Monkey fist slung shots are everywhere.

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Owen Sparks

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Anybody have one of these? They seem to suddenly be everywhere. I went to the local flea market and several vendors were selling them, in fact one booth had nothing but these, hundreds of them for $9.95 each. They looked just like these:

http://compare.ebay.com/like/300591936290?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar

Most of them only have a 3/4" steel ball and are designed to go on a key chain though some contain larger balls. I saw one tied around a 1 1/2 inch lead fishing weight that could cause a serious skull fracture.

Aren't slung shots technically illegal in many states?

How effective could a 3/4" ball on a string really be?

This just goes to show that there is nothing new under the sun.
 
Aren't slung shots technically illegal in many states?
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Yes in most states.

How effective could a 3/4" ball on a string really be?
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Not very unless you could hit someone in the eye with one.

This just goes to show that there is nothing new under the sun.
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It also proves there is a sucker born every minute, when these are being sold at $19.95 each.
I've tied a few Monkey fist knots in the past and it's not to hard to learn, yes it took a few tries, but once you get the hang of it quick and easy.

As for the cost, ball bearing .25 cents, snap ring for keys .50, paracord $1.00 at best, so for less than $2.00 you can tie your own.
 
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Yeah I noticed these popping up more and more, even at the local Hudson Trail Outfitter (a chain camping/sport store).

This actually worries me. Marketing these things for self-defense is going to make the sheeple aware they can be weapons (again) and this in turn is going to get more restrictions on them. I'm willing to bet these would slip by most LEO in states with slung shot laws, but if these jerks keep marketing them out in the open like this, it will only last so long.

For now though, I make my own. The common ones are too small, I agree. The one I carry on occasion now is a variation disguised to look more decorative. It's a neck lanyard with a 1.25" solid copper sphere (denser than steel) in a turk's head rather than a monkey's fist. I call it a "sailor's amulet" :)
 

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The best thing would be to restore the Constitution and get rid of state and local laws against the bearing of arms.
That being said, my worry is that these little key chain balls will give a lot of people a false sense of security as they are far too light to be effective.
 
"Sling shot" specifically listed in Tennessee "going armed" statute as a weapon of "offense or defense" prohibited from carry in public. Contrary to the jokes some like to make at gun shops, the prohibited "sling shot" is the weapon described here as a "slung shot". So you can buy them as a novelty key chain. Nice, if you never have to leave the house with it. Jail bait if you do in a jurisdiction like the one I live in. Even worse if they are too light to even be an effective weapon for defense.
 
As noted, in many jurisdictions the penalties for slungshot and other illegal weapons can be fairly draconian, even when compared with the penalties for illegal carry of knives or pistols.

I don't think I'd want to buy a product that met the legal definition of a slungshot and subjected me to possible felony charges; but was too small to actually be very effective in that role.

For example see this from Vermont:

§ 4001. Slung shot, blackjack, brass knuckles-Use or possession

A person who uses a slung shot, blackjack, brass knuckles or similar weapon against another person, or attempts so to do, or who possesses a slung shot, blackjack, brass knuckles, or similar weapon, with intent so to use it, shall be imprisoned not more than five years or fined not more than $1,000.00 or both. The provisions of this section do not apply to a law enforcement officer as to the possession and use of a blackjack, billy club or night stick.

You can conceal carry a handgun with no permit in Vermont; but get caught possessing a slungshot and depending on whether the cop thinks there is "intent to use it" you could be looking at 5 years in prison.
 
A person who uses a slung shot, blackjack, brass knuckles or similar weapon against another person, or attempts so to do, or who possesses a slung shot, blackjack, brass knuckles, or similar weapon, with intent so to use it, shall be imprisoned not more than five years or fined not more than $1,000.00 or both. The provisions of this section do not apply to a law enforcement officer as to the possession and use of a blackjack, billy club or night stick.
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Notice the law makes no distinction if the person carrying, using or attempting to use these weapons is using it in a crime or in a legitimate act of self-defense.

Also notice that the government is exempt from the law.

Is this what the founding fathers had in mind when they codified the phrase “The right of the people to keep AND BEAR arms shall not be infringed? This law sounds like an unconstitutional infringement of the ONE thing that the Constitution guarantees the people the right to have, arms which is the same thing as weapons.
 
I make a monkey fist key chain that I use a larger "shooter" marble inside of it....never thought to promote it as a self defense item...I sell them as medium monkey fist key chains.......
 
Notice the law makes no distinction if the person carrying, using or attempting to use these weapons is using it in a crime or in a legitimate act of self-defense.
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In most statutes, that is discussed under a separate section concerning Justification and/or Necessity
 
I know several LEO and Jailers who carrie them on their key chains. But I never carried one now I do have a nice 3 inch long tip of a deer antler from the LBJ Ranch gift shop on my key chain. I have made several people let go of things by appying it to certain spots on thier hands.
 
Felony? I guess someone should let the Boy Scouts know. That’s where I learned to tie a monkey’s fist…When I was about 10… :scrutiny:
 
Tying a monkey's fist knot is not a felony in and of itself. Using a monkey's fist knot to make a slungshot can be a felony in some jurisdictions.
 
Hitting someone without provocation should be a felony. Having a THING should not. Crime is an ACTION, not a tool.
 
Hitting someone without provocation should be a felony. Having a THING should not. Crime is an ACTION, not a tool.
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indeed, but you forget that the pandering idiots in government can't get re-elected by punishing crime, just by having a "war on {noun}" or banning an object.

Side note, these were all over a show I was at today, and they're a cute idea. I actually have a need for a weight on the end of a cord, but I already bought the materials to make a simpler version and these were too expensive for my purpose.
(I just want to be able to toss a cord under a motorcycle for attaching a cover without kneeling or needing a second person to reach through ... so I bought some fishing weights and will attach them to the end of the paracord semi-permanently attached to the bike covers, oh no, will I be arrested for having a terrible illegal weapon attached to a 6'x3' bike cover?!?!?)
 
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