The Slingshot as a good SHTF weapon....

I just spent the last hour or more looking around at slingshots. It's funny because I was thinking about it, and if the SHTF after a while ammo would get scarce. What I was thinking is how useful a slingshot could be both now and later. Like a guy was demonstrating how a high power slingshot could penetrate a cocconut which simulates the hardness of a human skill. Video below.

So my thinking is kinda like this. If you wanna have some fun in the bush right now, well I know where I'm at you definitely can't be carrying any firearm. If you get caught you're in deep trouble! But a sling shot I seriously doubt anyone would raise an eyebrow which is cool cuz then you could practice with it.

then later in case the shtf you'd have a highly concealable, yet highly powerful weapon. Ammo is no problem as you can use regular pebbles. So you could find ammo anywhere. You can rig your slingshot to shoot a arrow to hunt big game with. (people demonstrate that killing deer on youtube)


Anyway what do you think? Good idea or not? ha ha



So I found this bad boy on ebay for like 16 bucks! It looks pretty solid. It's got the compass in case you get lost, the 550 in case you need to make a trap or a fire, it's got the skull cracker point, the 3 bands for extra extra power. and I checked and the regular surgical tubing actually happens to be one of the fastest. 1 band launches at 250 fps. 3 Should offer even more power. Now all I need is a rabbit stew recipe.

Why are catapults being called slingshots? slingshots are two meter length cords joined by a 'cup ' at one end to hold a small stone, this is what David killed Goliath with, elastic wasn't known in those days. the slingshot was wheeled around the users head untill it was at a sufficient speed to do some real damage, then released, this took some practice to get right, but was deadly in the right hands.

Originally posted by pikestaff
Why are catapults being called slingshots? slingshots are two meter length cords joined by a 'cup ' at one end to hold a small stone, this is what David killed Goliath with, elastic wasn't known in those days. the slingshot was wheeled around the users head untill it was at a sufficient speed to do some real damage, then released, this took some practice to get right, but was deadly in the right hands.

I know in the UK they call them catapults, in the west they're called slingshots, and the David slingshot is just called a sling.

Get a wrist rocket and google "slingbow".

don't underestimate the power of these puppies!
very cheap,very accurate,very quick to re load,with a hand full of rocks!!!
i have 2 of them, and can cause a lot of distress to an opponent.
good for hunting small game at close range,good to stun a human at long range.
look for weighted spears for hunting larger game. believe it or not, spears are amazing tools!
they have stealth,and with a little practice,will hit the mark more oft than not!

I second the sling bow, I'm thinking of building one myself and use bolts instead of arrows to cut down on the overall length.

Iv shot rabbits as a kid with a wristrocket ahhhhh...... the good ole days

In Scotland we call them gutties, or gutty.

Maybe because they were originally made with gut?


I'm sure they'd come in handy in a SHTF situation, but would definitely need a lot of practising with first before they'd be at all useful.

Originally posted by ga-`tv-gi
I second the sling bow, I'm thinking of building one myself and use bolts instead of arrows to cut down on the overall length.

Iv shot rabbits as a kid with a wristrocket ahhhhh...... the good ole days

The slingbow is now my primary survival hunting weapon. It lacks the range of a rifle, but it is silent and you don't have to worry about running out of ammo. It does take practice, but I have taken rabbit, duck, goose, porcupine, and possum with it. Supposedly you can take a small deer or boar with it, but I haven't tried that yet.

reply to post by r2d246


At last something we can agree on!

I am big fan of slingshots. Where I live they are called catapults, or 'gats'.

As a SHTF tool, they are a great option. Where I live there is no big game, so a slingshot is the ideal weapon. They are small enough to fit into your pocket, and easy to maintain. They are easy enough to gain accuracy with after some practice. They're relatively cheap, in fact they are also easy to make yourself.

I use 9mm steel balls, 12mm lead which I cast myself, and if I run out I can use stones off the ground.

How powerful your slingshot is is up to you. I use both tubes and bands, and various set up depending on the ammo and what I'm shooting at. For example, shooting 12mm lead requires a hefty set up of double flatbands, and I cut these to lengths and taper them to my personal preference, this is an ideal hunting set up, and I can put a 12mm lead ball into a target 30 meters away at over 250 feet per second. I use tubes for smaller ammo and these can exceed 250 fps.

Here's one of mine:


I'll also add that part of the fun of slingshots is customizing your set up. The main components of a slingshot are the bands or tubes. In order to master your slingshot, you should experiment with the propulsion system. For example the slingshot pictured above has looped 1842 tubes installed, but you can easily take these off and put thicker tubes on, or you skip tubes and put flatbands on. Bands are faster than tubes, but have a shorter lifespan. How you cut the length of the tubes or bands depends on how much power you want - vs - what you draw length is - vs - how heavy your ammo is - vs - how thick you tubes are or if you're using single, double, even triple bands! Generally more rubber = more power. Sounds complicated but once you start cutting and attaching your own rubber it becomes obvious. Materials are cheap enough too.

reply to post by r2d246


r2, if you're thinking about spending your money on a catapult I would advise you not to buy the one you have pictured.

Some of these 'bad boys' are made of a cheap zinc alloy posing as stainless steel. It could break while you're drawing it and you could end up looking even prettier than I imagine you do now

When choosing a catapult you should keep in mind that the tubes or bands will only last for a few hundred shots at best, but probably a lot less, and eventually you'll have to replace them. So a simpler frame and set up would be advised.

If you want PM me and I can point you in the right direction.

Originally posted by pikestaff
Why are catapults being called slingshots? slingshots are two meter length cords joined by a 'cup ' at one end to hold a small stone, this is what David killed Goliath with, elastic wasn't known in those days. the slingshot was wheeled around the users head untill it was at a sufficient speed to do some real damage, then released, this took some practice to get right, but was deadly in the right hands.

It is called a sling, not a slingshot.

A slingshot is a catapult.

Hell yeah it is!

If you run out of rocks then the planet blew up.

reply to post by seabhac-rua


Hey good to know. I'm not sure what to think anymore. I was jazzed about trying it last night. So this morning I found my old sling shot. I went into the woods and was trying it. Ahhhh darn it's hard to hit anything. It seems as if you'd have to practice for years to get really good. I could hit a tree dead center from about 20 yards but I could tell by the speed of the bb that I wasn't getting enough pace on it. So it wouldn't do jack to anything, maybe a squirrel might get annoyed. But I guess you'd have to keep practicing for a while to get good. But ya I did order that one already. I'm sure they're pretty solid as the draw weight on a sling arm isn't much at all. It's like 20 lbs at most. It would take a lot to break that arm off. I'll see how the new one goes.

reply to post by r2d246


Yeah, it takes a while to build accuracy. The trick is consistency, and repetition. Slingshots are way easier to master than bows all the same, and if your life depended on it you're gonna bag a squirrel eventually.

Good luck with that one you're getting, and keep it up, you'll be surprised how quickly you improve.

Originally posted by r2d246
What I was thinking is how useful a slingshot could be both now and later.

Slingshots are fun, but not good for the long run shtf... the rubber is temperature and light sensitive, various oxidants will degrade it... the breakage on rubber bands is unpredictable. They do make rubber bands more resistive and they could be kept in sealed bags to make them last longer. If the the shtf now it'll be good for a couple of days, but then again it could break on your first shot... if your lucky they could last a week or more if taken care of. Slingshots are unpredictable!

Best bet is to buy or build a small breakdown crossbow, it trumps the slingshot on reliability.