black widow slingshot

**leon-b** · 12-07-2006, 16:50

hi i am more than likely going to buy the black widow slingshot and will use it for hunting small game
what is the biggest or hardest to kill animal you have bagged with this slingshot?
do you think the slingshot is any good for a first time hunter?
if not what is the best and most powerfull slingshot i should buy for hunting?
leon

**scruff** · 12-07-2006, 17:02

Hi leon-b

I've bagged a pigeon in flight with a slingshot before. I seem to remember there was a puff feathers as the bird dropped.

Why not have a look here though http://www.slinging.org/

I'm sure it sould be far more beneficial for your bushcrafting skills, especially if you use your own natrual cordage??

I seem to remember someone doing a sling tutorial on here also....will try and find it.

Tada!: http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community...ghlight=slings

Also check here for some more info on catapults:
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community...ight=slingshot
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community...ight=slingshot

**leon-b** · 12-07-2006, 18:48

thanks
leon

**rapidboy** · 12-07-2006, 18:50

I don't consider a sling or sling shot to be a suitable weapon for hunting.
I'm not saying that it's not possible to hunt with them but they are hard to master and require a lot of practise and skill to use them effectively.
You owe it to your quarry to kill it quickly and in as humane a way as possible,
Buy an air rifle if you want to kill small game.

**leon-b** · 12-07-2006, 19:05

i would get an air rifle but i am not allowed
i asked my parents if i could get an air pistol but they said no aswell
the only thing i am allowed is a slingshot so i am buying one of those, its so unfair isnt it
leon

**Ogri the trog** · 12-07-2006, 19:27

Leon,
No matter what you end up buying, you'll still need landowners permission to "take" vermin (in the case of rabbits or pidgeon). I won't even mention game laws for larger prey which are much more tightly controlled.
As RB said, you owe your prey the swiftest end you can, if you can't own an air-r*fle yet, ask around your area for someone who has permission to shoot and go out with them for a few nights - you'll soon see that there is a lot more to it than first meets the eye.

ATB

Ogri the trog

**leon-b** · 12-07-2006, 19:33

yes i followed the link scruff gave me and read all about game laws, my uncle owns nearly half of a village called waldringfield it is mostly all fields and hedgerows and i will probably use this land, i will be hunting rabbit, pidgeon, hares, squirells and other edible game, i realise that it is my duty to give the prey the fasted death possible and this is why i will practice alot in my garden, i think i will have to get a few sets of bands. does anyone know how long the bands will last if i practice near enough every day

leon

**anthonyyy** · 12-07-2006, 19:55

In my opinon you shouldent use any weapon unless you have a 99% chance of getting a clean kill. Unless your in a survival situation, of course.
That dosent mean you cant have fun using a catapult for target practice.

Why dont you try nature photography?

**leon-b** · 12-07-2006, 20:07

i like hunting and fishing but i am not going to hunt untill i have practiced loads and that i am sure i will hit the animal in the kill zone and give it a nice clean death
leon

**anthonyyy** · 12-07-2006, 20:18

Originally Posted by leon-b

i like hunting and fishing but i am not going to hunt untill i have practiced loads and that i am sure i will hit the animal in the kill zone and give it a nice clean death
leon

fair enough.

we old people do nag don't we!

**leon-b** · 12-07-2006, 20:31

no i think its good that you tell us younguns if you dont tell us we wont learn will we
leon

**wiggles** · 12-07-2006, 20:33

dont get hares mate,they are too nice to kill i think,they are magical creatures.i have been holding my gun with a hare 20 feet away and haven't shot it because they are too beautiful to shoot.stick to rabbits.

wiggles

**leon-b** · 12-07-2006, 20:38

hares are beautifall creatures arent they
leon

**Martyn** · 12-07-2006, 21:58

Originally Posted by leon-b

i like hunting and fishing but i am not going to hunt untill i have practiced loads and that i am sure i will hit the animal in the kill zone and give it a nice clean death
leon

I think one of the problems with a slingshot, is that even if you practice loads, your chances of getting a flyer (an unexpected shot that goes off target) are too high to make the weapons suitable for hunting under normal circumstances. Too many things can go wrong.

