Slinging.org Forum
https://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl
General >> Introductions >> hey
https://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1517174584

Message started by RS on Jan 28th, 2018 at 4:23pm

Title: hey
Post by RS on Jan 28th, 2018 at 4:23pm
hi, i am RS.  pleased to met you and to be here.  i've been slinging since childhood.

Title: Re: hey
Post by Mersa on Jan 28th, 2018 at 4:41pm
Slinging since childhood!! Post some pictures or videos

Welcome From downunder

Title: Re: hey
Post by RS on Jan 28th, 2018 at 4:50pm
well. i am kinda of handy with a noodle, but am not so computer oriented, and own no camera or cell phones.

Title: Re: hey
Post by kicktheotter on Jan 29th, 2018 at 6:42am
Welcome from Finland!

Title: Re: hey
Post by Morphy on Jan 29th, 2018 at 10:47am
Welcome RS from Texas. What kind of slings do you prefer? What style do you use? Sidearm, figure8 etc?

Title: Re: hey
Post by RS on Jan 29th, 2018 at 8:00pm
hi morphy,
i have used almost everything.  i like most of all of them.  my least fav. is what is called a 'tut' sling, and feel it is more for decoration than anything else.  as far as the best sling, imo, is a byzantine sling, but no one but like two people know anything at all about how to make them and one is very old.  the person who knew the most about them died in the 70's. it is taught that a person has to make five to completion while under instruction, before knowing how to make one by heart all the way through.  it is bloody work to make.  requires some superstition practices of blood and essence.   but all i use and my fav sling is just a piece of string, like 550 paracord, with two knots tied to make a socket.  that is all i usually carry and use.  i gave away most of my woven sockets and split cords...some i threw away because all i really use is a cord or string nowadays, with said knots in it, which around here in my lil circle is called a 'noodle'.  though slings were at one time commonly referred to as noodles, or so i was taught years ago.  but we just call the single string knotted types noodles around here.  they are easy to make, and easy to use with anything from pebbles to objects the size of my fist.
i use all throwing styles and really have no favorite, as what one uses as far as styles should depend on the immediate situation most of the time. though i do use the 'turkey hunter overhand'(is what it is called in the appalachian hills) a lot.  it was developed for hunting turkeys obviously and starts out by holding the sling behind ur back.  once mastered, it is an extremely accurate quickly performed throw..but when practicing, i sling with one style until tired then switch hands and use that same style until tired then go back to the other hand with another style so forth and so on. i use a figure eight that winds up behind the back, the greek, turkey hunter overhand, helicopter, byzantine and a whole lot of backhand.

Title: Re: hey
Post by Mersa on Jan 29th, 2018 at 8:17pm
I want to see this turkey throw

Title: Re: hey
Post by Morphy on Jan 29th, 2018 at 8:30pm
Interesting. I second Mersa's comment.

So this Byzantine sling, is this an actual sling design the Byzantines used or is that just a slang term like the turkey hunter throw? You speak as if there is a community of slingers where you are? If you have a chance can you elaborate a little, I am very curious about several things you've mentioned. Thanks.  :)

Title: Re: hey
Post by RS on Jan 29th, 2018 at 8:38pm
i'd love to be able to show it to you.  it is hard to understand via written insruction.  i can explain it or try to, and come the end of the year perhaps can even put some video of it up for you guys.  i technically have to be cautious about that until around december for reasons i cannot go into but let me try to explain it.
  if you are right handed,twist ur left hand, palm under and away from you so that it's palm is facing left.  hold the sling in front of you, cup your left hand and with it still twisted, place the socket in it.  raise the sling up over our head and lower it behind you. at this point it should be diagonal across ur back, with ur right hand above ur right shoulder and ur left hand around ur left hip or bottom of rib cage.  raise ur right hand palm up and hold it high almost even with the top of ur head, and pull the other end snug with the left hand, raising it up slightly to make the sling barely bend at ur left elbow, but being kept taut. take care the sling is not twisted up....release with left hand and let the socket drop and swing behind you and then just over hand with popping wrist action.  it sounds more complicated than it is, but once understood it is a very accurate little toss that can generate some power when the full wrist action is properly utilized.  works great for turkey as, you can stand ready for long periods at a time by resting your throwing hand on your shoulder and when execute much of the motion is hidden behind the back.  lefties just switch it around the same way

Title: Re: hey
Post by RS on Jan 29th, 2018 at 9:04pm

Morphy wrote on Jan 29th, 2018 at 8:30pm:
Interesting. I second Mersa's comment.

