Slingshots -- Any Survival Merit?

What is your opinion on using a slingshot in a survival situation, or having one in your BoB? Obviously a gun is more effective, but say for various reasons you either didn't or couldn't own a gun, is a slingshot a decent alternative?

Advantages are that they are very light and small. Also, when you run out of specifically made ammo, you can just start using rocks and stuff.

Disadvantages.... not sure quite how powerful or accurate they are. I'm sure with some practice and training, you could be very proficient with one. But what kind of power would it have? What is the biggest animal you could take down? Squirrels, birds, rabbits... maybe a dog if you land your shot right. Does a slingshot have any self-defense merit?

Ammunition varies in size. The two most popular sizes I have seen are 1/4 inch and 3/8 inch. Do these two sizes have different specific purposes, or is one just meant to be stronger than the other. How does the extra size/weight affect speed and distance? Also, shot comes in steel and glass (marbles). Can you use both for hunting, or only steel?

I have also seen three main versions of the slingshot.

There is a classic model, one with a wrist support, and one with an ammo feeder

The one with the wrist support and ammo feeder seems kind of awkward. Does anyone have these types of models, and how good are they?

Lastly, how often do the bands break?

I think you would do better with a blow gun or a standard Bow and Arrow, than you would with a slingshot. A slingshot is fine for very small game and birds, but they are not that effective for hunting in general. A wrist support type does offer stability advantages which helps improve aim, but I feel they are better suited for plinking cans than for survival. Personally, I wouldn't pack one in a survival situation.

Steel shot is better than glass and the larger 3/8 shot is a better choice for increased impact.

The only redeeming qualities I can think of for using a slingshot are silence of use and ease of acquiring ammo. When the rubber bands fail, you have a useless tool and the proper bands will not be that easy to find in a survival situation.

Bows and blowguns are not that difficult to make and maintain. They are also relatively silent. Both have been proven highly effective for survival for millennia.

[edit on 25-2-2007 by Terapin]

I have a family friend who came over from the phillipines and he told me in the "rough areas" they use slingshots with bullets because of course they have no money for guns but also they are silent. Most of the time its against either the police or rival gangs. My first question was accuracy and he told me once you get a handle on how to properly sling a bullet its pretty close to a handgun in accuracy. I forgot to ask him the size of the bullets he was using though.



[edit on 25-2-2007 by leafer]

They were shooting the bullets in the casing? ....Odd. lol.

So where abouts can you buy a blowgun, or do you know any sites that teach you how to make a proper one? I assume you are talking about something pretty compact, not a 3 foot long one.

I've got a Barnett Blackwidow (with wriast restraint) catty and 3 spare elastics as part of my BoB kit as it's mechanically very simple, silent, can fire any improvised ammo and above-all, legal to own here in the UK.

My friends and I used to use these when we were mischevious little chavs and I can attest to the excruciating pain of being shot in the thigh with a marble from 15-20metres by my buddy which left a perfect round purple-black bruise and a dead-leg that lasted a good long while; if he'd hit me in the head it would have been one whole helluva lot worse incident...these things can kill!

sling shot are deadly weapons at close range. you have to use lead shot say 000 buck shot or fishing weights, yes they are mostly good for small game and they are very good for that and the small game ammo is easy to obtain. what you can also do is use your sling shot to obtain a real weapon, soldiers once they start to feel comfortable in occupation often travel alone or in small groups which is where you get your real gun. ive never seen a war zone photo where in every 12 year old doesnt have an ak or what ever. sling shots are easy to conceal try walking around in a curfew zone with a bow. not that a bow is a bad thing but it's more a home in a retreat than urban scenario.

You ought to get good with a sling. The David and Goliath sort. I knew a guy that was wizard with one, and I always envied him the ability.

Isn't a sling basically just anything you can put a rock in, like a shirt or similar piece of cloth?

Anyway, I reckon it's a good idea I get a slingshot from the points mentioned here. If the band breaks, the slingshot becomes utterly useless and you can't expect to find a replacement. But you likely wouldn't need it for that long before you use it to acquire something bigger and better anyway.

A slingshot is an excellent survival weapon, it is lightweight so it won't be cumbersome, you can always carry a few extra sets of bands when failure occurs, ideally you would want a nice supply of ammo, but you have to realize that if it gets to the survival scenario, there would be plenty of resupply ammo available, ie. abandoned automobiles, bikes and other things which have wheel bearings, nuts, etc. which could supply you.

