Hunting with Catapults

**fishfish** · 19-09-2008, 14:06

hey Peter t ,the catty was a gift from a good pal of mine in the states,heres a couple of ones i made:

this one i call the polecat ,its small and compact and is carved from a single piece of buffalo horn , inset is a pewter bunny.

this one is made from a hazel fork with leather grips.

this one i call the buffalo its carved from one solid piece of buffalo horn with a rosewood butt:

heres another with a brass butt plate and a leather belt holster:

and heres my faveorite user , its made from a very hard to find angled red deer antler.

**fishfish** · 19-09-2008, 18:09

ive seen milbro's go for over £60!

**Peter_t** · 20-09-2008, 11:43

cheres fishfish, quite a nice collection youv got there! where can i get that sort of rubber from?

**Harry The Camper** · 23-09-2008, 02:06

Hi guys I have just stumbled upon this thread,I too am a frequent user of catapults.Here in Malaysia I have made a couple and been quite successful at shooting crows.I have shot at least 10,due to them being a constant pest,mobbing local species ect,ect.Due to my experience,I would recommend using a good hard wood as a base/handle and rubber/surgical tubing as the elastic.I have also found that if you are a right hander,use your left hand to hold the catapult and right hand to draw.This is one of the most effective/accurate setups that I am using.

**statikpunk** · 23-09-2008, 05:06

wow fishfish i love slingshots and i have used them for years. I always keep them in all my vehicles, and backpacks. i used to use them for hunting when I was too young to carry a rifle,

here is what I use now
[IMG]

[/IMG]
but i still use them a lot for fun plinking and eradicating the ocasional pest.
but i think if i had slingshots as nice as yours i could take up hunting with them again
you should post a tutorial on how you make your slingshots, i especially love that small little "polecat" one it would be great for sticking in your pocket for a day and it looks like it lends itself well to how I hold a slingshot when i shoot (do you put your thumb and index finger on the forks when you shoot??)
also where do you get that square rubber, and what advantage does it have over the surgical tubing, and I'm not sure how you are fastening the rubber to the slingshot with the leather caps?
anyway i am very impressed good job

**statikpunk** · 23-09-2008, 11:10

I also have seen a lot of the flat rubber bands what are those made of and what advantages does it have. all I have ever used is the surgical tubing, and i have always wanted something with more power.

**clcuckow** · 23-09-2008, 11:26

Originally Posted by statikpunk

I also have seen a lot of the flat rubber bands what are those made of and what advantages does it have. all I have ever used is the surgical tubing, and i have always wanted something with more power.

They are the same stuff that physios use as resistance bands. I have just replaced my 'power bands' on my Saunders wrist-rocket pro with with some cut from TheraBand Gold. I have never used surgical tubing but my understanding the main advantage is speed and the fact that you can stack them e.g. mine is a double band.

Expect a better responce the more experience cattie nut here before to long, that is unless this is already an Xpost

**statikpunk** · 24-09-2008, 02:08

Originally Posted by clcuckow

They are the same stuff that physios use as resistance bands. I have just replaced my 'power bands' on my Saunders wrist-rocket pro with with some cut from TheraBand Gold. I have never used surgical tubing but my understanding the main advantage is speed and the fact that you can stack them e.g. mine is a double band.

Expect a better responce the more experience cattie nut here before to long, that is unless this is already an Xpost

thanks i found some on ebay Im gonna have to make an order

**clcuckow** · 25-09-2008, 00:01

Click on the Sling Shot Rifle for a video

**statikpunk** · 27-09-2008, 01:41

that seems like a lot of effort for little gain, as long as that guy is happy i guess

**High on Hex** · 27-09-2008, 10:02

I'd love to see him pitch that on Dragon's Den.

**badkarma** · 08-11-2008, 19:15

You can use a catapult to hunt with. Treat it just as you would an air gun. use it only where you have permision to hunt on ect. They are a lot harder to use than a gun so pratice a lot and keep you range to a sensible distance and be awear they can rebound?

**Toddy** · 08-11-2008, 19:23

The square elastic is mostly used to power model aircraft. I've got some that's 5mm thick and it's really effective in my black widow. The recommendation is to keep it cold and dark when not in use since UV damages the elasticity.

cheers,
Toddy

**samwebb** · 07-12-2008, 21:28

I think that, as with most of these law based discussions, even if it is illegal, your are not going to be prosecuted by anyone.

**sandbender** · 15-01-2009, 17:27

Originally Posted by Toddy

but with practice amazing accuracy is possible.......

As can be seen in the following video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ieWrWLjii0

More here...

http://www.asheboro.com/users/teallen/rufus1.htm

**Pang** · 15-01-2009, 22:21

i like the sheath for the catty, did you make that???

**Pang** · 15-01-2009, 22:22

Originally Posted by clcuckow

Click on the Sling Shot Rifle for a video

lol i had made something like that when i was a child.

