black widow slingshot

[Woods Wanderer]

just got the thickest surgical tubing i could find and cut it really short iv only met one other person who can draw it though i found this last night http://www.melchiormenzel.de/forum/
just keep trying the first sqirrel i shot was with normal elastics and a 50 cal steel ball had to beat the poor thing with a stick a chest shot woulnt have even hurt it so make sure its powerful but first of all accurate cos at least if its not very powerful pidgeons are on the menu

 

[sam_acw]

Having done a little bit of hunting online I've found some websites which are about general slingshot hunting.
http://www.gobacktothebasics.com/old_time_hunting_legends__tales__and_stories.htm
http://www.raycooley.com/26Weapons.html
http://www.execulink.com/~environm/Hunting/slingshots.html

As an aside, why is accuracy such an issue? Your chance of a wounding shot must be lower with a slingshot than an air rifle.

Yes the accuracy is lower but most air rifles are 12lb/ft or less. If a band could get any where close the the 40lb/ft figure above it would have massively greater thrust.

Secondly, a .22 or .177 air rifle pellet is very small and light. A bigger object would have greater momentum if moving at the same speed.

Also the "footprint" of larger ammunition must have an effect. If you hit a rabbit with an object 6mm across or 12mm across you would be more likely to get part of the shot through the kill zone.

I am aware however that a bigger projectile is likely to be less aerodynamic and therfore harder to judge at longer ranges as it will slow and hence fall more rapidly.

I am also discounting the problem of missing entirely as If a safe shot has been taken this shouldn't be an issue.

This is just me trying to be logical and not based on personal experience (aside form plinking with rifles and breaking windows with a slingshot .)

If I've just come across as very stupid could people point out why.

 

[leon-1]

As an aside, why is accuracy such an issue?

Hi mate, I think the best way to look at it would be this.

Which would you prefer, a swift surgical shot to the head or someone battering your body with a club breaking bones as they went untill they effectively beat you to death.

A lot of what you said makes a great deal of sense, air rifles are a precision instrument that are used to deliver a smaller lightweight projectile to a specific area normally penetrating both bone and flesh. Slingshots on the other hand deliver a larger heavier weight dispersing massive amounts of kinetic energy to a larger area as the flesh of the prey is forced around it, they are not designed to penetrate flesh they are there to cause massive blunt force trauma in an instant.

The sheer shock of being hit anywhere in the upper torso with a .38 calibre ball bearing (approx 9mm) at 40lb/ft in small prey like a rabbit would kill it, however strikes to the haunches or limbs would break bone and severely injure the animal causing a long lingering and painfull death.

That is the main reason for people talking about accuracy, I hope that explains it some

 

[Woods Wanderer]

iv never hit something with a 38 cal cos to me it doesnt really feel powerful with the 50 cal lead as long as you hit the front of the animal it dyes very quickly most the time instantly but it you hit a leg or guts its just gross but you can still normally chase it down

 

[leon-1]

iv never hit something with a 38 cal cos to me it doesnt really feel powerful with the 50 cal lead as long as you hit the front of the animal it dyes very quickly most the time instantly but it you hit a leg or guts its just gross but you can still normally chase it down

My point exactly, how would you like it if someone didn't place a shot correctly and what happens on the occasion where you don't chase it down.

The name of the game is "HUMANE"

A precision shot from a rifle is humane, generically it is more accurate and effective. With modern PCP air rifles the follow up shot will be quick where as a badly placed shot from a slingshot will kill eventually and the follow up could take a long period of time, but death comes after a long and probably agonising wait.

