Aussie wrote on Mar 20
th, 2009 at 11:41pm:
Poor quality stones not only fly differently due to windplaning etc. They also come out of the sling in an unpredictable manner as the stone hangs up in the pouch.
Thanks, Aussie, for the explanation. I don't really understand WHY some rocks head south and north while others go where you want them...so I appreciate your thinking this through with me. I suspect, at least with lightweight ammo, it's also a critical minimum grip - like, without enough weight in the pouch, the pouch doesn't hold the stone securely enough to throw it consistently (and this will vary with the style of the individual slinger - for me, I might lose the necessary control with 50 grams or below, and someone else with 40 or below). Otherwise, it's like throwing a ball with soap on your hands. I know in darts, my game goes all to Hades if my hands are too cold, so then I go to a fatter dart (brass), which has a cost in accuracy but is better than a skinny tungsten dart I can't control because I can't grip it properly.
Similar for heavy stones (for me, anything over 150 grams, but for others, maybe 200). If the stones are too heavy for me, I lose accuracy because I don't have the strength to heave them. Same with throwing knives. I quit because I am useless at 20 feet, even though I do pretty well at 8, 11, and 14; I just don't have the strength to accurately throw that weight of knife that far away. So, when a slinger steps up with a heavy stone, does he still have enough reserves to maintain the control he has with a lighter stone? Otherwise, it's like throwing darts that are too heavy (some love a 30 gram, others do best with an 18...most with a 23-26). A light bow loses effectiveness if the arrows are too heavy; rifles have their own favorite combination of powder type and amount, bullet weight and diameter, and overall cartridge length.
I think we're on to something here - of accord, you might say.