good post nice one.when i practice i hang a dust sheet up at the back of the garden and hang cans and bottles infront of it that way you get all your ammo back,i use marbles for practice to ,cheap and cheerfull
Fish Hunter Catapult Testing
- Thread starter Siberianfury
- Start date
Now that's practicalI use aniseed balls
cheers,
Toddy
I'd end up eating all my ammo, I've always loved aniseed balls!
Colin
We do something similar, got a old sheet and using a couple of small boys pens, drew a few different sized targets. Although for the most part it was like we were trying to shot anything but the targets and sometimes even anything but the sheet..
Methinks I need a lot more practice..
OK, lets try and calm things down a bit. Firstly, let me be clear, I am not against hunting with catapults per-se. But I would never use a weapon to hunt, that I cannot master to an acceptable level of accuracy.
A lot of the threads on catapults, particularly the flatband catapults, talk about the power. I've seen the videos of the big German guy blasting coconuts and legs of lamb with them and am in no doubt they are very powerful indeed.
But there is very little information about accuracy. What kind of ranges are we - realistically - talking about for 4" groups? Everyone is different, I know that, but with a certain amount of practice, most people should be able to achieve a certain standard. There is so little information about accuracy, that it kind of makes me wonder if 4" groups are realistically possible at any range. Now dont rag on me for wanting 4" groups, that's my personal standard for acceptability, if you are happy with one in ten being roughly on the money, well that's between you and your maker. I'm not. If I cant (realistically) achieve 4" groups, then I'd rather drop down in power, use lighter weight bands or tubes and drop the range till I can get what I want.
So realistically, what kind of ranges and groupings are you getting from your flatbands?
A lot of the threads on catapults, particularly the flatband catapults, talk about the power. I've seen the videos of the big German guy blasting coconuts and legs of lamb with them and am in no doubt they are very powerful indeed.
But there is very little information about accuracy. What kind of ranges are we - realistically - talking about for 4" groups? Everyone is different, I know that, but with a certain amount of practice, most people should be able to achieve a certain standard. There is so little information about accuracy, that it kind of makes me wonder if 4" groups are realistically possible at any range. Now dont rag on me for wanting 4" groups, that's my personal standard for acceptability, if you are happy with one in ten being roughly on the money, well that's between you and your maker. I'm not. If I cant (realistically) achieve 4" groups, then I'd rather drop down in power, use lighter weight bands or tubes and drop the range till I can get what I want.
So realistically, what kind of ranges and groupings are you getting from your flatbands?
Martyn, as far as accuracy goes with a catty its down the the shooter, think of it as throwing rather than shooting, more instict than aiming. any level of accuracy within the arc of the shot is pheasable, it just depends whos behind it.
as for the weith of the bands, im no more accurate with my lighter band equipped black widow than i am with my hunter, as long as you can draw it its not a problem.
as for the weith of the bands, im no more accurate with my lighter band equipped black widow than i am with my hunter, as long as you can draw it its not a problem.
Gentlemen I asked once no more stirring.
Either keep the thread without sniping or desist.
Toddy
Either keep the thread without sniping or desist.
Toddy
HillBill mentioned something a while back at getting quite good groupings, he hasn't updated what he got after a lot of practice however, but it does show what can be done in this thread Hopefully he or someone else with an iota of skill will be able to post their results of practice..
Cheers,
Cheers,
thats pretty good going for 50 shots, ive had mine about 4 days now and i can only hit the can about every 3/5 times from 15yards.
15 yards is a respectable distance, I have got closer to rabbits in the past and that was with two friends in tow and with our camping gear on our backs. If I had had a catty in my pocket, I could have choked the rabbit with the bands I was that close! It would have been a certain shot even for me with a basic use in catties. It would have been well within my capabilities. I don't think the longer range is necessary.
