Crime wave ... your plans.

[jansman]

I'll be honest and say that I'm not that good with a catapult - although I've seen people who are much better than me.

My point though, is that a good air rifle will, in my opinion, get more game, more reliably, at longer range for a lower ammunition price.

We are lucky - I had my first FAC 45 years ago so have had time to buy and learn to shoot all sorts of interesting things, but, if I'm honest with myself, I've put more food on the table with my old Webley air rifle and 410 single barrel than I have with all my more modern and higher powered stuff

Rabbit by British Red, on Flickr

I have a Webley Vulcan that has knocked down more game than any of my other guns.As you say, the ammo price is cheaper too.

[British Red]

Quiet, cheap ammunition and great for game that doesn't need preserving - what's not to like?

I butchered a big Fallow doe in the workshop this year. It took two days and the preserving was a chore. Well worth doing compared to the price of beef, but a wood pigeon every day and straight into the pot makes more sense in many ways. Quick to take, plentiful, and no preserving needed. If you use an airgun and take headshots, you aren't spitting out lead shot- plus, round here, if you shoot one, three more come to the funeral

[jansman]

Quiet, cheap ammunition and great for game that doesn't need preserving - what's not to like?

I butchered a big Fallow doe in the workshop this year. It took two days and the preserving was a chore. Well worth doing compared to the price of beef, but a wood pigeon every day and straight into the pot makes more sense in many ways. Quick to take, plentiful, and no preserving needed. If you use an airgun and take headshots, you aren't spitting out lead shot- plus, round here, if you shoot one, three more come to the funeral

The Butcher in me makes me cringe… two days… I can process one in 30 minutes,then into freezing.
Perhaps you preserve yours another way?

[British Red]

It wasn't full days to be fair, but, taking it from gralloched, skin on, down to single portion vacuum packed meals ( rather than say a large haunch roast) yep. The only "roasts" were shanks, everything else was reduced to steaks, marinaded jerky, burgers, every scrap and trimming minced or cubed. From the mince we made many "ghillie pies" ( cottage pie but with venison), Bolognese type sauces. From steak trimmings things like venison satay and a riff on crispy chilli beef. The reality is though, whilst we are fast and experienced processing poultry and small game, we don't do much large animal stuff and it's all by hand - even our hoist is a basic gambrel on a hundred year old "handy Billy" that I re-reeved with 3/4" manilla. No powered mincers (stainless spong type hand crank) etc. Heck even our bacon slicer ( we cured venison bacon) is hand cranked. Its not a job I can do in my sleep like fencing or reloading so I'm happy to take my time, re-watch Scott Rea and admit my own inexperience. I've no pretensions to being a butcher, but we didn't waste a scrap and saved a fortune on our food bills

[jansman]

It wasn't full days to be fair, but, taking it from gralloched, skin on, down to single portion vacuum packed meals ( rather than say a large haunch roast) yep. The only "roasts" were shanks, everything else was reduced to steaks, marinaded jerky, burgers, every scrap and trimming minced or cubed. From the mince we made many "ghillie pies" ( cottage pie but with venison), Bolognese type sauces. From steak trimmings things like venison satay and a riff on crispy chilli beef. The reality is though, whilst we are fast and experienced processing poultry and small game, we don't do much large animal stuff and it's all by hand - even our hoist is a basic gambrel on a hundred year old "handy Billy" that I re-reeved with 3/4" manilla. No powered mincers (stainless spong type hand crank) etc. Heck even our bacon slicer ( we cured venison bacon) is hand cranked. Its not a job I can do in my sleep like fencing or reloading so I'm happy to take my time, re-watch Scott Rea and admit my own inexperience. I've no pretensions to being a butcher, but we didn't waste a scrap and saved a fortune on our food bills

Fair play. It’s the preservation/ processing there that takes time.