Is Slingshot better than a Black Widow?

[stripey]

Have any of you seen youtube video's of survivalist personalities suggesting slingshots as items for bugout  bags?  the latest rage seems to be shooting arrows with a slingshot.  Here are some examples:

http://survivalslingshot.com/product-2/

http://www.instructables.com/id/Arrow-Throwing-Sling-Shot/

http://cdn2.bigcommerce.com/server2800/5w89old/product_images/uploaded_images/phs-evolution.jpg?t=1398725710

So my question is, are slingshots easier to shoot and take small game than a mini revolver?  A mini like my Black Widow can't take up more space in a bugout bag than a wrist rocket and 100 ball bearings, let alone packing arrows.

Has anyone on the board actually killed a rabbit or squirrel with a mini, or is the sight radius just too short for effective accuracy?

[Scott Free]

Has anyone on the board actually killed a rabbit or squirrel with a mini, or is the sight radius just too short for effective accuracy?

I've seen pics of squirrels that have been taken with a Black Widow. Certainly, if you can get within slingshot range of a squirrel or rabbit, then you are already within range for the BW. The only advantage to a slingshot that I can see, is that you can always shot stones if you run out of ball bearings.

[bleak_window]

That's a pretty elaborate slingshot.  With green laser, Cree LED, and bow fishing upgrade you're looking at $350+.

[OLD and GRUMPY]

I would try to pack both. Sling shot is quiet and ammo is free. In a bug out situation quiet would be a good thing . A 3/8" steel ball may not penetrate but would crack a skull at short range. Buy you time with out giving away your position.

Most gear sits for a long time. The tubes will rot and break. Just broke one 30 minutes ago. Get new tubes and vacuum seal them.Wrap them in the other gear to keep them cool and out of the light.

[stripey]

The more elaborate a slingshot rig is, the less I see the advantages of it.  It just doesn't take up that much room in your pack to add little 50 round boxes of 22LR (or 100 round bricks).  The only downside of a firearm is the noise.  It will frighten off game and announce your presence to those in proximity to you.

I also wonder about the perceived advantage of shooting rocks.  River pebbles may be the best ammo you can find, but they won't be as dense as metal balls.  So you will be trying to propel larger pebbles (to have the mass to kill).  Larger size means more air resistance and less uniform shape means more deviation from a straight trajectory.  Shouldn't this reduce the effective range and make hunting even more difficult?

Then there is the advantage of a mini with its 22WMR capability to serve as a better defensive weapon as well. 

[OV-1D]

  Rogue and myself have that noise problem covered . Slingshots all well and good BUT noise isn't always a negative in the brush , some creatures that want to eat you are putoff by load noises and rapid fire slingshots I don't believe are available at this time so in other words give me the Black Widow noise and all with shotshells for small game .............. Did I tell you the one about a guy walking into a bar trying to conceal his slingshot , NOT . I'll stick to the 21st century stuff . 

[RogueTS1]

The Mini is much more effective and easier to use until the ammo runs out. I would take both and use whichever fit the need at the time. The slingshot will far outlast the Mini's ammo. Of course..................... sooner or later the elastic bands will eventually dry our and rot too but it will take quite a bit of time.

[HarleyXJGuy]

Looks like it is time to mount my .22 suppressor to a Mini.

[Uncle_Lee]

I have never killed a rabbit or squirrel with a mini but killed many with a slingshot and rocks as a kid.

[Kentucky Kevin]

medical supply might be able to supply rolls of tubing at a good price. I made a sling as a boy, but never practiced enough to be good

[OV-1D]

The Mini is much more effective and easier to use until the ammo runs out. I would take both and use whichever fit the need at the time. The slingshot will far outlast the Mini's ammo. Of course..................... sooner or later the elastic bands will eventually dry our and rot too but it will take quite a bit of time.

  Being as I don't shoot 22's much anymore I've put away about 12,000 plus rounds now , I pick them up whenever available , it will be awhile before I run out besides I don't plan on bugging it out anywhere soon . Have a safe strickly for ammo . 

[top dog]

Believe it or not,slingshots are still used by the Military.
Daisy had a contract with the Navy to supply slingshots and my friend,who was the Commander of SEAL Team 2 sometime back said that they were used frequently.

