When you hear the word slingshot, does your mind conjure up images of kids misbehaving and shooting rocks at whatever they please? Maybe you associate it with Bart Simpson or Dennis the Menace?
For a while now, the slingshot has been associated with all types of childhood mischief.
And while this might be a fair association to make, it’s worth remembering that the slingshot is a serious hunting and survival weapon that should not be discredited.
This weapon was first developed around the same time that vulcanized rubber was invented. In fact, it’s the rubber that really ‘slings’ this shot into action. The first patent for a slingshot can be traced back to 1844 but the idea behind the slingshot is far older that. Thousand of years older actually.
Since prehistoric times, hunters have thrown projectiles out of slings in the hope of catching that night’s dinner. They were used by the Romans and were perhaps first made famous in the biblical story of David and Goliath.
In principle, a slingshot is basically the same thing as a sling. It’s just a bit more modern, more accurate and easier to use.
It’s easy enough to make your own slingshot (along with plenty of other DIY survival tools) but you shouldn’t overlook some of the high-quality, modern slings waiting to be bought today.
Check out this comparison guide below followed by the detailed analysis to help you decide which slingshot will work best for you.
So, now that you’ve seen a few of the models that are available on the market today, let’s get started by discussing some of the key issues surrounding slingshots, such as:
Legal and safety considerations
First of all, a slingshot is a survival weapon and should never be treated as a toy.
This weapon has a big potential to cause serious injury to someone. Eye injuries are especially gruesome and all too common when it comes to slingshot injuries.
To help keep you and those around you safe, these basic rules should always be followed:
- At the bare minimum make sure you are at least wearing basic eye protection such as sunglasses, but safety glasses are preferable. As mentioned earlier, the threat of eye injuries and vision loss is all too real when it comes to slingshots.
- Don’t fool around and shoot at your friends (this one should be obvious, but it might be the leading cause of slingshot injuries)
- Don’t fire your slingshot at anyone, unless you absolutely must, in a self-defense situation.
- Never shoot at animals unless:
- You are absolutely certain it is not a pet or an animal that someone will miss.
- You are certain that it is not an endangered animal or an animal you should not be killing or injuring.
- You have a good reason for doing so (such as using the animal for food or resources).
- You are an experienced enough shot that you are able to kill your target with a headshot. (I’ll explain the reasoning behind this later)
Keep in mind that you need to be aware of your local and state laws. There is no federal ruling on whether or not slingshots are legal and although 32 states have no laws that restrict hunting with slingshots, some states are looking to ban their use.
Map of States With and Without Slingshot Hunting Regulations
Currently, 32 states permit slingshot hunting – these are shown in green. The states that are colored white don’t allow slingshot hunting in any form.
It’s always better to be safe than sorry, so make sure you check with your local authority and find out the rules behind slingshot hunting in your area.
Slingshots Are Great For Stealth
Benefits of Using a Slingshot
- They offer total stealth. Slingshots are one of the quietest weapons available.
- Ammunition is easy to find.
- They have few parts and require little maintenance.
- Slingshots are easy to conceal in urban areas.
- They won’t attract much unwanted attention.
- Most states allow you to legally open carry a slingshot.
- They’re very cheap compared to other hunting weapons.
- They’re challenging and enjoyable to use.
The Best Slingshot For You
As previously mentioned, there are plenty of high-quality, highly accurate slingshots out there on the market.
You should be looking for something that is lightweight and accurate, while not sacrificing the power needed to make a great shot.
Check out some of these compact designs available at a range of different prices.
The Best Slingshot Ammunition
The reason I love slingshots so much is that ammunition can be found absolutely everywhere.
The fact that you can just head out with your slingshot and not need to worry about stocking up on ammunition beforehand really adds to the primal feeling of using a slingshot. And while this type of free ammunition is great, it does have its drawbacks, namely the lack of accuracy obtained when using things like stones or pebbles.
For this reason, a steel or lead shot is the best ammunition you can use with your slingshot. Lead shots are heavier and can, therefore, be fired further than steel ammunition but steel has the added benefit of being magnetic making it a lot easier to recover your ammunition after firing off a few rounds.
By attaching a shaft cradle to your slingshot, it is also possible to fire small arrows and darts.
Check out the video below for an example.
How To Customize Your Slingshot
Making your own slingshot is a popular hobby and it can be a lot of fun and a very rewarding experience. It’s a nice feeling to go out and hunt with something that you’ve created with your own hands.
So if you are interested in crafting your own slingshot from scratch, follow the guide below to help you create your custom-made individual slingshot.
What You’ll Need:
- A “Y” shaped tree branch with a fork of at least 30 degrees.
- Leather strips
- 1/4” latex surgical tubing
- Fine string such as dental floss
- Time
(optional)
- Four small plywood pieces
- 2x 40w light bulbs
Tools:
- Knife
- Saw
- Awl (optional)
Finding a Suitable Fork
The best types of wood for your slingshot fork are dogwood, oak and hickory. Alternatively, you could use buckhorn, as it is rigid and flexible enough to make a good slingshot
It’s very rare that you’ll find the perfectly shaped “Y” fork for your slingshot in nature, so it’s not advisable that you spend too much time looking for it.
Remember you just need a fork that is roughly 30 degrees bent and the protruding branch to be 45 degrees.
When you stumble upon your brunch, it’s time to cut it to size.
Next, leave the cut branch to dry for anywhere from three weeks, all the way up to a year.
The length of time it takes for your fork to dry mostly depends on how you plan to dry it.
