Hey I'm wondering if anyone has any strategic ideas on using slings to hunt?  A survival sort of thing.  I've been thinking about it.  I don't think it would be possible to hunt big game but birds are a potential target.  However, they are quite hard to hit, even if you're a dead shot.  Anyone have any experience or ideas?

I was thinking about how you would make a sling that could handle buckshot or something like that?  Maybe 10 or so fishing weights of about 1/2oz each per throw?  You would need a good pouch to hold them without letting them fly out.  If thrown into a flock of birds, it seems you could probably take some down with shot of that weight in a quantity of 10.  I'm not sure though.  I've heard of hunting birds with blowgun pellets made of clay.  They don't have much energy compared to the lead weights.  It's interesting to think about anyway.  You'd need a lot of weights or lead musket balls for each shot so this may not be so applicable to the survival situation.  Gravel is another option for surival situations.  Anyway, I'm just thinking.  
                                      Ben  

I've hunted rabbit with a sling, although I was never very successfull. I think maybe a cupped sling and some BB's would work well for birds. In a survival situation, small rocks or broken glass would work to. A note on technique, if you want to hunt develop a short wind up, the quicker you can get the shot off the more likely the target will be in the same place when the ammo gets there. Or at least the place you expected it, if your leading a moving target. If you have a sidearm technique its very easy to hunt with the sling in a ready position over your head while holding the pouch with your off hand. Looks kinda silly but your that much more prepared if you unexpectedly jump game. There are probally better ways but this is just what I've done in my expierences.

The Peltist

Ben,

I would love to hunt with a sling and I think someday I will get accurate enough. I do know that some birds do not move and even give you a half dozen or more shots before flying away. I have come within inches of 4-5 doves in the last month. Some I will bet took some gravel from the shatterring rock that hit right next to them.

Peltist---did the rabbits jump at the sound? I almost had a shot at a squirrel today. I was hoping to see its reaction but too many branches kept me from taking a shot.

Does this name work?

One of us slinging nuts needs to come up with a projectile that is the size of a concrete tennis ball but filled with BBs. At a certain distance, because of the high speed rotations, the projectile would fly open releasing the BBs. Kind of like a choke on a shot-gun which keeps them from spreading out too wide.???

Well its kinda interesting you should ask. Sometimes the rabbit would run, and others times they would'nt. If a rabbit is unaware of you when you start your swing they will simply perk up and by then its to late, granted your aim is true. Other times they would already be an alert state and bolt when I made sudden movements. If a rabbit does'nt think you see them they will remain motionless. I have been able to get very close before taking a shot this way. Sometimes a rabbit preferes stealth over running away. If they run its also important to realize that a rabbit will run within a 1-2 acre area, in a circle when startled. This is whats known as there territory. Eventually if one is patient enough and has the daylight he needs one can wait for a 2nd shot on a missed target. A hunter could also persue the rabbit, although accuracy fades dramatically on a moving target, much less running at the same time. When hunting rabbit its important to be very familar with its "warren" or territory. Scouting is a must, assuming you only hunt during rabbit season, to be fully aware of your targets habits in realtion to the time of day and weather conditions. Also I found that practicing with rabbit sized targets placed on the ground improved my overall consistency while hunting. Its been so long since I hunted much less slung a rock, man I miss it.

The Peltist.

I've read that the sling was used to hunt big game, but I don't think that is particularly likely.  Small game is defiantly feasible.  In fact, all the cultures that still use slings, use it for small game hunting (although mainly children).  

Unless your a great shot, chances are you're not going to hit anything with a single shot.  Buckshot is defiantly the way to go, especially with birds.  I can pile in quite a lot of pebbles into my regular pouch, and they stay in pretty well.  If you wanted a bigger, more reliable capacity, I'd try making a pouched sling, like the one in the articles section.  

Chris

I think the BB/buckshot idea is a bit weak.  Each pellet would not have enough energy to do the damage.

Turkey hunters use smallish shot at much higher velocities (approx 1,200 fps) and ONLY SHOOT FOR THE HEAD!!!!!!!!!!

Why?  Because even actual buckshot (much larger than allowed for bird hunting) will bounce off a turkey's feathers and not do enough damage to kill.  Yep, its true.  So, I don't believe that we could do the job with a sling even on small birds.

I suggest using larger stones and aiming for one bird, on the ground, at reasonable range.  Then, stopping by Kroger on the way home and picking up some meat cause you ain't gonna hit nothin' that small.  ;D

jeff <><

Great posts guys, thanks!  I guess a true survival situation would answer some of the questions forsure.  One thing I like about slings is that they are so easy to make.  If you give me a sheep I can make a sling.  If you give me a piece of buckskin, I can make a sling.  If you give me the right type of plant fiber, I can make a sling.  Awesome weapon.  Stones for ammo!  Ben

well u know slings are intended for the death or injury of humans, so why not try game the size of deer ???
 :-X
jack

Mostly because they are not legal hunting weapons for large game.

Other than that, I simply can't hit a target that small.  >:(

I can, however, throw a very long way.  Not as far as Yurek, but as soon as my arm heals, I will be closing in on him.

But, as my sidebar line once said, "don't stand behind me, I'm about to throw."

jeff <><  who hopes to someday hit what he intended to hit

Was getting my van fixed at the local garage and mentioned slings.The apprentice mechanic talked about his farming friend that used a sling to regularly kill possums in trees.The brush tailed oppossum is a huge major pest here in NZ.The mechanic's  friend used an under hand throw and rocks.The stones impact killed the possums every time.Apparently it took untold practise to get that good.

It takes considerable practice from an early age to be that good.    It's always great to hear stories about people who are still using slings in ordinary life.


Chris

P.S. Kiwi, why not register for a full account on the forum?  Sounds like you've got some interesting stuff to share.  

you know what can work really well if done right is if you fill a square piece of toilet paper with BB's an take the ends of the square and tape them together and then sling it.the toilet paper bursts and emits a spray of BB's.highly effective for small birds
Brent

Wow Brent,

That sounds like a great idea! I had mentioned something like that but never thought of TP. I am going to experiment with that. It should knock a small bird down though it may not kill it. A survival idea indeed! I always have TP when I backpack, and from now on I will always have my sling!

Good to hear from a Kiwi!
When are you Kiwi's going to learn how to sail ;D ;D ;D
That should start a war ;D Sailing is another passion of mine!

Possum hunting-- now that is an idea. Keep posting, we love to hear sling stories.

I love the bb idea!  I may just try that.  I'm sure that certain brands probably work better than others.  I used to make spitwad airguns when I was a kid.  Certain brands excelled!  LOL.  Ben

Some observations--for what it is worth

Birds are small but dumb. At least doves around here, therefore; they make good targets. If they are on the top of a hill and your shots are high, they just sit there and wait for you to sling again. I missed one about six times! The second shot was no more then 1" from his head and all it did was flinch as the stone sailed by. Four of the shots were within 12" If the stone does not make too much spray or noise, they seem to be content. If they are on the ground, the leaves and dirt make a lot of noise and they fly away--unless of course you hit them.

Gease are smart and have good eyes. Several mornings I have seen a whole flock heading my way and low enough to get me excited but 2-300 yards out they appear to spot me and turn away :-/

How about squirrels? I'll bet they will occationally let you get a shot at them???

I came ============ that close to getting a pigeon yesturday!  :o

Anyone know how pigeon tastes?

Like chicken.  

Na, I don't really know, and not sure I want to find out.  The NYC pigeons I see aren't so appetizing.  

Pretty good accuracy though.   Was this with one of the bundled toilet paper rounds?

Chris

Actually, it was with a billard ball size chunk of conrete. The crazy bird seemed to enjoy watching my near miisses fly by.

Sweet!   ;D  I can't immagine anywhere where pidgeons might look apetizing  :P  I've been sitting here wondering what other animals might hold that much curiosity (or stupidity).  

Ah well...Hey David, which subject is the Toilet paper rounds under?  Sounds really cool!  I should know, but I've been off the forum for a bit.

