Slingshots, now and then??

Egon · Apr 10, 2006

During one of my Childhood reversions I purchased one of these [Folding Falcon] . It is still around somewhere but does require a new set of rubber tubing.

I also used to collect bullets at a local rifle range. Melted them down and cast .36 lead balls that also fit in my replica Navy black powder pistol. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Egon /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

inveresk · Apr 10, 2006

Catapults is what we called them, Egon, or catties for short. I had one stuck in my back pocket pretty often as a boy growing up on the edge of rural Scotland. . . .

rfawkes · Apr 10, 2006

I suggest a pistol crossbow, available at most sporting goods stores for $10.00 or so. They are silent, deadly, and fun to play with. A man needs toys.

MLinOleMiss · Apr 10, 2006

If you have a .22 caliber rifle, slip a nipple from a baby bottle over the end, it will work as a silencer and not spook the animals.

MossRoad · Apr 10, 2006

Melted them down and cast .36 lead balls 

The father of a friend of mine had some fishing sinker molds that doubled as slingshot ammo. That was sometimes too much work, though. The .38 slugs worked pretty well in there raw form. Speaking of lead... we wonder if it had an effect on any of us, you know... all the melting, fumes, residue on our hands, etc... we use to play with the mercury out of thermometers and glow in the dark paint, too. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

jinman · Apr 10, 2006

( also used to collect bullets at a local rifle range. Melted them down and cast .36 lead balls that also fit in my replica Navy black powder pistol. )

I used to build my slingshot just exactly like Bird said, with inner tube and an old shoe tongue. I loved marbles as ammo; not my marbles, mind you. My brother always wondered where his marbles were going. He didn't accuse me because my bag didn't get any bigger, but I think he knew I had something to do with his missing marbles. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

KentT · Apr 10, 2006

Ammunition for BB guns cost money, ammunition for slingshots was always free...

My brother worked for Norfolk-Southern RR. One derailment that he worked on included a boxcar full of the marbles used in spray cans...

He brought several 5-gallon buckets of those home and we shot them all up in our slingshots. They're not "perfect" like the ones you play games with, but they sure were better than picking up pebbles....

ToadHill · Apr 10, 2006

I'd go with a pump air rifle you can get them to deliver about 1,000 feet per second and the .22 only beats that by about 200fps. It's probably won't kill them but they will think hard and long before they come back.

Egon · Apr 10, 2006

MossRoad;

Can't seem to see if the lead fumes affected me but I do stumble around a bit and my hands get real shaky sometimes! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Egon /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

gsganzer · Apr 10, 2006

I'll second the pellet gun. Get one of the good springers that toss a pellet at 1000 fps. I have one that I use for plinking a couple of cans on the back fence rail while sitting out on the patio. They're great for honing your shooting skills during the off season by allowing you to shoot in various positions like prone, off sticks, kneeling etc.

If your wanting the slingshot, I'll vouch for the Falcon 2. I had one as a kid and shot my fair share of frogs, squirrels etc. You hold the thing sideways (like the homeboys hold a pistol in the movies) and sight off the top rail. That thing was incredibly accurate and was a hoot when I was a kid.