Using Slings

[me2]

Does anyone have any experience with a sling using either rocks or metal bullets? I've seen them on the Terry Shapert show on History and they look awkward to use, but nearly every primitive group used them for hunting until they came up with the bow. I though I might try to make and learn to use one, but it looks like it takes a lot of practice.

 

[PrimitiveMan]

Limited success. I could hit stuff at about 20 yards. After that it was useless. Would not want to depend on it for survival

 

[Joben]

I bet they would make a great volley weapon.
Besides David and Goliath which everyone knows about theres an interesting Bible verse...

15 So the sons of Benjamin got to be mustered on that day from the cities, twenty-six thousand men drawing sword, apart from the inhabitants of Gib´e·ah, of whom seven hundred chosen men were mustered. 16 Out of all this people there were seven hundred chosen men left-handed. Every one of these was a slinger of stones to a hairbreadth and would not miss.

Good lord...Imagine standing on a battlefield and seeing 700 stones, maybe 2.5" diameter, arcing in at you...

 

[me2]

Yea, I was thinking of trying out like some 1" 1018 ball bearings or something. That'd pack a good wallap I imagine.

 

[Joben]

...I have a .375 round ball mold.
I should make a sling and try lead...

 

[Skimo]

Slings are no joke... properly used they make wrist rockets look like primitive weapons.

 

[Fonly]

Slings are no joke... properly used they make wrist rockets look like primitive weapons.

too true, there are some very skilled people with them, it takes a while to get the hang of them, the are a serious tool.

 

[siguy]

Slings are very cool. I was way into them for a while (until I decided to take a break after almost taking a kid's eye out with a misfired shot), and still sling every once in a while.

They are very hard to get accurate with. After slinging almost every day for several months, I still had a success rate of about 1% slinging at a tree from about 50-60 feet away.

Another cool thing about slinging is that the slinging.org forum led me to an appreciation of survival gear and knives, which is how I ended up here.

A great resource for all kinds of information (including making a number of different slings):
http://slinging.org/

Some of the guys cast lead bullets (glandes) just like Roman soldiers did, and many others. For example, one guy made deer hunting bullets using a lead and steel base that you could screw arrow broad heads into. They do all kinds of cool destruction demonstrations (like punching through sheets of plywood, smashing toilets, etc), you should be able to find some on youtube.

 

[DWK2]

I made a few when I was a teenager. They could throw everything from a half-inch steel ball bearing up to about a third of a brick. As noted above, it takes a heck of a lot of practice to develop accuracy. I was better than my friends but never got to be what I considered good.

DancesWithKnives

 

[clayton c]

I have used them in the past, very handy on a slow deer hunt. I found them good for flinging rocks down canyon bottoms to scare up resting deer or to see a ear twitch or a head raise.

 

[Coldwood]

It takes a lot of practice, but in the cultures that used slings, they started as small children and grew up using it. Not just boys and men, but probably girls and women too. For an interesting fictional take on this, read Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel.

 

[kgd]

I'm going to decent here having just been introduced into the sling word by Doc Canada and his friends last weekend. First, having proper instruction on technique, like anything makes a world of difference. I had the benefit of Doc's buddy Louis give me some 15 minutes of instruction on stance, swing and throw which made all the difference in the world. Then Doc Canada provided me with one of his slings which has some nice design features about its pocket that make it very effective. Haven't had a misfire yet even while practicing with it with a bunch of folks.

As far as accuracy is concerned, I'm not there yet. But I am starting to get much better than I used to. Fifty feet is probably a good range limit. With a sling, you can throw way more farther than you could by hand. You can also throw much heavier rocks without injury to your arm. Where it is limited is that it won't work all that well in tree cover (like any projectile), but slings more so because you have to be clear enough to be able to throw effectively. Also, I agree with Doc Canada that you would be more effective using traps than slings.

Like Siguy said, getting into slings is a pile of fun. Whether you are throwing for distance or for accuracy. The guys I have been practicing with took to it very quickly, all of us were amazed at how little practice it takes to be able to throw something much faster, further and heavier than you could by hand. There is something about standing by a lake or a river in flinging our rocks that is almost endlessly entertaining. Its even more fun with a sling. I think I'm going to keep practicing with mine. In terms of equipment, a piece of string with a pocket is all you need. It weighs nothing, gives you a sense of nostalgia and is fun. What is not to like about it?

Size, shape and weight of the rock seem to make a big difference and as Doc's friend pointed out, everybody seems to settle on a throwing rock that has the right dimensions for them.