well, i'm new to the site... it's pretty cool...

i made two slings a few days ago... one is a two cord style of hemp with a leather pouch... the other is of the three string variety with the same materials... (i have found that the three string works much better for me so far...)

after getting the hang of it, so to speak, i like the underhand vertical release with one revolution. i estimate my range to be between 100 and 300 feet with decent sized stones a little bigger than golf balls, AND it is really fun slinging in the snow and then trying to find the used ammo again, hehheh. ::)


but, to the main point, i went to the store today and got a great deal on some AMMO... golf balls, tennis balls, and [insert drumroll] WATER BALLOONS!!!


tomorrow i will go to the park with my sister and we will have fun chasing golf balls down in the snow, and see how interesting water balloons will be... i think they will be good for summer!


anyway, thanks for the cool site, and hopefully slinging will become a little more popular!


remy

Remy,

Fill those ballons with water and set them out over night.  They will freeze into great ammo.

Let us know how it works.

jeff <><

I've tried water balloons in the past.  The ones i had tended to break from the centripetal force.  You'll have to go nice and easy on the wind up if you want them to come out whole.  Hopefully you'll have better luck than I did.   :P

Chris

okay... how about filling the balloons with gelatin? haha

actually, the tennis and golf balls are the projectiles i want to test... the balloons are just for sh@ts and giggles... i already split a tennis ball to use as a mold, and am also going to try a ping-pong ball as a mold... and i just had a thought! has anyone tried using a stiff mix of cement in a melon baller? seems to me it would be almost like casting lead bullets, like for black powder... and a stiff enough mix of cement will hold it's shape till it cures completely, so you can make many 'melon balls' at one sitting.

remy

Hey, I like the ping-pong ball mold idea for small size ammo. The smooth surface should make it easy to take apart after the cement hardens. I will have to try it myself.

I found 300 ping pong balls on ebay just now for $32 (current bid).

This would be great.  Just fill up the ball and throw it.  Don't even peel it.

If DavidT's concrete ball made from a tennis ball weighed 5 ounces, the ping pong ball would weigh much less; maybe 2.5 ounce or so.  They should throw great, nonetheless.

jeff <><

yeah, that would be cool. if they decided to shatter, the ball would keep the cement from flying everywhere...

what if there was a .50 cal lead ball in the center for weight? they would be a good size still and should be more than 2.5 oz when cured...

remy

I don't believe one could get a lead ball concentrically located in the concrete.  This would make for an eccentrically weighted stone, which would fly weird and crooked.  This defeats the purpose of a round ball.

jeff <><

I suggest you to try an effective and amusing projectile: just eggs  ;D   They are suitable in size, shape and weight, and also they are consistent to be thrown with sling. They have the advantage of being explosive but not lethal and so you can throw them to your annoying neighbours. Nevertheless they have the disadvantage of being only one-use and a little expensive projectils, but so amusing... :D

Hondero

Hmmm...

But if you like your neighbour and don´t want to spoil that friendship?

What about cook them first? ( no not the neighbour, the egg!)

just an little idea....

Ulrica

biodegradable too.  

Hondero, eggs? Well one thing to be sure, once you have launched them the "annoying neighbors" will not be reusing them and throwing the same ones back.


WalkingBird

But what about the rotten eggs? These must be terrible as ammo :-X It is a kind of a dirty weapon. I'm sure it is forbiden.

Jurek

Yes, Ulrica idea "What about cook them first? ( no not the neighbour, the egg!)" I think is not fine... I can imagine  the slinger bag full of fried eggs... and besides the air drag of fried eggs may be not the optimal... Hmm, don´t know, don´t know...

The fired eggs are very practical thing. If you come back from the hunting without the trophy, you may eat the eggs thouh.

Jurek

wrote on Feb 1^st, 2004 at 7:02pm:

The fired eggs are very practical thing. If you come back from the hunting without the trophy, you may eat the eggs thouh. Jurek

;D
That is a good point. Then better don´t sling every egg.

Hondero: I didn´t mean fried I ment boil them in water for about 10 Minutes, so they getting "well done".


/Ulrica

Yeah,  I understood you but I like much more the explosive missiles, like crude or fried eggs. The cooked eggs are really a dangerous projectile, in fact we called them here “hard eggs”. You can hurt your neighbors with them, and in any case they can be something stodgy if they eat them. This thread is turning towards cooking  :).... wich another missil food do you suggest for today dinner? What about meatballs... they are very nutritious  :D

Meatballs are surly okay, a little bit small, but would probably work fine.

The only I can come up with is "Bodycookis". They are called "kroppkakor" here, they are made from potaoes with meat inside, look like big light meatballs.
But except potatoes and avocados I can´t come up with anything else, that are good for slinging-dinner right now...

Ulrica

....how about empty plastic 35mm film containers filled w sand??   Might be on the light side.   But long-term biogradable.    mgreenfield

And that leads to another of my thoughts:
I don´t know if everyone knows about them, they are  yellow or orange coloured made in plastic, split in two halfs, covered with Chocolate that you have to eat first, and inside there is a little surprice, mostly a thing you shall built together. The ones with kids might know them: kinder egg.
Well, they are pretty small, but if you fill them with sand or so, it might work. I haven´t tried them yet. But I thought about it. ( and I don´t mind eating that Chocolate)

Ulrica