So this Byzantine sling, is this an actual sling design the Byzantines used or is that just a slang term like the turkey hunter throw? You speak as if there is a community of slingers where you are? If you have a chance can you elaborate a little, I am very curious about several things you've mentioned. Thanks.  :)


it is a design.  it is made from one 'very' long piece of very thin string.  it was almost completely lost.  to my knowledge there are only two actual slings in existence and one other but it is not made quite right, but to a novice would pass as a byzantine. there may be one more but i am not sure. the handles are sort of a woven braid and the patch a special knot that works over on itself.  when being made by a person for themselves, you place a knife between the layers for two purposes.  one is to help keep things separated and organized, but the others is to cut ur fingers on so ur blood will  be worked into the string while making it.  the sling is so designed so if one makes one as a child, they can take more string and weave to the cords to make it longer as they growup, but it starts with just one piece of looong string that makes the socket and original cords.  after it is made, the maker, if it is for himself, has to bleed himself again and wash out the dried worked in blood with fresh blood then wash it all out in running water before it re-dries.  then once washed out and dried it is ready for use.   if someone makes it for another person, the knife mentioned above is replaced by something like a popcycle stick and the person who is paying to have it made, gives blood to soak said sling in, then let try for a week, then more to wash it out with as legend or superstition dictates you do not want another persons essence in your sling. it is a very large undertaking.  the only reason i know of it is because i accidentally met someone who taught me about it when i was very little.

Title: Re: hey
Post by Mersa on Jan 29th, 2018 at 9:32pm
Interesting !!!

Title: Re: hey
Post by kicktheotter on Jan 30th, 2018 at 3:44am
So is that design and construction method native to the Applacians because that sounds like some proper Appalacian folk magic. Fascinating!

Title: Re: hey
Post by Mersa on Jan 30th, 2018 at 6:54am
So Is this the turkey overhand?? ( I know the cords are twisted)

https://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?action=downloadfile;file=trim_92E693DB-E9D9-4D91-8D91-0A52AB8B00F7.MOV (3773 KB | 109 )

Title: Re: hey
Post by kicktheotter on Jan 30th, 2018 at 7:18am
That's how I imagined it from the description as well.

Title: Re: hey
Post by RS on Jan 30th, 2018 at 4:52pm

Kick wrote on Jan 30th, 2018 at 3:44am:
So is that design and construction method native to the Applacians because that sounds like some proper Appalacian folk magic. Fascinating!


well, no but u r right in that it does seem like some mountain spell binding....when i was a kid my mom found a drunk man who'd baby sit me for a six pack a day.  back then that was like less than two bucks.  she'd drop me off in the mornings and by mid morning he'd be drunk and tell me to go outside to play.  so during my first week at his house, i went out side and took out one of my shoestrings and made a noodle out of it and was walking around the neighborhood with a couple rocks. a man from his garage yelled out to me, he had a thick accent, some what turkish, i do believe.  he asked what i had and i told him a sling.  he walked over to me and asked to see how i knotted the string and noticed my shoestring was the sling and not in my shoe.  then he told me who and what he was.  he was an archeologist and historian, he spoke a couple languages...but most importantly, he was as slinger.  he was only in the area because of the sling type in discussion.  all that was known of it was legend, one statue with one, so that showed no details, but during a dig somewhere, one corner of a socket was found.  soon he found out that a picture existed of what was thought to be one in a library close to where i lived then, so he flew over to check it out because the library would not send the book and it was one they did not even allow to be checked out.  he saw it and it was a picture of an old drawing that had one in it.   he was the one who figured out, from the corner piece found and picture, how to form the sling.  it is said to be called the byzantine sling because they used it, but is supposed to be older that they were.  the grain has to flow right for it to pass muster.  in the old legends it is said that a sling master, if allowed to pick his own ammo for the job, could be blindfolded, have a loaded sling placed on his fingers, throw with it and tell you from the feel of the rock leaving the socket if the grain was running right in the direction or not.  so it is more of an eastern european, northwestern asian thing.

