Hi all - add another gal to the team.  I'm Arnellathon, and I live in Arizona.  I've been fascinated by the idea of slinging for most of my life.  I finally decided for my upcoming birthday to get off my tush and pursue this, and discovered this wonderful site only today.  I've been browsing through all of your various postings, but I'm still not sure which one is the best starter sling, or how to judge the size of it.  I'm a pretty tall girl (5'9"), and I don't want to underdo it.  Help / advice, anyone?

     Greetings, Arnellathon  and welcome to the forum!                
         Tint is an experienced slinger and has given you sound advice, which I will second. I am 5'  11 1/2" and I use a sling that is only 14 inches folded. Check out the historical gallery for the ancient Egyptian sling which, if I recall correctly, is only a foot long.                           
         Also, my first sling did not work well, so don't be discouraged if your first sling needs some "adjustment." My second sling has proven to be excellent. I have made a couple more slings for friends and the longest was 17 inches. Check out the members gallery for all kinds of ingenious slings to get some ideas.                                                             
         Tell us, how did you become interested in the sling? Let me recommend to you the movie "Clan of the Cave Bear" as this has some very interesting depictions of slinging in it. In the story, apparently weapons are forbidden to women by the tribe, but Ayla ( the central character ) develops power and independence by learning to sling. ( I have a female friend who is a real Ayla enthusiast and who loved all of the books in the series on which the movie is based. )                     
         Last but not least, let me point out that one of the fun things about Slinging.org is that slingers are from all over. You are in Arizona, I am in Massachusetts, and Tint is in Hong Kong ( on the other side of the planet! ) Although I understand how this technology works, even so, it is amazing! I look forward to reading your posts!!     .......Dan

Awesome guys, thanks for the info, but help me out (and be kind, remember I'm a beginner!) - what exactly do you mean by a "folded length"?  Do you just fold the sling in half like you would be holding it and measure it like that?  I'm assuming you're giving me a length based on how I'd be holding it.  Thanks for all the help - I'll let you know how it goes! - Arnellathon

Woops I only looked at the last page, I see that lots of new people have joined so I extend my welcome to the rest. The above still applies plus something else.  I guess that Legionare_Atimon will be slinging in company.  I recently got back into slinging and taught a friend of mine, whilst in the wild shot stage we had some pretty close calls.   In the learning stage the misses are often more powerful shots, which can be your body hinting at a better technique if you think about it.  So we had to develop some safty rules.  One, that only one slings at any one time, two that the slinger shouts "slinging" first and doesn't do it untill the other shouts "ready"; meaning I'm aware and behind cover.   This may sound cautious but remember that a slingshot can have similar velocity to a bullet from a hand gun, it's a powerful weapon.

I love my new sling i got from badger, its just my height and it is great, tomorrow i take a bunch of rocks i gathered from the middle school near me to a big open field 8)

SlingWolf

hey chuck, good luck with the rock chuck.  huck! huck! (i am sorry for that, it just sortof popped into my head)

great to hear from you, and i wish you lots of good luck with slinging

Well, I for one hope that you will prove to be more than a 'Peekaboo Picasso'......


As it seems you surely must harbor something of value to add to the art of the sling.


Welcome to our Noble, albeit humble, enterprise.




8)




TS