I have to ask, if you are as you say. "slingshot aficionado" why don't you tell us?

 

Aficionado in this context means that I like slingshots, which is why I am asking this question, i want to know how useful my slingshot would be hunting

 

Blunt trauma from a half-inch marble will kill small game without breaking the skin in a lot of cases. Penetrating a half inch board is overkill, I'm thinking. Penetration of an aluminum beer can ought to be about right.

 

ive seen sling shots kill all sorts of small game
I personally use 44 caliber lead balls like you would use in a old muzzle loader
rabbits
birds
squirrel
ect

you get the idea

 

I don't have a press, i just use rocks, so can you reccomend an ammo?
Also, what slingshots and bandsets are those? The slingshots are gorgeous!

 

Hope this lends perspective
Once Killed a jackrabbit with an empty 12 oz coke bottle thrown by hand (once)
As optimist said BFT
Apply E=Mc^2 will give a rough estimate of energy (omitting coefficients).

 

Melting lead is easy. You need a small iron pot, a large spoon with a long handle, and a heat source.
The heat source can be anything like Colman propane stove, a camp fire, even many electric hot plates.
Just make sure you do it outside, or where there is GOOD ventilation. The pot, mold, and ladle or spoon will get VERY hot so you really need heavy gloves. I prefer leather gauntlet welding gloves.
Make sure NO moisture is anywhere around the hot lead. It will explode if water hits it. Be careful not to lean over the pot and let sweat drip into the pot.

 

In the old days they used shot tower ,melting the lead and at prescribed drip rate(hole drilled in the ladel), the distance from the top to the bottom allowed the lead ball to form naturally round and harden a bit before it hit the water below.
You can see a shot tower still in existance at the abandoned Peters(not sure of the spelling) factory.
I have a bag of 177 lead BBs from there.

 

I used to use yard fruit, like orages and lemons to test pentration. But if you are so inclined you could even use real meat like pieces of raw chicken to test the penetration capabilities of your projectiles. You can also wait until the next time you kill an animal and use the carcass to test your slingshot ammo.

But keep in mind that slingshots don't work like guns. They can be just as lethal by causing blunt force trauma without any penetration. So don't always expect larger non-spherical projectiles to penetrate.

 

Double theraband gold with. 50 cal lead balls or around that can yield 25-30ft/lbs of energy. So plenty

 

Lead anything will be devastating. But you are dealing with such heavy projectiles, especially something like a 50 cal, that you are going to have to really lob that thing to get it out to distance. You might be able to maximize your range and power with a smaller projectile.

 

Should only be hunting fairly short range anyway but they aren't too bad with decent bands even better if they're tapered. You can use steel bbs of a similar cal for more velocity and they'll still pack enough punch

 

I've never killed anything with a slingshot/wrist rocket etc, but as a kid I fired many marbles from my wrist rocket. Damned if I'd want to be hit by one! They go a surprising distance (well, surprising to me, anyway), a critter hit at 50 feet or less with one would be in for a bad day at the office. As Farmer John says, rocks etc spin off in odd directions at anything more than point blank range, even the sand-stipled marbles I used to buy if nothing else was available would hook after 10 yards.

 

used ball bearings is what we used as kids. My dad would get them where he worked and unfortunatly there were never that many the same size. But they will kill just about any small animal you shoot. I like more the the ones with the fore arm brace and double banded. Got one around the house somewhere with dry rotted bands...... need to get that thing out and fix it!

GTI

 

With bigger game, it can definately take an eye out.

 

You don't have to have penetration to kill. Rabbits are so fragile, you can nearly fart on them and they will die.

Trust me when I say this, slingshots can EASILY kill small game and if a headshot, much larger animals.. including man. If David killed a Philistine with an ancient sling, imaging what a modern slingshot will do.

 

Sorry, but David did not kill Goliath with a sling stone, he stunned him and then chopped off his head with a sword and that killed him.

Saul 17 50 to 51
50 There was no sword in the hand of David.
51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it.

Also, a sling imparts far more force to a projectile due to the length of the strings (fulcrum) and the speed generated (velocity).

*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*

Will they kill small game, rabbits, squirrels and birds, certainly but because of those animal's physiology not the merits of the slingshot...You can get nearly the same results with a throwing stick like the Indians used...Slingshots kill by blunt force at only extremely close range, beyond basically spitting distance, they will only stun and you then have to finish off the animal by slitting its throat or breaking its neck or both...Why is that? Simple basic physics, ballistics and aerodynamics!

A round ball has the wind breaking dynamics slightly greater then a brick as any blackpowder shooter will attest to and why 125 yds. is usually considered maximum killing range--it starts off slow and gets slower with distance and what kills is penetration which can only be achieved with mass plus velocity...Decrease or increase one then the other has to be changed as well to achieve the same results...Penetration does not have to be through the skin--blunt force trauma as an example, but it has to be of sufficient force to shatter the cranium causing either lacerations to the brain and death or sufficient force to render them unconscious.