Rob

By the by, kudos to the first person who is actually able to hit a pigeon! ;)

Hey Rob, long time no see.  Hope all is well.

Chris

Hola Arch,

What does kudos mean? Lets start a challenge. Who will be the first one to nail a bird?

The toilet paper/pellets was mentioned by our young slinger Brent on page two of this very topic "Sling Hunting"

Adios

Hey everyone,

Look out!
Last night I dreamt I nailed a bird smaller than a sparrow right in the center of the chest with a golf ball size rock. I went over and picked it up by the feet and held it up to see the damage and it flew away :o

The amazing thing is that I was amazed that it was able to fly away --- not that I had actually hit it ;D

lol.  ;D

Chris

Yes, dreams are like that.  In your dream you also did not apparently see the feathers which would have flown from the impact or the sparrow launched thru the air due to the impact, or the game warden getting you for killing a non-game songbird.

So many details that we miss.  I never seem to question the absurd in my dreams, but often mundane things seem out of place or impossible.

jeff <><

Hi all,
       Took the sling on a wallaby hunt last weekend(they're a pest here in NZ).Took the sling along so as to scare the roos out of the scrub etc. The hunting buddies were impressed at the range I was getting. It worked a treat with getting the wallabies to break cover -  a lot better than your standard catapult.Forget trying to get the roos with a sling as they're hard enough with a rifle.
If one would just stand still however....

;D  Well, at least you can scare them with it.  

Now, I, personally, would love to hunt those critters with anything, sling included.

jeff <><

wrote on Oct 30^th, 2003 at 11:38pm:

I've read that the sling was used to hunt big game, but I don't think that is particularly likely.  Small game is defiantly feasible.  In fact, all the cultures that still use slings, use it for small game hunting (although mainly children). Chris

I think that the hunting of children should be outlawed.
;)

lol   ;D

Some thoughts on this subject. Had a hard time letting this idea go without working on it some, haven't had time to make a sling for it, but here is what I've come up with so far.
Small game and birds is what I'd hunt with a sling, (if I had to hunt with one).
I'd want to use lots of marble sized "shot". the thinking is this would give the best "pattern" and impact per "shot".
The pouch of the sling has to hold as much "shot" as I can reasonably get up to a "killing" speed.
A regular pouch won't work, so the pouch design is the critical area.
I believe that it needs to be cup shaped, that is dixie cup shaped, or in other words a cone section.
A cup will not empty correctly unless the retension thong (the one you hold on to) is connected to the bottom of the "cup". Then when you do the release the cup will flip over and empty. Simple!
If I can write what I think would work instead of building it and posting here is what I think might work.

1. On a piece of leather, lay out a pattern for a cone shape.
2. instead of a semi circle to the top edge make it more pointed. So when the sling is finnished the release thong hooks to the point and tensions the whole rim of the "cup" pouch.
2. devide the cone section in the middle crosswise and mark it with a line.
3. Measure 1/4 the width of the line you just made from each edge and mark it there on both sides.
4. Make two new lines from the marks you just made to the point of the cone.
5. punch a hole in the top point area 3/16 or so from the edge for the thong, and from the cone point on the bottom for the retension thong.
6. cut out the piece, roll the top half up into the cone shape and sew the seam.
7. Sew up the bottom seem of the cone section crossways. Note that this will leave a triangle shaped flap to which the release thong is attached. It will not be a perfect "dixie" cup shape, but it should work.
8. Attach the thongs, fill with gravel and give it a try.

Like I said I haven't had time to build one yet, If you get to it first please post your results, If I can get one built I'll let all know how it works. I beleave the wider the "cup" shape the faster this thing will unload, so don't make the "cup" too narrow or you will "string" all the shot, you really want the thing to dump fast.

Hope this inspires someone to look at things a bit differently, new thoughts, new ways, new uses for the sling.

WalkingBird

Loving life!

Walkingbird,

Sounds like it might work really well if the cone isn't too deep, as you said.  My Dad said he knew a kid in Oregon who had a sling with a cup shaped pouch.  

I was just reading the discussion in another thread about three corded slings and as I was reading here, I was thinking that a 3 cord, could be an alternative design for you to try.  It would hold quite a bit of gravel and release smoothly.  Two cords are retention, and one is release.  The pouch would be roughly triangular.

You may want to try the 1/2 oz lead fishing weights, or smaller if gravel doesn't have enough energy in it.  You could get about 10 in a good load.  I like to sling stones around 5oz.

Let us know how things go.  

                                                Ben

In hunting, slinging lies somewhere between throwing a rock with your hands and using a bow and arrow.  The problem is, the learning curve is 100 times higher than either one of those.  In Papua New Guinea (where I grew up in part), I can remember the local village people just picking up a rock off the ground, casually whipping it at a tree and hitting  a robin-sized bird from 40 feet away.  A bow and arrow is stationary and nearly silent - you can be in dense jungle, crouch behind a natural blind, and move nothing more than the fingers it takes to let go of the string.  A good hunter can usually drop several game before the school, flock, or herd know's something's up.  Contrast that with a sling where you have to leap up on game you've stalked to give yourself the body action required to sling a stone.  And the sling itself requires a 6 foot clear swath in which to be slung.  Try finding a clear 6 foot area in dense forest or jungle  ;D.  And then exposing yourself to the game to make the shot scares the prey as well as the entire herd/flock/whatever...  It almost makes the required learning curve not worth while; if you're going to live and die by your hunting skills that is.  For us hobbyists in western civilization, we can enjoy the simple fun of just flicking rocks at nothing in particular.  The reality is that the sling is a toy in most third world countries, a tool like herding in a few, and only a precise hunting instrument in a less than a handful of cultures.  

Now as a weapon of war - that is a different bag altogether.  The learning curve is well worth the effort because of the speed, mass, and precision of the projectile and the range.  All superior to an arrow with I suppose a few exceptions like the English longbow.  The arrow's strong point would of course be piercing power for nitches in armor while the sling would just knock the soldier off his feet.  The bow and arrow also had the advantage of allowing the archer to shoot through small slits in a castle wall.  In open battle though, the sling had an important role.  I can't remember who, but I think it was Roman armies who would put their slingers just behind their front infantry, and the slingers would target the swords or head of the oncoming infantry.  The projectiles would actually snap the swords in half or knock the soldiers senseless. In either case it made them easier prey.  And that's why it works in battle as opposed to hunting - the prey is running at you, not away from you.  

That said... I still try and hunt with mine  ;D  You can't help but succumb to the primal desires to bring down lunch-on-the-run with rock and a piece of leather.  I remember one time in Colorado my brother and I startled a grouse/quail into a nearby tree.  It just sat there staring at us.  I unlimbered my sling and started looking for a some suitable stones.  Joel didn't have his sling with him so he just started throwing rocks by hand.  We must have spent 10 minutes defoliating everything within 8 feet of the cocky bird who didn't move an inch (cock or stupid, you decide).  Finally Joel hoisted a grapefruit-size rock which broadsided the grouse/quail and swept it clean off the tree.  We mourned the death of the bird as boys usually do with sad excuses of "I didn't think I would actually hit it..."  We intended to eat it, but when we saw that the boulder he tossed had actually blown the guts of the bird out both ends we decided on leaving it for the coons.   :-[  It was a difficult few years coming back to the States and figuring out all the laws and rules of civilized society.  Fortunately we figured most of it out before any getting into any serious trouble with park rangers (though there was a small incident in the Grand Canyon with a bull whip  ::))

Quote:

(though there was a small incident in the Grand Canyon with a bull whip  )

You must tell me.  How was the echo?!

Fantastic!!!  Lasted a good 15 seconds or more.  We did it down near the bottom in the narrower section just above the Colorado.  The park rangers caught up with us about half way back up the canyon.  They were wearing kevlar vests and looking pretty worried.  We explained it was a whip but they searched every nook and cranny of our bags and persons all the same and then had us crack it for them.  They were very nice about it and said there was nothing illegal about a whip in the Canyon.  But they'd had several people shoot off guns in weeks previous so they were wound a bit tight.  We felt bad making them run all over the place after us.  But is sure was cool.