Title: Re: hey
Post by RS on Jan 30th, 2018 at 5:10pm

Mersa wrote on Jan 30th, 2018 at 6:54am:
So Is this the turkey overhand?? ( I know the cords are twisted)



sir, that was not bad.  a little more wrist snap and ur power will increase.  it can be altered somewhat to increase power, if you bring your throwing hand down to almost shoulder level, beside of your shoulder and stand like throwing a baseball.  it takes a bit more tweaking with the left hand, and when you throw if u come off at a side arm, with your midsection twisting while your arm and wrist work together and you follow through with a step, pivoting on ur left foot....at ten to twelve yards, several of us with that alteration of it, can not only make our rocks shatter when they hit a tree, but even shards of rock will stick into the tree from time to time.   it is not a strength thing, i have pulled it off a few time and some others but one of the ones i have seen do it is a 5 feet tall, 100 lb (very pretty)Melungeon woman from cumberland gap (and though i have not witnessed it, rumor has it from those who say have that she can harvest fishes with a sling and a stone; i am being plural and singular specific in that)...it is all technique. 

Title: Re: hey
Post by kicktheotter on Jan 31st, 2018 at 7:38am

RS wrote on Jan 30th, 2018 at 4:52pm:
well, no but u r right in that it does seem like some mountain spell binding....when i was a kid my mom found a drunk man who'd baby sit me for a six pack a day.  back then that was like less than two bucks.  she'd drop me off in the mornings and by mid morning he'd be drunk and tell me to go outside to play.  so during my first week at his house, i went out side and took out one of my shoestrings and made a noodle out of it and was walking around the neighborhood with a couple rocks. a man from his garage yelled out to me, he had a thick accent, some what turkish, i do believe.  he asked what i had and i told him a sling.  he walked over to me and asked to see how i knotted the string and noticed my shoestring was the sling and not in my shoe.  then he told me who and what he was.  he was an archeologist and historian, he spoke a couple languages...but most importantly, he was as slinger.  he was only in the area because of the sling type in discussion.  all that was known of it was legend, one statue with one, so that showed no details, but during a dig somewhere, one corner of a socket was found.  soon he found out that a picture existed of what was thought to be one in a library close to where i lived then, so he flew over to check it out because the library would not send the book and it was one they did not even allow to be checked out.  he saw it and it was a picture of an old drawing that had one in it.   he was the one who figured out, from the corner piece found and picture, how to form the sling.  it is said to be called the byzantine sling because they used it, but is supposed to be older that they were.  the grain has to flow right for it to pass muster.  in the old legends it is said that a sling master, if allowed to pick his own ammo for the job, could be blindfolded, have a loaded sling placed on his fingers, throw with it and tell you from the feel of the rock leaving the socket if the grain was running right in the direction or not.  so it is more of an eastern european, northwestern asian thing.


That's really cool. Do you have any pictures of one of these slings?

Title: Re: hey
Post by RS on Jan 31st, 2018 at 7:54pm

Kick wrote on Jan 31st, 2018 at 7:38am:
[quote author=3130630 link=1517174584/14#14 date=1517349165]

That's really cool. Do you have any pictures of one of these slings?


no but after my birthday towards the end of this year i am supposed to be getting the one i made back.(yes it is more than folk lore, i have actually made one and worked on a couple others)  if by then i can post a pic i will show it or if u live close when we get it perhaps you can see it live. it is worth it.   there is no other sling like those.  they cannot be made in a week or two.  it takes over a month for a novice.  the sheriff's office where i lived as a kid ended up with mine. ;)  they had it for a few decades.   i heard someone tried to undo part of it some of it to see how it was made, like four feet of it, but that should be fixable. i am to get all that is coming to me after my 50th birthday this year.

