Slingshot vs. pistol: fight!
billj 08.06.13
If I were in a shoot-out, I definitely know that I’d prefer a crappy pistol to even the fanciest slingshot, but what about a long-term grid-down scenario? Could it be that the lowly slingshot could have an edge, even when it comes to taking larger game? Probably not, actually, but that didn’t stop the crazy Germans on YouTube’s Slingshot Channel from trying anyway.
Because monster German slingshots are illegal in Germany, they flew over here to the US to do a slingshot vs. pistol shoot-out, measuring the momentum imparted by each projectile. The results are interesting, in that their giant slingshot was able to deliver more momentum to the target than every thing but a .44 Magnum.
Of course, momentum does not equal penetration, and while it’s pretty clear that being hit with that giant ball in the wrong place would definitely kill you, depending on what you’re wearing it may or may not bore a hole in you.
What I wondered when reading this is, why didn’t they try a non-ball-shaped projectile in the slingshot? What if they tried to fire something pointy with it? Would it tumble too much, or would it actually penetrate? I’d also love to see some real tests against ballistic gel, instead of this jerry-rigged momentum machine they used.