Liking the bow most of all the projectile weapons I have, I would still like to try for some small quarry with the sling.  Surely just hitting a small target would be a great big deal.  And, as I like to eat, "lunch on the run" would be great, too.

I still don't have any suitable shot for my new slingshot with fiber optic sights.  But when I get some, I have been invited to hunt squirrel (the tree type) at a relative's place.  I will use the slingshot mostly, but also try the sling if I can get some good stones as well.

jeff <><

Squirrels:

Well, I almost got myself to get you all going for a while.
I was going to post a picture of a sqirrel my 10 yr old son got and have him holding it in one hand and his sling in the other. I was going to have the caption: How's that for accuracy at 20 yards?
I was also going to have his BB gun hidden in the picture to point out later. ;D It was a good shot none the less. One of these days I will have a real story.

Ha ha  ;D

That would had been something!!

JB,

I agree with your unfortunately true observations about the sling--toy, tool, weapon of war, and  :'( hunting weapon. I guess that, as you said is what makes it such a challenge to attempt.

A few weeks ago I had the hunting adventure with the sling. It was the big game he he.

One Sunday morning I gathered the stones into the small backpack and went to the lonely forest glade. It is one of my favourite slinging spots. The glade is boggy and halved by the not large streamlet. Behind the glade there is the timber line. Carefully looked at the aim zone whether nobody was here and started happy slinging. There was rather the strong adwerse wind. So only the best stones reached the trees. Suddenly I heard the loud gunshot from the timber line. Squatted frightened behind the nearest tree and then upss... saw small group of the lively and amzed hunters who barged out from their hiding-places. They observed where from came flying the secret and quiet projectiles. So I had to change a spot quickly.

It was the unintentional hunting where just the hunters were the big game. Fortunately, my hunting was unsuccessfull but sure, povides quite a lot adrenaline for both sides.

From that day I always take along the binocular and very... very strictly inspect the range.

Jurek who hunts hunters ;)

Yurek, ;D ;D ;D

I loved the story!! Wouldn't that surprise those hunters. I better they are telling the same story to their friends.

I wonder how long it took them to know what was going on :D

That was great Jurek!  I wonder if they ever figured out what that was about.  Stones flying through the air from nowhere!!!  LOL

                                        Ben

I would like to see their faces too, but I didn't like better to check it :D

Jurek

I have used the sling in conjunction with hunting ducks with a falcon, many times ducks are hesitant to flush off a pond when a falcon is high overhead, throwing rocks and yelling is effective, but the sling gives me added range, I will have to admit I have always wanted to hit a duck in flight with a rock from a sling, but never have, I don't have the accuracy to hit a single flying, but have thrown at flocks as they flush, one day I will connect, if I live that long:) ;D

Welcome to the Forum, Longwinger!
I hope you will found it as nice here, as I do!

I´ve just started as a slinger, but here in the Forum I feel very welcome anyway.

Ulrica

Thanks Ulrica,
This is a great site, I don't know how I found it, or not found it before! I hope to gain some insight on making a better sling too! I am in central Oklahoma, where are you at?
Oscar

Wecome Longwinger,

The site just started this summer at about the time I first had an interesr in slings. It must have been started just for me ;D

I go to a concrete place that recycles old concrete and crushes it into ammo piles for me and my son. ;D Great fun.  David

wrote on Jan 21^st, 2004 at 8:34am:

Thanks Ulrica, This is a great site, I don't know how I found it, or not found it before! I hope to gain some insight on making a better sling too! I am in central Oklahoma, where are you at? Oscar

Hallo Longwinger!

I´m living in middle of sweden. A cold country between Norway and Finland.
Now it´s too much snow on the ground here, so I really can not sling as much as I want to..
but soon....

Ulrica

Thanks for the welcome David, it must be handy to have these people manufacture ammo for you, this is a good father-son passtime.
Ulrica, Sweden? I am impressed, I would think that there would be some excellent ammo after spring thaw, of course in a snow ball fight a sling may give you just the edge needed for quick victory!
I just got back from hawking, I got off three throws at ducks before it was over, I never got close, but the falcon caught a hen shoveler.
Oscar

Better luck next time, longwinger.

Yeah, i look forward to the spring! I´m not so found of snow balls fights. ;-)

Ulrica

Welcome longwinger,

I'm glad you found the site and that you've joined the forum.  Lots to learn here from a bunch of great people.  

You can actually see what david is talking about by looking in the gallery section.  

Also, you might have better luck hitting one of those ducks with a spread of pebbles (much like a shotgun).  If your pouch is big enough and stable in flight, you should be able to pile in a bunch of smaller rocks.  It should reach at least a 3 foot diameter at a range of 50 feet.  

Chris

Thanks for the welcome David,
Great site!
I have tried using multiples in throwing at birds before, once when I was around 12, I was throwing at some gulls, I was using small three quarter to about one inch size rocks, five or six at a time, and managed to hit one gull, it staggered, feathers flew, but it recovered and flew off. This was at very close range too, maybe fifty feet at the outside. I feel to be successful, one large stone is what required to bring one down, I prefer smooth river rock about hen's egg size, I just throw at the group, hoping to catch one on the rise, and then if my falcon strikes one down also, everyone will hear about it! :)
Oscar

made a mistake on the last post, should have been to Chris, not David
Oscar

Oscar,

Welcome!! Send in a picture of you and your falcon--we'd all love to see it I'm sure.

I've come within inches of getting birds where I sling but as dumb as they are they don't come around as much as they used to.

Well I got out again today, got off a couple of rocks at mallards flying down a creek, don't have a clue if I got close or not, I had to get my shot off before the falcon got too close. She caught a hen.
How do I send a pic? I have several digital ones, but I am not in them, I will get one tomorrow when I go with some other falconers.
Oscar

If you email me the pictures, I can host them here and provide you instructions on posting them.  You can find my email under the "members" link above.

Chris

Wow,

I just noticed how many people have viewed the "SLing Hunting" topic. It is almost double any other topic. Some one needs to get accurate enough to show that it can be done--more than once ;D I could post an updated picture of George the Roman ;D Would that count? He's looking pretty bad these days. His shirt is in taters, and he has holes in his "second head"

Or mabe it is PETA spying us out ;D

Hrm.
I could try hit a bird, we do have a lot of them here around. But what should I do with the poor bird if I actually had the luck to hit one?  :-/

That update photo sounds better to me.  :)

I keep to trees and others "non living" things for another year or so.

Ulrica

Ok Chris I will send you a pic.
David, you are right, it will take someone more accurate than myself to take one, but I have the advantage over most of being able to get aclose shot at ducks.
Ulrica, you raise a good point, what would you do with it? One should have a plan before attempting to take wild game, first is it in season, proper permits, legal means of take, and what are you going to do with it? If you don't consume or otherwise use the game you take I think it is unethical, should I ever take a duck it will be put in the freezer with the rest to feed my falcon at a later date.
Oscar

I hit a duck with my sling. ;D. I was slinging into a lake and  one of my stones nailed a duck. It  looked very surprised and swam off.
 Brent

Oh poor thing. Had he not the time to duck?  ::)

Ulrica

Haha, but no. It hit it on the back ;D
Brent

Hello all,

New to the forum.  Just wanted to let you know pigeon does taste like chicken and this past archery season I managed to take out a fox squirrel while I was atop my tree stand.  I was about 12 feet up and using my sling overhand w/ one rotation, sure was tough not to hit the upper rail of the stand.  I had about five .54 cal lead balls that I use for my muzzleloader.  They spread out slightly and wacked it in the head.  No deer that day but fun was had by all. Sorry Peta!

Welcome to the forum , Tim!

Hope to see you around some more!

Thank you Ulrica.

