I have a question, keeping the sling fundamentaly the same what modern technology could be utilised to improve its accuracy, power ect?

We already use machine woven cords and synthetic material but are there other things that haven't been done?

I have a concept of a single cord sling with a eletrictronic release. Taking the release cord out of the equation.

What you got??

I think materials could get even better. I think electronic releases wouldn't really improve that much. Training your own reactions would be more useful. I think one thing that I think affects this question is what someone is aiming to achieve through slinging. Accuracy? Power? Distance? They all of course influence each other and there is a lot of overlap but there are so many factors that affect those things in different ways that there is a broad number of things that could be improved. I think it's more through refining using technology (slo-mo and simulations etc.). It's possible to create the "perfect" sling using natural materials but the really really tiny refining can be done using technology.

Cybernetic enhancements to the human brain for perfect release calculation.

Al though I will pass on that

AncientCraftwork wrote on Dec 14^th, 2018 at 9:08am:

Cybernetic enhancements to the human brain for perfect release calculation.

That's a good point! Forget enhancing the sling, go for the slinger!

Compound sling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXjyyMqGv5A

for 1200m throws :P let's surpass flight archery

Carbon nanotube rope, Automated windage correction, self guided ammo, high speed videography for analysis, radar glande tracking...

Here’s one for you: clothespins. They are really useful for complicated multi-strand slings like this one. It doesn’t make the sling better exactly but it makes it easier to make.

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And how about the Internet to share designs all over the world instantaneously? We learn from each other and improve on ideas rapidly. 

3D printing and cnc lathes for printing or cutting complex ammunition.

One word: Magic.

Oh, come on, Morphy!  Everyone knows that magic hit its peak in medieval times and now that nobody believes in Santa, the only magic that still works requires a deck of cards.  And while it might be cool to sling magical playing cards, you can’t even legally use that magic anymore unless you join a union.

The witchery of Archery. There is one sentence in that book that could revolutionalize archery and slinging.

walter wrote on Dec 16^th, 2018 at 9:04am:

There is one sentence in that book that could revolutionalize archery and slinging.

what sentence?
I've read part of the book has some nice tips

Page 154 secoñd chapter. This happened to me three times, so I know it is possible.

NooneOfConsequence wrote on Dec 16^th, 2018 at 8:29am:

Oh, come on, Morphy!  Everyone knows that magic hit its peak in medieval times and now that nobody believes in Santa, the only magic that still works requires a deck of cards.  And while it might be cool to sling magical playing cards, you can’t even legally use that magic anymore unless you join a union.

I want a sling of wounding with +5 to moving targets so I can keep up with Jaegoor.

@Walter, are you going to make us guess? Please do tell.  ;D

The original question was: "keeping the sling fundamentaly the same what modern technology could be utilised to improve its accuracy, power ect?"

In archery, the relationship between arrow spine and draw weight was not completely understood until the shot sequence was analyzed with high speed videography.  Now, instead of making 100 arrows and shooting them repeatedly to cull the best 12, we can refer to arrow spine charts and recommendations for brace height, tiller, and nock height. 

My slinging improved dramatically once I was able to feel the lag and leverage it into a whipping motion to increase velocity.  I wonder if high speed videography would reveal some additional details.

As previously stated, modern materials make a dramatic difference.  It takes me about an hour to weave a pouch on a simple loom.  In the same time, I can put together 3 seat-belt slings using a slingshot (sorry CA!) band tying jig.  The seat-belt material is a better launch platform and it seems as though I achieve  about a 10-20% increase in distance when compared to the woven pouch.  The seat belt sling does not look as cool as the woven sling - but it is way more efficient.

For sure the main one is the materials that the sling is constructed from. I know for certain that my dyneema slings outperform all my other slings in distance and power, paracord gets close but dyneema is the best material I've used.

The analysis is a good point , only after reviewing countless slowmo footage have I realised that the pre wind up speed has little to no effect on my actual power stroke and more the lag angle and the power put into the final stroke. I originally thought twirl it as fast as you can and let go , not so.

I think magnetic and electronic releases are potentially a way to add power by removing the release cord , but purely a theory.

As for ammo, well I left that out of my original query because I think it's pretty easy to pimp a glande.
Accelerometer , LEDs , gyro, blades , lazers, explosives, gps, tungsten, there's a lot you can do to make them better.

