# Ways of slingshot hunting?



## MrTriscuit (Oct 10, 2011)

Do you guys stalk critters or sit by the base of a tree, etc. If you guys stalk how do you manage to get up close to the critter?


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## slingshotvibe (Sep 26, 2010)

I shoot em from aboy 40 yrds u


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## MrTriscuit (Oct 10, 2011)

Well personally I've only got a chickadee, but I'm gonna go out more.


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

A LOT depends on what you are hunting and the habits of the game. For squirrels, I used to do a lot of still hunting in the forest ... go to an area where they have been feeding and sit for a while and listen ... if I hear them, then I start stalking, trying to get closer to the sound. But if I have not heard anything in 15 or 20 minutes, I move on very quietly to another spot. I also enjoyed hunting squirrels with a dog ... when the dog treed one, I would go to the tree and try to find the squirrel ... then shoot it out of the tree. But squirrels were about the only thing I could hunt with dogs if I was using a slingshot ... dogs made everything else run or fly, depending on the game. For rabbits, I used to just stroll very slowly along the margins of a field ... the rabbits used to stay pretty close to cover, but had to move more into the open to feed. For quail or grouse, it was mostly a question of searching carefully in the rough cover that they frequent, or sometimes strolling an old road late in the evening ... that also works for rabbits. I blush to admit that as a young lad, I used to call quail in the spring of the year; the love crazed fools would fly in right on top of me ... I would NOT do that now; not only is it illegal, but it also is very hard on the population because you are killing birds ready to nest. For bull frogs, I used a flashlight at night ... creep to the edge of a pond and wait for them to begin calling ... then blind them with a light and carefully move close for a good shot. I used to shoot doves in a field behind the barn. We fed hogs corn and slop in troughs there. In the evening, the doves would come in and pick up stray kernels of corn. I would creep up to the edge of the barn and get ready. Then I would just pop up and take a quick shot ... the doves would just freeze for about a full second before taking flight ... if I was lucky, I would nail one before they took off. You need to know the habits of the game and know the ground over which you are hunting.

Cheers ....... Charles


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## slingshotvibe (Sep 26, 2010)

Nice speech charles

Cheers slingshotvibe


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## Ruu (Mar 27, 2011)

small amount of peanut butter on the base of a tree (for squirrels) and wait quietly.


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## MrTriscuit (Oct 10, 2011)

Thanks guys! Charles that really is helpful thanks! Hey Charles what slingshot do you hunt with?


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

I used to hunt with home made naturals. I have not hunted much lately ... a few years ago I hunted with commercial wrist brace models. Until a few weeks ago I was carrying a PFS, but now I carry my version of the small ninja by Dayhiker. I have not killed anything with it yet but soda cans!!! I need to get out into the bush. I just prefer something small that I can carry unobtrusively in my pocket without upsetting anyone. A small slingshot can be banded up to be as powerful as you like ... no need for a huge fork.

Cheers ...... Charles


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## Toddy (Oct 2, 2011)

In the words of some film I've long forgotten. "Walk little, look much". Ie don't go blundering around as you never know what is just out of sight.


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## shot in the foot (Jan 3, 2010)

My best way is to go across the farm fields in the dark with the head lights on full beam on my car, blind the rabbits then take there head off with a 14mm lead ball, ha ha jeff


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## MrTriscuit (Oct 10, 2011)

Haha, nice way Jeff! Lol!

But "walk little, look much" that is really true! Thanks!

Tristin


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## Toddy (Oct 2, 2011)

Perhaps I should have added "listen much" also.
My 'rule of thumb' when in woodland would be 5 slow paces stop, look and listen. In open country use binoculars!


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## Papa G (Aug 19, 2011)

lots of good tips there, the only thing i can add, is even when your not hunting still be looking.


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## fishjunkie (Sep 10, 2011)

know your target and what is beyond and lots of practice


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## josephlys (May 4, 2010)

I either sit in ambush at my window, and shoot vermin in my yard. Or, I go out looking for em'.