I've been checking out the latest questions for the last two weeks and just registered the other day.  Look forward to the information exchange with everyone.

Tim--You Turkey ;D

You just come onto the forum and annouce that you nailed a squirrel with your sling!! You have to make at least 10 posts before you can do that. ;D

Welcome anyway. Its great fun.

A squirrel is a pretty impressive target!  

Welcome and happy slinging,
Chris

Hey David, Chris,

Sorry about that :-[  Ya know I thought the same thing about waiting a while before I posted anything.  

Thanks, I was pretty ticked off at the little bugger.  All it did was run around my tree and make the loudest noises I had ever heard.  I finally got fed up and let him have it.  I have to admit that I looked pretty ridiculous trying to keep my footing, not hit the tree stand with the sling and try to keep focused all at the same time.  He was about 7 yards away and busy eating at the time.  Oh by the way I am experimenting with various woods and with almond and walnut shells to see about making lead molds for ammo.  I'll be sure to let you know what comes out of it.
Thanks for a great site.
Tim  

wrote on Feb 18^th, 2004 at 5:25am:

Hey David, Chris, Sorry about that :-[  Ya know I thought the same thing about waiting a while before I posted anything

But, hey, what an opening!
Now we will remember you :-)

Ulrica

The closest I have ever come to killing anything with a sling is yesterday, when I was very stressed for various reason I don't want to go into, and started slinging large stones into a small lake near my house.  The lake is populated primarily by coots and ducks, and being, as aforementioned, rather stressed, I was slinging very hard.  A very large stone skimmed a duck and made a massive splash right next to it.  It rocked the duck a lot, and it went absolutely insane, flapping about.  Needless to say, this rather evil cruelty relieved my stress quite a lot.

Well,

Now that I see that Tim and Sparticus are the same person, everything is ok--- you posted several times before under Sparticus if I remember correctly ;D

So, does Sparticus use the Greek style of slinging? You would really enjoy slinging at "George the Roman" with a name like that!

Poor duck probably thought he almost got eaten by a big fish or something!

Yeah, that is probably right.  The stupid thing didn't even try to fly away, though.  It just went mad, like I said.  and I don't think there are many, or indeed any, fish in the lake.  Like I said, it is quite small.  Good place for slinging though, as there is rarely anyone around, and the rest is just woodland.

Hey David,

Yes Sparticus and Tim are one and the same.  To confuse everyone even more my real name is Euthymios (Efthimeos).  
Yep I am greek and I do have family in Sparta I guess I would fit in well at "George the Roman".  I was going to go for Emperor Euthymios I, but felt that it was a bit much.  Ah yes the good old Byzantine Empire.

English we have the same ducks in our area dumb and angry.  Your right about the stress relief the sling works wonders.

Have you guys noticed the way the stones spin and skip on the water? My "George the Roman" target is right in front of a pond of water. If I miss, the stones hit the water and almost always skip to the other side do to the radical spin they have.

Shooting from the opposite direction, if my shot is low or short the stone will hit the water and usually skip. I had one stone that actually hit about 2 feet from shore, went under water and the spin made it  "swim" to shore, then"crawl" 2 feet across the dirt and hit the bottom of the target! What a blast! I need to grow up.

Whenever I sling at water, my stones just seem to sink with a massive clunk.  I am sure it is because of the angle of my throwing.  Or it could be the poor quality stones are use, which are rarely properly round.

I am actually s h o o ting
(sorry for the odd spacing but my computer will not record the word Sh oo ting unless I add the spacing??)  

down on the water and some of the concrete is really out of round but they still skip.

Hey, that brings up the  point that if the ones I throw have a point and travel long enough, they end up, point first, and make the sound of a perfect 10 high dive in the Olympics. I just though of that. Another point first observation.

OOOH Shame on me!! :'( This is painful :'( NO!! No!!How could I do it? Shame Shame Shame :'( :'( :'(

This is going to be painful but but bear with me if you like sad stories. I will painfully recount yesturday evening. Its to painful to write about me doing this, so I will write it as if "you" were the one. Oh this hurts :'(

You are coming home from a long day at work and the cold winter air ( 30 degrees. Hey,  that's a bit cold for the southerners ;D ) has warmed in the sun to a nice 55-60 F

It is 5:30 pm so there is still about an hour and a half ( un hora y media para ustedes en Esnanol )  ;) ) of light left in which sling.  You deside to go to your wonderful sling playground on the back side of the concrete company near your home. As you park in your usual spot you notice two fat doves sitting in the tree about 40 yards away. Being a sling nut, you always keep a nice stone in your work van "just incase you need it"

You correctly judge that they will stay in the tree while you walk a little closer. You take aim and let it fly---with no practice throws, your stone flies by about 5 feet to the left as for are excited and throw really hard. Remember this point. But, since you did not hit the tree, they both sit still --so you find another stone. This one crashes through the limbs near them and they fly away. Disappointed, you walk to your slinging place to take out your frustration on poor Geoge the Roman reasoning that doves are a small target and after all, you had no "warm up " throws. Remember this point also.  Shame -- pain!!

That was the good part of the story :'(

After slinging for 30 minutes, you discover a technique that helps you improve your accuracy. You test it with every throw and yes , it does work. You are very happy, but the light is just beginging to fade and you are thinking of quitting after "just a few more slings" You have to hit George just one more good direct hit! You are slinging from the weeds near the pond, because there are many good stones there that you slung at the target neat the weeds.

Oh this is painful!!!

Just then you hear the honking of gease ;D As you look up, you see three gease about 300 yards away --but lower than usual. You have seen them before but they always spot you a long way off as you areusually in the open area and they always turn and stay clear.

But, this time you are in the weeds ;D Maybe ;D ;D (Oh this hurts)

You crouch down--find a very good stone the size of a billard ball, nice and dense, place it carefully in the pouch making sure it is centered...  You are crouched down behind the weeds which are just 9 yards from the edge of the pond. Oh, you think--"Find another stone just incase you get more than one shot"--good thinking. You look and they appear to be turning to avoid you. You are thinking  about the angle of flight and when they will be the closest to you and when you should sling your stone. They are at about 50 yards. Should you sling?? But wait---they are getting lower--they are still headed right at the pond in front of you.  ;D ;D No--they couldn't be planning on landing in the pond?? You now see a total of about 10 geaase in formation behind the origional three. This pond is only 12" deep and 15 yards across.

You go through your plan of attack, you remember to stay calm and use your newly aquired accuracy technique---YES!! they are coming in for a landing!! 20yds--18 yrds--15 yards--- Their wings spread, the feet drop, their feet splash into the water, they skid to within10yards!!!! Just 1 yard from the shore ,  just 9 yards in front of you!!!!

They are still rocking on the waves from landing. Your are in your Greek style stance as you are crouched down under cover of the weeds--stone in pouch and pointed foward--right hand drawn back above the right ear----Now is the moment!! ;D ;D  

I don't think I can go on :'( :'(

You pop up just 10 yards from the  3 lead gease who are facing you--you take aim and fire. But , you forgot to tell your adrenalin to regulate and your heart to stay under 500 beats per second so you sling the stone hard enough to sling clean through Goliath's armour bearer, clean through the back of Goliaths thick skull and still have enough power to kill one or two Phillistines in the front row. SOOOOOOOOOO your shot goes 3 feet to the left of target goose, makes an explosion of water near goose #2 --- Other gease are now at various stages of landing-- trying to put on the breaks--- wondering why some of their buddies are having a panic attack and trying to flap their way to shore or back into the air!!

Your dreams of glory and posting a goose on slinging .org are fading as you quickly crouch to hide and get a second stone. As you rise, the gease that were still in the air have made a sharp turn, the ones that were 10 yards infront of you have scrambled to shore 15yards to the right wondering what just happened. They now see you again taking aim and fire up their turbo chargers to get airborn!! Just as their feet are leaving the ground your second shot flies just to the left.