@ Morphy, I can't believe you don't have that book :-?
I will post it when I get home tonight.

Morphy wrote on Dec 16^th, 2018 at 10:05pm:

NooneOfConsequence wrote on Dec 16th, 2018 at 8:29am: Oh, come on, Morphy!  Everyone knows that magic hit its peak in medieval times and now that nobody believes in Santa, the only magic that still works requires a deck of cards.  And while it might be cool to sling magical playing cards, you can’t even legally use that magic anymore unless you join a union. I want a sling of wounding with +5 to moving targets so I can keep up with Jaegoor.

Well as long as we’re going there, I want an inception sling that slings slinging slingers! ;D

I've heard good things about it Walter. One of many books I need to get.

Back to the original question. I think the half cupped pouch we have been seeing lately is a very interesting modern design. I like the idea of a mechanical release with only one cord as well. I think that has potential. Such a sling I think would have to use glandes with vanes to rifle the shot and connect to the back of the projectile instead of around the side. Seems like a very interesting idea though.

Morphy wrote on Dec 17^th, 2018 at 2:50pm:

I think the half cupped pouch we have been seeing lately is a very interesting modern design.

The Cthulhu sling I got from Flint has one of the smoothest releases of any sling I've used. I do really like that half cup.

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you can 3dprint the pouches and fingerloops :whistle:
just saying :-)

as far as modernising pouch design, there's over 10,000 years of slingers who's slings have vanished into th mists of history.

Do you really think there's anything nobody has yet tried ?

A one string sling with a bluetooth/magnetic/electronic release - doable.
3v coincell and a small actuator and some thin wire is all you need.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/sourcingmap-HTO-0420L3V06-Actuator-Electric-Electromagnet/dp/B01IS5NSVQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1545079124&sr=8-1&keywords=3v+actuator
But would it be a sling ?
debateable.

Right off, I have to say I do not believe modern materials will make us better slingers. I think of the Benjamites and Balearic slingers who were using natural fiber and old fashion leather to make their slings.
It just may be that when they were children, they were taught a systematic method of practice. Not just haphazardly throwing any old stone using this sling or that.
Some old time members of this site will probably remember posts where a member tells us he knew he was going to hit his target before he let go the release cord.
Many of us had experienced the same thing. We called it Zen slinging.

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A systematic method of practice will help us more than titanium cords. Included the pic cause it was in between the two pages and I like it :D

Kick wrote on Dec 17^th, 2018 at 2:57pm:

Morphy wrote on Dec 17th, 2018 at 2:50pm: I think the half cupped pouch we have been seeing lately is a very interesting modern design. The Cthulhu sling I got from Flint has one of the smoothest releases of any sling I've used. I do really like that half cup.

Flint makes some good looking slings. All the better that it works good too. I think it would be cool to make a half-cupped Egyptian woven pouch.

Walter I know of this zen , I've experienced it , a lot with slings less with bows .
True that a poor craftsmen blames his tools but I'm more interested in the discussion sorounding Tech advance to help.

But fair point slings are pretty much zen machines

walter wrote on Dec 17^th, 2018 at 8:13pm:

Some old time members of this site will probably remember posts where a member tells us he knew he was going to hit his target before he let go the release cord. Many of us had experienced the same thing. We called it Zen slinging.

I've definitely had this. I live for those moments.

Morphy wrote on Dec 18^th, 2018 at 12:43am:

Kick wrote on Dec 17th, 2018 at 2:57pm: Morphy wrote on Dec 17th, 2018 at 2:50pm: I think the half cupped pouch we have been seeing lately is a very interesting modern design. The Cthulhu sling I got from Flint has one of the smoothest releases of any sling I've used. I do really like that half cup. Flint makes some good looking slings. All the better that it works good too. I think it would be cool to make a half-cupped Egyptian woven pouch.

I must admit, when I first got Flint's sling I was worried that it would end up being just a decorative sling (a really well made custom Cthulhu decorative sling so I wasn't complaining :) ) but it's already more than proved itself. I love winter and using the Tibetan slings with snowballs but I'm also waiting to get back out to the beach on Lauttasaari and summon a certain octopus-headed god with sacrifices of stones into the sea :D

invisisling. Super light weight materials that make it nearly invisible.

well the old mantra: practice, practice and when you get bored - practice some more.
Will always be relevant.

