Over the last two days I've been going to the local park and slinging tennis balls at a sign on the fence surrounding the court. From a circa 40' distance away from my target, and armed with tennis balls, I am now able to hit within a 3' diameter circle roughly 80% of the time. (With figure-8, and to a lesser extent; Greek.) It's such a good feeling when you look back, and realize all of the progress you have made.  8-)
(I consider being that accurate as a big milestone/achievement. )

I like focussing on my aim too. Keep it up.

Agreed. Accuracy is great, but one does have to admit it is very satisfying to launch a rock a couple hundred yards every once in a while.  

There are some great videos of some pretty accurate slingers on Youtube (my resource for much of my daily entertainment) by users
fonermenorqui, PavirryPe, and slingingstones.

And Donnerschlag, that amount of accuracy is great. It really is one of the most satisfying feelings to hit what you were aiming at with a sling. And to see the diameter of your hit circle slowly decrease.

I was out yesterday and hit a beer bottle at 20 yards, right after hitting a 30cm by 30cm target several times in a row. (but that was about the extent of my accurate run). Hitting that bottle made my day. I just called it after that and went home.

Accuracy is the name of the game in slinging if you ask me. Usually I'm accurate enough to hit a stop sign nearly every time from 20-25 yards. That is after a whole year! I wonder how long it is going to take me before I can hit that beer bottle even half the time...a while to say the least.

Just out of curiousity, to anyone, what is the best shot you've ever made? Whether it was a fluke or you are just that good, what was it?  
Mine is probably hitting a knot of wood I was aiming at, the size of a quarter, at 20 yards (not nearly as satisfying as breaking glass, but it was still a dang good shot)

IronGoober wrote on Dec 20^th, 2009 at 4:46am:

Agreed. Accuracy is great, but one does have to admit it is very satisfying to launch a rock a couple hundred yards every once in a while.   There are some great videos of some pretty accurate slingers on Youtube (my resource for much of my daily entertainment) by users fonermenorqui, PavirryPe, and slingingstones. And Donnerschlag, that amount of accuracy is great. It really is one of the most satisfying feelings to hit what you were aiming at with a sling. And to see the diameter of your hit circle slowly decrease. I was out yesterday and hit a beer bottle at 20 yards, right after hitting a 30cm by 30cm target several times in a row. (but that was about the extent of my accurate run). Hitting that bottle made my day. I just called it after that and went home. Accuracy is the name of the game in slinging if you ask me. Usually I'm accurate enough to hit a stop sign nearly every time from 20-25 yards. That is after a whole year! I wonder how long it is going to take me before I can hit that beer bottle even half the time...a while to say the least. Just out of curiousity, to anyone, what is the best shot you've ever made? Whether it was a fluke or you are just that good, what was it?   Mine is probably hitting a knot of wood I was aiming at, the size of a quarter, at 20 yards (not nearly as satisfying as breaking glass, but it was still a dang good shot)

My best shot would probably be the time I hit another tinier sign in a baseball diamond (I think it was the fence company's sign) with a 6' sling I was testing out. The sign was behind where the batter stands, roughly 6"x10", and and I was standing about half-way between the pitcher's mound and third base. I haven't been able to duplicate that shot yet. ;D
I find it helps if you don't aim at the target as a whole, but a specific spot on the target. :)

i totally agree, accuracy is at the heart of slinging. it's like the old quote says..."the shot don't mean squat if you don't hit the spot!"  i will admit that every once in awhile i will send one off into space, but it's ever so much more fun to actually hit what you're aiming at i think. my best shot would have to be at a jack rabbit, over tall brush, at about 30 yards. he was on the move fast and i had to lead him quite a bit and still managed to get him on the jump. very satisfying  ;)

hehe, i had a fluke once, i was aiming for a tree before, but i got fed up with it. so i was winging off a few rocks, and guess where the first landed?

as much as i believe accuracy is important, im having fun just flinging rocks off the back deck :) keeping in mind thats its freaking cold out

congrats!

bear in mind that it is an offensive weapon used to soften ranks before marauding sword/axeman divisons ... if a stone was whizzing within a metre of my scone every few seconds I think I'd be keeping my head down like a good little pleb.

my targets are either small groupings of trees 4-8m tall and 3 m at the base... or a 44 gal / 200 l drum at around 50 m. Been working closer of late.

