Hunting without a firearm...

B

Buck268

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Nov 5, 2006
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I'm just a little curious if anybody has ever had any success with small game such as rabbit/hare, squirrel or any upland type game without the use of a firearm? I've only used my 11-87 on them, though I've heard 22's are quite popular for rabbits and squirrels. But none the less, I've always been curious about the feasebility of alternate methods such a slings (or slingshots), bows, or maybe bolos (bolareos?); or any other means I've left out...

I'm not talking about trapping, I'm talking a more pro-active method.
 
Never seen anyone use a 22 around my neck of the woods for rabbits, but I've seen lots of ppl "dogging" them in the suburbs.

I've tried some slingshots on squirrels, my experience is that they don't die from even a head shot. Instead they leave dents the size of the shot on their head, and you have to finish them off with the knife (pretty grusome for a 12 yrs old). My buddy's dad seem to knock them dead with the slingshot tho.
 
Thats pretty wild, Brown... Wish I had the funds to get into something like that; hell I can't even afford a new 22! Where abouts do you hunt them, I'll assume around the rockies?
 
Longbow, recurve, throwing stick (quail) and I killed a small cottontail with a blowgun dart a few years ago.
 
I've been shootinbg armadillos with a compound bow for quite a while. As long as it is not too dark it works well at about 40-65 ft. The only thing is you need to use special small game points, like judo points. If you miss with a broadhead or field tip you can most likely kiss your arrow goodbye. I also use my Remington 22 a lot.
I don't like slingshots because they are not accurate enough. Unless it was a survival situation I would not use them. The way I was brought up was that if you aren't 100% sure you will drop an animal with the first shot don't shoot at all. This counts for big game as well as varmint. Even if a hunter is 100% sure there will still be some situations where he won't kill with the first shot even if he uses appropriate weapons.
 
I've hunted rabbits and squirrels with slingshots, blowguns, bows, pellet guns, 22s, and homemade spears (all as a kid). Pellet guns worked the best, and everything else (non-firearms) were distant seconds at best.
Blowguns and slingshots were just cruel in that they very rarely killed on the firt shot.
Arrows, and spears worked great if and when I was able to make a hit.

If you have the patience, snares can be very effective.

These methods can all work if you practice and have the time to miss a lot.
Personally I think a 22 is essential survival gear, and the other methods are just backups.
 
Walt-Fl, I saw a guy on TV shooting asprin out of the air with his sling shot. They shoot where you aim them. This guy had been shooting a sling shot all of his life.

Now, as for myself, I can hit a pie plate repeatedly at about 20 yards, but that's not good enough for small game hunting. I've had success with a compound bow, though. I prefer a .410 for samll game like rabbits and squirrels.
 
I've killed a fair share of rabbit and squirrel with my bow, mostly because they ran around taunting me while I was deer hunting! (My shrink says animals can't taunt, but I know she's lying!):D

Killed a few rabbits and more than my share of squirrels with tacconite pellets from my "wrist rocket" slingshot as a kid.

I've shot a few doves and starlings with my blowgun, but they just fly off with the dart in their chests...

J-
 
I have taken rabbits and squirrels with a slingshot and driven rabbits into a net. (The net was at the base of a funnel-shapped arrangement of sticks and brush and the rabbits were driven by three of us and one VERY useful dog. One saw the net at the very last moment and jumped over. Two ran into the slack net and were bagged.)
 
HomeBru--Are you near a steel mill there in Indiana? I laughed when I read that post because every kid on Minnesota's Iron Range grew up using them as slingshot ammo (some in the UP near the open pit mines there too).
 
Killed lots of rabbits with a slingshot, no luck with squirrels, I have knocked the crap out of a few but they always ran off. Chris
 
puukko said:
HomeBru--Are you near a steel mill there in Indiana? I laughed when I read that post because every kid on Minnesota's Iron Range grew up using them as slingshot ammo (some in the UP near the open pit mines there too).
Click to expand...
The gutters of Cleveland in many areas used to be full of them -- fell from trucks on the ways to the mills. That pretty much died out after 1980. I used ballbearings scrounged from my stepdad's garage and marbles when those were not available.
 
Where I grew up (in the U.P.) was a copper mining area not far from where Buck268 is. We used to use ball bearings too. We would go to the old ball mill at the edge of town and use the grinding balls we found if they weren't too big (some were 1'' to 2" in dia.). When that failed marbles were always the standby ammmo for our wristrocket's.
 
I've got a few bunnies,pidgeons and a squirrel or 2 w a slingshot when I was a kid I also made a home made blow gun out of pvc and made some darts out of finishing nails rope and hot glue took a fair share of birds but nothing larger than a robin.I made an oldchool sling out of an old boot tounge and some paracord it's way powerful but I can't hit the broad side of a barn with it. I also made a few bolas it seems like they would work well on flocks of waterfowl in open areas but I always get em stuck in trees. Like charlie brown and the kite
 
Shot a mountain chicken with my bow while elk hunting. Had a judo point on it and it was only 50 ft away. They don't really fly away when you walk up on them so it's kind of cheating. My dad shot one with a broad head. The arrow went right through, skipped over the ridge and off into never never land. the bird jumped up high enough to lock it's wings and sail off in about the same direction... Lesson in using correct equipment.
I prefer to hunt rabbits with a 22. vs a shot gun. with the 22 there's only one hole. shot guns tent to push hair into the meat with every pellet that goes through. I married a wonderful city girl and it's a challenge enough the get her to eat what I bring home without having to pick out hair and pellets. :D You really get a lot less rabbits though. You've either got to be real lucky or wait for them to stop so you can get a bead on em.
 
Ate lots of duck and goose one year when we lived in Alberta. Little cash around meant folks paid my stepdad with stuff, including duck they shot. I will never forget crewing on lead shot -- bigger in the geese.

At least it wouldn't hurt the teeth like the loads used today.
 
I used to hunt rabbits with dogs growing up in PA with a 22 rifle and later a revolver. Great great fun! You can kill a rabbit with a slingshot, but I have little success with squirrels whether I'm using steel balls or lead balls.

It got too easy with a shotgun, if you care why I switched to 22's.

Bows work well if you are a good enough shot and don't mind loosing a few arrows. Never tried any of the other methods. Some hunt hogs with a knife only.... not my cup of tea.
 
A bow and arrows can certainly help you get some meat, but I think that traps and snares are more reliable. There is a lot of information around on the topic. I guess you'd have to become acquainted with the laws regarding this in your area so you can stay out of trouble.

Here's a brushtailed possum I got with a home-made arrow:
Possum.jpg


Snared rabbit taken with a home-made snare:
snaredrabbitsmallformat.jpg


Anybody else here doing any trapping?

Best wishes.... Stephen Coote, Nelson, New Zealand.
 
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