But making things with modern materials is always fun.
Tempted to make the one cord electronic release, can't see any real difficulties with it :-)

If you have an electronic release, you might as well put it on a staff sling... then add a stereo camera, an accelerometer, a ballistic computer,  and a tension sensor so that it tracks your target and automatically releases at the right moment... all you have to do is swing the stick.

Now that is serious tech, I would say that given it had some serious computer running it it would be a possible today, power still from the user would be a hard part.

I'm really interested into different pouch design . There's so much variation and it plays such a big role in the way a sling performs. Personally I love a smallish split pouch for everyday use and here it generally works with most rocks. Polished smooth dense spheres don't like split pouches and if you use any unsuitable sizes you also fall into problems.

I don't often use other style pouches but I think there's a lot that could be debated pro or con.

I can make a one string sling with a simple electronic release. The robotic staff sling is too complicated :-)
You can make that one :thumb:

Seems like NOOC gets volunteered for all the fancy projects. Ok NOOC, just in case roboslinger and the super staff sling isn't enough you could always do something like this. I think between these three projects we might have a chance against Jaegoor.

https://youtu.be/MHTizZ_XcUM

we could also use the sticks that breathe fire,
i hear they throw perfect spirals,
all you got to do is point and tickle a switch :P

they can penetrate armor too!

CO2 powered glandes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uymuASdza58

A staff-sling variation - 'nun-sling" (or possibly sling-chuk)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P12pcUmCbi4

sling-drone! (I realize that this is a slingshot but - it is for inspiration only and a sling could be adapted for the same purpose)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNxgvG626bE

radio controlled glandes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMNYMl31580

depleted uranium kestros

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTh8lxRk8FY

I think some of Jaegoor's videos show what accuracy slingers can reasonably attain.

Someone with that level of practice and advanced athletic trainers could combine accuracy and strength in a pretty fantastic way.

In comparison to archery (before the invention of compounds):
Fiberglass bows are only marginally faster (if so) than well crafted "primitive" self bows and laminated recurves. I would say that most improvements came in the ability to make arrows more efficient and "better".

In the same way, the easiest way to modernize the sling/slinger combination would be to begin by modernizing the ammo with highly dense and scientifically aerodynamic ammo. Not that this hasn't been done thousands of years ago with bi-conical lead glands, but perhaps we could refine the process more today.

Morphy wrote on Dec 19^th, 2018 at 12:03pm:

Seems like NOOC gets volunteered for all the fancy projects. Ok NOOC, just in case roboslinger and the super staff sling isn't enough you could always do something like this. I think between these three projects we might have a chance against Jaegoor. https://youtu.be/MHTizZ_XcUM

If we’re going to use Mark Rober for inspiration, I’d say we have to build glitter bomb ammo!

I’m starting a little simpler in my quest to out-Jaegoor Jaegoor ;D
My next experiment is with a “sniper ring” sling where the ammo passes through a ring almost immediately after you release the cord (hopefully).  Form will still matter, but hopefully timing will be easier to nail down with a shorter delay between cord release and ammo release

Maybe I’ll weave in a super computer into the next one though  :D

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Leave it to the engineer to think of all the new designs. First the half cupped now the ring sling. :)

NooneOfConsequence wrote on Dec 20^th, 2018 at 9:18am:

the ammo passes through a ring almost immediately after you release the cord

Wow!  That sounds amazing.  If that does work, I'd love to see it in action.  It definitely looks great in the picture.

Well, I took a handful of test shots this morning and it seems to work pretty well as a proof of concept. The golf ball goes where I want it to, but it would take some practice to get the power of the throw just right. The thick steel ring is heavier than a golf ball, so it feels like the throws are weak compared to a normal sling. You are putting more energy into the ring than the ammo, and it feels a little weird. I think I will probably look for a thinner ring that isn’t so heavy and rebuild it.

I'm probably a bit late, but does this count?http://awesomeforsale.com/flick-shot/

cram wrote on Feb 5^th, 2019 at 6:49am:

I'm probably a bit late, but does this count?http://awesomeforsale.com/flick-shot/

Cram- That's actually kinda close to what I was going to suggest!
I was thinking something you would wear on your arm like a a bracer or something that would hold tension and release it simultaneously with the thrower.
Another thing that I think would be great to learn to aim is a target that would light up when you're lined up properly to it. Maybe using lasers.
Manufacturers and factories could create some amazing slings. All machine woven and slick.
Standardized ammo would also be fantastic.
One thing I'm curious if we haven't already done- Have we run a slinger through a computer program that tracks and analyzes his movements?