It takes some practice,and you don't really need a fancy slingshot to get to be accurate.

Blackwidow  VS  Slingshot??? I really could not say as each has its place and pros and cons.

                                                                                                              Top Dog

[Kaveman]

Before I ruined my shoulder, I could hit 81mg aspirin at fifteen yards with my grandaddy's Darton bow. That being said, I can still shoot a recurve better than most can shoot a compound or crossbow. I'd never try to take big game with a sling thrown arrow, regardless of sophistication, and that's the point of the bow and arrow. Proven as the right tool for the job millennia after it's inception.

All that being said, I've taken cottontail and Jackrabbits with both a LR mini and a sling shot(wrist rocket), the mini is easier to use once you get the hang of it. I fully intend to use my wasp for squirrels and such, once in hand and well learned.

[grayelky]

As much as practical, the correct tool for the job works best. Some times, you have to use a screw driver for a chisel. For a bug out bag, I feel a Mini master combo is the best all around, for that job. Of course it would include some mag bird shot with my mix of ammo. The slingshot would have its place, IF the user stays in practice wth it.

In my hands, today, the slingshot would be an interesting toy, the Mini Master a serious weapon/tool.

[Kaveman]

For a bug out bag, I've put serious thought to shuriken(throwing stars) light and easy to pack, lethal with practice.

A good axe is a far underrated tool in my opinion. A Tomahawk style axe can serve a number of usefull functions besides the obvious. As a young man in rural northern Arizona, I've got a lot of practice throwing axes of various sorts, and I've gotten fairly good. I feel comfortable stating that in a pinch, I could take a deer with an axe at, say, twenty yards, though half that distance would definitely increase my confidence.

I'm all for alternative weapons, everything from slingshot to hand thrown dart has it's place, another item most would overlook. A steeltip dart can be a lethal weapon, as a few unfortunate incidents barroom incidents illustrate. They're also made (quality brands) to exacting standards of consistency and craftsmanship. I'm sure there's a few forum members who are decent at throwing them in the den, I'd love to hear about someone spiking a sparrow or mouse or what not as proof of concept, hell I'll try it myself with some Wal-Mart cheapies!

[top dog]

Kaveman,
Another viable weapon is a quality BlowGun.  I am sure that many small critters have been taken with this age old weapon.

                                                                                                 Top Dog

[RogueTS1]

Tomahawk makes a fine fighting weapon, especially so if one knows how to properly use one.

[OV-1D]

Kaveman,
Another viable weapon is a quality BlowGun.  I am sure that many small critters have been taken with this age old weapon.

                                                                                                 Top Dog

  Hard to find the poison for the tips unless one is in the Amazon .

[zburkett]

Learning to use a real slingshot might be a useful survival skill.  It worked for David.  An extra box of .22s is easier to pack than a wrist rocket.

[Kaveman]

Learning to use a real slingshot might be a useful survival skill.  It worked for David.  An extra box of .22s is easier to pack than a wrist rocket.

An actual sling is an ancient weapon of considerable merit. Made properly, it can lock the missile into the pouch for use as a bludgeon. They're also quite simple to make, just a complicated braid really.

Blowguns are yet another often overlooked weapon, and are very intuitive to use. Owned one from Cabela's called the "bunker buster" had about half a dozen different styles of darts along with it. My favorite were the "spikes", short, thick, little, well, spikes! They'd punch right through drywall, and leave their little plastic heads stuck in it, while the dart would be gone forever. I imagine, those spikes would be adequate, though my nephew stuck a few birds with the broad head style darts, still they had to be finished off by hand.

[OLD and GRUMPY]

The idea of a bug out bag is small light and move fast. Not going to have every thing you want. The idea is to get you to a better equipped local. Or to get home after a disaster that leaves you stranded in the field. My biggest risk is earthquake jamming up roads and having to get home on foot. A 5' blow gun ain't going to help me.

[zburkett]

The "Bug Out Bag" always in my pockets are Mini, Swiss Army knife, bandana, phone & credit card.  In the truck is water, toilet paper and a little more stuff.  So far that seems to get me by.