 

[Ogri the trog]

Heads Up Gents,
I'd like to inject a modicum of realism for the UK here.
Even though I'm not a moderator, the discussion of the suitability of a slingshot for precuring live prey is getting very close to call.
For day to day use, a slingshot is most definately not suitable for the purpose that this thread is supposing. In a survival situation, the opposite might be true though your chances of a kill would be greatly enhanced by plenty of inanimate target practice.
Further discussion of pest control or meat procuration with air rifles might also be better suited to another forum dedicated to that topic. There are laws in the UK which cover these topics very clearly and the members here should not be advocating the misuse of anything, other than to point the questioner in the right direction of law abiding advice.
Neither Tony, the other members nor the site as a whole wants to be burdened with the bad reputation that such discussions can leave. We all know that in a life or death situation, anyone could justifiably do pretty much anything to stay alive, that is the exception to the norm. That norm, for daily life, says we have to obey the laws that cover the killing of wild animals and the use of weapons on owned land.


Leon, in answer to your original post,
hi i am more than likely going to buy the black widow slingshot and will use it for hunting small game - Don't it is illegal.
what is the biggest or hardest to kill animal you have bagged with this slingshot? A Policeman.
do you think the slingshot is any good for a first time hunter? No, a camera would be much better.
if not what is the best and most powerfull slingshot i should buy for hunting? Don't - you'll get yourself branded a thug, no better than the torturers of pets that make the headlines every so often.

Now here's the crunch - I've shot for a few years with both air and live ammunition - I do it because I can see at least two benefits when I take each life -it keeps my friends livestock safe from broken limbs, and it provides my family with organic meat that does not get passed around from pillar to post before laying on a supermarket shelf for a week.

Ogri the trog

 

[wingstoo]

Leon,


Both my Father and his Father (my GrandFather were excellent shots with a catapault/slingshot, in fact my GrandFather used to carry his all the time he was on duty as a Bomb factory Policeman, he would take at least one rabbit a shift when patroling around the storage bunkers, My Father on the other hand could hit a 4X2 target at 25 yards, first shot, you have to be this good because you will only get the one shot. he still has the catapault he cut from a Hazel tree over 60 years ago.

You only get this good with lots of practice, at range, and it is best to use steel ball bearings, don't worry about 995 out of 1000, if we all used that figure then we wouldn't try anything. You are with the Army Cadets? well if they said to you that you had to be that good with the No8 before you could use the L98 would you think that was a good thing, but there again with a catapault you intend to take a life, so start getting some practice, and let us know how you get on...


LS

 

[leon-b]

i spose
i have shot the no.8 rifle but i havent shot the l98 yet
how cum the no.8 doesnt come back on your shoulder at all but it makes one hell of a noise
leon

 

[sam_acw]

Is the slingshot illegal for hunting in the UK then?
I was under the impression from both this and other threads that it hadn't been specifically banned as a hunting weapon.
I know people who have used them for a long time for scaring rats and pigeons.
Is this yet another of the nasty grey areas of British law or is there a specific law.

I don't doubt that any policeman would take a very dim view of young people running around armed with a slingshot in the current climate of the ASBO

 

[wingstoo]

i spose
i have shot the no.8 rifle but i havent shot the l98 yet
how cum the no.8 doesnt come back on your shoulder at all but it makes one hell of a noise
leon

You should be wearing ear protection Leon, it won't be so loud then, do they not issue you with Peltor ear defenders when you are on the range?

LS (By the way, I was a Range conducting officer and coach, and NOBODY came on my range to shoot or assist without ear defenders)

 

[leon-b]

yes we use ear defenders but they are still pretty loud
leon

 

[wingstoo]

Leon, PM sent


LS

 

[Tony]

Ok, I thought it was illegal to hunt with a slingshot in the UK and because of this I'm going to close the thread until I can find out for sure.

A conversation about the theoretical use of a slingshot is one thing, encouraging the hunting of animals is another (unless it is perfectly legal)

There's nothing wrong with practicing with it and getting familiar with it (although i believe there's a legal age limit on buying one?) so that a high competence is attained, I would encourage anyone to develop hand/eye coordination and this is a good practice.

So, when I find out where things stand I'll reopen this thread, or not.