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Message started by Spencer on Mar 24th, 2004 at 11:59am

Title: How did you learn to sling?
Post by Spencer on Mar 24th, 2004 at 11:59am
I found it interesting to learn where we are all from.  I would also be interested to know how we all learned to sling and how long we have been slinging.

I learned to sling from my father.  I have been slinging for about 16 or 17 years.  What about you?  Just curious.

I think its great because no matter the method or how long you have been slinging, you are among the elite!  Very few people even know what a sling is!

Title: Re: How did you learn to sling?
Post by Ulrica on Mar 24th, 2004 at 1:19pm
Well, I sign up in this Forum the 15 Januar, and about one week later I was able to throw my first stone  ;)
So I´m still a beginner. My teachers are all people here in the forum I learn something here and there, put it together to something that fit me.

Ulrica  8)

Title: Re: How did you learn to sling?
Post by Hobb on Mar 24th, 2004 at 1:31pm
About 6-7 months ago (I'm really bad about estimating time) I was doing searches in the library's database on random topics when I came across the fustibulus.  From there, I got into slings, sling braiding, sling design, etc.  I learned to sling by looking at all the advice I could find online, much of it from this forum, then going out and throwing stuff.  In martial arts, I found that the best teacher was the heavy bag, 'cause if you hit it wrong, it'd let you know.  I figure the same's probably true for slinging.  Once you get all the tips & tricks, there's no substitution for hucking a rock and watching where it goes.  I only just recently found a spot where I can sling regulary and safely, so I'm eager to see how my skill progresses.

Title: Re: How did you learn to sling?
Post by Douglas on Mar 24th, 2004 at 1:46pm
In 1977 I got involved with a group of friends in San Diego, we used to run around the hills and smoke pot  :-[ and sling alot.

Went back recently - all the great spots are so populated with hikers that you really can't sling for fear of whacking somebody.

We experimented with all kinds of casts, and even made a big sling which was tied to the wrist, we called Big Bertha, and it threw rocks weighing several pounds...

Crazy days.

Title: Re: How did you learn to sling?
Post by Chris on Mar 24th, 2004 at 2:03pm
I had known about slings for a while having been interested in ancient and medieval weapons, but it was only after playing Baldur's Gate (the computer game) that I finally decided to make one.  It was made of sisal and a piece of jeans.  It barely worked, but it gave me the enthusiasm to continue and revise my designs until I was producing really nice ones.

Chris

Title: Re: How did you learn to sling?
Post by Yurek on Mar 24th, 2004 at 4:21pm
When I was a young boy I was playing with a slingshot a lot. Sling I know from my father stories, that one was a well known in the region where he was growing up in. I also saw a sling in the movie, I don't remember exactly what the title of that movie is. It was something like "Terie (or Erie, maybe anybody of you knows) dare-devil". But I wasn't able to imagine how it exactly works. I asked my father about it, but he didn't want to tell me how it working, initially. Said that it is a very dangerous toy. But I was pressing him, I wanted to know it very very much, so at least he had retired and told me that.

After that, as you can imagine, my first sling had been created very quickly :) Together with my friend, had made two slings of the old leather piece and and common string.

Just in this way our many years' slinging adventure had been started. We both used the overhand release and rather long slings. We hadn't a teacher, so our technique of slinging evolved in the natural way. We rivalled regarding the range and accuracy and taught one from another. We always carried the slings and slingshots in our pockets. Slings were like a heavy artillery :) For the release cord protection we used small flattened snap-hooks.

After that years I used sling only a few times. I have came back to slinging last spring. Since this time I have modified a bit my way of range shots. I start from a more open position and more engage the body rotation. I also have improved my accuracy.

Jurek

Title: Re: How did you learn to sling?
Post by sparticus on Mar 24th, 2004 at 4:28pm
I learned from the local kids in my Dad's village back in 1980.  He lived in the mountains of central western Greece.  They would use homemade sling shots and slings to kill birds for food.  They also used them for sport, which I found out the hard way.  Seems that they came up with an early from of capture the flag using slings and pomegranates.  The pomegranates would break open and stain your clothes red so it made a good fake blood effect, but hurt like hell.  After a few hits I decided I needed to learn.      

Title: Re: How did you learn to sling?
Post by srgs9 on Mar 24th, 2004 at 5:12pm
I started tossing stuff about 20 years ago. Even carried a sling (or three) in my pocket while I was in the army. Most of my platoon carried them as well for spooking what ever oposing force we were up against. Tossing lemons and eggs at people has a great psyclogical effect though the lemons hold up better in ones pockets. ;)
I'm not realy sure what got me started slinging but it sure is a great weapon.  Though I'm out of practice it's still one of the best simple weapons in my humble aray of toys.

Title: Re: How did you learn to sling?
Post by mgreenfield on Mar 24th, 2004 at 5:13pm
....trial & error & a lot of lousey shots & some reading on the forum to begin with.   Then I got one of Ben's Peruvian slings, and got an idea of what the "right feel" should be for a sling.  This gave me confidence that I could indeed someday make one of the darn things work  :D.   I sling underhanded w a 630deg spin-to-launch.  Accuracy is coming along nicely.  Range/power is good enough for now.   Thanks to Ben for the "Peruvian".     mgreenfield

Title: Re: How did you learn to sling?
Post by Yurek on Mar 24th, 2004 at 5:39pm

wrote on Mar 24th, 2004 at 4:21pm:
...We both used the overhand release and rather long slings...


