pocket hunter..anybody try one yet??
- Thread starter cjb029
- Start date
wingnut
Scout
not yet but i watched it awhile back and am real interested in trying it
cheap'n'squeaky
Tracker
I bought my first risk rocket in 1976. We used to shoot arrows with them as well. The only thing I ever hunted was small game, and illegally at that. Rats, rabbits, and pheasants were our usual targets.
We used four types of ammo:
1. Rocks: didn’t fly the straightest, but added to the challenge and were free. Reasonable accuracy 10 yards.
2. Iron ore pellets: I lived near the Cornwall Mines, so the branch line to it was loaded with 3/8ths to ½ inch iron ore pellets. They were free and flew straight. Reasonable accuracy 15 yards.
3. ¼, 5/16, and 3/8 inch nuts. Our fathers worked at the Bethlehem Steel, so these were also free, flew straight as well. Reasonable accuracy 15/20 yards.
4. Arrows flew the best, but were also the most expensive and easily lost. Reasonable accuracy was 15 - 25 yards.
When I state reasonable accuracy, I mean I could hit a dinner plate. Rabbits were hit and miss at that distance, and I mostly missed. Small static birds were very tough targets. I really enjoyed shooting at them...
Pheasants usually just shook the shot off, and cackled as they flew away seemingly unharmed.
Every rabbit I cracked within 10 yards fell over dead. At 15 yards, it got iffy, and at 25, when I was lucky enough to hit one, they sometimes bounded away.
I've shot a godawful amount of both pistol and wrist rocket / slingshot. The pistol was exponentially easy to master compared to the slingshot.
One trick I learned was to give the pouch one twist when firing shot. It seemed to make the projectile fly straighter. I don’t know if this is true or the placebo effect, but it seemed to work better…
With all that said, I largely stopped shooting wrist rockets in the early 80s when I moved onto firearms. In 2005, I took some of my nephews (8 and 10) canoeing, and I remembered how the creek and my wrist rocket were my favorite plinking and hunting pastime, so I ran out and bought three.
The bands seem to break too often for my liking. Within half an hour of constant shooting, one of the bands broke. By the end of the six-hour trip, all the bands broke. I was using the yellow bands, as I was unable to find the black ones that I used as a kid. I tried replacing the yellow bands with identical replacements, and it was the same story as the canoeing trip, in short order, the bands broke. In frustration, I simply gave up on slingshots. I don’t know if the black bands are more durable, but the yellow ones break far too quickly for my liking.
I do know my wrist rockets, so I wasn’t miscuing my shot and nicking the band where it connects to the metal frame. They were clean straight through shots. I also quickly gave up my one twist trick because I feared it was shortening the life of the band, however, it didn’t seem to prolong the band life.
Wal-Mart, where America shops, but I don’t has those things pretty cheap. Those modifications can be done pretty cheaply.
I’ll go look in the garage. I have at least 2 of those things floating around. Send me a PM. If I have one on hand, I’ll send it to you free of charge! Keep in mind that my garage and basement is a labyrinth and my gear is constantly disappearing in the black hole of disorganization, but I’ll go out and look after posting this. If you’re interested, you can mod it yourself, and make your own arrows. 100 dollars for the complete kit pocket hunter with three take down arrows… But hey! Don’t let me tell you what to do with your money! If you’ve got too much spare coin on hand, go ahead and spend it! I too know the joys of buying new gear/things! In my opinion based on my previous experience, I suspect that Dave’s pocket hunter is nothing more than an expensive novelty item. If you make your own for under 20 dollars, that’s a different story, but retail…
I can tell you this, I’ve followed his sling shot videos for more than three years now, and the kit keeps changing. I suspect, but have no proof, that there’s some sort of durability issue with the plastic PVC he’s used in the past during cold weather. I think he even has a video out there on how to make the modification for the wrist rocket. It just snaps in place. If his video isn’t out there, I’m sure that somebody has one. I’ll give him one thing, he does recommend that you make your own. Now whether this is reverse psychology to get you to buy one or not, I don’t know because I do not know the man personally. He does seem genuine in stressing that we not blow a lot of money on bushcrafting, and there’s nothing better than hand crafted and or homemade improvised gear.