My catty shooting dropped off a bit after that through one thing or another. Groupings were alright out to 15 yards, Getting around the 4" mark in 3 shot groups. When you go out further though it gets more difficult as your using your eyes as opposed to a scope. With an air rifle, with open sights i can get a good group at 25 yards, but i can one hole at 40 with a scope ( well i could when i shot regularly) Cattys get much more difficult to shoot at the same 25 yard range as an open sight rifle, there are many variables which dont effect a rifle as much, and consistent let offs are far more difficult to achieve.as you would have to hold both the catty and the band in exactly the same place with the same stretch every time for any good degree of accuracy, this can only ever come through range time and lots of it. Even then i doubt you would get it right all the time. I would say 4" group at 25 yards would be the best you would get for a long time. Its hard, make no mistake. If you can hit a can every single time then by all means use it for hunting, but do not exceed the range you can hit the can, so if the cans 10 yards away and you see a rabbit 15 yards, dont bother unless you can it the can 10/10 at 15 yards. This is no different advce that i would give for a rifle or any other tool used to hunt.
If you know you can hit it...great
If you think you can hit it.....wait.
That video posted of the old guy is nothing special. His shots are what 5 yards away? even the thrown ones are so close that i reckon most folks could achieve that fairly quickly. I could do what he does on there. I doubt he would be so good at a range he would have to squnt to see the can. His catty was weak too
Fish's cattys would have left the can standing with a hole in at that range. His catty was weak too
I fully agree with you and yet it was able to get him a few rabbits for the pot, so if that weak little catty can do that with some poxy stones then the stronger Hunter with lead shot would definitely drop your quarry, so long as you can hit it!
I have no doubt at all that it could drop rabbits at any air rifle range pretty darn easily, if you hit it
There's only one way to find out for sure, but the physics alone tells me it would be a formidable weapon: well over the legal limit of an air rifle firing a mass well above that of a small pellet. A rabbit hit by that just about anywhere on the front quarters or head would be out cold, even if you hit the back legs it wouldn't get far as they would be smashed apart. Maybe not ethical and I would certainly expect everybody here would ensure they were proficient before using it on live quarry, but the beauty of it is that if you misplace your shot, the rabbit will be down and you will make the distance to ensure the animal is correctly despatched. I personally wouldn't go for anything over 10-15 yards to ensure that my shot is well placed.
Best way. They also carry that high power pretty far due to the weight of the shot, Whats 18 ft/lbs at let off would still be about 12ft/lbs at 50 yards, more probably, i dont know the ballistic coefficiency of the shot so its only a guess though.
I have no particular interest in debating the merits (or otherwise) of hunting with catapaults.
The one thing I will say though is that the idea that 18ft lbs of energy is sufficient to ensure a kill in a non-lethal zone and without a well aimed shot is very, very odd to me.
Whilst this may appear to be "half as much again as basic air rifle", I will invite a different comparison.
Lets try "one fifth as much as a .22 rimfire cartridge....with an absolutley rubbish comparable ballistic coefficient". A .22LR rimfire round imparts about 100 ftlbs of energy. Granted it has different terminal ballistics than a .44 ball, however the idea that "a hit = a kill" on a .22LR is clearly nonsense. I cannot see how a round carrying less than 20% of the power, with lower range and less accuracy would impart such certainty.
As I said, I have no particular interest in the merits or otherwise of catapault hunting, however, I can. with some assurance, state that a hit in a non lethal zone, using a .44 ball carry 18ft lb of energy (and bearing in mind this energy decays FAST over range) would not necessarily equal despatched prey.
Red
The one thing I will say though is that the idea that 18ft lbs of energy is sufficient to ensure a kill in a non-lethal zone and without a well aimed shot is very, very odd to me.
Whilst this may appear to be "half as much again as basic air rifle", I will invite a different comparison.
Lets try "one fifth as much as a .22 rimfire cartridge....with an absolutley rubbish comparable ballistic coefficient". A .22LR rimfire round imparts about 100 ftlbs of energy. Granted it has different terminal ballistics than a .44 ball, however the idea that "a hit = a kill" on a .22LR is clearly nonsense. I cannot see how a round carrying less than 20% of the power, with lower range and less accuracy would impart such certainty.
As I said, I have no particular interest in the merits or otherwise of catapault hunting, however, I can. with some assurance, state that a hit in a non lethal zone, using a .44 ball carry 18ft lb of energy (and bearing in mind this energy decays FAST over range) would not necessarily equal despatched prey.
Red
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