I have corrected my mistake, there was: "underhand" but should be "overhand".

Title: Re: How did you learn to sling?
Post by longwinger on Mar 24th, 2004 at 6:14pm
My older brother taught me how to sling, I started with green apples. I was about ten years old then, the next few years I used it alot, always had one in my pocket, other friends also used them and we had fun throwing rocks! Now at 55 years of age, I still enjoy it!
Oscar

Title: Re: How did you learn to sling?
Post by srgs9 on Mar 24th, 2004 at 7:24pm
Hey Oscar,
I'll be at the medevil fair in Norman weekend after next. I'll be at booth 89(I think) with a cooler full of adult beverages and a pile of slings. How I got conned into all this I'm still not sure, but I keep telling myself it will be fun. Anyway if you get around to it  or are in the area that weekend it would be nice to bend an elbow with a fellow slinger.

Title: Re: How did you learn to sling?
Post by britishslinger on Mar 25th, 2004 at 8:37am
i dont know how i started just oneday about 6 years back my mum bourght me a survival book and i got into survival then primitive survival/living skills so i started makeing the weapons in the book my first sling was a caterpult pocket and a plaited string then it evolved from that

Title: Re: How did you learn to sling?
Post by longwinger on Mar 25th, 2004 at 11:14am
I will attend the Medevil Fair if possible, I work a four on, four off schedule, what is the exact date?
Oscar

Title: Re: How did you learn to sling?
Post by srgs9 on Mar 25th, 2004 at 12:54pm
Oscar, It's April 2-4 th. I'll post the location of the booth and a breif discription of what I'll be wearing for this insane weekend.
Britishslinger, welcome to the group.
I teach primative living skills/ woodland skills on the side. It's kind of nice getting paid to go camping
:D I don't like using the word "survival" due to the media connatitions.  OOOh the dreaded "survivleist" geez... I mean realy, survival is something we all try to do from day to day... I'd like to take some of the media folks out for a week just to see how well they do in the bush.  Not that I'm bitter ;)

Also, sorry for my spelling , I can't spell in 5 languages so i just try and get my point across.
j.cooper

Title: Re: How did you learn to sling?
Post by The_Peltist on Mar 25th, 2004 at 1:46pm
One of the deacons at my church showed me how make a slingshot from a stick and a inner tube. After that he told me stories of him and his brothers as kids getting into trouble with slings. Of course I liked getting into trouble so He told me how to make a real sling and after cutting up my new leather dress shoes I was well on my way to getting in trouble.  :)

The rest is history, the first couple rocks I chucked went backwards at the house, Dad loved that......

The_Peltist

Title: Re: How did you learn to sling?
Post by Johnny on Mar 25th, 2004 at 11:36pm
My dad made a sling for me out of a rag and shoestrings when I was about 10 years old. Played with it a little and then lost interest. About 5 years ago, I built a house on a hill covered with rocks. I made a quick sling out of leather and began throwing those rock into the empty lot next to mine. I noticed that my aim was improving as well as my distance. I was then hooked. My son and I started to go down to the creek everyday in the summer to gather rocks and hurl them. Haven't stopped since!!
Johnny

Title: Re: How did you learn to sling?
Post by nwmanitou on Mar 26th, 2004 at 12:01pm
My cousin showed me how to make one when I was about 5. That was 20 years ago and I still carry one in my pocket. About 4 years ago that a friend showed me a really nice way to sling, with great advantages of accuracy and power over my previous "helicopter" method of slinging. I swear, as soon as I get ahold of a video camera I'll post a movie.

Title: Re: How did you learn to sling?
Post by mgreenfield on Mar 26th, 2004 at 3:52pm
nwmanitou, ....maybe little description of your slinging style??  Seems like styles run in x3 types:

1/ Overhead w near horizontal spin, 1 full turn at least before launch
2/ "Baseball pitch" w no spin.  Motion can be horizontal or vertical or almost anyplace in between
3/ Underhand w near vertical spin, 1 full turn at least before launch

I favor #3 w 630deg of spin before launch.  Better accuracy for me & easy on old shoulder.

mgreenfield

Title: Re: How did you learn to sling?
Post by english on Mar 26th, 2004 at 4:16pm
I learnt to sling mostly from this website, but I have been interested in bows and other weapons for longer than I can really remember.  I was just surfing the net, and came across this site, amongst others.  Because of a large amount of research, my first slings were not crude, and worked quite well.

Title: Re: How did you learn to sling?
Post by WalkingBird on Apr 26th, 2004 at 6:34pm
WalkingBird learned to sling by slinging. I was a young kid when I must have read how to make a sling. Using it was a different story, took awhile to work up a technique that worked, after that it was lots of fun. I can't remember a time when I didn't own at least one sling. I've showed others how to throw with one. I never was deadly accurate, but sending a stone nearly out of sight as a kid was a gas. To bad my arm isn't as loose as then. I'm challanged by you folks to really start working on accuracy. A shorter sling would be in order here. One thing I do know you can learn to sling just by slinging, and this forum really helps because of the posts and movie clips.

WalkingBird

Title: Re: How did you learn to sling?
Post by Ulrica on Mar 30th, 2004 at 1:09am
sorry, just tried this way to get rid of those stubborn "new" marks..  ;-)

Title: Re: How did you learn to sling?
Post by Alan on Apr 1st, 2004 at 12:16am
I got into slings by browsing the internet, finding this site, making a sling, figuring out how to use it and then using it  ;D FUN FUN FUN!

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