it is common knowledge that slingers back in the day wore a pouch with a couple of things in them.  usually it was a couple extra slings of different sizes, some extra cordage and a piece of cork.  it was said that the reason for the extra cork was secret and the usual response to being asked about it was they may need it to cork off some wine if they lose the cork that came with it.  but in real life it served to keep the fingers from being rubbed raw.  all slingers carried a knife of some sort, and would peel off a thin piece of cork and place it between the loop and their finger.  it would not slide when the loop was tightened down and kept the string in place while protecting the finger from being rubbed sore.

the legend taught that if you were a slinger and along came a renowned master slinger that for whatever reason that seemed good to him, decided to take you for an apprentice, he would sling his cork and hit you in the head or somewhere with it. that was your one chance. and he would either walk or trot off and you were expected to right then, leave everything(wife, kids, parents, job, house), and get his cork and chase him down to give it back to him.  if you did so you accepted his offer to be his apprentice slinger.  if not then he'd never acknowledge you again.

cork served other purposes as well like when dealing with penetrating sling ammo wounds.

i met a man when i was a kid who had some info and stories about slingers and slings.  i am going off of memory for the most part.

This man you met - was it in a pub, by any chance ?

A leather lined or leather finger loop - pretty much stops any rubbing.

Don't get me wrong, the whole blood soaked sling and cork slinging are good stories. But I suspect that's all they are.

Over the years, we've seen most of the historical references to slingers round here - neither of those stories has ever turned up in one.

So what else did this chap tell you ?
If nothing else, they're entertaining stories

Curious Aardvark wrote on Jan 31^st, 2018 at 6:15am:

 
i am glad you said that.  no, i was five or six so i did not patron pubs at that age...   but as far as today's references, from what i was taught they are not so helpful because most of the slinging info was destroyed long ago especially across europe, northern africa and north western asia....that part i remember well because it was so cool and full of violence and to a kid, that is what makes a good story...
now, a leather piece  will work for rawness prevention, i have had a few of those loose fitting slings and they are good for throwing a rock in the direction you wish for it to go, but pinpoint accuracy cannot be consistently achieved by that; i am almost fifty and have used and played with slings since i was not more than a toddler.  quiet frankly and in all modesty i have watch videos of competitions from around the world..some can throw and hit a large target with the black disc in the middle, sometimes, but finding the wiggle and having a taut fitting loop is key to accuracy improvement..  that is where the cork helps greatly. tbh, i have seen nothing in the competitions online that can touch some of the slingers i have witnessed among the cumberland gab, tenn. area, melungeon people...not even the same sport.
but back to the stories and references.  he had a couple from different parts of europe written that even blamed slingers for the advent of the dark ages.  it was told there was a concerted effort to try to wipe out most slinger references in their parts of the world during their times and even removed "slingers, sling, slinging' from many stories and replaced with them 'archers'(one really famous one about a crossbowman, from the 1200 to 1300's and was not written until a century and a half to two centuries later actually has some detractors who say it was a sling and not a crossbow he used and they maintain his lifestyle as a mountain climber supports that)...i have read almost all the references known today.  they offer little help or insight and makes me think that only supports the teaching i received about the 'slinger cleansing".

however munster's rebellion is a fun little study if you can find indepth info on it and how the preacher man was ignorant of the message he received about slingstones.   had he known some of the slinger stories i heard as a child, like the one about 'andrea the **g' as he billed himself, he'd not have misunderstood on that message....(andrea kept little rocks hid in his shirt cuffs)

Ahh, so the guy with the 6 pack of beer was this same gentleman then?

 that is where the cork helps greatly. tbh, i have seen nothing in the competitions online that can touch some of the slingers i have witnessed among the cumberland gab, tenn. area, melungeon people...not even the same sport.

I have a feeling this is going to receive a few comments. 

Personally I want to believe this, even though this being the internet you have to be quite skeptical at times. I don't want to believe it because I don't think the Balearic slingers are excellent, because they are, but more because I do personally believe, based on my own experience, that the sling is capable or even more. And seeing people use it to its fullest potential would be amazing.

I've mentioned this story several times but my closest tie to this type of accuracy is through my wife's cousin who served in the military in Iraq. One day, after seeing me sling, he casually mentioned to my wife how he had seen a slinger while over there who could hit birds out of the air with enough consistency to keep himself fed. I know this man, and he has never struck me as someone who would create such a story out of thin air. So that, and my own experience keeps me thinking we have not reached the limit of sling accuracy by a long shot.

Any personal experiences you can give on these slingers you're talking about from the Cumberland gap area would be much appreciated.

Es gibt unzählige Mythen und Geschichten. Die meisten halten einer Überprüfung nicht stand. Vögel zu jagen ist nicht so schwierig. Das schaffe ich auch. Ein statisches  Ziel kontinuierlich zu treffen ist ebenfalls nicht einfach. Die Schwierigkeit liegt in der ständigen wiederholbarkeit einer exakten Bewegung.  Diese Art von Perfektion muss man mögen .
Ich las von einem alten Schäfer.  Dieser konnte eine dose in der Luft treffen. Die dose warf er selbst. Zunächst war ich sehr ungläubig.  Doch ich versuchte es. Vergessen sie alle Stile. Egal ob Balearic , Figur 8 oder was auch immer. Üben sie sich in Entschlossenheit und tun sie es. Heute treffe ich auch eine dose in der Luft und ich werfe sie auch selbst. Und meine Schlaufe für denn Finger ist sehr locker dabei. Für mich arbeitet eine enge Schlaufe nicht.

"There are countless myths and stories. Most do not stand up to a review. Hunting birds is not that difficult. I can do that too. It is not easy to hit a static target continuously. The difficulty lies in the constant repeatability of an exact movement. You have to like that kind of perfection."

I could not agree more.

"I read about an old shepherd. This could hit a dose in the air. The box he threw himself. At first I was very incredulous. But I tried. Forget all styles. No matter if Balearic, figure 8 or whatever. Practice resoluteness and do it. Today I also meet a dose in the air and I throw them myself. And my loop for the fingers is very loose. For me, a tight loop does not work"

Maybe you could, but survival in real conditions is always more difficult than people think. I think if anyone here could it would be you. I have not practiced on moving, aerial targets so I'm pretty sure I would go hungry. 

Jaegoor wrote on Feb 1^st, 2018 at 5:14pm:


Überleben ist ein Teamsport