Tomas wrote on Feb 15^th, 2019 at 4:13am:

One thing I'm curious if we haven't already done- Have we run a slinger through a computer program that tracks and analyzes his movements?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZCUq06OHpo
the closest we can get with 0$ budget.
having a graph is one thing , making it useful another...

making those graphs helped me with some misconceptions I had . It's not that making graphs will double our range or speed. :(
How would you use 3D traction of a slinger?

I say to you the secret is in the compound sling :P

if only we could track down matthias borstadt.
he made  a working compound sling, never sent me one :-(
And then vanished, seemingly from the face of the planet.

Curious Aardvark wrote on Feb 15^th, 2019 at 3:58pm:

And then vanished, seemingly from the face of the planet.

flight archers are behind this.

I should look again into the compound sling thread, but do you have matthias' design ?

the compound sling scares me, what if it releases back to your face? double pendulums are chaotic :-/

Not sure about "modernizing" but here are a few ideas I am playing around with to get a little mechanical advantage. Enjoy

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And 2

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Second concept, instead of the finger the thumb is used

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And 2

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Nice, I like the look.

They look awesome but do they have any advantage? The hardest thing with modernising the sling is that it's very difficult to match the control, efficiency and speed of the human hand. Just look at prosthetics. Only the very advanced (and expensive) types come even close to the dexterity a real hand has and they still have a long way to go. I guess with your version the control still comes from the hand but that kind of makes me ask what the advantage is.

hey photobucket images are back on!
for those interested in compound slings: http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1174772635/60#61

The compound sling is an interesting idea, although I'm sure it makes the simple sling very complicated.

I think it would take a lot of testing and fiddling to really get a compound sling to a point where it's as usuable as a regular sling and I do wonder if the cons outweigh the pros. Can a coumpound really increase power that much if it ends up being complicated and cumbersome to use?

it's not about making a sling for regular use. the sling for regular use is already used and will not be replaced.

i dont think it will be easy to use a c.sling not for aiming . it would serve the purpose of casting a projectile so fast and far away that watching it would create bliss.

After testing I've noticed (for me anyway) that I'm able to incorporate the wrist a little more. I suppose there may be no big mechanical advantage. But sometimes "familiarity" is helpful. I am used to firearms and having a better grip as aposed to a cord or string helps me.

The compound sling is an interesting idea as well. Part of the merit of the sling is it is so simple. Walking to the store is simple to, where trying to explain the complexity of everything involved in order to drive' to the store is another. Even though driving to the store is commen place now thanks to engineering. And yes walking there will always be more "simple" but there are better, or at least different ways :)

Just a prototype I'm playing around with, but so far so good. I guess it's just a (throwing apparatus) but I think it looks good and feels great in the hand. It is a simple trigger pull to release. You still have to practice timing. It seems to work with about any throwing style. I'm borrowing from other ideas but I'm not sure anyone has mixed them together as I have yet? Maybe they have. Anyway let me know what ya think.

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It also seems pretty flexible with different grip types, again borrowing from other designs but I am a firearms kinda guy, so why not mix it with slinging! Two things I enjoy.

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Function aside, I love the look!!!

@Bato... Love the “single shot revolver”... very poetic!
A true player from the hood knows you have to swing real firearms around really fast like a sling anyway.  You get extra velocity out of your bullets which makes them more deadlier!  ;D

If you swing the gun round you can curve the bullets. I saw it done that documentary "Wanted" with Angelina Jolie.

Kick wrote on Mar 6^th, 2019 at 10:24am:

If you swing the gun round you can curve the bullets. I saw it done that documentary "Wanted" with Angelina Jolie.

I once knew a guy who believed that could really work with enough practice :D

We really need to improve science literacy in this country.. 😞

Hey I had to do a single action revolver, otherwise it wouldn't be "gun slinging" haha. Don't be mad cause you didn't think of it! Anyway they might be silly projects, but hey they are fun to build and they work, so why not. I don't know about "folly wood" stunts. But a firearm with a bent barrel to shot around corners! That was a real thing, crazy looking!