Slingshot Hunting
Slingshot Hunting? Some may just snicker and skip this page.
I never owned one, and can't remember shooting one as a kid. I had
a BB gun, pellet guns, and .22 rifles. After more than fifty years of hunting several things have lead me to
the slingshot. Slingshot hunting was truly the last thing I thought of.
The quail pictured here are special to me,
because of the way they were harvested.
When the covey came feeding behind my natural ground blind I
was able to turn and shoot almost silently across the top of the cedar limbs. They didn't fly, allowed me to miss several times,
and finally get two for dinner. Yum!I'm not so much a slingshot hunter as I am an opportunist when hunting. When deer hunting, if I get an opportunity to take other game, great!
Bow-hunting changed me,
I like the challenge, the close contact with wildlife, the long season... and also the opportunities. When hunting deer during bow-season I can also take turkey, coyote, bobcat... with broad-heads. But! I need different arrows, or points for
quail, squirrel, rabbit...
When I was more of a gun hunter I sometimes carried a .22 rim-fire or
a pellet handgun for small game. I also tried some small bore inserts in shotguns and rifles. I even considered buying a combination gun or a drilling to be more versatile. I found compromises in all of them. When I started bow-hunting I soon found myself with flu-flu arrows, bird-points, small game points... and trying to find a
way to effectively carry and use all the "stuff". I use ground blinds, stalk, or still hunt. I'm often moving, walking...
I like to travel light. I tried a
cat-quiver
with a small pack. I even tried
using a hip quiver and a bow quiver at the same time. It was never just right. Too much to carry, or not enough to do the job.
I eventually gave up on the small game and bird arrows, and all the unnecessary things stayed in the truck.
With my bow and slingshot,
I'm ready for anything at close range!
When deer hunting there is always a fear of compromising your chances. The less movement and disturbance the better. Guns make considerable noise. An arrow needs to be retrieved. Slingshot hunting offers some real, practical, advantages.
It is simple, quiet, inexpensive, and easy to carry. For small game
at short range it appears to be effective. Like a traditional bow it can be shot from awkward positions. There is less disturbance than with a gun or even an arrow. So little disturbance you may get a second shot, or even more.
I have only limited experience and found little good information, but slingshot hunting does have some fans. It's been around for a very long time. You can load it with just about anything that will fit in the pouch: pebbles, BBs, lead balls, ball bearings, marbles... I haven't done any serious testing, but I have used some different ammo. So far I like the 1/4 inch steel ammo for practice and the larger 3/8 inch steel balls when hunting. These projectiles appear to be traveling about the speed of arrows from my recurve, that's about 175 fps. They are easy to see in flight. It makes sense that the smaller and lighter ones are flying faster. But, the heavier ammo will maintain it's speed better and have more knock-down, or killing power. You can't see it in the pictures above, but one quail was hit in the head. The 3/8 inch steel ball almost completely removed one side of her head. They were close shots, only about ten yards.
Click to see SlingShots
& Air Guns at Cobra Arms.
Pictured is the (folded or closed) wrist rocket type, a single 1/4 & 3/8 inch steel ball, and a OOO lead buckshot. The buckshot seems slower, but I would hate to get hit with it. An ammo pouch, a 1/4 inch ammo pack, and fanny pack are also in the picture.I actually bought this first slingshot shortly before I bought my first
recurved bow.
It had came to me that a slingshot would shoot somewhat like a traditional bow. I thought it would be a good, inexpensive way, to try that style of shooting. But, I quit before I learned to shoot, forgot about it, and bought the bow. After more than ten years I dug it out to try again. I still can't shoot very well, but I know this style of shooting, and I'm learning quickly.
Next I bought a really cheap similar folding model and took the wrist-brace off. It was used on the quail. It's lighter, compact, and is easy to carry. Slingshot hunting for small game and birds is allowed in many places, but you should check your laws. Thus far my game bag only includes the two quail. But after seeing the effect it had on these birds; I'm excited. I now consider the slingshot an important part of my bowhunting gear, my small game tool, my "bowhunting handgun". I have another page on slingshots the
"Wrist Rocket Review"
We have more than 100 pages of information.
Find any page easily with our:
Site Map Page
Slingshot Hunting to Score-Your-Hunting.com
|
