They rule :)

I've heard about the quite great power of the staff sling, and decided to make my own.

Just about now, I can understand how awesome it feels.
A kinda smooth, untiring move hurls the damn stone with enough force to embed a pointy stone in a tree (!) with some luck.(I was in a forest)
One can imagine that this is quite enough energy to split some skulls. Which is why my staff sling shall go by the name of Skullsplitter. Because I think it sounds cool.
Also, I must find that it is significiantly easier to get good shots with a staff sling than with a hand sling when you're unexperienced, although my previous hand slinging eperience may help in staff-slinging.

I've had problems, though: The kinda big stones flop out of the pouch or launch prematurely, in a quite dangerous arc for the slinger (me :D). Which kinda defeats part of the purpose of the staff sling: Slinging some really big honkers.
It's not quite as pretty as other staff slings I've seen (I mean you Rat Man!), rather designed to be easily and speedily constructed. The staff is more or less 180 cm or 6' long, the cords 60 cm or 2' and braided by the toughest son of bitch recycled string I've ever seen. Have some images!
(lacking a photo site account, I'll just triple-post)

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Slung a bit less than fist sized stones quite a distance. I've fallen in love.

Scroll down to Rat Man's post for images (thanks Rat Man for downsizing, btw. Makes 'em prettier too  ;))

Yep, they're good fun  ;D

Have you seen the slo-mo videos? I have been spamming them around a bit so you might well have done...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reEaUOTU1KI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QjFam33ng8

That is a good looking staff sling. I have yet to make one, some day soon though.

Thanks for the kind words,  Khalazar.  Staff slings are loads of fun and can hurl large ammo that would break your arm if you used a hand sling.  I took the liberty of shrinking your pictures so we could get a better look at them.  

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That is a nice looking staff sling.  I made three, but I ran out of bamboo.. the kids around here got interested in making staff slings.  I'm getting a new load of bamboo in soon so I'll be back in business.  

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nice staff sling - I resized your original picture (puts thumbs in ears, pokes tongue out and waggles fingers in ratman's direction lol)

Check out photogadget resizer - around 800x600 works well for us :-)
http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1258292684
A few other programs you might have a look at there as well :-)


Quote:

The kinda big stones flop out of the pouch or launch prematurely, in a quite dangerous arc for the slinger (me Cheesy). Which kinda defeats part of the purpose of the staff sling: Slinging some really big honkers.

Ah you're putting too much 'oomph' in the early stages of the throw. Start slow and only give a big heave right at the end and you should get much better/flatter trajectories.

Curious Aardvark wrote on Nov 26^th, 2009 at 7:44am:

nice staff sling - I resized your original picture (puts thumbs in ears, pokes tongue out and waggles fingers in ratman's direction lol) Check out photogadget resizer - around 800x600 works well for us :-) http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1258292684 A few other programs you might have a look at there as well :-) Quote: The kinda big stones flop out of the pouch or launch prematurely, in a quite dangerous arc for the slinger (me Cheesy). Which kinda defeats part of the purpose of the staff sling: Slinging some really big honkers. Ah you're putting too much 'oomph' in the early stages of the throw. Start slow and only give a big heave right at the end and you should get much better/flatter trajectories.

I'll try that then, thanks for the resizing too. It's getting quite hard to sling. All good stones are near a construction yard, where I don't really want to show up due to an accident involving my hand sling and some guy's car.

Khalazar wrote on Nov 26^th, 2009 at 2:37pm:

Curious Aardvark wrote on Nov 26th, 2009 at 7:44am: nice staff sling - I resized your original picture (puts thumbs in ears, pokes tongue out and waggles fingers in ratman's direction lol) Check out photogadget resizer - around 800x600 works well for us :-) http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1258292684 A few other programs you might have a look at there as well :-) Quote: The kinda big stones flop out of the pouch or launch prematurely, in a quite dangerous arc for the slinger (me Cheesy). Which kinda defeats part of the purpose of the staff sling: Slinging some really big honkers. Ah you're putting too much 'oomph' in the early stages of the throw. Start slow and only give a big heave right at the end and you should get much better/flatter trajectories. I'll try that then, thanks for the resizing too. It's getting quite hard to sling. All good stones are near a construction yard, where I don't really want to show up due to an accident involving my hand sling and some guy's car.

Tennis balls for safety, clay ammo for consistancy and distance. Fixes both of your problems.

This is my Staff Sling/ Fustibale and my loading-squire.

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Quote:

where I don't really want to show up due to an accident involving my hand sling and some guy's car.

lol we've most of us been there. That's when you develop the nonchalant walk and innocent expression.

