Hereabouts you can get a good metal folding slingshot for under $9.00 USD, and an extra set of tubing with pouch for $2.27 USD, so wasting time with an unproven, unreliable product doesn't make sense. The weight is minimal and the size is not a consideration.

Be sure you practice a lot without bringing the pouch to your cheek as you do a bowstring, or you can lose an eye very quickly.

For survival, practice, and small game hunting, stones and gravel will suffice. To scare away bigger animals at a distance, !/4" or 3/8" steel balls to the nose and face area are a better bet than waving your arms and yelling if you allow them to get too close, assuming the first course of action, getting out of their way is not available.

Bountyhunter