If you’re a sling shot fan past or present, this guy’s videos may interest you.
http://www.youtube.com/user/JoergSprave
Here’s an alternative method, which could give some ideas on how to improvise our own.
Modifying the Barnett Blackwidow slingshot to a Hunting Sling Bow - YouTube
I've found one. If you're interested cbj029, shoot me a PM. The 5 or so dollars shipping won't even break somebody as cheap and squeaky as myself...
It has three, what looks to be aluminum, rivets that can easily be drilled out for tweaking modifications that you should easily find on youtube.
Cheers,
Cheap'n'Squeaky
We used four types of ammo:
1. Rocks: didn’t fly the straightest, but added to the challenge and were free. Reasonable accuracy 10 yards.
2. Iron ore pellets: I lived near the Cornwall Mines, so the branch line to it was loaded with 3/8ths to ½ inch iron ore pellets. They were free and flew straight. Reasonable accuracy 15 yards.
3. ¼, 5/16, and 3/8 inch nuts. Our fathers worked at the Bethlehem Steel, so these were also free, flew straight as well. Reasonable accuracy 15/20 yards.
4. Arrows flew the best, but were also the most expensive and easily lost. Reasonable accuracy was 15 - 25 yards.
When I state reasonable accuracy, I mean I could hit a dinner plate. Rabbits were hit and miss at that distance, and I mostly missed. Small static birds were very tough targets. I really enjoyed shooting at them...
Pheasants usually just shook the shot off, and cackled as they flew away seemingly unharmed.
Every rabbit I cracked within 10 yards fell over dead. At 15 yards, it got iffy, and at 25, when I was lucky enough to hit one, they sometimes bounded away.
I've shot a godawful amount of both pistol and wrist rocket / slingshot. The pistol was exponentially easy to master compared to the slingshot.
One trick I learned was to give the pouch one twist when firing shot. It seemed to make the projectile fly straighter. I don’t know if this is true or the placebo effect, but it seemed to work better…
With all that said, I largely stopped shooting wrist rockets in the early 80s when I moved onto firearms. In 2005, I took some of my nephews (8 and 10) canoeing, and I remembered how the creek and my wrist rocket were my favorite plinking and hunting pastime, so I ran out and bought three.
The bands seem to break too often for my liking. Within half an hour of constant shooting, one of the bands broke. By the end of the six-hour trip, all the bands broke. I was using the yellow bands, as I was unable to find the black ones that I used as a kid. I tried replacing the yellow bands with identical replacements, and it was the same story as the canoeing trip, in short order, the bands broke. In frustration, I simply gave up on slingshots. I don’t know if the black bands are more durable, but the yellow ones break far too quickly for my liking.
I do know my wrist rockets, so I wasn’t miscuing my shot and nicking the band where it connects to the metal frame. They were clean straight through shots. I also quickly gave up my one twist trick because I feared it was shortening the life of the band, however, it didn’t seem to prolong the band life.
Wal-Mart, where America shops, but I don’t has those things pretty cheap. Those modifications can be done pretty cheaply.
I’ll go look in the garage. I have at least 2 of those things floating around. Send me a PM. If I have one on hand, I’ll send it to you free of charge! Keep in mind that my garage and basement is a labyrinth and my gear is constantly disappearing in the black hole of disorganization, but I’ll go out and look after posting this. If you’re interested, you can mod it yourself, and make your own arrows. 100 dollars for the complete kit pocket hunter with three take down arrows… But hey! Don’t let me tell you what to do with your money! If you’ve got too much spare coin on hand, go ahead and spend it! I too know the joys of buying new gear/things! In my opinion based on my previous experience, I suspect that Dave’s pocket hunter is nothing more than an expensive novelty item. If you make your own for under 20 dollars, that’s a different story, but retail…
I can tell you this, I’ve followed his sling shot videos for more than three years now, and the kit keeps changing. I suspect, but have no proof, that there’s some sort of durability issue with the plastic PVC he’s used in the past during cold weather. I think he even has a video out there on how to make the modification for the wrist rocket. It just snaps in place. If his video isn’t out there, I’m sure that somebody has one. I’ll give him one thing, he does recommend that you make your own. Now whether this is reverse psychology to get you to buy one or not, I don’t know because I do not know the man personally. He does seem genuine in stressing that we not blow a lot of money on bushcrafting, and there’s nothing better than hand crafted and or homemade improvised gear.
