Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Gear Review: Survival Slingshot

Several decades ago my fellow scouts and I seemed to stand a little taller and hold our head a little prouder during school days in which we had a scout meeting. We were allowed to where our scouting uniforms to school. One of those days, we all were just a little more excited than normal.
We knew that evening we were going to build slingshots.
They were fairly simple designs, as you would expect from a cheap bulk kit. It consisted of a wishbone shaped wood handle and frame with two slits cut into the two extending arms. There were two rubber hoses a few inches long and a section of leather about a half inch tall by an inch or two long. We tied a knot in each of the hoses and slid them threw the slits and then tied the piece of leather on the other ends of the hoses. Just like that, we began shooting balled up paper, rocks, pieces of sticks or anything else we could find. If I were to interview our scout master she would probably say that was one of the most unruly meetings we ever had.
Some of us garnered our allowances and ended up purchasing higher end slingshots made out of metal with foam padded arm supports and longer stretch bands, although we used them more for fun for very short lengths of time than for anything serious.
But the very concept of the slingshot has mostly been forgotten. It is a simple weapon that allows the use of almost anything as a projectile. This makes it an ideal survival tool.
The Survival Slingshot takes it a step further. Built with the survivalist and prepper in mind, it is made right. The slingshot itself is made of steel and aluminum alloy so that it can take any abuse given.
Once you get by the build, the innovations stand out. The handle is hollow and has a waterproof seal on the screw on bottom. Embedded in the bottom is a simple compass. Yes, we have all seen things with small compasses added to them to make them seem ‘outdoorsy’.
Inside the handle, Survival Slingshot was thoughtful enough to stash steel ball bearings as initial projectiles, and a good length of fishing line with hooks, weights and swivels. In a survival situation, a true survival situation, just that would be enough to keep a positive attitude in an otherwise desperate moment.
The innovations still do not stop there. The yoke is interchangeable. Used as a slingshot, the yoke has 25 pounds of pull. A quick tap on the top and the yoke can be interchanged for one with a D-loop designed for shooting arrows. The archery yoke has 45 pounds of draw weight.
Also, when used with arrows, a whisker biscuit rest (and other rests of the same style) is used. Being an avid archery guy myself, I certainly had to test this part out.
While I love, live and breathe archery, I am the first to admit traditional archery is not my skill set. Using the Survival Slingshot as a sling bow falls in line more so in this manner than the compound bows I use and favor as there is no sight, just judgement. That being said, after only three shots, I was hitting an area the size of a tennis ball from 30 feet. Using an arrow with a broadhead, this could easily take out a squirrel or rabbit.
The Survival Slingshot also comes with a tactical light and mount for night shooting.
It is not legal to hunt with a slingshot in many states including our own, but in a true survival situation you would not worry about whether the fish you just caught is of legal size either. You can check it out at SurvivalSlingshot.com.

No comments:

Post a Comment