And this is what happens to a viking with wooden shield on 80-90 meters when the projectile / waterballoon hits him in battle. He survived very wet. Since then Staff Slings are feared on german reenactor-battlefields.

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The sling loading photograph: the pouch very assymmetrical. Is that OK ?

Jaegoor wrote on Nov 28^th, 2009 at 10:51am:

And this is what happens to a viking with wooden shield on 80-90 meters when the projectile / waterballoon hits him in battle. He survived very wet. Since then Staff Slings are feared on german reenactor-battlefields.

Hello, and welcome, Jaegoor;
   That's a great looking staff sling!  I like the curve in the staff.  
Khalazar, I don't see why your staff sling is dropping big ammo prematurely.  It looks fine to me.  It's probably as c_a says.. you just need to tweak your form a bit.  If this doesn't help, however, a good sling for holding any sized projectiles is a pj. (Guides and Articles)  ilpc and I make them long, like around eight inches.  Mine look like a canoe when I'm done.  A long pj sling will sort of wrap around the projectile.  They'll hold anything from a large acorn sized projectile to a baseball.  
  I should be getting more bamboo any day now so I can begin experimenting again.

Thearos wrote on Nov 28^th, 2009 at 11:27am:

The sling loading photograph: the pouch very asymmetrical. Is that OK ?

One of my staff slings had an asymmetrical, though not that much, pj sling on it and it worked great.  I'd say it's absolutely OK and possibly better than a symmetrical sling.  From what I'm seeing in the picture, Jaegoor makes a mean staff sling!

Jaegoor, that's 8-) 8-) 8-)!

No, it's not asymetric, more triangular. The force is transmitted better for the waterballoons. Otherwise they would burst on slinging. We have to tape them even.
The curved staff increases the range of the sling because the sling opens a bit later.

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Jaegoor wrote on Nov 28^th, 2009 at 12:52pm:

No, it's not asymetric, more triangular. The force is transmitted better for the waterballoons. Otherwise they would burst on slinging. We have to tape them even. The curved staff increases the range of the sling because the sling opens a bit later.

I am really impressed. That poor shield guy!  ;D

The first staff sling that I made, which I gave to my buddy Del, had a bit of a curve like that to it, but only in the lower portion.  I liked the feel of it.  I can't wait for the new bamboo so I get started again.  I should have it any day now.  I received some recently, but it was too thin to make a staff sling from.  I may experiment with making atlatl darts with it.  In that I've never done anything like that it should prove most... interesting.  

what I meant is that the projectile does not seem centred in the pouch

jaegoor were can i get a staff sling like that do u trade or sell them if not were did u get the staff and the tip if u do trade or sell pm me ;)

I found a good branch yesterday to start experimenting with the staff sling. I doubt it will be pretty but I will post some pics when it is complete.

I am thinking of making it kind of retro and using a seatbelt sling.

They don't have to be pretty to work well.  When it's all said and done it's just a hand sling tied to a stick.  It's really that simple.  If everyone knew how easy they were to make and use we'd have a lot more staff slingers.  It certainly doesn't hurt, however, to make a beautiful one like Jaegoor's.  He's posted some pictures of three very beautiful hand slings in Pictures of Slings and Slinging.  It's worth a look.  

i still want to know were he got the tip for that sling staff? :o

I like to explain you how to make staff sling but a little bit later because i need my friend for translation. Its not so difficult you think.

See you later and here a historical picture

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What a great picture ? Where is it from ?

At a guess: S. Germany, ca. 1520 ?

Landknecht sitting round a table, i n their civilian clothes. At one end, a drunken fight involving a Katzbalger and a pewter pot.

Above the table, weapons-- the tools of these violent men. Parts of breastplates. Halberds and guisarmes (vel sim). 2 crossbows (one with crank, one with goat's foot). Quiver for crossbow bolts. Powderhorn for handguns-- I think the longthings with cloth covers are probably two-men hand guns (which might take the date of this to ca. 1475 ?)

And, surprisingly enough, a staff sling, with a huge pouch and a really heavy stone. Good represntation of a ?woven? pouch ?

Anyway, that's what I see.

Interestingly it goes for a slit-and-knot release rather than a loop or ring.

Jaegoor wrote on Nov 28^th, 2009 at 10:51am:

And this is what happens to a viking with wooden shield on 80-90 meters when the projectile / waterballoon hits him in battle. He survived very wet. Since then Staff Slings are feared on german reenactor-battlefields.

