Seeing how most of us are pretty obscure in the whole scheme of things, I was thinking how to leave a mark on history for posterity. It dawned on me that we as a group have the capability to set some sort of official world record here...if we can get the folks a Guinness to go along with it. What I'm cooking up in my mind is an international/intercontinental slingfest in which we all throw at the same time (GMT)on the same day. I don't think anything like this has been done before and it will be a 1st on the books. I think this will be a fun project for us to worrk on and will single us out as being somewhat unique. If we get enough folks interested in taking part in this, I'll contact the folks at Guinness to see what we need to do to get into the book.

not to be a wet blanket.  
BUT, there are so many factors that effect a world record slinging attempt that I honestly don't think you've got a hope in hell.  
 
1) you need a field or flat area where you have at least 500 yards long by 100 yards wide in which to attempt the throw. This is much harder to find than you think as you will need private land or somewhere so remote and inhospitable that no members of the public ever go there.
 
2) you will have to be able to retrieve the slung missile in question, and given that any half decent distance attempt will either need to be a lead glande or similiarly shaped dense stone, this is much harder than you'd thinhk. Such missiles drill themselves quite deep into the ground and due to the lethal nature of the projectiles in question  observers need to be  a healthy distance away from the impact zone.
You might be able to use steel missiles and a metal detector - that's how I'd do it. A lead cored, steel glande would be the ideal missile.
 
3) you would need guinness officials at every attempt, getting hold of one is hard enough.
 
That's just for starters.  
 
If you can figure out a way of doing it - I'm in. But it's a lot more problematic than I think you believe.  
 
I did used to have access to a suitable field. But the farm is now an adventure farm and that field is no longer available to me.  
 
The only other places I know of round here that might be suitable, are all public access and thus totally off limits.  
 
When we did distance throwing in wyoming, we had a harvested bean field that was 500 yards on the diagonal. Essentially you're either going to need an isolated beach, a farmers flat field or live near salt flats.  
Farmers fields are preferable as it's private property and all you need is the farmers permission. There are no other associated health and safety regulations that you would have to adhere to if you got permission to use public land.  
All you actually need are a few common sense precautions for private land - for public land the list of regulations would probably be stupendous.  

on your own - you've got no chance of even finding the missile.  
Hell I've even lost white baseballs in short green grass. Let alone something that's just drilled it's way into the ground.  
 
I've been stood 6 feet infront of a lead glande when it hit ground. And I still couldn't find the bloody thing.  
 
On another note I was contacted recently by someone who claimed to know an englishman who held the world slinging record in the 1970's.  
He hasn't got back to me with any details of distance, missile sling type etc.  
So if you're reading this mate - please ask your mate for details - ta  

Me too Benkolmer. Here's another wet blanket comment, but it should be addressed I guess. You have to provide Guiness with a certain amount of documentation to prove you did what you said you did. I have no idea how you could verify that so many people actually slung when they said they would in such a way that they would accept it as proof. It's more just a matter of taking their words for it. I don't think they will accept that though. Hopefully I am wrong. I am with you though Kentucky, just let me know when you get the details figured out.

Quote from curious_aardvark on Feb 22^nd, 2012, 6:55am:

This may be a dumb idea.
 
But what if you found a big barn, threw at it from 100 yards, heard it hit, backed up another 50, etc.  Eventually you'd find the distance at which you could just hit the barn.  
 
Or a pond would work too.  But a barn might be safer.

I do love fletch_mans idea of everyone throwing a rock from around the world, and almost uniting us as global slingers.
 
But to be another wet blanket for the mass slinging record attempt, even as our whole community we wouldnt come close to any time slings have been used in combat as a standard weapon.
Even currently in Palestine, I would have thought that surely they would have had more kids throwing than we could muster members of the community to one place to throw at one time.
 
Love the idea of sending a stone flying though, perhaps in the next SITH, everyone could post one of their ammo pieces in with the sling?
 
Nemo

Based on my calculations (AKA google earth) the most I've ever gotten is around 80 yards. IDK, I think I did something wrong lol.  
 
Either way I'm not setting a world record anytime soon. Also, the current world record holder used a modified sling designed specifically for distance- not accuracy or anything else. His ammo was also a specialized dart. Basically, our preferred primitive methods aren't really going to beat it. The guy who has the record for a rock used some sling that was ridiculously long.  
 
Wonder where MrBoss is?  
 
EDIT: Just read over the compound sling thread. If there's any a chance then it could be this.

Quote from fletch_man on Feb 22^nd, 2012, 3:39pm:

 
love that idea.  
Now do I send my super special stone that I've been saving just so I can look at it and think: 'man that's a good sling stone'. Or something else lol  
Quote:

If I've got anything to do with it  
 
Right so a simultaneous throw - so we need to work out a time (gmt) when it's suitable for all members - seeing as we're scattered across most of the world's timezones.