Also you have the capability of using your normal projectile shaped stones which would be plentiful.

A sling is also lightweight and a capable weapon in the right hands.

The key here is if you select this as part of your survival kit, do not wait until you have to use it, to learn to use it.

Take time now, while you have the chance, to become proficient in the use of either or preferably both weapons.

The key to this being a good survival weapon is the silence.

You could always have your cache of supplies stored safely where you ultimately head to when bugging out. This is where you would store heavier items which you might need ie. bow, rifle, tools, food, etc.

Your BOB needs to be light but practical, so a sling & slingshot fit perfectly into this scenario...

WHile you are learning those weapons, don't forget to learn a little handline-fishing and snare techniques to add to your food-gathering survival skills.

A good one is sort of made for the purpose. But yeah, you can use just about anything that's approximately right. It won't be as accurate but you can wing it.

That's another reason for learning how to use one. You might not have a slingshot but you might have a towel or sheet.

Originally posted by Yarcofin
Isn't a sling basically just anything you can put a rock in, like a shirt or similar piece of cloth?

Anyway, I reckon it's a good idea I get a slingshot from the points mentioned here. If the band breaks, the slingshot becomes utterly useless and you can't expect to find a replacement. But you likely wouldn't need it for that long before you use it to acquire something bigger and better anyway.

I have made many slings in my day. They can be devastating. Most people make the mistake of treating them like some kind of helicopter. You only need to whirl the missile around enough times to acquire and track your target and make sure the missile is seated in the pouch. Two times is great, but if you have to go around three it is still alright, but no more than three times. You want to time things so that on the last revolution the missile comes around your back and in a explosive fling you bring it up over the top of your head and follow through like a baseball pitcher. It is this last explosive bit that imparts the deadly speed to the missile, not a bunch of windmilling.

The average size man using a sling with four foot long leathers can send a fist sized rock 300 yards using the technique above.

[edit on 2-25-2007 by groingrinder]

Slings have both biblical and historical significance. One thing I would ask is, do you know of any culture that uses slings, or sling shots as a regular hunting weapon? I certainly don't. While you may be able to get small game on occasion if you are lucky, they simply are not that great a weapon for day to day use.

Slings, have been known about for a very long time, yet no one uses them for regular hunting simply because there are far more effective methods. Sure, you can peg a rabbit or two if things go well but those cultures that do use them, generally prefer other methods to get food. Trying to use a slingshot to upgrade to a higher power weapon, seems like a suicide mission to me. You could ask the Palestinian children who use them against Israeli occupiers. A sling against an Uzi is a poor choice.

Bows have been in use around the globe for millennia, and as for blow guns, I have seen them used in a highly effective manner on all sorts of game. Generally a bio-toxin is used in conjunction with blow gun darts, but it is not necessary in all cases. Small game are easy to get with a blow gun. Some people even hunt wild boar with blow guns. Try hunting larger game like a wild boar with a slingshot.

Blow guns are also a simple to make improvised weapon, particularly in urban environments. PVC pipe or Electrical conduit, combined with some stiff wire and an improvised cone flight base, makes a very effective weapon for game birds, ground animals and two legged adversaries.

The store bought sling shots that use the rubber tubes are weak. They use 1/4" surgical tube and the replacement tubes cost a bit much, they are strong but can rot. You could make a much better sling shot out of 3/8"-1/2" surgical tube.

The energy stored is dependent on how far you can pull it back and tube size. The 1/2" tube gets hard to pull back on and if a 3/4" lead ball was used, it "could" go through skin and bone.

Originally posted by Yarcofin
They were shooting the bullets in the casing? ....Odd. lol.

So where abouts can you buy a blowgun, or do you know any sites that teach you how to make a proper one? I assume you are talking about something pretty compact, not a 3 foot long one.

