Posted: 12/5/2007 7:44:50 PM EDT
| What are your opinions to having a few slingshots & extra bands in your Survival gear bag...seems that getting hit in the head by a slingshot round- could hurt a little... |
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A few slingshots and extra bands take up how much volume and weigh how much? I always ask myself these questions and keep coming back to my S&W 422 with 2 loaded magazines is 1.6lbs and easy to stick anywhere in my bag or on my person. Another plastic ammo bag with 200 rounds doesn't weigh much. A sling shot is quieter, but the pistol is more accurate, makes quicker follow up shots, hits harder, and is easier to keep at the ready when facing opponents more dangerous than a bunny, and I'm sure there is something else I'm leaving out. Of course, if you're under 21 or a convicted felon, a sling shot is better than nothing. 
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| I had an elderly relative that was a sling-shot wizard, practiced for years, and actually did kill some small game. He could hit birds in flight under ideal conditions. Thing that impressed me was putting balls in a soda or beer can opening repeatedly at about 35 ft. He used homemade 7/16" lead balls which could pierce drywall and shatter bone targets. In very expert hands, I would place his gear equal to a .22 short pistol at shorter ranges, and slightly ahead of CB ammo or .177 pellets in stopping power. Also,expert; quick follow-up shots seemed much faster than average bow user or single shot .22. |
| i think every kid should have at least one. i had one of the nice wrist rocket ones but seem to have lost it now. i was pretty good with one when i was 10 or so. i used it when i had run out of BB's. at that age it was a home made rig but when i got older i discovered the more powerful wrist rockets. one of them and the steel shot were dangerous. i miss my slingshots. i would carry one in my bag. quiet and effective as long as you practice. plenty of small game around here. that or one of the pump up pellet pistols will allow you to take small game up close and not use up any ammo or spook other game that is close. |
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I know that we are discussing the modern elastic sling shots. But what about the classical inelastic sling shots? ie, the one David used to kill Goliath? With the inelastic sling shots, you don't have to worry about the elastic fatigue of the rubberbands. Instead, the only failure mode is the fatigue failure of the leather/nylon/whatever thong, which happens much less frequently than the rubber bands, and which you can improvise a replacement from any fiber source. With the inelastic sling shots, you also get much higher velocity on the projectiles, and hence more distance and take-down power. It is also fairly independent of muscle strength, so all of your family members can use it. Of course there is a learning curve there to use it well, but if the S HTF for so long that you ran out of 22s, you'll have plenty of time to practice w/ your slings :) |
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I've made ton's of them. The one I have now is made out a para-cord (made it when I was around 17-18). My dad schooled me in the use when I was I little kid. To this day my dad can hit cans easily with a good round stone. I always take mine with me when we go camping and show off. I can hit a 2' tree trunk from 30-40 feet and maybe miss about 2 out of 5 or 6 shots. You can get some pretty good velocity out of one. Samuel |
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Though a slingshot fiend as a kid and quite good with one, I'm not a fan of them as a survival tool. Simply put, so much of their accuracy and effectiveness is dependent on the projectile that purchased projectiles are much better than rocks. If you are buying ball bearings or marbles might as well buy 22lr bullets and have something a lot better. Now that being said a wrist sling shot and ball bearing can flat out ruin somebodies day. Tj Storytime Slingshots and BB guns were a way of life in my neighborhood as a kid. Our number one use was "WAR!" We were always fighting the kids the next street over building forts defending our turf. It was pretty dangerous really especially by todays standards but to us it was great fun. Anyway you bean a kid and they tend to remember it so seek revenge. In response, we carried these things everywhere we went. We were also great football fans. Our local sandlot team even played the Highschool State champs beating them twice. No biggie really, my town always had the no pass no play rule. In fact, it was C average rule. This didn't stop us from being big fans of the Highschool team. A bunch of us guys go to the big rivalry game. This year it was the regional championship game last game of the season. This is one exciting game and emotions are running very high. At one point this kid from the opposing team breaks the line and is running the field destined for a for a sure touch down. One of the guys, we called "Head" because well he didn't have one, dumb as an ox, in the heat of the moment pulls out his slingshot and beans the opposing player with a ball bearing. It caught him in the back leg where there was no padding. He goes down like rock holding his leg on the five yard line fumbling the ball. Head's actions of course did not go unnoticed and he was soon under arrest. He didn't even get see it was all for naught as the other team recovered and scored two plays later. Head never changed. Later in life as an adult, he bums a ride home from FL with a guy that had a van. The guy was smuggling mass quantities of pot. Head had zero vested interest in the pot. The guy panics at the vegetation stop, yeah they had those back then, and ran it. When pulled over by a police officer in GA, the guy then disarms the cop, disables the car, then drives off. Of course, he didn't disable the radio. Head doesn't get back in the van but Head was Head so he didn't have enough sense to stay put. He ran into the forest and it took the cops two weeks to catch him. Head got two years for being Head. Could have been worse but the guy backed up Heads story he hand no idea what was in the van. Before anyone asks, yes, he procreated and now there's three more little Heads.  Tj |
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Grew up hunting with slingshots when we couldn't afford .22 (yeah, we were that poor). Learn to make your own. Just keep bands handy. I still have a mesquite slingshot stock I cut myself when I was about 8. In a pinch I'd be comfortable killing anything up to javalina size with one. Rabbits/squirrels/game birds are cake, with a little practice. why not? |