As they fly aways, honking at each other trying to figure out what that was all about, you are left standing there wondering--"I wonder how long a memory gease have? I wonder if they will come back tomorrow? As you think about what just transpired, you realize that if you would have jumped head-fisrt at them, you could probably have grabbed one in each hand and one with your teeth!! They were that close and that surprised.

Oh well, as the sun sets and the light fades you think that if you had nailed one, you probably would have gotten stopped by the police on the way home and arrestes for hunting without a licence---------- But, then you think--It would have been worth it :'( :'( :'(

That is my sad story---unfortunately its true. :'(

One day-------just wait

I

David T
             This story is really good. 8) You need to get a hunting lisence! Remember that the starling and house sparrow are the only birds that are not protected and can be slung at all year long. One of these days your gonna cream something ;) Now tell us about the new accuracy technique, Please! It doesn't get any better than this  :D

WalkingBird

Walkingbird,

Oh yeh, the discovery. Well, being new at this I have made "discoveries" before only to find out that it was just something that worked at the time for what ever reason but didn't really pan out. BUT, as time goes on, hopefully my experience will pan out something truly beneficial. I will go out today and test it some more.

This is what I found last evening.

Intro: Rather than using 3 different slings each time I go out I desided to just use my short 25" sling for a few days. I use the Greek style mentioned above and when I throw hard I have no consistancy---I mean, even if I am off, I would like to at least be  consistant. I had been right --left --low.....I am sure that consistant ammo size/weight would hepl a lot but I don't have that there without taking time to sort stones before slinging---I'm too impatient and don't have time. I figure I should be able to compensate intuitively anyway.

Old way: I would kind of toss the stone horizontally to the left and then the right hand which was at my right ear, would swing out to the right a little and go into the 3/4 side-arm/overhand motion. Throwing hard would cause a big sweeping swing of my right arm from the right to the left. I could not seem to time my release no matter what.

Discovery?: I tried to mentally think about making my right hand stay still at my right ear as I released the pouch from my left hand---the natural tendancy for me was to start the sweeping motion with my throwing hand at the same time--- Then, as I sensed the stone was directly behind my head, I started the forward motion with the throwing hand. From what I can sense--without looking at video-- My motion is not really a "punch" stroke but kind of . Not as much of a sweeping out to the right and then across the body to the left as I follow through. I say "punch" just to give the picture of more sraight forward BUT, I still come a little off to the side.

My quess would be that when I get it videoed, it will look more like a football throw than I describled in my post where I went into details.

Result: For me, this made all the differance in the world with my "grouping" I started to only be off 1-2 feet on either side. This is at about 40+ yards so don't laugh too much. I was hitting the target much more.

If I can get video today, I will get it to Chris tonight and it will make alot more sense.

Ah!!! I just heard my son with the video camera pull in the drive ;D ;D ;D

I do think I lose a bit of power since it shortens up the sroke but not much at all.

I have a new hunting story.  It is absolutely illegal in England, in every way, I think, but I was chasing deer around the woods today.  Haven't had such fun in ages.  I got a few near misses, but mostly served to frighten the bloody things.  I also nearly killed a cat, and a rabbit.  Mostly my stones would just zoom off into the undergrowth, and that was rather disappointing, because I had some lovely, round, white stones from the beach, which are rather nice, considering I can't get anything like their quality near where I live.  I know it is totally illegal, and that a sling stone may only cripple, rather than kill, a deer, but I would be so happy if I could bag just one of them.  hmmm.... Venison sausages... ;D

Engish,

This must be the time for something big to happen! First my duck experience last night and now DEER? wow! I'll bet they would lock you up for good for that over there. Is is still true that all the game in England belong to the "Crown" ?

I am not sure about game belonging to the crown... there are hunting seasons, for small and big game, mostly pheasants, and grouse, small stuff.  It is legal to hunt deer with a license, I think, but only with a rifle.  Even bowhunting is illegal in England, except for vermin.  No matter how good you are with a bow, you are not allowed to hunt deer.  That is quite silly really.  But that is the way it is.  But I was trying to hunt without a license, with a sling.  They would probably just fine me a lot of money.  I'd still like to kill a deer though.  Did you know that the deer population in England is the largest it has ever been?

David T
    Thanks for the info on the technique. seems simple enough. I'll be looking for the video!
    Spent part of the day out at the lake slinging rocks and letting the dogs run. Had a blast. Worked on trying different styles for slinging. Threw till the old arm hurt, then threw till distance droped to nothing. Had a good time though. (Found a nice piece of petrified wood, small but good detail.)
     Everything that I could find that was long and narrow, took special attention to and threw for distance just to watch and see if it would end up flying point first, from all I could tell, given enough spin that is what is happening.
      If you are hitting within 1-2 feet at 40 I'd say that your aim is real good. I'm having some trouble judging when the stones will leave the pocket. I'm using a leather split pocket type sling, I'm gona go back to the flat pocket and see it my aim doesn't improve.

English
    Sounds like you are having fun. Rabbits make for good slinging practice, but the cats are much better. Hope you get one before too long. As a matter of fact you are welcome to clean out my neighborhood. I, for one, am convinced that cats and slings go together, that is, I believe the reason for the invention of the cat-a-pult. I think nothing would be a prettier site than a picth soaked flaming cat flung from a siege engine.

I think you are only allowed to hunt with a rifle, and gun laws all but prohibit people from owning guns (unless you are a farmer or something).  There are hunting groups, but the guns are kept under lock and key, and it's pretty hard to get authorized.  Not even the police have guns!  Only detectives I think.  I think they disallow archery because inexperienced archers can maim the animals, which is cruel.  

Just my 2 cents,
Chris

In England, no regular police men or women carry guns.  No one.  Only ARU, (Armed Response Unit), and Special Branch can carry guns.  Most hunting is undertaken with a double barreled shotgun, against pheasants, or other birds.  Swans are protected by the Crown, David_T, and if you want to eat one, you have to write a letter of permission to the queen, and it is only likely that she will say yes if you have a lot of money or a title, I think.  And yes, they disallow archery because it is cruel, but so is spraying an area of two feet at a hundred yards thick with shot, and maiming small birds indisciminately.  And besides, if correct laws were in place, then perhaps bows would be safe to use.  And it is an English tradition.  Like having wars with France, and drinking the best beer in the world (don't you dare argue that last point).

Hey english,

I wouldn't dare argue that.  How about I trade you a few cases of Ouzo for some of your beer and while we are at it I'll come over and help you out with the french and you can help me with the turks.  Remember Lord Byron.

