Hi there,

Just started slinging about 6 months ago and enjoyed every minute of it, until recently. 

I am self taught via youtube clips mainly and self practicing on farmland etc.  Anyhow, I thought it would be a good idea to mention my recent experiences and just show how BAD injuries can be from a sling - none I can see have been reported that I can find with my my online searching so far.

Like I said I love slinging and am practising daily despite my recent injury, but recently started messing with my string lengths and this along with my own STUPIDITY, almost caused me to lose an eye.

I always used prior to this a length of around 28 inches sling length fully extended, but recently started using shorter lengths, which feel much better for accuracy and quite a bit of distance too.  However, my technique (untrained) was flawed and this added with short strings cause me a major eye contact injury which ended up in my eyebrow (thankfully) taking the brunt. 

What happened was I was with my mate (never ever happened when alone) so probably the show-off factor clouded my mind.  I chose a huge stone, very dense and heavy and about the size of a fist sized pebble.  I was using the basic helicopter (slight diagonal/vertical) to achieve maximum distance.

I proceeded to swing my new short sling of 23 inches and said those famous words "Watch this"...  It ended up with me doing far too many rotations, then stupidly leaning down and in to the right (I am swinging right handed) and straight into a huge smack on my right eyebrow...Ouch!

I thought I had actually popped my eyeball at first but later realized only my eyebrow and pride were dented.

I have no idea how this really happened, other than my thinking was if I lean low, and spin fast and tight I could get a better distance throw.  Anyhow, it was pretty bad and I could easily have lost my eye. 

I post this just to show that its VERY possible to cause serious damage to yourself if you are not careful.  Like I said, I have been fine up until now without any injury for many months, but add a friend, and an ego, and an idiotic sling technique and all can go balls up.

Treat the sling with great respect my friends, and remember, short strings can be lethal - especially when you try to nut them!

I was an idiot but thankfully I am healing and have not lost an eye.  I have a 2 inch long deep fleshy gash along my eyebrow and somehow stayed conscious. 

Some people often theorize what a full shot in the face with one of these projectiles can do to a human face, well I can only think that if what I received was any indication, then one of these threw from an experienced slinger would have knocked me out at least, death at worst. 

Caesar himself writes how one of his officers managed to stay very much alive despite a full-face smack from a Celtic Slinger, and even managed to fight on - although he had no choice as they were besieged on all sides lol.

Hopefully, this will be a useful post to your forum regarding slinging injuries, without you having been dumb enough to experience this first hand.

Thanks for reading, and safe slinging!

Roy.

And I brained myself in the back of the head with a tennis ball. If I practiced with stones...

Thank you Roy!!
Now I finally know why my parents forbade me slinging and playing with sling-like stuff when I was a child! I always thought they feared I could hurt someone else (which seemed exaggerated when there was no one else who could be hurt) but with your story I come to realize that they actually feared I could hurt myself!

Camo-sling wrote on Aug 12^th, 2013 at 8:36pm:



Yeah I have no problems with that Camo, a video would definitely be a good idea.

Looks like I am not alone regarding sling injuries after all lol. 

Safe slinging!

Bill Skinner wrote on Aug 13^th, 2013 at 8:54am:


Yeah that pretty much sums up how I did it, except I had more of a side on vertical spin not an overhead one. 

Like you said something like tennis balls are good to use at first and I did use these for a while but I found them too large personally, and instead I used squash balls which are perfect size - they also have added bonus of being able to weight them with sand or soil inside via a small cut.  Wrap this up with duct tape and you're good to go.

Anyhow, good advice mate.

Camo-sling quote "I think I'll make a video centered around the dangers of the sling using this as an example or case study."

Are you going to use a tennis ball and show multiples ways how you can hit yourself in the face with a sling? 

If so, I'm definitely adding that to favorites.


As you can see in the proverb in my sig, even in Solomon's day they could see the repercussions of the rock staying in the sling pouch.

I've dodged a few ricochets and in the first month I had a few shots that went off in crazy directions and I've been hit in the hand by a walnut that my friend slung (way late release on a Greek sidearm throw), but otherwise my slinging has been pretty predictable.

Dan wrote on Aug 14^th, 2013 at 8:47am:


Nice one mate and damn funny, but he should make this video.  It would be easy to reproduce with eye goggles and tennis ball or squash ball ammo, no probs.  I feel that not much - if anything - is mentioned online about possible dangerous incapacitating shots like these that are clearly capable - I trained several months. 

Granted I did this to myself via my own stupidity but I simply followed online guides and nothing was said of injuries.  Had I been out camping for a week like I usually do, this could have been a very big problem with nobody around for a couple of days.

This should be taken more seriously that is all I am saying.

Most people do not have personal trainers in these "extreme" and outdated sports, and all they have is their computer, youtube, and hopefully someone on there experienced and smart enough to show how to do, and how not to do.

Funny poopy though.

Roy.

Dan wrote on Aug 14^th, 2013 at 8:47am:


You guys can leave in the comments your estimates on how many brain cells I lost filming the video!

Masiaka, i'll add that link to the video when I get around to making it. As a side note, I think everyone has done a great job promoting the use of tennis balls to newcomers in the last year, especially Bill Skinner.