What Can You Hunt With a Slingshot: Hint, Small Game


What Can You Hunt With a Slingshot

Slingshot hunting is a classic hunting tool, but what are its modern-day limitations? Unlike loud guns and limited ammo bows, you can fire a hundred times and still make less noise than you do setting up a tent. Unfortunately, you won’t be hunting any bears. Nevertheless, you’d be surprised by how much you can bag with a high-quality hunting slingshot and some skill. It will undoubtedly fill your stew pot if society crumbles, but can you do better than that? Well, you will certainly never run out of ammo to try. However, pebbles aren’t as aerodynamic as steel BBs, so it pays to stock up. Luckily, I’ve been slingshot hunting for years. I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about what you can and cannot hunt with these ancient, yet highly effective weapons.

What can you hunt with a slingshot? A slingshot is ideal for hunting small game. Birds like turkeys and vermin like rats fall easily once you learn to aim. Plus, the near-silent strikes don’t scare away everything else living in the area, so you’ll have a second chance if you miss your shot at dinner the first time around. 

What Should You Hunt With a Slingshot

If you’re utterly new to slingshot hunting, then your first ‘game’ should be the wily paper target. From there, plan to graduate upward to cans or glass bottles if you don’t mind cleaning up the mess. Rotten fruit makes an excellent waste-free target that will enrich your soil as well.

Before you can kill honorably, and cleanly, you are going to need practice. Like most weapons, you cannot simply pick up a slingshot and expect to get dinner. Working out your angles, adjusting your bands, and getting some muscle memory stated should always be your first goal.

Be patient. You’ll graduate to hunting with a slingshot soon enough if you put in the work. Luckily, for some, a few weeks is all it takes to start hitting the targets reliably. However, if it takes you longer, that’s not a bad sign. Everyone picks up new skills at their own pace. So, keep plugging away, and you’ll get there.

Choose a top-quality slingshot like The Scout Hunting Slingshot from Amazon. You’ll enjoy the hundred percent American made, black polycarbonate, and the economy will appreciate it too. Moreover, the Scout is compatible with any elastic. Plus, it comes with an instruction manual. Check the outstanding reviews here

What Animals to Hunt

Before we look at the theory, or what you can hunt with a slingshot, let’s first explore what you should be shooting with a slingshot. The answer here is easy enough. Here’s a quick list of small-game you can kill with your slingshot if you’re hungry.

  • Rabbits
  • Squirrels
  • Wild Turkeys
  • Ducks
  • Quail
  • Pheasants
  • Snakes

Rats and other vermin might not be your idea of a tasty soup. Still, it’s essential to know you can eradicate a pest menace with your slingshot as well. Pigeons, mice, and other invasive disease carriers aren’t something you want hanging around. Moreover, killing off some problematic pests is a smart place to start since you probably won’t starve if you miss the shot.

Hitting a mouse or pigeon is bound to be much harder than their larger relatives like rabbits and fowl. The smaller and faster your prey, the higher the degree of difficulty. That’s a good thing when you’re learning.

Before You Hunt With a Slingshot

Because a slingshot is a weapon, you should always treat it as such. Sure, it’s a blast to get out in the yard and plink some clay balls into a wooden post, or some cans you set on a tree stump. However, this is a lethal weapon you’re holding. Show it due respect.

Follow the basic rules you should for any weapon. Practice common sense. Never point your slingshot at anyone or anything you don’t intend to kill. If you’re inclined to faux threaten your buddies after you’ve had a beer, maybe hunting isn’t for you. It can go bad very fast, even if you think you know what you’re doing. Just ask former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Hunt Safely

When you’re practicing or hunting, always use eye protection. Though it’s not extremely likely you’ll hit yourself; ricochet is a serious concern. You don’t want to be ‘that guy,’ who hit a tree by accident, and now only sees in 2D. Having to wear an eye patch will interfere with your ability to get dinner in an SHTF level event.

Always treat your weapon and the hunt like they matter. Practice with the intent to kill quickly and humanely. Dress and move like any hunter should in the wild. Furthermore, make sure those steel balls aren’t jingling around like Santa’s sleigh. Otherwise, the only thing you’ll catch is the sunset after a long and fruitless day.