It is a pleasure and privilege for me to converse with others (finally) regarding our shared obsession!  I have been a "funslinger" ever since I was 14 yrs old when my father made a sling for me with an old boot tongue and leather shoelaces.  I lived in emmett Idaho at the time and had plenty of room!  Since that time,  I have experimented with dozens of designs.  I can personally attest to the effectiveness of lead shot on flying game!  I invented a shot pocket that relies upon the centrifugal load to keep it's form and it opens clean at release for great shot patterns!  I had used it on various occasions to down blackbirds and bluejays.  It is easier than may be imagined.   I invented a new kind of sling in the late eighties which I had hoped to market and did a video of various sling techniques showcasing my product and I was able to consistently put 1" steel ball bearings through targets on 1" CDX treated plywood at a range of 50yrds.  These ball bearings would go clean through the 1" CDX and sometimes the 1/4" plywood back stop as well!  In 88 I came up with the dart idea with release mechanism that is eerily close to Dave's design!  I had my darts made of cold roll steel and tapped and threaded to accept archery broadheads and target tips while tapped at the back to receive various lengths of arrow shaft with fletching attatched.  I founded a company called CWS (centrifugal weapon systems) as a platform to launch my products.  I ended up having to choose between several inventions with which to launch my business and ended up going with a CO2 dart and arrow gun of my design and changing the name of the company to Ballisticorp TM.  I was thinking big in those days and thought, Hey, CitiCorp was big....BallistiCorp would be too!   I ended up selling the company to a larger corporation from Texas.  I have many fond memories of the sling and  I have recorded speeds of over 740fps with the ball bearings.  I was partial to heavier loads (4-8oz.) in my slings at short to midrange distances (20-100yrds).    I recollect my longest bird shot in midflight to be about 70yrds. with a bit of luck being that it broke his wing.   I found a reasonable maximum effective range to be 50 yrds.  I could drop blackbirds who flocked to the tops of trees sometimes 2 or even 3 at a time with a load of lead shot totalling 70 or so, weighing in at 5.5 oz.   Also,  I found that at the shorter range of 20-40 yards,  the larger shot or slingshot ammo in groups of 12 worked great in an appropriate pocket design on small game like rabbits.  I once wanted to check my abilities against the eminent Mr. Bray and went to the local airport and used their runway with flourescent painted steel balls and recorded 1560 feet.  I am sure the steel on concrete bounce aided in that one!  I stand in awe of Bray's achievement and never recorded my attempts with stone.  I did, however quickly learn the value of the oblong shape in choosing stones for distance.  The right release would seemingly provide self propulsion for quite aways out!  I fell in love with the "ricochet sound" produced by all but the smoothest stones!  I would experiment with aerodynamics of stone shapes and would sometimes end up watching stone wrap up the sky and end up behind me!  I was an avid archer as well and bagged more rabbits with the sling than the bow!  For some reason,  I would hit rabbits with an arrow from an 80lb bow (overkill I know) and it would go clean through and off they would run most of the time.  The sling produced more hydrodynamic shock and dropped them cleaner, in my experience.  I don't hunt for sport anymore, haven't for years.  But I enjoy going to the lake for splashdown practice!  I favor the use of any and all technological enhancements to our sport for the sport's sake and only for truly improving the experience.  I am a pragmatist by nature and still wonder at the amount of junk sold in the archery industry....tech for tech sake.  Yuk!   You won't see me in here advocating all manner of tech goodies that serve no demonstrable purpose.....unless you count my new highly visible green laser sight I just mounted on my latest model.........lol?    

Nice to be here.


TechStuf

Wow Techstuff!
What a resume! I would love to see some photos, got any to post? Seems you've really been around the block! This website is attracting quite an impressive crowd! I love hearing all the stories you guys(with time tested experience) share with us. Glad your with us!
Johnny

I can dig out some of my old stuff and take a few pics,  can they be hosted here in the forum?

Yes
Send them to Chris, he is the administrator of this site.
Look up his name on this site and ask for his email address.
Don't keep us in suspense!
Thanks
Johnny

wrote on Nov 20^th, 2003 at 11:48pm:

Anyone know how pigeon tastes?

Just like dove.

In fact, growing up it wasn't unusual to have "barn dove" on the dinner table...

Niklos

Thanks Johnny,  I sent them to Chris.  I don't know if he wants to use them or not and would be happy to email some to you if you'd like.  Lmk
8)

Techstuff,

Welcome to the forum! Sounds like you belong here with the rest of us enthusiasts.  740 fps?  Thats over 500 mph!!  Is that a typo?  

Also, I got your email and have hosted the images on the site.  Check your inbox for details.

Chris

No, but the sling and method used were specialized specifically for obtaining the highest velocity possible and would not be conducive for any sort of appreciable accuracy!

Okay,  Here are a few pics.  I will rummage around for more dusty relics when I get a chance:


Here is a pic of my initial idea (drawn by a "pro" looks like a toy) In retrospect,  I could have
saved a few hundred dollars and drawn a more asthetic product!  That still chaps my heiny!:

http://www.slinging.org/images/techstuf/SlingSketch.jpg






And here is a pic of the star shaped Ball pocket and release mechanism for the
Darts.  I don't know when David came up with his but the similarities are amazing.


http://www.slinging.org/images/techstuf/StarPocketandDartRelease.jpg



Here is a pic of a dart sketch, the real thing looks almost identical if I can find one laying around
I will post it.

http://www.slinging.org/images/techstuf/SlingDart.jpg



Here is an old business card of CWS before I got a crash course in "product liability".

http://www.slinging.org/images/techstuf/CWS.jpg




Here is one of the strange items which came up during the patent search for my CWS, it
is a German Watchamacallit and to this day,  I do not have clue as to what it did!

http://www.slinging.org/images/techstuf/GermanWatchamacallit.jpg




And here is another one that came up as they must have done the patent search on slings AND
SlingSHOTS,  it's a wild one.  That hand guard must be designed to double as a close quarters combat
tool in case the little dart just angered your target......and as a dunce cap in case you survived:

http://www.slinging.org/images/techstuf/DartPatent.jpg



Here is a pic of a prototype of my CWS which was interchangeable between darts and
Ball and shot ammo.  I tried spectacularly unsuccessfully to OEM with TruFire, the
maker of quality Bow releases, to create a relax trigger model for use with my invention.
It was Trufire that put me on the path to enlightenment about product liability!

http://www.slinging.org/images/techstuf/SuperSling.jpg



Here is a closeup of the Pocket with retainer ring:

http://www.slinging.org/images/techstuf/StarPocketRetainer.jpg





Also, here is a closeup of the initial prototype CWS SuperSling tm.

http://www.slinging.org/images/techstuf/SuperSlingCloseUp.jpg





I toyed with many ideas including some which I cannot go into here (for various esoteric
uses, specifically military use.)


I went digging and found some leftover Starpockets!

http://www.slinging.org/images/techstuf/Stars.jpg




I will do some more digging for treasure and see what I can find.  Oh, and just a tip,  Kevlar/spectra
material is excellent for sling string material as it has a very low stretch coefficient.  



Here is the product which took the place of the CWS and proved very successful and still being marketed
today in one form or another,  (I have since gone on to much bigger and better toys):

http://www.slinging.org/images/techstuf/Ballisticorp.jpg





I have since produced over 30 inventions covering a wide variety of subjects in various fields of interest
but still count the sling as one of my favorites!  I still use mine to this day......


Well there you have it,  that's my sling experience in a "nut" shell.



Keep em' whizzing.


Regards,

TechStuf  :)

Neat stuff,

That one picture looks as though it is a cone with a throwing handle  that you put the dart in and it has a spool attached to your wrist to retreave the dart. That other pictures got me. Looks like big twezzers for picking up trash ;D

Techstuff,

Welcome! Your interesting post impressed me very much. I like this forum beause each person here provides so different aspects related with our favourite simple device. You bring on very amzing stuff here, sure. Stay with us for a long time, please.

Jurek

Techstuff
  Truely enjoyed reading your post. Neat toys! Welcome to the forum.


WalkingBird

Ahau and Dziendobry  

to both Walking Bird and Yurek!

Thanks for the kind reception, my fellow brothers of the noble warrior nation!  I am heartened that we can gather here and perch at this high vantage point provided so graciously by our fine host.  I feel right at home with such a kind welcome by all.  It is not so lonely out here on the frontier afterall!


Peace,

'WinterHawk'
;)

TechStuf,

It so nice to read the greeting in my homeborn language. Yeah, it's realy nice supprise here. Do you know more words?

Dobranoc :)

Jurek

I am not conversant in Polish, but as with several other languages,  I am always wanting to learn more.  


Keep em' whizzing

Longwinger,
Where at in OK? ... I'm in OKC. and also have a spot in the Eufalla area.... At least were not the only okies.

Welcome srgs9

i have no idea what you ment with "OK", but I hope you will have a good time here in the forum among people who like ( and love) slinging!

/Ulrica

Ulrica,

I believe thats
OK= Oklahoma-- a state
OKC= Oklahoma City

Thank you David,

that make sense!

