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Combt Archery and Combat Slinging (Read 4515 times)
nightweave
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Combt Archery and Combat Slinging
Dec 7th, 2006 at 4:07am
 
Well I went for my first combat Archery day with Grey Company, (Western Australian Metal Weapons Re-enactment group) I was the only slinger on the field.

It was interesting to see the different styles of combat used. I took a large shield (80cm round) out with me and I was using tennis balls as ammo.

The two main things I noticed were:

1. I had a better ballistic opportunities and I could place them better than the archery guys.
2. I got to hide behind a large shield to re-load.

Had a ball getting shot at by archery blunts and returning fire while hiding behind a shield.

All and all it was an educational experience. I still need to find the best slinging styles for me but I know now that I use at least two styles depending on range and obstructions. (I know pretty logical and all but that day really drove it home.)

Has anyone else had a chance to sling against other people?
What do you guys use to sling against other humans for fun?
Would you sling in a combat?

nightweave
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bigkahuna
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Re: Combt Archery and Combat Slinging
Reply #1 - Dec 7th, 2006 at 4:11am
 
Winter snowball slinging is great fun. You can get some great battles going and use garbage can lids for shields. Smiley
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winkleried
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Re: Combt Archery and Combat Slinging
Reply #2 - Dec 7th, 2006 at 11:14am
 
Im' in the SCA as soon as i can get back into my combat activities after i graduate here in a couple of months I am going to be lookin into adding combat Slinging onto my ( Now expired) combat authorization card. In speaking to those in the know it basicly would involve me sticking to the standard SCA combat archery authorization regulations.
A lot of the resaon I am thinking about this you have already posted below. In addition there a whole lot less equipment overhead than if I was using a crossbow or a selfbow.
In the SCA Florigieum there is a posting in the combat section under slings to where the current king of this area was talking about using a sling in a similar manner durring one of the SCA's Gulf Wars.

Marc Adkins

nightweave wrote on Dec 7th, 2006 at 4:07am:
Well I went for my first combat Archery day with Grey Company, (Western Australian Metal Weapons Re-enactment group) I was the only slinger on the field.

It was interesting to see the different styles of combat used. I took a large shield (80cm round) out with me and I was using tennis balls as ammo.

The two main things I noticed were:

1. I had a better ballistic opportunities and I could place them better than the archery guys.
2. I got to hide behind a large shield to re-load.

Had a ball getting shot at by archery blunts and returning fire while hiding behind a shield.

All and all it was an educational experience. I still need to find the best slinging styles for me but I know now that I use at least two styles depending on range and obstructions. (I know pretty logical and all but that day really drove it home.)

Has anyone else had a chance to sling against other people?
What do you guys use to sling against other humans for fun?
Would you sling in a combat?

nightweave

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Thori
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Re: Combt Archery and Combat Slinging
Reply #3 - Dec 7th, 2006 at 11:33am
 
My friends and I used to do "safe" (ha) combat with wooden swords, PVC flails, etc, and I would sling at them.  I had a pretty good time with it, usually using pinecones wrapped in tape or just balls of tape.
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nightweave
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Re: Combt Archery and Combat Slinging
Reply #4 - Dec 7th, 2006 at 5:37pm
 
winkleried,

Grey Company uses a variation of the SCA archery combat rules. Lots of fun and there should be more of it.

Thori,

Pinecones? hmmm at least you were having fun. Which as far as I am concerned is great! Wooden swords are ok played with them, but PVC flails? Were you guys into lacky band guns as well?

bigkahuna,

You make me wish we had snow here on my side of Oz.
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winkleried
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Re: Combt Archery and Combat Slinging
Reply #5 - Dec 8th, 2006 at 11:28am
 
I Fully agree with you on this point.
Problem is that people don't seem to realise that you have to practice, poractice,practice with the sling.
Course it doesn't help that there is an SCA gent in my neck of the woods that runs an academic SCA webpage that claims his attempts witht he sling don't come anywhere near the results posted in the historic literture. But what can I say he is a unabashed hand made selfbow guy and Toxicphilus student. So i am planning once i graduate here in a couple of months to start teaching the art and science of the sling classes around here. Hopefully this will dispell a lot of the myths of our favorite missle weapon.

Marc Adkins

nightweave wrote on Dec 7th, 2006 at 5:37pm:
winkleried,

Grey Company uses a variation of the SCA archery combat rules. Lots of fun and there should be more of it.

Thori,

Pinecones? hmmm at least you were having fun. Which as far as I am concerned is great! Wooden swords are ok played with them, but PVC flails? Were you guys into lacky band guns as well?

bigkahuna,

You make me wish we had snow here on my side of Oz.

