Slingshot Hunting For An Outdoor Challenge

Slingshot hunting is a sport enjoyed by men and boys around the world. There is the challenge of stalking game with only a primitive weapon in hand, and no thrill like that of scoring when all the odds are against the sportsman.

Most guys get their start shooting slingshots when as boys, there was the need to find something fun and time consuming. The thrill of the chase enters in, and they get hooked on BB guns and slingshots.

Growing up in the southern Midwest of the US, I got involved with slingshots as a young age, before TV and other sedentary activities got hold of me. I loved being out of doors, and I saw a lot of saucy “bad birds” like starlings, sparrows and grackles all over the place in the towns we live in. Slingshot hunting became my hobby.

I bought my first slingshot, a WhamO, from a magazine ad. It worked pretty well. I practiced using the gravel in the alleyway, but soon decided to build my own homemade slingshot. A tree branch fork, some rubber bands and a leather shoe tongue, put together in the right way, and I had my superduper weapon. It worked. I went after the pest birds with a vengeance.

One neighbor had a chicken yard, and he hated the English sparrows that stole chicken feed. He paid me a penny apiece for each one I bagged. I had become a bounty hunter!

But my brother and I set our sights on bigger game too. The fields and woods outside of town had fox squirrels and cottontail rabbits. Not only was hunting them even more of a challenge, but they were edible game, fit for the supper table. As it turned out, the squirrels were too hard, but rabbits we could get. In addition, we also got lots of turtle doves during the fall season.
They were small, but tasty treats.

Dad had rules to guide our slingshot hunting. Leave the songbirds alone, and anything edible we shot, we cleaned and gave to Mom, who was happy to cook them up for the family.

Most guys today who like to hunt with slingshots got their start as kids. And some still prefer to make their own slingshots. Some fellows like flat bands for propulsion, while others are satisfied with slingshots with the tubular bands. Many excellent commercial slingshots and ammo are available. Slingshots are relatively cheap and offer many hours of inexpensive fun.

To read more about slingshot hunting, check out my web page at

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Duck Hunting – The Pride Of True Sportsmanship!

Duck hunting is a practice many hunters take great pride in. It is known for hunters that have high ethics and a great respect for their sport. A good duck hunter follows the laws and regulations set up by his local government because they realize these laws are meant to protect the duck population. Many of the hunters also use their kill for food, so the hunt is much more than a thrill of the kill attitude for them. Many bird hunting seasons overlap, as do the practices used to hunt the fowl, so hunters often like to hunt for a few different species. Some geese and other waterfowl share the same habitat as ducks, so as long as they’re in season, hunting geese can be just as satisfying as duck.

Waterfowl hunting in North America and many of the Western countries is usually highly regulated. A license is always required to hunt, and there are often rules, bag, and possession limits. The bag limit refers to the number of ducks a hunter is allowed to shoot in a day, while possession limit refers to the total number of ducks in a hunter’s possession. Duck season varies by region, but it generally lasts from early fall to early winter, when the birds are migrating.

Another requirement in the United States is that duck hunters buy a federal duck stamp, and some states even require a state stamp. To keep duck hunting sportsman-like, it is against the law to shoot a swimming or sitting duck, and is also illegal to shoot from a moving boat or motor vehicle. Using guns that are over ten-gauge for ducking hunting is also prohibited; in many areas hunters must modify their guns to reduce the size of the magazine if it holds more than a couple of shells. Also, while using decoys is very legal, using live ducks or bait is strictly prohibited, and because there is a great respect for the species, it’s preferred that the hunter retrieve any ducks he’s shot.

Some great locations for duck hunting in the Midwest are rivers, swamps, marshes, and lakes where waterfowl will stop to refuel on their migration. Another place to find ducks and geese are also cornfields; after harvest grains is often leftover for the birds to feed on. Many farmers even rent their fields out to hunters during season so ask around to find out if any in your area offer it. As long as a hunter follows the laws in place and hunts in a sportsman-like manner, duck hunting can be a great tradition.

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