Slowly I also learn more about USA ( and other countries) that is very nice. And most of all I can "dust" my poor english a little bit.  :D

/Ulrica

srgs9
I am in Mustang, just SW of OKC. I am sure you are familiar with it. We should get together and go throw a rock or two, I have a new design I would like someone else to try. Contact me privately if you would like, with name etc.
Oscar

hi yesterday i was taking my dogs out to the local park with my animal lover girlfriend so as usual i took my caterpult , sling ,and homemade blowgun/walkingstick anyway when i got to the lake i started slinging the first golfball hit a canada geese and the second hit a mallard the amazing thing was after all these years trying to hit somthing i finally did and it was all by accident! the goose and duck were fine they just nearlly died of heart attack and luckly for me my animal lover girlfriend just found it as funny as i did , later she told me if i hit a duck the third time i would have been in trouble
(the supid park ducks thourght i was trying to feed them)

Funny story. Luckily golf balls sink--the dumb ducks might try to swallow them ;D

Hit a lizard the other day,he fliped 5' through the air and then ran off,he was a monster to,6" long, that's florida for you. ;D

Nathan

Hey Nate,

Nice shot! I was just looking through some of the old posts and saw yours about hitting that lizard. Bet he wonders what that was ;D

My main game is grackles grakles however u spell it  ???
and also squirrels. So far i havent had a chance at a squirrel but almost hit a good sized grackle that my dog would have picked up for dinnner. I was on my balcony about 10 feet above the bird... cheap... but it worked! lol
thats my progress so far  ;D

What is a Grackle?

Grackles are members of the blackbird family, with two types, common and boat tailed, the boat tail are the largest, a very common bird in many places where they historically were not. But anyway, all birds except the starling and house sparrow are protected under the endagered species act.

Does killing fish with your sling count has hunting?

It all depends upon a few qualifying circumstances, but first, how big was the fishbowl and why were you practicing in the house to begin with?

I need to correct an earlier post I made, all birds except the house sparrow and starling are protected my the migratory bird treaty, in North America

LOL about the fish bowl!

So how did you kill a fish with a sling--did you place him in the pouch and sling him into the wall or what?

Well first you have to catch the fish. We go perch fishing during the summer so that is no proplem. When we catch a perch that we are going to put back, I pull out the sling put them in the pouch and release. My friends think it is the coolest thing. You can get very good height and distance with a perch. Uasally the perch does a sorth of helicopter in the air, then tries to swim in air. Most of the time the perch are just fine, but everyone knows how sometime you release to eaily or the objert fall out. Well the perch don't far to well when they are released onto a big rock that i stand on.

LOL ;D

I was just kidding but I guess you realy do sling them. Do they spiral nose first, and do their fins act as fletching on an arrow?

I wonder if they swim in circles from dizziness for a few minutes after slpash down? :o

They usally go up nose first, but coming down they sprial like helicopter seed. I guess because they are front heavy or because there is more surface area at the front of the perch. After they are in the water i imagine they stay still to get their bearings, but everyone but one has made it.

Going to be doing some more perch slinging today!!!

Hey,

I wonder if the Romans or other sea coast warriors ever used baby sword fish for sling darts? ;D

WOW!! This could start a whole new line of thought: What lower level food chain creatures could we use to sling as weapons of mass or painful distruction?

Porcupines would not only hurt those they struck, but the spin would probably send many needles flying throug the air.

And how about skunks? Use duct tape to cover their sprayer and on impact they would cause problems for the enemy.

What other ideas can we come up with?

Maybe I could learn something by tossing the neighbor's cat.  

Here kitty, kitty...... Ooooh I didn't know they did that!  ;D

I think there was an episode of Northern Lights about ten years ago where somebody used a catapult (siege engine) to hurl a cow for the "artistic value."

One last thought.  If you used an underhand release the backspin would make the skunk really cranky.  Thus increasing the effectiveness.  (And they probably would make a neat noise too.  But not like a bullroarer.)

Disclaimer:  No animals were harmed in the making of this joke.   ;D

Boy you have a great weapon!! Can you imagine the damage an angry, terrified, dizzy cat would do to the enemy lines. :o :o Great idea--ditto to your disclaimer ;D

You don't need a sling for cats. They have their own handle (their tail). You could maybe throw one like a boomarang or rabbitstick. Or do a helocoppter throw like a sling.

I'm sure the best animals for slinging are rattlers or other kraits. Guys who like slinging animals should try that. Good luck!

Jurek

Actually, snakes are thrown like the bola.  No sling necessary!

Grab in the middle, swing around head, release at target.  The snake will wrap around the target and do their work quickly as they will be highly aggitated. ;D ;D ;D

jeff <><

I have found this:

http://www.redwalk.com/page20.html

according to the table the sling has one of the best ranges but not the more effective.
I do not know if it is certain and I do not believe that it is easy to determine these values, but is interesting

Interesting,  yes indeed but, I would not say the sling is that easy to learn as far a accuracy goes.

:o I think we might need to take this one with a grain of salt! Bag a deer at 160 feet with a blowgun?

I know, poison darts... Hmm Atlatl with less range + accuracy than a spear? What's the point. What if we poison the tip as well? It looks like maybe they have the atlatl and blowgun reversed?

Matthias

Hello all,

I thought I'd join you group to respond to some posts regarding a primitive weapon range chart that I have on my web site.  I'm glad folks find it of interest.

My site focus' on nature awareness and natural survival.  As you all know, hunting is NOT something necessary for emergency survival.  Most of the virtual ink I spill on primitive weapons is to allow people to arm themselves just to discourage unwanted animal visitors.  A sling is a very effective tool for that.

I've carried a sling since childhood, throwing snowballs in winter, and egg sized stones in summer.  I know I can take small to medium sized game with it, if necessary.  Fortunately, it hasn't been, as I hate being hungry.

I own two atlatls and hurl wood and aluminum darts.  I believe another look at the chart will show the atlatl effective range as over 100', and the blowgun at 60'.  Ancient Cherokee (and a few other cultures) hunters could stalk so close to their prey that a blowgun was used to kill large game by firing it through the eye into the brain (so the stories go).  It would be a good trick, though possible.

My site is: www.redwalk.com  I hope you all check it out.  Its ad free and Mother Earth friendly.

Walk in peace
Chris 'RedWalk' Boatwright
redwalk@redwalk.com

Hey Chris,

Great site btw. Sorry if I jumped on your table.  ::) After closer inspection, I can see that you have the numbers pretty close. The HTML renders the table poorly on my machine for some reason (IE or Netscape) and the titles don't line up. (I didn't even realise that the bottom entry was for .22! It overlaps the second line of the paragraph below the table) The table as rendered showed the BG as the bottom entry (160 ft large game) above the divider and Atlatl (at 40ft medium) below the line. Seems like the horizontal axis is scaled as well. Hope you can understand my confusion!

Now that I'm reading it correctly (I think) I still wonder a bit about your blowgun. Double the performance of a crossbow seems a bit iffy but I'll defer to your judgement.

Welcome to Slinging.org!

Matthias

That darn chart is composed of about 50 individual graphics that all seem to render differently.  That has been a problem since day one.  When I used single large graphic, it was terribly slow to load, so I changed it back.  I considered just pulling the page off my site but it has been getting a lot of visitior.  Instead, I make humble apoligies.  My settings are 800 X 600 with IE 6.

NOTE - the crossbow used in the comparison is a 50# pull (commonly found as pistol grip style).  But, even my 80# crossbow lacks punch beyond 50'.  The bolts are too light to carry very far.
RedWalk

Welcome to Slinging,org!!

I never knew there were so many slinging nuts around. I found this site last August and have been hooked on slinging ever since.

When I was about 10--about 40 years ago-- I made an atlali and lost a lot of arrows! ;D I should try it again.

Tell us some slinging stories.

David

Whipartist started this topic a good while back and it was a hot one. Hey, where are you whipartist?

wrote on Nov 20^th, 2003 at 11:48pm:

Anyone know how pigeon tastes?