Title: Re: hey
Post by RS on Jan 31st, 2018 at 8:00pm
ps. i did get to see it year before last year.  it was intact then so the undoing was done since.  a policeman who i went to school with had it shown to me..  i am not supposed to talk about why i lost it, but after it is given back i should be able to tell the story....it is a bloody one too.

(i edited this to remove a name i dropped of the cop...)

Title: Re: hey
Post by kicktheotter on Feb 1st, 2018 at 3:09am
Well I'm in Helsinki so I think I'll have to wait for a picture... Looking forward to it :)

Title: Re: hey
Post by Tomas on Feb 6th, 2018 at 7:15am
::) ::) ::)

Title: Re: hey
Post by Morphy on Feb 6th, 2018 at 10:04am
Looking forward to seeing it RS. And hearing the story that goes along with it.  :)

Title: Re: hey
Post by Curious Aardvark on Feb 6th, 2018 at 2:14pm

RS wrote on Jan 29th, 2018 at 8:38pm:
i'd love to be able to show it to you.  it is hard to understand via written insruction.  i can explain it or try to, and come the end of the year perhaps can even put some video of it up for you guys.  i technically have to be cautious about that until around december for reasons i cannot go into but let me try to explain it.
  if you are right handed,twist ur left hand, palm under and away from you so that it's palm is facing left.  hold the sling in front of you, cup your left hand and with it still twisted, place the socket in it.  raise the sling up over our head and lower it behind you. at this point it should be diagonal across ur back, with ur right hand above ur right shoulder and ur left hand around ur left hip or bottom of rib cage.  raise ur right hand palm up and hold it high almost even with the top of ur head, and pull the other end snug with the left hand, raising it up slightly to make the sling barely bend at ur left elbow, but being kept taut. take care the sling is not twisted up....release with left hand and let the socket drop and swing behind you and then just over hand with popping wrist action.  it sounds more complicated than it is, but once understood it is a very accurate little toss that can generate some power when the full wrist action is properly utilized.  works great for turkey as, you can stand ready for long periods at a time by resting your throwing hand on your shoulder and when execute much of the motion is hidden behind the back.  lefties just switch it around the same way


I call that greek with a little pull.
It works well for heavier ammo.

So not quite a man in a pub. But close :-)

I ever tell you the historical event related to me by an old slinger I met on chesil beach ?
Chesil beach is about 3 miles of perfect sling sized rocks. Well this old bloke told me it was created by the slingers from portland island (called slingers isle). They used to practice by slinging rocks from the island into the sea. After centuries of this practice they actually created chesil beach. The holes they created on the island were then put to use as quarries for portland stone - which is much sought after for building with.
The beach and land created by the slingers of portland eventually created a causeway that joined the island to the mainland.
You drive over it to get to portland to this very day. 

Gaze upon this beach created by slingers, and weep that it's not close to you.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Chesil+Beach/@50.6266703,-2.5605472,3a,75y,304h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNILVZKGN4VhhU9ThJEBDFnLlE7MprQjClQ05eA!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNILVZKGN4VhhU9ThJEBDFnLlE7MprQjClQ05eA%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya105.50001-ro-0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352!4m5!3m4!1s0x4872f51460aeec7b:0x9684efd6ca88f181!8m2!3d50.6266703!4d-2.5605472?hl=en

It's true I tell you.
And if it isn't, then it bloody well ought to be !
There is only one part of that tale that is not based on verifiable fact.
Here's a picture of a totally random part of chesil beach.
There are miles and miles of this a hundred yards wide.
Wasted on those bloody southerners !



Chesilbeach-randomshot.JPG (114 KB | 70 )

Title: Re: hey
Post by kicktheotter on Feb 7th, 2018 at 10:59am
Damn, those are good looking rocks.