This is where the optional four pieces of plywood and two light bulbs come into play. Use these to build a box in which you can heat your frame for a few weeks. But if you can’t be bothered with that and you have the time, you can simply leave your frame somewhere safe and dry for around a year.
Alternatively, you can greatly speed up this process by placing your fork beside a campfire for a couple of days. You’ll know when the wood is dry and ready for use when it stops making a hissing sound.
And last but not least you could use the very modern and very fast method of drying your frame in the microwave. To do this, wrap your frame in a towel (to stop burning) and nuke it on high six times for around 30 seconds each time. Again, the wood will stop hissing when it is ready.
Note: don’t just throw it in the microwave on the 30 minutes setting and walk away. This will not end well and is very dangerous.
Notching the Fork
Now that your frame is dry and ready, you want to take a knife and make a notch on both prongs of the fork. These are what will hold the band and will stop slippage.
Don’t make your cuts too deep or you will end up with a slingshot that breaks under tension because the wood is too weak.
Less is more. You can always make the notches a little deeper later if needed. Make them too deep now and you will have to start all over again with a new fork. Not ideal if you have just waited a year for your frame to dry!
Attaching the Bands
This is the part of your slingshot that requires the most maintenance (but hardly any compared to most other hunting weapons). You’re most likely going to have to replace the bands every few months but don’t worry, it’s a piece of cake.
But here’s one thing to keep in mind. Slingshot hunting is not very popular compared with other forms of hunting. So chances are, if you go into a hunting store and pick up a set of slingshot bands, those bands might have been sitting on the shelf for months or even years.
So, I’m going to show you how to cut out the middleman and make your own slingshot bands.
Here’s what you need to do.
Buy some rubber tubing from a hardware store (I suggest Theraband gold). And that’s pretty much it. Easy as that!
Just remember to replace the band on your slingshot as soon as you begin to see that the rubber is starting to crack or dry out.
And attaching the bands is a piece of cake as well. Just cut a piece of rubber to the correct length, then wrap one end of the length around each fork of the “Y” frame. Then turn the extra bit of rubber back over itself and use a zip tie or a bit of wire to tie it off. And you’re done.
Slingshot Pouch
To create a pouch, you need to cut a rectangular piece of leather, around two inches wide and four inches long. Next, create an octagonal shape by cutting off the corners. Make a hole at both ends of the leather strip and then run your rubber strip through both holes. Now use the dental floss or string to tie off the excess bits of rubber once you have wrapped them around themselves.
Just keep in mind that as you learn and discover new techniques, you will probably need to adjust the rubber band length to suit your slingshot technique. The shorter the band, the more power it gives the slingshot but it’s also more likely to break. Keep trying different band lengths until you find the length that suits you.
Slingshot Hunting
Hunting is all about respect. Respect for your gear. And respect for nature.
So just like any hunt, you should consider all aspects of what you are doing when hunting with a slingshot.
The big thing about slingshot hunting, which I can’t stress enough, is that you need to practice and hone your skills until you are basically a slingshot sharpshooter.
Because of the nature of slingshot action and ammunition, the shots you take will most likely cause blunt force trauma rather than the piercing type injuries related to bullets and arrows.
So in order to fire an effective shot, you must be able to get close enough to be able to produce enough force to kill your target with a direct headshot.
If you aren’t skilled enough to do this, you aren’t skilled enough to be hunting with a slingshot yet and need to keep practicing your target skills.
A lead ball fired at a small animal that hits the body instead of the head will ruin the meat and cause the animal a slow, painful death.
If you have any respect for the animals you are hunting you know that this is not acceptable.
Practice by aiming at a small object like a ping pong ball from around 30 feet. If you can’t consistently hit this target, you need to keep practicing. Remember the rule of slingshot hunting – headshots only!
Unless you’ve attached an arrow cradle that enables you to shoot medium sized prey, you’ll mostly be hunting small game like squirrels, rabbits, birds and maybe rodents.
But again, if you attach an arrow cradle, make sure you are skilled enough to shoot and kill the animal instantly.
Don’t let the animal suffer and bleed out because it has run after being hit by your bad shot. Once again, it’s showing no respect for nature and if you are willingly hunting like this, you’ll give other hunters no reason to show you repect.
Most people would agree that a slingshot is far from an ideal hunting weapon compared to most other options such as guns and bows. For this reason, slingshots are mostly considered a fallback weapon that should only be used if you are caught in a tight spot and need to eat to survive.
In saying that, slingshots are considered a very difficult weapon to hunt with. So if you are capable of sneaking up on your prey and taking a clean, powerful headshot, then you are probably an experienced hunter who has been honing your skills for years.
For those of you not at that level yet, keep practicing. It’s half the fun!
Final Thought on Slingshots
Slingshots are a modern form of an ancient weapon. And the do-it-yourself feel of these weapons can make it feel like you are hunting in a time, long forgotten.
And while they are a great training tool to help you practice your aim and target shooting, it shouldn’t be forgotten that these compact weapons serve a great deal of survival purposes.
At the end of the day, this is a weapon that really tests your skill and really hits home the old saying that “a tool is only as good as the person who’s using it.”
Even if you never plan to use it, except in an emergency, a slingshot should be a definite inclusion in any bug out bag or hiking backpack. You never know when this great little survival tool may save your life.
If you are interested, check out these additional slingshot hunting articles and forums to help you gain a better knowledge and understanding of the world of slingshot hunting.
- – Pocket Predator
- – Simple Shot
- – Slingshot Shooting
- – Slingshot World