IMO i have noticed that its easyer to start with heavy stones and go for range first

this will give you good tech and good speed  wich is needed for getting good shots 

yeah that too

best thing when you feel the stone slip is duck and cover your head 
might be safe to wear a helmet if your not sure first time arond never needed one myself but i did shatter a fair few roof slate's with my first attemts at getting a stone forward (all it wanted to do was go straight skywards)

I'd say try for accuracy first, because then it becomes embedded in your brain the "cause and effect" of the sling. You fling it, your mind does a million little calculations, and something down range goes "POW!"

When I started off with trying to get a maximum range, the stone flew all over the place, and was very dissappointing. It wasn't till I practiced slinging for accuracy that I could actually manage a hundred yard throw when I switched back to slinging for distance. So I guess my alalogy is, would you rather learn to drive in a volkswagen rabbit or a formula one car?

o.k. long sling, short sling?  weight and or size of projectile that you think I  should use?

Thanks,  I'll report back on any injuries

Welcome to the forum Roy!  Thanks for trying out our hobby here, I hope you find it as addicting as the rest of us.  What fire arms have you built?  You are most welcome to post threads and share your knowedge with us.

Back to slinging, I would start with a short sling, no more than 24 inches folded, and heavy ammo becuse that would give you the most "feel".

As to pratice for range or accuracy at the begining, I am an advocate for power and range.  Once you can get the power you know you are doing the motion efficiently.  With that technique accuracy should come naturally.  But if a beginer focus too much on accuracy and do puppy shots, it would be hard to develop power afterwards.

That's my two cents.

See you around.

hmm i can't really say i have hit a lot of things but being cooped up in here for nearly six months since we moved and my idea of spending time has been sitting in front of the pc on my steadily growing behind my aim can not have gotten any better

but i shoot at trees most of the time  as they don't try and hit me back are easy to find and need no prep