If you’re a sling shot fan past or present, this guy’s videos may interest you.
http://www.youtube.com/user/JoergSprave
Here’s an alternative method, which could give some ideas on how to improvise our own.
Modifying the Barnett Blackwidow slingshot to a Hunting Sling Bow - YouTube
I've found one. If you're interested cbj029, shoot me a PM. The 5 or so dollars shipping won't even break somebody as cheap and squeaky as myself...
It has three, what looks to be aluminum, rivets that can easily be drilled out for tweaking modifications that you should easily find on youtube.
Cheers,
Cheap'n'Squeaky
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i have try it it need to have stronger band. i shorten them and it still need more. the black band are what you need but i can't find them here.but i got a bas slingshot from bigtimebowfishing. he has shot pigs with it. it is for bowfishing but you can get it up too 60lb so it will do the job on any crider
http://www.archeryhistory.com/misc/misc.htm
Has some very early adaptions of this, maybe the first? 1968 archery mag...
I kinda think its a viable solution to a non existanant problem. But a fun toy to play with. i have one but just never have gotten around to doing the whole arrow mod with it.
When i was intown the other day on one of the cable hunting shows had an advert going durring the commericals, saw a guy taking some pretty good sized hogs with one
Has some very early adaptions of this, maybe the first? 1968 archery mag...
I kinda think its a viable solution to a non existanant problem. But a fun toy to play with. i have one but just never have gotten around to doing the whole arrow mod with it.
When i was intown the other day on one of the cable hunting shows had an advert going durring the commericals, saw a guy taking some pretty good sized hogs with one
cheap'n'squeaky
Tracker
Black bands for slingshots could be hard to find. I don't know if an archery or sporting good store would carry them, but they're all over the net. For example,
http://www.slingshots.com/html/slingshot-bands-rr2.html
The steel shot's far too expensive in my opinion. Shooting hardware grade 1/4, 5/16, 3/8 and 7/16 nuts are cheaper when bought in bulk. They fly well enough. Bulk bags of cheap marbles are pretty fair as well. Nothing beats picking up free rocks though. After a while, you'll acquire a taste for which ones fly better. If you're into reloading and casting your own bullets/sinkers, a 00 buckshot gang mold and free lead from the local tire shop would make ideal free shot. I sometimes used my dad's round ball .44 caliber mold to make my own shot for pheasant. I have never killed a pheasant with one of these things and shot. The bird's just too tough. Doesn't matter anymore, after 1986, those birds became hard to find...
The surgical tube bands seem to be shoddy now a days, but like I’ve said, I have no recent experience with the present day black tubes. All my yellow and black tube experience was back in the middle 70s through the early 80s. My recent experience with the yellow ones isn’t good. They fail quick, fast, and in a hurry.
I have never gotten into the flat bands that do not work on wrist rockets. The flat bands are supposed to last much longer, but I just don’t see how they hold them in place while aiming and drawing. The brace on the wrist rocket provides considerable support.
When my black bands broke as a kid, and I’ve been 6’3” since age 12, I would shorten them up. Eventually, they got to the point where I could barely hold them.
Also, remember this, all my experience with bands dictates that they eventually fail. Direct light breaks the rubber/synthetic material down quickly, and one miscued shot that nicks the tube where it connects to the metal will ensure rapid failure.
I’ve punched myself in the mouth to the point of bloody and swollen lips more than once when the bands failed while I was drawing my shot. Thankfully, they usually fail on the power stroke, but they do in fact fail on the draw stroke as well, and the heavier the band, the harder you punch yourself in the mouth.
The price of the store bought pocket hunter/fisher including arrows is enough to make me not want to get it.
Snares will net squirrels for little to no investment. Cheap pocket fishing kits and Native American fish traps yield another food source. Decent inexpensive recurve take down bows aren’t much more than the pocket hunter Canterbury’s selling, and a rabbit stick is a pretty good game getter considering I can just saunter up to a rabbit and get within 3-5 yards of them.
