Hazel Hunter Slingshot – Nomads UK
Tony from Nomads UK sent me this lovely little slingshot called the Hazel Hunter
The slingshot goes back thousands of years in its early form of a pouch suspended between two cords and used for throwing small projectiles or up to hand sized rocks. Later with the invention of vulcanised rubber in the 18th century the modern slingshot came into being and popularity by poachers and travelers for putting food on the table. In Britain the slingshot is perhaps better known as a “catapult”
I have had a few catapults over the time and still have one for my survival kit and used to be very accurate with the older traditional slingshot (corded) but noticed tennis elbow creeping in, so backed off it’s use
The Hazel Hunter Slingshot has caused me to reevaluate my stock of slingshots and I am struggling to define why! This is a compact and simple design and it outperforms my other catty’s despite them costing the same or dearer and I think it is down to two main reasons. Its simple design and its made by someone who uses catapults/slingshots to a design that works, – tried and tested!
The Hazel Hunter form Nomads UK would be described well as a poachers slingshot, clean simple, compact with just enough power which is amplified when combined with some basic stalking skills it is equally happy at being used in the upright position or tilted horizontally and fired gamekeeper style with just enough room to comfortably get thumb and first finger on the Yoke arms for support.
The handle is a piece of hazel shaft approx 4 1/4 inches long 3/4 of an inch in diameter (note that these are handmade from natural materials so measurements will vary) with galvanised steel yoke that stands about 1 inch high and has a spread of 2 1/2 inches. The galvanised steel bars are epoxied into the hazel handle and varnished to a nice smooth finish.
The bands are almost an inch wide and are secured into some leather loops on top of the galvanised wire, a method to reduce hand slap which has been in Tony’s family for years and works well. Tony uses latex exercise bands that are easy to pull back yet seem to fire the lead shot with great acceleration and works well for beginners who have not built up the strength of multiple supper bands. The pouch is narrow leather and minimalist but handles 1/2 inch lead shot really well, but is probably too narrow if you want to load multiple small shot for a scatter effect at a flying bird (like a shotgun) but personally I have never been ready for such situations anyway.
The fact that this has galvanised steel arms means your sight picture to the target is greatly increased as there is minimal material in the way of your view. The arms are equal in bend, size and height and secured centrally in the handle which is important for accuracy. The bands also pull back evenly and overall makes for great accurate targeting accuracy and the size is nice and compact and fits into a back jeans pocket easily
In use the Hazel Hunter is a joy to use, its accurate, has amazing power when used with the hand cast lead shot that Tony sent me and works well with steel ball bearings too, but being lighter weight doesn’t have the stopping power of the lead. You do gain greater range however which is great for target shooting, but for hunting its likely just to hurt the animal instead of killing it and you need to be closer with lighter ammunition, not further away
Hand cast lead shot Hazel Hunter Slingshot – Nomads UK
[su_note note_color=”#9db941″ class=”align; right”]Ethics
Hunting should always be done in a humane manner. It is against the Law to deliberately injure or harm, cause suffering to any wildlife even if it is classed as vermin
Some animals and birds are protected from any form of hunting and you should check your local laws, You also need the permission of the landowner to hunt
Before hunting with a slingshot practice your accuracy on a target and only start hunting when you can achieve a high rate of good, accurate hits[/su_note]
The Hazel Hunter is not a cheap toy, but it is not an expensive high tech piece of plastic either and for £17.50 posted in the UK is a fair price for the quality and a bargain compared to some of the tech designs out there costing way more, and at the end of the day it will do the same job!
Perhaps this one will do it better and due to its small and functional size, will find its way into your survival pack or bushcraft bag over the bigger complicated versions meaning you will get more use out of it.
[su_heading] So why is this Hazel Hunter Slingshot by Nomads UK so good?[/su_heading]
Well I think its a combination of the two reasons, its well made with attention to details on accuracy of construction as well as being made by someone with great experience and uses what they make.
Hazel Hunter Slingshot – Nomads UK
The other is its simplicity and that is where I feel other designs are going wrong, getting involved in tech materials, new fangled designs that are really not needed and start getting in the way of your target. The yoke arms on the hazel hunter being an example of minimal presence and still giving the high strength that is needed and as mentioned gives a clear sight of your target.
Its very functional, minimal and evokes confidence in natural instinctive shooting and is restricted to shooting a ball bearing or small lead shot.
We are in a world of tech where G10, whisper biscuits, arrows and laser sights are demanded by the public and have kind of lost sight of what we actually need in a primitive tool like a slingshot and trying to bastardize it into something else
This is now firm favourite that is going in my haversack (that I also got from Nomads UK and is also excellent, but more on that later) and look forward to using it. At the moment I am not up to the standard of some people you see on You Tube cutting playing cards in half or lighting suspended matches, but thats the fun of practicing
Hazel Hunter Slingshot-Nomads UK
For more information on slingshots and their use check out The Slingshot Forum
Primitive Survival Skills 