Hello all, I have a question for everyone using an overhand throw. With the pocket held in front of you, and while holding the release node between the thumb and pointer finger, do you have the release cord on the bottom (the one closest to the ground) or do you have it on top?
By changing which cord is on the top or bottom, one changes the way that the pouch is released. Would this have an effect on the projectile, like one imparts a back spin while the other imparts a forward spin, or does it ahve little effect at all? What do you guys think?
I usually throw with the release cord on the bottom, and will try the other when the weather improves. I'm getting excited about this year's slinging season. Good luck to everyone.

I always have the release cord on the top. How would you throw it with it on the bottom? 

I have had a lot of fun trying various grips.  I have tried just about everything that has been suggested here, with varying degrees of success.  Here is a synopsis of what I have learned (in just over a year of slinging, so take it with a grain of salt):

First, changing your grip is just about guaranteed to ruin your slinging until you get used to the new grip.  So figure on working with the new grip for a few days before you decide whether you like it or not.  Only twice have I found an immediate improvement in my accuracy.

A wide grip is great for casting things with a spin like a (American) football or a rifle bullet.  The finger loop may be on the second (bird), third (ring) or fourth (pinky) fingers (you can also use a toggle, a stick to which the cord is attached, but I have not tried that yet).  In any case, if you make sure you have your palm forward at release, you will get a nice rifle-spin.  The wider the grip, the easier it is to get a good spin.  BUT: a wide grip does NOT work with short pockets.  You need a long pocket (6 or 7 inches, or 15 to 18 cm) or else your ammo rolls off one end of the pocket and goes somewhere you do not want!  As far as accuracy is concerned, I am not as accurate with a wide grip.  But a wide grip is great for long distance shots!

I have tried four variations on the narrow grip; my accuracy is better with any of these, than with a wide grip (but then, I use a wide grip less, so I am out of practice with it).  One variation was suggested by

L.W. Forsyth

, who learned it from an old Apache gentleman who had used that technique his whole life.  The finger loop goes around your pinky finger, and the retained cord runs across your palm and passes between your thumb and forefinger.  The released cord is gripped between thumb and forefinger.  Forsyth did not say whether to keep the release knot "above" or "below" the retained cord.  At first, I had the release knot held "above" the retained cord (that is, the release knot was closer to where my thumb and forefinger join my palm, than was the retained cord).  Later, somebody (sorry, I don't remember who) suggested that it should be the other way: release knot "below" the retained cord.  Trying this, resulted in an immediate improvement in my accuracy.

A few months ago, Nwmanitou uploaded a

picture of how he holds a sling

(second picture in this post): finger loop around second finger as for a wide grip, but the cord runs up the palm and between thumb and forefinger, and the release knot is held between thumb and forefinger "below" the retained cord.  Or just go look at the picture....  Anyway, I tried this.  Immediate improvement in accuracy!  Just to compare, I tried a variation where I held the release knot "above" the retained cord.  Wrong choice, my accuracy dropped.  I now use Nwmanitou's grip almost always.

If you have a "stiff" sling (braided natural fiber, for instance), where the cords cannot twist much, Nwmanitou's grip will give you a fairly consistent rifle-spin if you have your palm edge-on (pinky finger forward) at the moment of release, or a good back-spin if you have your palm forward.  If your sling twists (like most of mine, which use nylon paracord), then you have almost no control of how your ammo will spin.  This is a problem only if you are slinging tennis balls or other things with a lot of air resistance; they will curve rather quickly off course.  Rocks are less of a problem that way.

Oh, yeah, I almost forgot ... all the slings I use now, have a knot on the retained cord as well as at the end of the release cord.  The two knots lie side-by-each between my thumb and forefinger, so I always have a consistent grip on the sling.  I learned this idea from

Knollslinger and Mgreenfield

(Knollslinger wrote about it, and MGreenfield brought it to everybody's attention).