I know these things can be deadly with shortened black bands and arrows, but it’s not much bang for the buck in my opinion, and when you’re shooting rocks, marbles, and other forms of shot, they’re extremely hard to master. Even with great skill, these things are 10 – 25 yard weapons at best…
In many states, they're generally illegal to use for hunting.
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I heard this quote the other day. It looks like a solution to a problem that does not exist.
BigBepf
Tracker
I swear, If he thinks he's the first one to have come up with this idea......
Any idiot with a slingshot and an arrow can connect the dots.
I understand the idea but if the band breaks, it's dead weight. If you aren't REALLY accurate with it then it's just a toy not a hunting implement, and i question it's legality.
Traps are good, guns and real bows are better. Bringing bacon with you is best.
Any idiot with a slingshot and an arrow can connect the dots.
I understand the idea but if the band breaks, it's dead weight. If you aren't REALLY accurate with it then it's just a toy not a hunting implement, and i question it's legality.
Traps are good, guns and real bows are better. Bringing bacon with you is best.
steene
Scout
Looks like it might be fun to try. I'm not real sure about the utility though.
karlhungusjr
Scout
If any item in your pack breaks,it's just dead weight and any .22 is "just a toy" if you aren't REALLY accurate with it. also traps and snares are more regulated/illegal in more places than slingshots.
I used to carry a slingshot in pack several years ago, but it just never go used so I took it out. It's still a neat little gadget that some people might find useful, but it's just not for me.
karlhungusjr
Scout
I don't think it's a solution to anything. just a convince.
Bush Otter
Guide
I think the arrows if efficent are a neat idea , I have thought that a 2 piece arrow abought 30" would be nice to store and carry with a break down recurve but sectional arrows I think would be too stiff to be efficent. Now a bow that would fling rocks would be interesting lol.
huntingohio
Scout
id rather carry ball bearings than arrows, i would quoite trust it with deer.
I have kille dozens of animals with a slingshot and ball bearings though so it can feed you, if you practice enough to get good with it
I have kille dozens of animals with a slingshot and ball bearings though so it can feed you, if you practice enough to get good with it
It is illegal in alot of states (Ohio included) to hunt anything with a slingshot. This "product" of Dave CANT her berries...... is largely a toy.
cloudraker
Guide
No, but it comes in tacticle black!:18:
I played around a lot with slingshots in the 80s. When outdoors I was never without one. It was more miss than hit with them. Took a few pigeons and one squirrel. Not enough to feed me. But shooting a lot of sling shot made transitioning to tradional bows a natural.
That said I would like to play with it to see before I make up my mind. Might be good fun for fishing or frogging.
At the moment Ron Hoods Del bow makes more sense to me and more "multifunctional" :11:
I found the same with rubber tubing - they don't last like they used to.
A black banded slingshot from the 80's is still going strong.
What really upped my success was a crossman 1322 .22 pump air pistol. Pigeons, grouse, rabbits, squirrels started piling up. I never really used a slingshot much after that.
I think this concept goes back quite a ways. A man named Blair used to market a version called the Com-Bow, with a smaller version called a Hot-Shot. They may still be in production...
barnes3126
Scout
We used glass marbles or buy a 5# bag of 000 buck shot for ammo.
It is common man survivability for those survival situations brother.
Trail Dust
Scout
We were accurately shooting arrows out of our Wrist-Rocket slingshots back in the late 1950's. Nothing new here, they were doing it before I was around. Launching arrows out of the Wrist-Rocket V-shaped steel tubing, with feather fletching, was adequate for small game, nothing more. If I'm going to bother carrying arrows, I'll carry one of my light weight *sleeved* (join at the handle) takedown bows for some real efficiency.
Interesting seeing "new" ideas and concepts, however (IMHO) the slingshot has been morphed to death to the point that it is no longer a "simple" tool of enjoyment and usefulness. I suppose it just reflects the gradual evolution of our camo-culture with its inherent exploitation profit margin.