**Pang** · 15-01-2009, 22:26

Originally Posted by statikpunk

wow fishfish i love slingshots and i have used them for years. I always keep them in all my vehicles, and backpacks. i used to use them for hunting when I was too young to carry a rifle,

here is what I use now
[IMG]

[/IMG]
but i still use them a lot for fun plinking and eradicating the ocasional pest.
but i think if i had slingshots as nice as yours i could take up hunting with them again
you should post a tutorial on how you make your slingshots, i especially love that small little "polecat" one it would be great for sticking in your pocket for a day and it looks like it lends itself well to how I hold a slingshot when i shoot (do you put your thumb and index finger on the forks when you shoot??)
also where do you get that square rubber, and what advantage does it have over the surgical tubing, and I'm not sure how you are fastening the rubber to the slingshot with the leather caps?
anyway i am very impressed good job

nice rabbits

**Pang** · 15-01-2009, 22:27

Originally Posted by sandbender

As can be seen in the following video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ieWrWLjii0

More here...

http://www.asheboro.com/users/teallen/rufus1.htm

amazing vids

**Mooseman1** · 22-01-2009, 06:02

Wow really nice work mate, do you get good numbers with them?

**saurian** · 13-11-2011, 22:50

Has anyone seen this type of catapult and are they any good for hunting?

**BushcraftAndSurvival** · 08-02-2012, 13:13

I watched a Dave Canterbury video recently, he is selling a 'sling bow' basically a black widow that shoots arrows. It's quite impressive and in one of the video's you see him shoot a rabbit with one.

Blatently ileagal here but goood to know what is possible for research purposes anyway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGIcCRJGYug

**gabrielsdad** · 08-02-2012, 14:10

http://www.chiefaj.com/slingshot_hunting.htm have a look at some of these! Again totally illegal here for hunting. Still a nice bit of kit! With the retractable arrow rest!

**The Lord Poncho** · 08-02-2012, 15:38

Originally Posted by combatblade1

Checked the catapult issue out at work, it is an offence to use any missile fired other than from a firearm to hunt any wild animal or bird in Northern ireland. It dosent specifically mention catapults but as you are firing a missile from it and it isnt a firearm it comes under this legislation as does arrows darts etc.

Paul

As a 'missile' is designed by definition to 'miss' (they explode in proximity), then as long as you hit the animal, you could be ok! (that's not legal advice!)

**gabrielsdad** · 08-02-2012, 17:57

alls i know is, that i asked a copper if i could and he said aslong as you have permission to hunt on the land you shoot on, dont threaten anybody and only shoot what can be humanelt killed i cant see any laws being broken.

**salan** · 08-02-2012, 18:30

I have ahunter from Fish (don't think he makes them anymore.)
I use .45 calibre lead balls.
It has a LOT of stopping power! It has more ft/lbs within its range then an air rifle (non licence one ie your usual spring one).
Within its range obviously.
A great bit of kit and with practice (I never seem to get enough time), it can be very accurate. I reccomend looking on jacks shed forum. lots of info and experienced people on there.

**Aaron Rushton** · 08-02-2012, 19:08

i have got a catty from gamekeeper jonh (oldmansballbagon youtube :P) and i love it. very comfy in the hand, powerful and lovely to look at. it took me a while to get accurate with it, but i found out the trick is not to try and aim with the cattapult, but just to focus on the point you want to hit, draw the catty whilst not paying attetntion to it at all, just focusing on a pinpoint you want to hit on the target, and release. after about 100 shots with this i could reliably hit the bottom of a tin can at 12yrds. so far i have only had a rat and a squirrel but i will keep working at getting a bunny or pigeon. the main reason i got one is because most of the time i can't be bothered to go through the hassle of getting my airgun out and lobbing it around when i go for a walk through my garden, and end up kicking myslef when there is a woody or a squirrel in perfect range. you can slip a catty and a few lead balls in your pocket with no fuss at all.

**Chiseller** · 08-02-2012, 19:13

I find that tree game is alot harder to hit than ground game....even at close range

**Aaron Rushton** · 08-02-2012, 19:23

i imagine the elevation would change the trajectory of the ball becasue of the differing effects of gravity. with such a large heavy porkjectile i imagine the difference would be quite noticeable

**munkiboi182** · 08-02-2012, 22:07

[QUOTE=Aaron Rushton;1041417]i found out the trick is not to try and aim with the cattapult, but just to focus on the point you want to hit, draw the catty whilst not paying attetntion to it at all, just focusing on a pinpoint you want to hit on the target, and release.QUOTE]

this is the same method i use. look at target then pull and shoot. if i held the elasic pulled tight whilst aiming i would start wobbling all over the place. when i was a kid i wanted an air rifle but my dad wouldnt let me have one until i could knock a pigeon offf a telegraph pole at 50ft. i spent about a year practising with marbles and ball bearings. i managed to prove myself worthy but it took another two years to save up for the rifle i wanted

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