Good evening new friends,
I grew up around a lot of gun enthusiasts and never understood it or got into guns (I shot some rented/borrowed pistols and found it boring because I couldn't hit anything I wanted).. That is, until I joined the military at 24; Shot expert in boot camp while being able to joke around with the marksmanship instructors.
Range might have been my favorite part because marksmanship came naturally to me.. -or maybe it's the fact that the drills laid off of us those two weeks while at range. Got my own rifles to practice long distance marksmanship when I would have time. It's an awesome yet practical hobby, though ammunition is harder to justify plinking with nowadays (40 cents a round of .308 would be cheap at the store).
Fast forward to a few weeks ago, I was looking at making a "frameless" slingshot but instead, I came across
this video that kept popping up in my search results then I gave it a shot.
Wove my first paracord sling (one strand, macrame,) started practicing, four days later I was able to
hit a basketball backboard within 15 feet reliably with approximately similar (eyeballed) ammo for consistency that was "good enough". That was a special moment, I knew I was hooked and kept at practicing every day. This was such a refreshing change from guns. It wasn't about consumerism, but rather self-sufficience and crafting and reengineering your own equipment. And in the end, it all comes down to technique of the slinger rather than what sling they'd have.
I'm also amused that the Baleares were a literal society of shooting enthusiasts raising shooting enthusiasts.
PS: I found that this was a great way to practice marksmanship for reasons of:
-quiet, won't alarm anyone
-if you always stay in control and practice with little to no chance of a "negligent discharge" that was at alarming speeds, people will leave you alone or ask you neutral or positive about it.
-you can take it, or make a new one anywhere around the world and still be able to practice marksmanship when you are bored and want to practice shooting
-the dynamic motions that you need to keep identical between shots is far more difficult than just "holding still and steady breath out" for a firearm. I can say when I practice with live rounds in a rifle next, it will probably feel a lot easier to get back in the groove than it's ever been.