Once you’re ready to start hunting, choose an exceptional NOBONDO Strong Folding Wrist Rocket Slingshot. The bright green color makes it easy to find when you’re in a rush. Plus, the wrist stabilized has included magnets to hold your steel BBs. Moreover, you’ll love the precision of the three-banded rubbers. Plus, you’ll have a spare on hand if you need it. Learn more on Amazon when you click here

Can You Hunt Larger Game With a Slingshot

If the question is, can you potentially kill the larger game animals with a slingshot, then the answer is simple. In a word, yes. However, that’s a very qualified ‘yes,’ and I’d warn you not to try it pretty much ever unless your life depends on it. Even then, it’s risky.

Big game hunting is only for the most experienced, powerful, and accurate slingshot hunters. Please don’t try to kill the big game with a slingshot. If you do, I will not be held responsible when you get mauled by a bear, gored by a moose, beaten half to death by a human attacker, or worse. That said, let’s talk about just how capable a slingshot could be in the right hands.

Whatever you plan to hunt, TOPARCHERY Professional Outdoor Hunting Slingshot can handle it. The unique level feature will help you line up your shots. Furthermore, the non-slip handle will keep those shots right where you aim them. Get yours delivered when you order from Amazon right here

How Fast is a Slingshot?

“Using a slingshot, Danny George, of the UK, fired a 3/8-inch projectile at a speed of 654 feet per second, with an incredible resulting energy of 199 Joules.” -Popular Science

Reasonably speaking, most people won’t approach world record level shooting even if they practice for a lifetime. However, a recorded speed of six-hundred and fifty-four feet per second, we have a solid answer for how fast and hard a BB could fire out of your slingshot. Is that fast? Well, we know a ‘normal’ slingshot-hunter can certainly kill small game quickly enough.

To put this in perspective, we need to look at other projectile weapons that kill: namely guns and airsoft guns. According to firearms instructor Tom Kehoe’s Quora article on Derringers, these little guns will kill if fired at a human heart. He says that a derringer firing a .41 short rimfire cartridge pushes the bullet out around four-hundred fps.

I don’t want to imply that humans are ‘big game,’ but large dogs and deer are roughly the same sizes. Hence it stands to reason that shot should do similar damage. Undoubtedly you could kill almost anything you hit in the eye at those speeds. However, it appears you could also penetrate a ribcage and heart or a skull, for example.

You are Not That Fast!

There are a considerable number of variables that go into how fast your slingshot will fire. For one, your skill and strength play into the equation. Additionally, there are different types of single and multiple bands to consider. Plus, length comes into play.

If you weren’t already aware, a shorter band will give you a faster shot, up to a point. Consider tightening up by an inch or so to get more fps out of your favorite hunting slingshot. On average, I’d say you’re going to be firing between about a hundred and twenty fps and two hundred.

At those speeds, you’ll do a lot of damage. Resultantly, killing small game is inevitable if you hit them somewhere vital. For larger animals, you will wound them (non-fatally), and frighten them away. Alternately, you may just make them angry and give them the adrenaline they need to kill you instead. Thus my many warnings that amount to ‘don’t try this at home.’

A Better Way to Slingshot Hunt Big-Game

If you genuinely wish to hunt larger game with your slingshot, modify it into a sling bow instead. It doesn’t take much time or many materials to DIY a conversion for arrow hunting and fishing. Plus, arrows are often a better weapon for hunting larger animals. The power of a sling bow is undeniable, and any slingshot will work.

Alternately, you can always pick up a high-quality sling bow slingshot. They’ve gained massive popularity in recent years because of the lightweight and high accuracy. Luckily, that means you can get one that’s ready to string and fire right out of the box quickly if you’re not prepared to sacrifice your favorite sling.

I recommend starting with a superb slingshot like the TopArchery Wrist Sling Rocket. You’ll love the bow fishing, game hunting, and practice without the weight of a standard bow. A sling bow is quieter and much smaller than other hunting bows. Plus, it’s ultra-portable, which leaves you free to carry more arrows. Grab yours from Amazon right here

Final Thoughts

The key to successful slingshot hunting is practice. You cannot treat your weapon like a childhood toy or a sometimes-hobby if you plan to use it for emergencies. Make sure you get out and practice in the yard at least once a week so you can make quick, clean kills when the time comes.

Slingshots also make superb self-defense weapons. Keep in mind that while a slingshot is more than enough to scare off most assailants, it won’t stop everything. An angry bear, moose, or even a human with the wrong drugs in their system won’t turn tail with a few well placed BBs. Like a gun, only fire at a living creature if you plan to kill it. Anything less is folly.

When it’s time to travel light, but you still want to eat well, your slingshot is your best choice. As long as you take good care of your weapon, it will return the favor for years.

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