Try this, if you can get 995 shots out of 1000 inside a 50p target from 15 yards, then the weapon is probably good enough to use to kill an animal. But I think anyones chances of ever achieveing that level of reliability from a slingshot are extremely remote.

People do hunt with them, of course, and if you are starving, then all the rules and ethics go out the window. But if you dont have to, then maybe consider more humane alternatives.

It's not pleasant to watch an animal die an ugly and prolonged death, though I doubt you'd actually get to see it. A rabbit for example, would go underground and die an agonising death out of site and away from your ability to put it out of it's misery.

Bow hunting is illegal in the UK for similar reasons, though ironically, you probably stand a better chance of achieveing a reliable kill with a bow than you would with a slingshot.

If I were you, I'd practice with a slingshot against non-living targets and wait till you are old enough to buy an air rifle before you go hunting ...or find an older person willing to go hunting with you, teach you and take responsibility for the gun.

Just something to consider.

**Snufkin** · 12-07-2006, 22:03

Originally Posted by wiggles

dont get hares mate,they are too nice to kill i think,they are magical creatures.i have been holding my gun with a hare 20 feet away and haven't shot it because they are too beautiful to shoot.stick to rabbits.

wiggles

Couldn't agree more. My favourite animal.

**Spikey DaPikey** · 13-07-2006, 01:44

Taken a rabbit with catty before, and a few rats, but im soooo out of pratice now tho....

Must pratice again

**Hawk Hawkins** · 13-07-2006, 08:16

Ive gotten considerable striking force shooting half inch lead balls...enough to kill a squirrel or rabbit, but (theres always one of those) I have never had confidence in using one to take wild game. I would think the cleanest and most humane harvest would be a head shot with one of these... and take into consideration how small a squirrel or a rabbits brain box is, its unlikely you will get that 100 percent sure shot all the time.
I agree on finding an older adult to show you the finer points in hunting...even if it means walking the woods with them unarmed for the first few times.
Hawk

**MattW** · 13-07-2006, 14:46

Originally Posted by leon-b

hi i am more than likely going to buy the black widow slingshot and will use it for hunting small game

Is that legal?
Not saying it isn't, but if it is, it'd be surprising given the fact that bow hunting is illegal. I'd have thought it much too difficult to ensure a clean kill.

Matt

**leon-b** · 13-07-2006, 15:39

yes it is legal to hunt with a slingshot

leon

**longshot** · 13-07-2006, 22:27

Originally Posted by leon-b

hares are beautifall creatures arent they
leon

good eatin' as well.

yumm

dean

**longshot** · 13-07-2006, 22:32

Originally Posted by Martyn

I think one of the problems with a slingshot, is that even if you practice loads, your chances of getting a flyer (an unexpected shot that goes off target) are too high to make the weapons suitable for hunting under normal circumstances. Too many things can go wrong.

Try this, if you can get 995 shots out of 1000 inside a 50p target from 15 yards, then the weapon is probably good enough to use to kill an animal. But I think anyones chances of ever achieveing that level of reliability from a slingshot are extremely remote.

People do hunt with them, of course, and if you are starving, then all the rules and ethics go out the window. But if you dont have to, then maybe consider more humane alternatives.

It's not pleasant to watch an animal die an ugly and prolonged death, though I doubt you'd actually get to see it. A rabbit for example, would go underground and die an agonising death out of site and away from your ability to put it out of it's misery.

Bow hunting is illegal in the UK for similar reasons, though ironically, you probably stand a better chance of achieveing a reliable kill with a bow than you would with a slingshot.

If I were you, I'd practice with a slingshot against non-living targets and wait till you are old enough to buy an air rifle before you go hunting ...or find an older person willing to go hunting with you, teach you and take responsibility for the gun.

Just something to consider.

trust me on this, learn to hunt with your weapon now not when your in a survival situation. at that point, you have too much on the line to miss or what ever. earn your experience now, when the pressure is off not when the difference between a full belly and hunger is a missed rabbit or small game of some such.

always obey the game laws in your area. they are there for a reason. even if its to keep a beaurocrat in a job.

dean

**leon-b** · 13-07-2006, 22:35

yes i plan to practice alot, i went out today with my mate and his slingshot and we found a few old rusted coke cans so we put them on the ground and fired away, i hit it and the stone went through one side and through the other it was pretty smart

leon

**Martyn** · 13-07-2006, 23:17

Originally Posted by longshot

trust me on this, learn to hunt with your weapon now not when your in a survival situation.