Pigeon tastes ok but they are  a bit hard, i've ate  lot of them cooked over fire coals outdoors, and some fried at home, but  the tender ones are ones cooked on those pressure pots (sorry i don't know it's name in english)  :P
all pigeons were hunted with an air rifle (el gamo expomatic .177 cal )i've also eat  frogs, rats, snakes,lizard, and lot of different birds and fish and they were yummy so i think in a survival situation and if you're really hungry you can eat almost everything.
"Todo lo que corre, nada o vuela... ¡A la cazuela!"
("Everything what runs, swims or fly... To the casserole!" spanish saying ;D )

Interesting site Chris.  It's hard for me to comment on any of the ranges because I can't see the table, but I do think saying the sling is "easy to learn" is not realistic.  Beginners would be far more accurate with a spear, blow gun, and even atlatl than with a sling.  Slings are by nature wildly inaccurate unless you've either been using them from birth or practiced a great deal.  

The graphics don't render on my computer either (tried 4 browsers too).  If you email me the full "large" graphic, I'd be willing to help bring it down to an more appropriate file size, or perhaps even redesign the HTML so it renders correctly for everyone (I do a considerable amount of web-design.  info@slinging.org).  CSS stylesheets are terribly supported, and IE uses a special subset of it, making the whole technology massively incompatible.

Oooh So close!! :-/

Yesturday I came closer than ever to bagging a bird.

I was leaving my slinging spot on the back-side of the concrete plant, and , as my custom is, I selected two good chunks of concrete. As I walk to my van there are many bushes with small birds that sometimes do not fly away and make for one final challenge before calling it a day.
Well yesturday, a bird was perched on the top of a tree--about a 25 yard shot, 15 feet up. I let one fly and it actually would have hit the crazy thing but the bird ducked! They have never done that before. If it was just an inch lower it would not have mattered--he'd be cat food.  No---it was not on the "Endangered Birds List"  Tomorrow?

Last year there were usually a dozen or so doves that would land on the tops of the concrete piles. My son and I could usually get 20-25 shoots off before they flew away. I hadn't seen them for a while so I figured that they knew they were in danger and were staying away.

Well, the other day they started coming back --maybe it is an " August thing".  Anyway, in the last few days I have come within an inch of about a half dozen of them. One was even in flight--now that would have been lucky!.

I just came inside after a bit of a hunt over our back fence, I came so close to providing dinner tonight! There was this Carrawong (Like a crow only bigger and it has white patches on it's wings) that was hopping around in a tree and I managed to get off about 15 shots at it before it flew away.  It would sit in a branch with me dashing around  under the tree looking for more stones and every shot I took it would jump to a new branch.  The last shot would have nailed him but there was a thin branch right in front of him that the stone glanced off.  After that I saw a kookaburra on a tree and managed to creep up to within a few metres, but no, I wouldn't have taken a shot at him.  Too beautiful.

Just thought I'd better add- I don't reckon Carrawong's taste too nice, so maybe I wasn't all that close to providing dinner.  ;)

wrote on Aug 13^th, 2004 at 11:52pm:

I don't reckon Carrawong's taste too nice, so maybe I wasn't all that close to providing dinner.  ;)

LOL just wait till you get  hungry enough  ;D

If those crazy birds only knew what we were up to they wouldn't allow us so many shots ;D

I think it's a pride thing.  He wanted to hang around in the danger zone so that all his mates would see how brave he is.  The kookaburra was a bit less subtle, when I took a shot at a tree and missed he and all the other kookaburras in the area started laughing at me, these birds need to be taken down a notch!  I'm off for another hunt.

kookaburras!  So you're in Australia!  Does australian natives (aboriginals) use slings? I've never seen a sling  in the australian documentaries, but may be they use a sling of some kind.

Yep, I'm a nozzie.  ;)  I've never heard of them using slings, but I think it's likely that they did, and probably still do.  I think the main hunting weapons they used were/are spears, atlatls and boomerangs besides fishing nets and traps.  I always used to wonder how a boomerang could kill an animal, but I read about their technique somewhere recently.  They'd have a returning boomerang, and a non-returning boomerang (stick??) and when they saw a flock of birds on the ground they would throw the returning boomerang over the top of them to make them rise, then throw the non-returning boomerang to hopefully kill one.  I thought that was an interesting hunting technique.  I've made a few boomerangs for myself out of plywood and the amount of fine tuning that's necessary to get the thing to return is huge.  I have no idea how anyone thought of it in the first place.  

Australia is the only place in the world in which slings are not found amongst the natives, in any recordings or in the archaeological record..  The woomera is the primary hunting weapon (which is an atlatl - I can't sing the praises of this weapon any higher), along with the throwing stick.  In some areas, such as Arnhemland, the throwing stick is the main weapon, whereas in the central desert regions, it is the woomera.

well about larger game the artcle on this site metions deer the apache sling artcle
I have seen special ammo for deer razor balls basicly
to broadheads put back to back with a lead weight in the middle

i know this is and old topic but i was looking back and found this thread and brent said

Quote:

you know what can work really well if done right is if you fill a square piece of toilet paper with BB's an take the ends of the square and tape them together and then sling it.the toilet paper bursts and emits a spray of BB's.highly effective for small birds Brent

well i tryed this but i used gravil instead of bb's but  it did'nt seem to have any power at all and i was wandering if it was just me? or have other people used it and had good resolts?
with the power i had i dout it would evan just hurt a squirrle or rabbit i dont evan think with my power i could stun a small bird

I have had trouble with b,b or small shot also but 15 or 20 50 cal musket balls wraped up in tissue paper seem to work well.

I will contribute my experiences hunting enemies with non-lethal (purportedly) ammunition (mostly balls of tape and footbags/hackey-sacks)

As some of you may know, I go out with some friends and have "medieval" battles with mock weapons at a local campground.  It's a great deal of fun -- moreso than paintball for me, as I seem to lack ability in firearms combat.

Well, my role in the medieval recreation group has evolved from "co-founder" to "head slinger", as I am currently the sole provider of this wondrous weapon.  I have a protege or two, and we (the slingers) generally split off from our assault team to harass the enemy.

I'm a bit deflated in reporting I have never actually made an in-combat hit with a sling, although I've come remarkably close, especially with denser tape-balls.

That's not mentioning the time between games, though!  You see, just like with paintball, there is often downtime during which teams are formed and game rules are established.  During this time, I and the other slingers practice the art.  We often stand 20 or 30 yards from each other, exchanging one projectile, the thrower aiming to hit the non-thrower.  I've made several hits this way, or what would be hits if the target hadn't stepped aside.  I also zinged a tape-ball across the arm of a sitting swordsman, which unfortunately left a nasty bruise (I felt terrible)

The most fun, though, as I've said, are the duels.  The other popular ranged weapon in these medieval games is a Nerf bow that happens to be dead-accurate.  At about 20 yards, I and the bowman face each other, we call "GO!", and let fly.  Both times I've done this I've hit the bewildered archer with my sling before he could fire.

I'm not claiming to have significant skill, however.  If I had that, I'd be more useful during actual games!  Nevertheless, it's a tremendous rush to be targeting armed enemies for the good of your team.

wow sounds like fun. Me and my friends take our staff slings and fire at the ducks in the pond near his house. We have never hit one yet but one of these days were going to get one and have some supper.

What do you throw at them?  With a staff sling pouch as broad as some I've heard of, you could use regular sling stones as grapeshot, I'd think.  That would be nuts.

well we did use gravel onece or twice it fell in a rain all around the duck and he flew off :( it did not even seem to affect it. so now i use this big pouch with big rock's and we hit all around that duck. Sorta looks like some WWII battle ship trying to snipe ouf a row boat with the big guns. Ha ha splashes every where but nothing hits.

about the pouch. i think it would be called soft leather. Its not real stiff but not real soft ether. hmm medium leather? :)

apache sling in articl section talks about hunting

yea i read that and made a sling from there instuctions but i ain't that accurat lol so i tryed the shot gun aproche but it did'nt seem to have any power but i like lobohunters idea with the 50 caliber lead balls but would'nt 15 or 20 be kind of heavy?

Henry to me, it feel's about right I would guess 3 or four ounces
they do hit quite well sinking a good inch or to into my broad head target

just rereading a old thread and thought i would share