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## HopefulHunter (Oct 15, 2011)

My parents moved house about a year ago and 2 months before I was due to go to university I quit my job at the time and became an unpaid labourer for them. I didn't mind at all as I'd just bought myself an Edgar Brothers .22 air rifle and used to take a break every 3 or 4 hours and walk around the paddock and the orchard, at first with my rifle, but after a while I stopped taking it and just went to look. I used to stalk animals to within my firing distance, then clap gently to simulate the sound of my rifle's safety, then clap loudly a second time to simulate the shot. If the quarry was still there a split second later, I'd be happy to watch it fly away, knowing that mum would have dinner planned anyway and that if I'd made the kill that it would've been food that we'd have eaten because I'd killed it, not food I had killed because we needed to eat.
I found that after about 2 weeks I'd notice movements of branches or leaves 40m away that I'd used to put down to the wind, but they just aren't quite right, and you know there's something there, watch closely for a few moments and you can spot your prey. Then it's stalking time. However after a year of university I was ashamed to find myself walking around and being startled by squirrels who had seen me first and run away.

TL;DR : I figured out my effective range, and practiced stalking. I learned to watch trees without looking at them. If you stop practicing, you'll lose the edge.

Eddie.


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## slingshotwizard (Jul 23, 2011)

I find hunting over bait best for crows and still hunting for squirells


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## Batman21 (Dec 13, 2011)

Stalk the rabbits


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## rubberpower (Aug 16, 2011)

My stalking days are over due to a back injury that left me crippled. Now the only thing I can shoot is the stray dogs or cats that ruin the lawn. I never kill them only send them off running with a sore rear end.


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## pop shot (Sep 29, 2011)

wandering children beware.


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## ZDP-189 (Mar 14, 2010)

It depends a lot on what you are hunting. As animals don't seek out hunters, you must go to where they shelter, feed, water or travel. With that, I should bid my leave and go for a leisurely walk in the park.


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## newconvert (Dec 12, 2011)

Charles said:


> A LOT depends on what you are hunting and the habits of the game. For squirrels, I used to do a lot of still hunting in the forest ... go to an area where they have been feeding and sit for a while and listen ... if I hear them, then I start stalking, trying to get closer to the sound. But if I have not heard anything in 15 or 20 minutes, I move on very quietly to another spot. I also enjoyed hunting squirrels with a dog ... when the dog treed one, I would go to the tree and try to find the squirrel ... then shoot it out of the tree. But squirrels were about the only thing I could hunt with dogs if I was using a slingshot ... dogs made everything else run or fly, depending on the game. For rabbits, I used to just stroll very slowly along the margins of a field ... the rabbits used to stay pretty close to cover, but had to move more into the open to feed. For quail or grouse, it was mostly a question of searching carefully in the rough cover that they frequent, or sometimes strolling an old road late in the evening ... that also works for rabbits. I blush to admit that as a young lad, I used to call quail in the spring of the year; the love crazed fools would fly in right on top of me ... I would NOT do that now; not only is it illegal, but it also is very hard on the population because you are killing birds ready to nest. For bull frogs, I used a flashlight at night ... creep to the edge of a pond and wait for them to begin calling ... then blind them with a light and carefully move close for a good shot. I used to shoot doves in a field behind the barn. We fed hogs corn and slop in troughs there. In the evening, the doves would come in and pick up stray kernels of corn. I would creep up to the edge of the barn and get ready. Then I would just pop up and take a quick shot ... the doves would just freeze for about a full second before taking flight ... if I was lucky, I would nail one before they took off. You need to know the habits of the game and know the ground over which you are hunting.
> 
> Cheers ....... Charles


Charles, curious? do you eat the squirrels? serious question here, i am a city boy and the neighborhood kids see them as pets, i wonder what they would taste like?


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## Jesus Freak (Dec 31, 2011)

I always look for Charles answer to topics, because Charles has the best advise in the world!