Wow! That whole scene looks like a dream. Sure beats slingin' by your lonesome. Slings, shields, blondes, brunettes, tents, campfires...

walter (feeling like the lone slinger right now)

cool post, thanks for sharing :)

and they're all playing backgammon while they plan their mayhem.. I suppose.  Backgammon appeared in France in the 11th century and Germany in the 12th.  Apparently the game started in the Middle East over 5,000 years ago!  It looks like the guy to our right at the end of the table didn't like loosing!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backgammon#Europe

Another Slinger that wears Funny Clothes :)

Thought about hanging out in the Goliath Subforum??? :D

Marc Adkins



Jaegoor wrote on Nov 28^th, 2009 at 10:44am:

This is my Staff Sling/ Fustibale and my loading-squire.

How thick was that shield????

We use taped up tennis balls for our ammuntion..........

Marc Adkins


Jaegoor wrote on Nov 28^th, 2009 at 10:51am:

And this is what happens to a viking with wooden shield on 80-90 meters when the projectile / waterballoon hits him in battle. He survived very wet. Since then Staff Slings are feared on german reenactor-battlefields.

From someone else who does the historical reenactment Scene, It can be quite fun.... although in this area I am the only forumite doing it, I do know of another member who is intrested in the sling.

Marc Adkins



walter wrote on Dec 1^st, 2009 at 9:50pm:

Jaegoor wrote on Nov 28th, 2009 at 10:51am: And this is what happens to a viking with wooden shield on 80-90 meters when the projectile / waterballoon hits him in battle. He survived very wet. Since then Staff Slings are feared on german reenactor-battlefields. Wow! That whole scene looks like a dream. Sure beats slingin' by your lonesome. Slings, shields, blondes, brunettes, tents, campfires... walter (feeling like the lone slinger right now)

What's the Sources for this Pic????

Marc Adkins


Jaegoor wrote on Dec 1^st, 2009 at 4:23pm:

See you later and here a historical picture

When I built my staff Sling. I purchased a thick Hardwood Dowel Rod from one of the hardware stores. put a notch on one end of it and drilled a hole through it for the retention end.....

Works great for Me

Marc Adkins


ilovepancakes wrote on Nov 30^th, 2009 at 8:23am:

I found a good branch yesterday to start experimenting with the staff sling. I doubt it will be pretty but I will post some pics when it is complete. I am thinking of making it kind of retro and using a seatbelt sling.

hi winkleried

The shield had a thickness of 4,5 mm (no idea how much that is in leguas, miles  or werst Wink) The projectile was a water balloon with a weight of 250 grs.
I would like to mention that the shield was not in accordance with the regulation of the German Reenactors' Community which specifies a minimum of 6 mm thickness for any shield. Many reenactors still cover their shield frames with linen or rawhide only.

No Problem Jaegoor. I can work with the SI system of measurement as well. Thinks for the Weight and Dimensions. I do a 2 hour class on historical slings and thier effectiveness for the SCA. That pic will go a long way in my class in showing what a staff sling can do. All of the participants in the class are not slingers so they have no idea what can happen down range.

Thanks again

Marc Adkins


Jaegoor wrote on Dec 5^th, 2009 at 5:54am:

hi winkleried The shield had a thickness of 4,5 mm (no idea how much that is in leguas, miles  or werst Wink) The projectile was a water balloon with a weight of 250 grs. I would like to mention that the shield was not in accordance with the regulation of the German Reenactors' Community which specifies a minimum of 6 mm thickness for any shield. Many reenactors still cover their shield frames with linen or rawhide only.

The subject matters in your class sound very fasciating.
Most people don't have any idea about how much damage a sling can cause.
I've got another picture showing the effect of a sling impact.
This used to be an old kitchen table top.  
My shot was fired with a normal hand sling at 50 m.
The projectiles were stones (of which one is still stuck), but also concrete balls.
The stones and the balls had a weight of appr. 200-250 grs.
I also have other pictures of me in my historical garment.  
They show me shooting "Jaegoor" style.   ;) :D :D :D

da

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wow, that is strong. it looks like the table used to have a few up holders in it from the rock's penetration.

resisted uselessly.

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...another look...

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Hi Leuts,


Here three my Staffslings.
With them I best shoot. 8-)

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sized to 35%:

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Thank you

It really becomes a time for a picture processing programme :D ;D

I use this: http://www.irfanview.com/

Image > Resize/Resample, then Save As

You're quite welcome.  It's no problem for me to resize your photographs.  

Many thanks Rat Man

I do not work yet very long with computer.

I slinge rather. ;D

http://www.ottonenzeit.de/slinger/slinger2.html

Jaegoor wrote on Dec 18^th, 2009 at 10:02am:

Many thanks Rat Man I do not work yet very long with computer. I slinge rather. ;D http://www.ottonenzeit.de/slinger/slinger2.html

... and we're very glad that you do.  You've already added much quality input to our site.

Roger that!