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lobohunter
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Re: Combt Archery and Combat Slinging
Reply #6 - Dec 8th, 2006 at 7:56pm
 
Has any one used a medium sheild. where the hand is free to move but the arm strapped in.
When I was S.C.A way back when I used this type of sheild with a sword later ona war hammer. But it seem one could reload the sling using it and also fend off incoming missles such as arrows
seem like it would be a good raiders combnation
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Tint
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Re: Combt Archery and Combat Slinging
Reply #7 - Dec 8th, 2006 at 11:22pm
 
I think Douglas the Black used a shield with a sling.
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Re: Combt Archery and Combat Slinging
Reply #8 - Dec 9th, 2006 at 10:20am
 
in my last couple of years when I was an active competive SCA fighter ( before the real world and academia interferred) I used a medium sized target( it was the top of a open head plastic drum). Used it with a variety of weaponry but a sling was not one of them.

Marc Adkins

lobohunter wrote on Dec 8th, 2006 at 7:56pm:
Has any one used a medium sheild. where the hand is free to move but the arm strapped in.
When I was S.C.A way back when I used this type of sheild with a sword later ona war hammer. But it seem one could reload the sling using it and also fend off incoming missles such as arrows
seem like it would be a good raiders combnation

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Re: Combt Archery and Combat Slinging
Reply #9 - Dec 10th, 2006 at 11:13am
 
And so I make my triumphant return to slinging.org! I like this new forum; it's a good look, and a nice update! Anyhow, I've slung with a shield before, and I want to share my findings with you all to see if anyone else ever had the same problems I did. I was using a 28" diametre round plywood shield on my left arm (hand was free because of how I positioned the straps to go over my forearm and wrist), and a sling in my right. I noticed that the heavy weight of the 1 cm thick shield tended to pull my weight to the left so my left side of my body would drop during the throw and all my shots would go far left of where I was aiming. Now, admittedly, I was using tennis balls, which seem to be directionally affected if you so much as sneeze in their direction, but I also had trouble relaoding the sling. Normally, I can grab the sling on the way back around, and untangle the cords, slam a stone in the pouch and be ready to fire in about 5 seconds, but even with my left hand free of the straps behind the shield, I had trouble getting my hand into position to reload the sling. I would have to drop the pouch on the ground and toss a ball from my right hand to my left (not easy to catch when you have a 10 lb shield on your arm; hard to make those fast movements you take for granted catching a flying object when your arm weighs twice as much, and then I would drop the ball into the pouch and grab the release cord of the sling with my right hand, and then have to aim over the top of the shield to fire. Thsi all took roughly 2-3 times longer than it would without a shield. I think a metal shield, of the same height and of significantlt lessened thickness would alleviate much of the weight problem that seemed to be a factor, if you were even going to use a shield at all while slinging. Perhaps more practice would be needed in this area before I would be comfortable using that combination, but it seems that others have had better luck than I have, so perhaps its my form, my technique?
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lobohunter
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where be a rock and a
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Re: Combt Archery and Combat Slinging
Reply #10 - Dec 11th, 2006 at 3:43pm
 
The direction this thead has taken has made me want go out and purchase a riot sheild. thenaqiring the skill to sling behind it. but to what purpose would this skill be pursued.
I cvould forsee it as a event at the annul slinging. org games.
Imagine the sheer joy of it slings nocking other slingers missles out of the air with the shieldwhile trying to loose missle of there own.
infact I can for see this becoming a spectators sport lol
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Re: Combt Archery and Combat Slinging
Reply #11 - Dec 11th, 2006 at 4:54pm
 
certainly sounds like fun, wish there were something even vaguely similiar in england. But as far as I can see most reenactment bods are either civil war (that's the english civil war) hardcore live in a tent and wear grotty skins viking bods (the axes are just too damn small for me to be tempted) and - believe it or not - an american civil war enacment soceity. Don't think we have anything that I would consider interesting. Ie: where I could sling at some poor unsuspecting sod :-) My new yak hair jobby would certainly do the damage with a tennis ball :-)
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Re: Combt Archery and Combat Slinging
Reply #12 - Dec 11th, 2006 at 5:32pm
 
I've contacted the AEthelmearc Marshal about the possibility of sling combat here. With two other Kingdoms actively doing it, it makes it hard to say no.
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Thori
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Re: Combt Archery and Combat Slinging
Reply #13 - Dec 12th, 2006 at 9:37am
 
What we did was a lot of fun.  The PVC flail was actually one of the most effective weapons -- five feet long with a chain strung through it and attached at one end, and out the other end it was attached to a ball.  Of course, if you couldn't hit the guy with the ball, you could always bash him with the handle.
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lobohunter
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where be a rock and a
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Re: Combt Archery and Combat Slinging
Reply #14 - Dec 15th, 2006 at 8:01pm
 
Hey Thori long time no see.  no rules about entanglement?
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Albert Scott C bigbadwolf41 77940+hwy+99+south,+Spc+22  
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