Interesting seeing "new" ideas and concepts, however (IMHO) the slingshot has been morphed to death to the point that it is no longer a "simple" tool of enjoyment and usefulness. I suppose it just reflects the gradual evolution of our camo-culture with its inherent exploitation profit margin.
Zig
Guide
It's a cool concept, but my idea of a pocket hunting kit will always be a revolver. As stated above, rocks aren't really accurate enough to be very useful and arrows can be lost easily.
For the same amount of space I can carry at 22LR revolver with 50-100 rounds. If you've got small reloading equipment (something Dave suggests for long term survivability) you could size up to .357 and load on the trail, but then you're carrying reloading equipment (heavy), as well as powder and primers which will run out eventually. I'd rather just carry an extra box of ammo.
It's no contest in my opinion. A lightweight revolver is the TRUE pocket hunting kit.
For the same amount of space I can carry at 22LR revolver with 50-100 rounds. If you've got small reloading equipment (something Dave suggests for long term survivability) you could size up to .357 and load on the trail, but then you're carrying reloading equipment (heavy), as well as powder and primers which will run out eventually. I'd rather just carry an extra box of ammo.
It's no contest in my opinion. A lightweight revolver is the TRUE pocket hunting kit.
Lichen
Guide
Two thing crossed my mind while watching this video. First was "late night TV info-mercial, and secondly, I didn't recognize DC with that beard. And x10 on how easily the bands break on wrist rockets.
Heck when I was a kid I would spend a month at Grandpa's house. First day he gave my brother and I each a little rectangle of leather and said go find a forked stick. When we did he would give us an old bicycle tube to cut up to make bands with and we would make our slingshots We used a politically incorrect term for them that was common in Texas back then. That is when you knew it was summer time. We would take off in the brush hunting birds and rabbits. Always carried a pocket full of smooth stones too. Ahh the good times long since gone.
Ron Hood mentioned it in the 80's, attributed to his Dad , from whom he learned it. Their version used sling rubbers on a large carabiner.
Called it the "Dell Bow". I think he learned it from his Dad in the 60's or a mite earlier.
If your in an urban area I would guess this is against city ordinances. Every town I have lived in put wrist rockets on the same list as slap jacks and switch blades. Not to mention that, like Josh mentioned earlier, in many states it is illegal to hunt with them. In Missouri we can hunt many things with them but there are restrictions. If you try to take an "sling bow" into the woods during dear season the game warden will have his way with you. Many cities and states have their laws and ordinances listed online. Check with them before to be sure before you do your urban hunting.
OhCanada
Scout
A lot of talk from people who have not tried it and basing opinions on just a standard slingshot. As for the Dell bow, Ron shows it using a 0 caribiner as the frame. To make money you don't need to build something different than a mouse trap, you just need to build a better mouse trap (Blackberry failed at building a better mouse trap lol)
I just got mine and the plastic does seem fragile. I only paid $20 which is a fair price, attaching it to my slingshot was very easy. Slingshot bands can cost close to $5 around here so the price was more like $15 and $5 for an extra band. While I bought the heavy bands too, I'll be using the standard bands first; I bought the arrow inserts and wished I had just bought the take-down arrows because I'll end up paying about as much when I buy new arrows to make my own. I'll be using some cheap wood arrows I have on hand.
As for a solution looking for a problem...not at all, my problem was wanting a take down bow but having few places to shoot it; with the pocket hunter I can slip into the woods and try it out. I also can not just fire off a .22 within city limits (nor do I own one) so it may be a solution of my problems, we'll see after I try it out several times.
I just got mine and the plastic does seem fragile. I only paid $20 which is a fair price, attaching it to my slingshot was very easy. Slingshot bands can cost close to $5 around here so the price was more like $15 and $5 for an extra band. While I bought the heavy bands too, I'll be using the standard bands first; I bought the arrow inserts and wished I had just bought the take-down arrows because I'll end up paying about as much when I buy new arrows to make my own. I'll be using some cheap wood arrows I have on hand.
As for a solution looking for a problem...not at all, my problem was wanting a take down bow but having few places to shoot it; with the pocket hunter I can slip into the woods and try it out. I also can not just fire off a .22 within city limits (nor do I own one) so it may be a solution of my problems, we'll see after I try it out several times.