nwmanitou
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Posts: 336
Utah, USA
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Typhoon has the right idea..
A hunter should never unnecessarily risk only wounding an animal by taking shots beyond their skill level. To do so is not only disrespectful to the prey but irresponsible, dangerous, and unethical. However, when talking about small, delicate game like rabbits, the chances of only wounding it with a sling stone are very small. If you hit a rabbit just about anywhere with a sling stone you are going to kill it. So you will either hit and kill the rabbit or miss entirely. Both outcomes are acceptable in my book. If you miss, the rabbit will run off or often doesn't even realize it was shot at. If you hit it, you have a good meal. Life is precious and when I harvest (kill) an animal I accept the sacred responsibility to effectively utilize that animal. I think we all agree that a sling stone is sufficient to kill small game like rabbits and that no one here thinks it's ok to unnecessarily risk wounding an animal. We just have to accept that killing (harvesting) game isn't as immediate as flipping a switch but if reasonable steps have been taken to ensure a humane kill then I see no problem in the attempt.
Am I confident that I'd hit the rabbit with my sling? not really, though I might be able nail one if I had enough opportunities. Am I confident that if I did manage hit the rabbit it would die on the spot with minimal suffering? absolutely. Again I am either going to hit and kill it or I'm going to miss entirely. In this case I don't feel that I'm unnecessarily risking just wounding the rabbit taking shots that I'm not completely sure will connect.
PS. Tougher or larger game are different than delicate little bunnies. When rifle hunting I prefer to neck shoot my deer, just behind the jaw. I shatter the spine, the jugular vein, and carotid artery which drops it on the spot with out wasting hardly any meat. If I can't get a clear neck shot, I aim for the traditional heart and lungs. My opinion is that many hunters compensate for poor marksmanship with larger caliber rifles, I'm sure most just enjoy the better ballistic performance of these larger rounds, but there is faulty notion that you NEED a huge cartridge to reliably bring down a deer when more emphasis should be placed on shot placement. Often this notion results in loosing a significant amounts of meat to bullet damage (bloodshot). I learned my lesson when I used a load that was too hot for the young deer I shot. I hit it where I wanted to, but then the bullet traveled the length of its body destroying the tenderloin and a good portion of one of the rear quarters. I like that particular cartridge because of the the energy it can deliver at longer ranges but for smaller deer I'm not going to take a body shot with it if I can get a neck shot. When bowhunting (for elk this year) I only take shots under 30 yards because that's as far as I feel confident that I can place the arrow in the heart and lungs for a clean humane kill.
Also, I think you'd be crazy to go after a boar with a sling. A knife? sure, I'd do it (already killed several farm boars with one...mmmm kalua pig), and my boar spear is waiting for an opportunity. But if you do try to go after a dangerous animal with a sling YOU MUST VIDEO TAPE IT or we won't believe you, or your next of kin.
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