Ya casing and everything. My first thought was how can you get it to spiral the way a gun fires and he showed me how he does it. Of course I always had trouble holding it right. I would think with some practice it should be possible. Honestly I think a pointed rock would be just as good.

ive seen slingshots that could fire 1/2 steel balls through 1/4" plywood. think it had like a 50lb draw or something ridiculous like that.

a bow is a great choice for hunting larger game, but as a hunter i feel obligated to point out that its actually harder to aim than a slingshot is. rule of thumb is that if you cant hit a paper plate at 25m with a bow, DONT USE IT TO HUNT. all you will do is wound an animal and that is just not cool


another oddity with a slingshot i got from my dad, when he was a kid, they used slingshots to fire arrows. granted, not the force of a full bow, but enough to hunt rabbits and such.

personally in a survival situation, id stay with a slingshot due to the ease of transport and just hunt rabbits.

blow guns are great, but without a paralytic for the darts (curare' etc) id avoid them for hunting anything bigger than a rabbit

another key thing to remember is this, anyone preparing a survival kit needs TWO very very very important things. a knife and a role of cord (i prefer parachute (550) cord personally...its amazingly versatile. use it whole or take the guts out and use the nylon threads for fishing, snares, lashes for a shelter etc) with a knife and a roll of cord added to a long stick, you have a spear. you can hunt about anything with a spear should the need arise. (thats why for a survival knife i like a decent fixed blade knife over 4" long) heck, when i was a ymca camp counceler i taught a survival course that focused on living with nothing more than a role of string, a knife and a book of matches. all you need

just my .02

I have one of the olde rubber tubing slingshots but I agree with many of the posters. The tubing rots away with time.

TO my knowlege of history the slingshot before the advent of rubber was literally a sling..you slung it around your head before the controlled launch. This type of slingshot is still in use in some places in this world.
While I have not trained myself in its usage if it was all you had you would make do or perish. From what I have seen in the hands of a skilled operator this is not a toy. THe advantage of this system is obvioiusly that it can be easily repaired as contrasted with rotting rubber.

If it was all I had and had quickly I would learn to make do or perish. Bows and arrows are not as easy to manufacture as a slingshot or spear. It takes time and dicipline to fabricate a good bow..even a straight arrow...much less a decent arrow tip. Even a spear tip.

Intresting views on this topic line.

Thanks to all for thier posts,
Orangetom

I have one of the olde rubber tubing slingshots but I agree with many of the posters. The tubing rots away with time.

TO my knowlege of history the slingshot before the advent of rubber was literally a sling..you slung it around your head before the controlled launch. This type of slingshot is still in use in some places in this world.
While I have not trained myself in its usage if it was all you had you would make do or perish. From what I have seen in the hands of a skilled operator this is not a toy. THe advantage of this system is obvioiusly that it can be easily repaired as contrasted with rotting rubber.

If it was all I had and had quickly I would learn to make do or perish. Bows and arrows are not as easy to manufacture as a slingshot or spear. It takes time and dicipline to fabricate a good bow..even a straight arrow...much less a decent arrow tip. Even a spear tip.

Intresting views on this topic line.

Thanks to all for thier posts,
Orangetom

I have one of the olde rubber tubing slingshots but I agree with many of the posters. The tubing rots away with time.

TO my knowlege of history the slingshot before the advent of rubber was literally a sling..you slung it around your head before the controlled launch. This type of slingshot is still in use in some places in this world.
While I have not trained myself in its usage if it was all you had you would make do or perish. From what I have seen in the hands of a skilled operator this is not a toy. THe advantage of this system is obvioiusly that it can be easily repaired as contrasted with rotting rubber.

If it was all I had and had quickly I would learn to make do or perish. Bows and arrows are not as easy to manufacture as a slingshot or spear. It takes time and dicipline to fabricate a good bow..even a straight arrow...much less a decent arrow tip. Even a spear tip.

Intresting views on this topic line.

Thanks to all for thier posts,
Orangetom

Regarding the rotting rubber tubing --- could the life of the tubing be extended if they are kept at a constant temperature? I would think that if they are stored somewhere (like a garage or shed) that is exposed to daytime highs and nightime cools, the changing extremes will precipitate the rubber-rot.


Any truth to this?

Well if you're gonna get one you might as well get one with Fiber Optic Sighting

We used to have these wrist rockets when we were kids. We could bend pennies, etc. with one! Or go right through a piece of wood like Damocles stated. They are very dangerous. . .

As far as a slings go. I bet some individuals are deadly with these also. I guess anything is better than nothing, and at least these slings can kill at some distance.

But what about a short spear & launcher? These have been popular for thousands of years and found in many cultures. I would think this would point to a simple yet deadly weapon that can be easily constructed with a sharp knife. ( A Damocles favorite! )

What about Bolos? They have been used all over the world throughout history. They are also very easy to make using monkey paw knots as shown on this site. They only require a couple of rocks, and a piece of cord. ( Another Damocles favorite! )

2PacSade-