Why the marble drifts to the right is due to it being off centred in the pouch before firing unlike a baseball that uses force on its seams to impart curve.

The best projectile is a steel ball bearing and if you can get them free from a garage all the better but you can buy them new fairly cheaply and used from a scrap metal yard even cheaper...Second to that is a lead roundball of no less then .50 or .54 and .69 to .75 is even better...Why? Mass.

I use a slingshot when hunting to shoot rocks into the scrub brush to chase out deer from the cover and I've also used it to get grouse, partridge and rabbits while in a blind and opportunity presents them but you are only equipped with a HP rifle and of course you don't want to shoot to scare all the deer away, so you use your slingshot.

To augment a "short term" survival pack they are excellent, beyond that they are a lark, a toy, and should never be considered as an effective, efficient and reliable killer of anything beyond small game at close range...Also, you can not survive on a diet of small game for long term scenarios--you will die of protein starvation...Yes, you bloody well will! Read up on it and also called Rabbit Starvation.

 

I use to be pretty good with a sling , i made several of them as a kid , but David did not kill with the sling alone , he took Goliath's sword and severed his head .
Slings were common weapons till the gun came along .
I have wrist rockets , which can be moded with a wisker biscut and fly arrows . Not sure how effective.
Like any weapon it takes practice, creativity, and skills.
It should be understood though, these primitive weapons are not going to stand up to modern warfare .
These are merely alternatives to quiet small game hunting only.

 

Hang a piece of old carpet and place a target in front of it..Get fairly close and practice until you hit the target everytime, then start apace farther away...thataway you can use your ammo over and over(the carpet will stop the balls), while becoming proficient with your slingshot..

 

Yep. A piece of old carpet also makes the best arrow target/catcher ever.

Bend two 1" EMT tubes to make "L" shapes with 30" long sort sides, then connect the short sides together. Sink the "U" shape about 18" into the ground and drape a 7' wide by 12' long (MOL) piece of old carpet over it.

The carpet should be wider than the frame by a foot on each side, and drape a couple of feet on the ground front & back.

(Be careful not to dump a lot of sand in your eyes when you set it up if you're using recycled carpet.)

The double layer of carpet will slow and stop an arrow perfectly, and you can then easily pull it out without stripping off the point.

Beats styrofoam, boxes, bales, etc--and it's free as well.

It's good for at least 5,000 rounds, and you have four surfaces you can paint targets on. I've used one for over ten years, just replacing the carpet every few years as it weathered.

You just can't miss a backdrop that large, and you'll never damage an arrow if you somehow manage to hit the steel frame.

This probably should go in the archery section, but I shoot bow and slingbow about 50/50, and it's perfect for both.

 

I used plain steel ball bearings or 1/4 inch steel shot i bought at walmart with mine, the 1/4 inch is better for a penetrating shot, while the bigger steel ball bearing will pack more of a knock down kind of wallop... I got my son a wrist rocket style yellow band sling shot and it packs a pretty good wallop. never tried the fruit test to see about lethality, but the 1/4 shot will go half way through a good sized apple on most shots.

 

you can get marbles for about $30 for 500, cheaper if you shop around. You get about half the penetration than steel balls, but on small game, the blunt trauma is what normally kills them.

This video will show you how good marbles are and how they don't shatter like you think they would.

 

Use this calculator

http://slingshotchannel.com/band_calc.html

I got my therabands on Ebay for like 10.00 dollars shipped. If you taper the bands they become scary quick. my slingshot will send a marble through 4 layers of cardboard.

As for rabbits, hitting them in the head with a stick will kill them. ( I just butchered 4 of them this morning. )

 

http://survivalslingshot.com/

This thing is cool. I'm thinking of buying it.

 

A good strong slingshot with a 30-cal lead ball can kill a person surprisingly dead. Dead enough that they won't get back up after the commercial's over.

The same slingshot could shoot an arrow that would take out any game animal in North America. Or a person.

I prefer arrows for larger game, shot for small. A survival slingshot should be set up to to work either way as needed.

When you draw your slingshot, you are effectively drawing a bow of equal poundage.

The lethality of a slingshot is often greatly underestimated.

 

Get ya one of these and you can kill small and larger animals and you can bow fish with it as well.
http://www.thepathfinderstore.com/deluxe-pathfinder-pocket-hunter-kit/

You can also make a rabbit stick pretty easily long as your arm from pit to wrist and about as big around as your wrist. Throw it sidearm and you should be able to kill any small game on the ground.

 

Bounce a marble off the joint of your thumb once....just once....and you'll respect a slingshot forever.

 

Most definately

I have personally taken down a number of small game with a sling shot. The largest being our southern AZ Jack Rabbit which is close to a medium sized dog. Ive tried steel bearings, marbles but had best luck with a good old round smooth rock. My sling is a good ol wrist rocket factory made with about a foot long fork extension not sure of the FPS but will put a bearing thru a car door.