Title: Re: hey
Post by Curious Aardvark on Feb 8th, 2018 at 6:42am
Been there once with david morningstar and slingbadger on our roadtrip. Few years ago now.

Pretty sure that's when david's hair turned white and started to fall out - slingbadger's inability to turn left in a car, aged us all lol

Unfortunately it's over 200 miles from me around a 4.5 hour drive.
That's a long way in the uk - particularly at £1.20 for a litre of fuel.
So never been back. :-( 

Title: Re: hey
Post by Tint on Oct 1st, 2018 at 5:49am
Wow! Thanks for sharing, RS!

That Turkey throw reminds me of the statue of David by Michael Angelo!

And that blood ritual Byzantine sling sounds incredible!

So RS, you can sling with both left and right hand?

Title: Re: hey
Post by kicktheotter on Oct 1st, 2018 at 7:05am
RS hasn't posted in a fair while now. Basically, he would come up with all sorts of tall tales and myths and legends and couldn't provide even one piece of evidence. No pictures, no videos, no books or authors or any sources whatsoever. He would always say "Oh well I can't tell you right now but once I have it all together I might be able to post something" "Oh I don't have a camera so you'll just have to believe me". Eventually he stopped posting because we could never take anything he said seriously. The only thing we did get was the Turkey Throw which is, in my opinion, a legitimately good sling style.

Title: Re: hey
Post by Tint on Oct 1st, 2018 at 7:28am
Any idea where he is located?

He when he said December, he meant this year?

Title: Re: hey
Post by kicktheotter on Oct 1st, 2018 at 7:55am
Somewhere in the North East of the US I think.

Title: Re: hey
Post by Tint on Oct 1st, 2018 at 11:10am
Northeast? My brother just moved to Philadelphia!

May be I can go for Christmas.... ::)

RS? You still around?

Title: Re: hey
Post by Curious Aardvark on Oct 1st, 2018 at 2:15pm
rs was a lying troll.
posted from florida.
Don't think that's where he said he was - but I backtracked his ip :-)

Essentially everything hy said was made up.

He's the third of his kind we've had in the last 15 years or so.

Who knows, they might all be the same person :-)

Title: Re: hey
Post by kicktheotter on Oct 1st, 2018 at 2:23pm
Ah didn't hear about him being from Florida. Fits though. I'm pretty sure I know the second but who was the first?

Title: Re: hey
Post by Mersa on Oct 1st, 2018 at 4:47pm
I'll second you on that kto, the turkey was a gift ! I must make a dedicated sling for it but , requires a precise length to be comfortable and still work.

Title: Re: hey
Post by Tint on Oct 1st, 2018 at 10:07pm

Curious Aardvark wrote on Oct 1st, 2018 at 2:15pm:
rs was a lying troll.
posted from florida.
Don't think that's where he said he was - but I backtracked his ip :-)

Essentially everything hy said was made up.

He's the third of his kind we've had in the last 15 years or so.

Who knows, they might all be the same person :-)


Oh? That's too bad.

Title: Re: hey
Post by Curious Aardvark on Oct 2nd, 2018 at 6:43am
do you remember gronk ?
He was the first.
Although I'm still not 100% sure gronk wasn't at least partly on the level.
If I listed some of the stuff from my biography, I suppose many people might find some of it suspect :-)

The we had some bloke who claimed 600m was an easy throw and he could throw over 700m.

And then rs who basically just was a pure fantasist.

What they allways  have in common is a total lack of any evidence. No pics or videos and an occasional bit of plausibility.

Plus most of the members round here are way too kind and respectful and tend to give these people the benefit of the doubt :-)

I guess that's not a bad thing :thumb:

Title: Re: hey
Post by kicktheotter on Oct 2nd, 2018 at 7:13am
Gronk may have been before I joined.

Slinging.org Forum » Powered by YaBB 2.5.2!
YaBB Forum Software © 2000-2024. All Rights Reserved.