Posted: 5/17/2009 12:24:04 PM EDT
|
I posted this in GD but should have put it here.
Years ago I had a wrist rocket and now I figure it would be a good idea to have one when camping or for a BOB. So in true ARFCOM fashion, which one to get !!! |
|
I haven't used a slingshot in years. I do remember the quest for good ammo though. Seems like most stones would give erratic performance, winging off to one side like a sliced golfball.
Nice round shot was key. Marbles worked good. So did steel ball bearings when I could scrounge 'em. Makes me wonder was other sorts of shot would be worth using. Would a simple lee roundball mold in .36 be a usefull addition? I dunno. Work thinking about... I do keep a replacement tube and leather pocket in a survival kit. Not the whole slingshot, just the 'hard to replace" parts so I can fabricate a makeshift bunny zapper. |
|
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16763344/
Tijuana police issued slingshots TIJUANA, Mexico - The police department has issued about 60 slingshots to officers in the violent border city of Tijuana, where soldiers confiscated police weapons two weeks ago on allegations of collusion with drug traffickers. Municipal police spokesman Fernando Bojorquez said Monday that the slingshots, along with bags of ballbearings, were given to officers patrolling areas of the city visited by tourists. Tijuana’s police force of 2,000 officers has been without guns since Jan. 5, but some patrol alongside armed state police. President Felipe Calderon sent 3,300 soldiers and federal police to Tijuana at the beginning of January to hunt down drug gangs. The soldiers swept police stations and took officers’ guns for inspection amid allegations by federal investigators that a corrupt network of officers supports smugglers who traffic drugs into the U.S. The weapons are still being checked. About 100 police demonstrated outside Tijuana town hall on Monday demanding the return of their guns. “The arms are our tools for work,” said officer Juan Manuel Nieves. “Do they want more police to be killed?” More than 300 people were slain in Tijuana last year including 13 police officers. 
|
|
Quoted:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16763344/ Tijuana police issued slingshots TIJUANA, Mexico - The police department has issued about 60 slingshots to officers in the violent border city of Tijuana, where soldiers confiscated police weapons two weeks ago on allegations of collusion with drug traffickers. So the military disarms the police because of collusion with drug traffickers? WTF are the "police" still on the streets then? |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16763344/ Tijuana police issued slingshots TIJUANA, Mexico - The police department has issued about 60 slingshots to officers in the violent border city of Tijuana, where soldiers confiscated police weapons two weeks ago on allegations of collusion with drug traffickers. So the military disarms the police because of collusion with drug traffickers? WTF are the "police" still on the streets then? i guess they serve the same function as unarmed security. |
|
Quoted:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16763344/ Tijuana police issued slingshots TIJUANA, Mexico - The police department has issued about 60 slingshots to officers in the violent border city of Tijuana, where soldiers confiscated police weapons two weeks ago on allegations of collusion with drug traffickers. Municipal police spokesman Fernando Bojorquez said Monday that the slingshots, along with bags of ballbearings, were given to officers patrolling areas of the city visited by tourists. Tijuana’s police force of 2,000 officers has been without guns since Jan. 5, but some patrol alongside armed state police. President Felipe Calderon sent 3,300 soldiers and federal police to Tijuana at the beginning of January to hunt down drug gangs. The soldiers swept police stations and took officers’ guns for inspection amid allegations by federal investigators that a corrupt network of officers supports smugglers who traffic drugs into the U.S. The weapons are still being checked. About 100 police demonstrated outside Tijuana town hall on Monday demanding the return of their guns. “The arms are our tools for work,” said officer Juan Manuel Nieves. “Do they want more police to be killed?” More than 300 people were slain in Tijuana last year including 13 police officers. http://www.thepolicedaily.com/images/slingshot.jpg 
|
|
They certainly can be a survival tool to save ammo. I used to hit birds, bugs and just about anything around with a slingshot and a rock when I was a kid and know it's capable. This is why I picked up a couple sling shot replacement bands with leather thong from Wally's a while back for my BOB. There super light and take no room, and if the time came I know me and my pocket knife could make a good fork handle out of a branch real fast. You might consider the same. These |
|
Watch what this old man can do with a slingshot. It is incredible!!!!
He had to use it to survive!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ieWrWLjii0 |
Since this is the SF, I feel obligated to toss a few survival-related comments into the thread...
