival weapon. My friend and I killed 3 grouse with slingshots using rocks picked up off the banks of the river during a recent Caribou hunt. My latest homemade sling shot weighs 3 ounces ready to use and cost me a total of 8 or 9 dollars which was for the elastic. That 8 dollars though bought me enough elastic for about 8 band set changes. I occasionally find myself hunting around for where I laid my slingshot only to discover it is in my hip pocket. At a very compact 3 ounces and enough wallop to kill rabbits, grouse, squirrels etc...... Yes it is a viable survival tool. In my opinion, a slingshot is a lot easier to master than a survival type bow. If you always carry your slingshot with you when in the woods then it will most likely be with you in a survival situation if such ever occurs.

[pete lynch]

It's good for survival if your goal is pi$$ing people off by hitting them with rocks.

[Walter2]

Why would you shoot people with rocks?
A slingshot is most defiantly good for food acquisition (small game).
IMO a great survival tool, I will be ordering one soon!

[hunter63]

Why would you shoot people with rocks?
A slingshot is most defiantly good for food acquisition (small game).
IMO a great survival tool, I will be ordering one soon!

Some how or there, the idea of shooting something or somebody seems to be real high on a lot of people lists......?

If you chose to engage in a fire fight.....it's good to have at least a chance.....mostly that won't happen with slingshot..

[Highhawk1948]

I have made both, the sling type, (David and Goliath), and the wrist type. Never could hit anything smaller than the barn door. I stuck with my bow and arrows

[Billy13426]

Ok wrist rockets are pretty nice and can shoot with a decent amount of force but when I am using stones I am not very accurate at all I think I might need to pick up some small steel slingshot ammo so I can be a better shot... thanks everyone for the input I really appreciate it.

[phreshayr]

Ok wrist rockets are pretty nice and can shoot with a decent amount of force but when I am using stones I am not very accurate at all I think I might need to pick up some small steel slingshot ammo so I can be a better shot... thanks everyone for the input I really appreciate it.

Billy if you would like to improve your accuracy very quickly it will probably take a little tutoring. Fortunately there is an excellent teacher already out there. His name is Bill Hays. He makes and sells "Pocket Predator” slingshots but aside from that he is a great guy. Go to pocket predator dot com and watch his training videos. In a couple of days of practice you should be far better at slinging rocks then than you would be slinging perfect round steel ammo now. At slingshot forum dot com, Bill has posted the templates to some of his commercially available slingshots patterns so that anybody can make their own based on his proven designs. That is just the kind of guy he is. Hope that helps ya.

[backpacker3]

I have made, bought and used both types of slingshots talked about. With a wrist rocket style one I could hit just about any tree from 15-20 yards when I was as young as 12 and even now after a few practice shots I'm pretty accurate and they can be pretty durable in a lot of sporting goods stores you can even find slingshot tubing that has different amounts of spring and some that are even designed to last as long as possible. Depending on what you're using as tubing and ammo you could probably kill something as large as a rabbit or possum and stun some slightly bigger animals as well.

As far as the David style sling you can kill just about any animal in North and South America with it but they require TONS of practice to be able to get accuracy with like at least a years worth of training. However they are super easy to make I've even made paracord ones before that weren't terrible. But I would still be amazed if I hit the broad side of a barn with one

[crashdive123]

Some people.....with practice.....do pretty good with stones.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ieWrWLjii0

[Billy13426]

Ok thank you I will have to check that out

[Oddmott]

Recently found out why I will choose to stick with firearms over slingshots or bows. Busted up my right arm pretty bad. Had to have my elbow reconstructed. I was out of commission for a good 4 months before regaining the use of my arm.

During that time, i didn't have a hope of being able to use a bow or slingshot or any tool that MUST have 2 hands for operating. I would have been able to operate all but the largest calibre firearms one-handed though. Might have been able to use most x-bows as well, as i know i can cock a 305fps excalibur one-handed.

So, for me, it's a gun or a crossbow in my survival gear.

[phreshayr]

Recently found out why I will choose to stick with firearms over slingshots or bows. Busted up my right arm pretty bad. Had to have my elbow reconstructed. I was out of commission for a good 4 months before regaining the use of my arm.

During that time, i didn't have a hope of being able to use a bow or slingshot or any tool that MUST have 2 hands for operating. I would have been able to operate all but the largest calibre firearms one-handed though. Might have been able to use most x-bows as well, as i know i can cock a 305fps excalibur one-handed.

So, for me, it's a gun or a crossbow in my survival gear.

This may not apply to you since you still have your arm but for those that only have one hand but would love to be able to shoot a slingshot............maybe you can


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJZeoRpQ0-E

[Billy13426]

Ok I have a couple of shotguns and 22's as well and my dad has several other firearms so we should be set

[Tokwan]

Whatever tools or weapon, if you know how to use ut safely, if it is safe, if it is light, small and u can use or shoot accurately, then it is good. Do not bring what you cannot use.

[rupertsilva10]

If one knows how to really use and aim a slingshot then it's definitely a reliable choice for a weapon. I've been practicing my aiming skills using a slingshot and it's slowly improving these days. Searching the web for tutorials and videos mostly helped.

[MrFixIt]

I would agree that a slingshot would be a useful tool.
Having said that, you will need ALOT of practice to be able to kill/stun small animals, or to knock fruit from tree branches.
I was pretty good with one as a kid, but haven't shot one in many moons...

[Billy13426]

Yah I keep it in my kit because I can find some uses for it

[RangerXanatos]

Watching phreshayr's newest youtube video made me want to go and get another sling shot to play with. Really like all of his videos.

[Billy13426]

Slingshots are pretty fun and can help out in a situation where you need to kill or stun an animal

[phreshayr]

Watching phreshayr's newest youtube video made me want to go and get another sling shot to play with. Really like all of his videos.

Thank you and glad you enjoy the videos. I was and am still surprised at how easy it is to get fairly accurate with a good slingshot if a person is able to get a few good tips and advice on where they may be going wrong.

[Tokwan]

I modified one to make it to be able to shoot arrows...it only needed a slight modification to rest an arrow upfront and to hold the nook at the rear...quite powerful and accurate, but not as great as a compound bow.

[MrFixIt]

I modified one to make it to be able to shoot arrows...it only needed a slight modification to rest an arrow upfront and to hold the nook at the rear...quite powerful and accurate, but not as great as a compound bow.

That sounds interesting! Got any pics of the set up?

[Tokwan]

No a setup actually, just making a rest at the front..wait..let me see if I have pics..I think I have a pic of a friend trying it out,...let me search.