I take your point, but it should be noted that in Britain, we dont have any real wilderness. We are never more than 7 miles from a road and in most cases, 7 minutes from a bus stop. Unless you are in the highlands of Scottland, we have almost total coverage of mobile networks. The chances of getting stranded, to the point of hungar, are for all intents and purposes, non-existant. Unless people travel abroad to somewhere they have real wilderness (newfoundland for example), survival situations only really exist as fantasies.

But I take your point.

**Toddy** · 13-07-2006, 23:34

Before you start practising with your slingshot, and I too have a Black Widow

, see how good you can get at regularly, reliably, getting close to the animals you eventually want to hunt. There is absolutely no point practising at a standard10, 15, 20m or whatever, if you can't get that close to the beast in the first place.
Your elastics will last well with use if you oil them very gently with something like olive oil and store them in a dark glass jar. Light destroys the rubber.
Oh, and aniseed balls make good ammunition

confuses the h3ll out of the local dog walkers though

Cheers,
Toddy

**CLEM** · 13-07-2006, 23:40

If I remember correctly from what I read,the blackwidow catapult produces over 40ftlbs with the correct steel shot!

**leon-b** · 14-07-2006, 07:22

yes down our local woods we have loads of muntjak which i could stalk just to practice im obviosly not going to hunt deer with a slingshot, i will also tryand get close to pidgeons and rabbits. actually te other day i saw a groupe of about 10 rabbits over the field and i managed to get very close to them.

leon

**Longstrider** · 14-07-2006, 19:52

Hi Leon, I am a little worried by your insistence that you will be able to hunt live game both effectively and humanely with a catapult. Trust me when I say that it is very, very unlikely that you will achieve either. The Black Widow produces enough power (especially with the "Magnum" bands they sell for it) to despatch small prey but the accuracy that you are likely to achive, even with a whole load of practice, will not be good enough to ensure clean kills. I had a similar catapult, ( a "Wrist Rocket" ) for many years, and a mould to make my own .38" lead balls with to use as ammo. This ammo was far more consistant than any stones could ever be, and I practiced with the thing a lot but would never have considered it a good weapon for hunting humanely.

You would do far better to stick to using the catapult to shoot targets like cans and rocks and to use this excercise to learn from. The catapult will teach you more about the trajectory of a projectile than just about any other weapon. Try shooting at targets at varying distances and you will soon see what I mean. This knowledge will stand you in good stead once your parents decide that you are old enough to have an airgun to hunt with. You will be able to very quickly learn the trajectory curve of your pellet and therefore be better able to judge elevation (also called hold-over or hold-under) for shots at distances other than that at which your sights are set. This in turn will make you a better shot and a better hunter with your airgun in less time than if you had not used the catapult first.

I started out with a "normal" catapult, upgraded to the Wrist Rocket, then, only later did I get permission from my parents to own an airgun. I practiced with the airgun nearly every day for about 3 months before I took a shot at anything living. The lessons I learned with the catapult were ones that helped me a lot with my airgunning, and still help me today when I shoot rabbits with .22" rimfire rifles and larger calibres for foxes and deer.

**leon-b** · 14-07-2006, 19:58

ok thanks i will bear this in mind
leon

**bambodoggy** · 15-07-2006, 11:30

I don't see a problem hunting small game with a catapult, I've done it for many years now. I use little metal ballbearings as ammo and I either hit the bunnie and kill it dead regardless of where on it's body it hits due to the shear power of the blunt trauma or I miss....either way it's still a fairly humane way to kill imo.

What's more important to me is that you are killing for a reason and not just for the sake of it (whether that reason be food, pest control or anything else you can validate to yourself).....but even that is a path you have to choose or find for yourself.

Happy hunting,

Bam.

**leon-b** · 15-07-2006, 12:02

ok thanks for your opinion
leon

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