I don't know what the storage life of a Wrist Rocket rubber sling is, but I do know that they don't last long after they're taken out of the wrapper. You might be able to prolong the life by coating the sling with some sort of preservative (silicone?) while stretching it - or maybe storing it in the fridge would help. Also, what is the life expectancy of a sling that's in constant use? Most slingshots are only used casually - How many spare slings would you need to stockpile in order to have a viable hunting tool during a long-term emergency? Considering the advantages that just about any air rifle has in reliability, accuracy and availability of cheap ammo, it would definitely be my preferred choice. |
|
Quoted:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16763344/ Tijuana police issued slingshots TIJUANA, Mexico - The police department has issued about 60 slingshots to officers in the violent border city of Tijuana, where soldiers confiscated police weapons two weeks ago on allegations of collusion with drug traffickers. Municipal police spokesman Fernando Bojorquez said Monday that the slingshots, along with bags of ballbearings, were given to officers patrolling areas of the city visited by tourists. Tijuana’s police force of 2,000 officers has been without guns since Jan. 5, but some patrol alongside armed state police. President Felipe Calderon sent 3,300 soldiers and federal police to Tijuana at the beginning of January to hunt down drug gangs. The soldiers swept police stations and took officers’ guns for inspection amid allegations by federal investigators that a corrupt network of officers supports smugglers who traffic drugs into the U.S. The weapons are still being checked. About 100 police demonstrated outside Tijuana town hall on Monday demanding the return of their guns. “The arms are our tools for work,” said officer Juan Manuel Nieves. “Do they want more police to be killed?” More than 300 people were slain in Tijuana last year including 13 police officers. http://www.thepolicedaily.com/images/slingshot.jpg Are those US made slingshots? |
|
When I was a kid, I was a dead shot with a sling shot. I would spend hours finding just the right projectiles (rocks) or go out of my way to buy glass marbles or my favorite steel ball bearings. That being said, I don't even own one now.
Though a very practical device, I can think of few things I have ever done that takes as much time to learn and stay in practice for it to be practical. We can talk of primitive weapons of all sorts but anyone who has ever used a gun in actual application knows it isn't the guns range really or how deadly it is that made it win out as the overwhelming preference for personal weapon but its simplicity to use. Of all the weapons out there, the gun is the closest to the old saying "Ride a bike" saying than any other. People tell me, bows are the cats meow and I have no doubt for them they are. I simply reply, you could put me in a barn and I'd miss the barn. That's my way of saying, I don't have the skill set and if I did have it not in practice enough for it to be practical anymore. Bows are easier to use and remember than sling shots. Good luck with that learning curve. Its a long one. BTW, I also use to throw a knife like it was nobodies business. That too is a long learning curve skill set and that too is very fleeting with time. Tj |
An ARFCOM favorite:
An opponent of President Hugo Chavez's government fires stones with a slingshot during a demonstration in Caracas on Monday. Venezuela's election commission has postponed until Tuesday announcing whether a recall referendum against Chavez will be held. (AFP/Rodrigo Arangua) |
|
Take a slingshot, a spool of that good 300 lb.( survival grade ) trot line, and a lug nut.
Tie the trot line into the lug nut, shoot it through high limbs in a tree, and either run an antenna wire, or pull a rope through. When I was young, I did get a good meal ( dove ) with a sling shot ... this was before they invented surgical rubber. eta: Prior to surgical rubber, most of us made them with tire inner tubes.... Velocity really sucked then. |
|
Quoted:
They certainly can be a survival tool to save ammo. I used to hit birds, bugs and just about anything around with a slingshot and a rock when I was a kid and know it's capable. This is why I picked up a couple sling shot replacement bands with leather thong from Wally's a while back for my BOB. There super light and take no room, and if the time came I know me and my pocket knife could make a good fork handle out of a branch real fast. You might consider the same. These +1 Walmart has them for $10. Get an extra sling too. 
|
|
I saw a model at CAL Ranch today that came with a jar of protectant for the rubber tubing. The unit looked very well made compared to the other ones, cost $18 I believe. I'll get some info.
Anyone remember the Y Bow? I used to have one, it was like a big slingshot that fired crossbow bolts! Bought it from U.S. Cavalry in the 80's I think. I got pretty good with it, then ended up selling it. |
|
I have a "Scope-shot" slingshot that I got as a kid. Optical sights, alloy frame... it was the M16 of slingshots. The company provided frangible ammo too; they left a little spot of powder when they hit a hard surface (but would dent the metal storage shed pretty well before disintegrating). Tactical. I loved it. If only it had been anodized black...
slingshots.com has info on taking care of slingshots, and mentions a protectant and a BMW rubber ointment that can be used for the bands: |