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

newconvert said:


> Charles, curious? do you eat the squirrels? serious question here, i am a city boy and the neighborhood kids see them as pets, i wonder what they would taste like?


You bet I do! As with all wild game, I get the guts out of it as soon as it is dead ... being careful not to puncture anything in the process. I leave the hides on to keep the meat as clean as possible in the field, but as soon as I get home or back to camp, the hide comes off. Domestic animals are treated the same way ... out with the guts and off with the hide as soon as possible.

Squirrel is a dark meat, and being wild, it can be tough if not properly cooked. My grandmother always fried it like chicken, and it was not bad that way, but tougher than chicken. You can parboil it for a while to tenderize it before frying. But to my mind, it is better if it is slowly stewed or pressure cooked with lots of herbs and spices. Here is a recipe I like for rabbit, but also works well with squirrel.










For squirrel, I might cook it a bit longer ... but this works really well in a slow cooker.

Do not eat the head or brains ... I here some folks in Kentucky came down with mad cow disease as a result of eating squirrel brains.

Cheers ...... Charles


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

Jesus Freak said:


> I always look for Charles answer to topics, because Charles has the best advise in the world!


You are very kind ... but there are many, many on here who know a lot more than I do about a great many things.

Cheers ...... Charles


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## MrTriscuit (Oct 10, 2011)

Squirrel truly tastes like chickin!


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## philly (Jun 13, 2010)

For squizzers, hide behind a tree and make noises like a peanut. Works every time. 
Philly


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## MrTriscuit (Oct 10, 2011)

Like a peanut cracking?


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## whipcrackdeadbunny (May 22, 2010)

Study the animal, learn it inside and out, find when it's vulnerable, and hit it at about 250 fps in the side of the head, with a big heavy ball ... works every time ...

Here's my little vid on hunting birds.


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## Jim Williams (Jul 6, 2011)

philly said:


> For squizzers, hide behind a tree and make noises like a peanut. Works every time.
> Philly










Looking like a peanut helps too!


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## Jim Williams (Jul 6, 2011)

whipcrackdeadbunny said:


> Study the animal, learn it inside and out, find when it's vulnerable, and hit it at about 250 fps in the side of the head, with a big heavy ball ... works every time ...
> 
> Here's my little vid on hunting birds.
> http://www.youtube.c...e&v=1qVLPj-V7yU


I enjoyed your video it was very informative! What ammo are you using by the way pal?


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## MrTriscuit (Oct 10, 2011)

Thanks for the vid!


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## whipcrackdeadbunny (May 22, 2010)

Sling Jim said:


> Study the animal, learn it inside and out, find when it's vulnerable, and hit it at about 250 fps in the side of the head, with a big heavy ball ... works every time ...
> 
> Here's my little vid on hunting birds.
> http://www.youtube.c...e&v=1qVLPj-V7yU


I enjoyed your video it was very informative! What ammo are you using by the way pal?
[/quote]
9.5 mm steel; it's a light set-up, but effective if used for head shots.


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## whipcrackdeadbunny (May 22, 2010)

SlingshotTristin said:


> Thanks for the vid!


My pleasure.


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## newconvert (Dec 12, 2011)

Charles said:


> I always look for Charles answer to topics, because Charles has the best advise in the world!


You are very kind ... but there are many, many on here who know a lot more than I do about a great many things.

Cheers ...... Charles
[/quote]

i am going to keep this recipe Charles, sounds yummy


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## Buffalo (Jun 7, 2011)

Tree stand or ground blind. Here in Utah you can use a slingshot in bow season. (but maybe not next year)


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## WoodsRunner (Feb 26, 2012)

i've been wondering the same thing. as soon as i get into range on a pigeon he realizes im making the pigeon calls and is high tailing in outta there!


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## MrTriscuit (Oct 10, 2011)

Same! It's a matter of practice, patience.


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## Berkshire bred (Mar 4, 2012)

i walk along the side of the field then when a see a rabbit turn the torch on blind it then knock its head of with a 14mm steel bearing.


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