Summer is here and that means many of us are camping out, cooking on the grill, and playing games while the hot dogs are over the fire. Chances are there’s a kid at a campsite somewhere trying to hit a something with a slingshot.

I’ve had The Pocket Shot in my gear cache and have been wondering how well it would work out as a tool that someone could use in a survival situation for hunting small game. The Pocket Shot fits inside a pocket very easily and can carry a dozen or so steel balls inside it even with the latex pouch folded in. For testing, I used 1/4- inch and 5/16-inch steel balls. And of course, I put on my safety glasses before testing.

Aiming The Pocket Shot takes a bit of guesswork and patience. You’re going to go all over the place on your first few rounds, thus why safety glasses are very much advised for ricochets. I stood 10 yards away from an 8-inch circle target and fired from a kneeling position. I put a few dozen rounds through the slingshot with the standard pouch, and I didn’t strike too well. It’s tricky to aim the slingshot, and I’m certain that even with many more hours of practice, I can’t see myself hitting very well in a survival situation where I’m low on calories and need to use as little energy as possible to live.

As a stand-alone item, the Pocket Shot is more of a “for fun” item rather than something to keep in your survival kit. It will probably be a hit at your next weekend at the lake. Just don’t put rocks through the pouch since I’m not sure how long it would last. If you want to turn this into a serious food-gathering tool, the company sells expansions for the kit that converts it into a more traditional sling shot setup or a bow fishing platform.

Check out the Pocket Shot and accessories HERE. The basic Pocket Shot is available for $25. It also comes with an Arrow Kit ($50) and in a limited edition camo color ($30). You can purchase just the shot pouches in packs of 8 for $25. You can also buy the steel shot from the website for various amounts based on the size you want. Practice ammo is $6 a bag.