I figure if i had to actually hurt someone at that kind of range my reach and tenacity and knowledge of the lay of the land would serve me better than a length of string... but if someone had to pick between two houses, one where fist sized stones kept whizzing out the front door at hundreds of klicks an hour and another where that wasn't happening.. guess which they'd pick  ;) Accuracy matters less when you only have to think about the end of a hallway.

I wonder how long it will be, in my country at least (land of legislation! if you enjoy it, it's probably illegal, or so taxed it may as well be ) before slings  have to be stored in a safe bolted to the frame of your house... some tremendous force there. I think I'd take an amateur with a .22 over a pro with a sling as an adversary anyday.

congratulation again on your progress Iron and Donnershlag. you're right to feel proud of yourself... who else knows how to do that these days?

hybrid_throwback wrote on Dec 21^st, 2009 at 12:57am:

congrats! bear in mind that it is an offensive weapon used to soften ranks before marauding sword/axeman divisons ... if a stone was whizzing within a metre of my scone every few seconds I think I'd be keeping my head down like a good little pleb.

the sling was used in this way.....for a reletively short period of time in its looooooong history. for the vast majority of its existense, tens of thousands of years, the sling was used to bring down game and detere predators and in that respect accuracy is crucial.

Did you eat the rabbit ?

Donnerschlag wrote on Dec 19^th, 2009 at 9:23pm:

Over the last two days I've been going to the local park and slinging tennis balls at a sign on the fence surrounding the court. From a circa 40' distance away from my target, and armed with tennis balls, I am now able to hit within a 3' diameter circle roughly 80% of the time. (With figure-8, and to a lesser extent; Greek.) It's such a good feeling when you look back, and realize all of the progress you have made.  8-) (I consider being that accurate as a big milestone/achievement. )

That's great, man! WTG!

Thearos wrote on Dec 21^st, 2009 at 2:01pm:

Did you eat the rabbit ?

of course!  :D

I would have to say my best shot was at a deer feeding about 130 ft or so away using a steel nut for ammo i hit the deer the frist try not hard enuff to kill or hurt him [for long] just hit him on the back hard enuff to make him jump and run 30yds or so before looking back like what the hell was that  :)

Paleoarts probably skinned the jackrabbit with a self-knapped, antler-handled flint knife or obsidian skinner, cured and tanned the fur to make mittens, stuffed the paws as good luck charms, and dried the ears to make letter openers.

;D lol! well, you're half right.  ;)

Quote:

(I consider being that accurate as a big milestone/achievement. )

Most definitely - well done :-)


Quote:

Grin lol! well, you're half right.  Wink

So just the letter opener ears then :-) (that is such a great image)

Curious Aardvark wrote on Dec 21^st, 2009 at 8:28pm:

Quote: Grin lol! well, you're half right.  Wink So just the letter opener ears then :-) (that is such a great image)

I guess this means that we should be keeping an eye out for a "Trade for Rabbit-Ear Letter-Openers" thread in the Trading Post, eh?  ;D

Some say that accuracy is more important than power.  To me they're equal.  One seems useless without the other.  

Buster and I is out and running almost each morning before work, and we pass an building with a parking sign on the wall, maybe 45 x 45 centimeters.  Since late this summer I usually stop and do a little accuracy practice by slinging a tennis ball and aiming at the inside of the P`s "loop".
Sometimes I sling from 10 or 30 meters(max it this site), but usually 20 meters (paced by myself).  Admittedly there are still most misses, and I am notorious with those "flyers", but I definitively improve, hit the sign now and then, or when not at least close to it, and have great fun too.  Right now figure8 is my most accurate style, even more so than my old standard Apache-approximate style.
timann

Anyone ever have an awesome day where you hit the same spot 2-3 times in a row, and then maybe not hit it in a row but hit the same spot every few tries?  It doesn't matter how close/far-- that's amazing at any distance

I used to have those days/times every once in a while, when I started :P.  Maybe it comes from the purity of not having as much expectation (emptier mind = zen = amazing results)

Now, I'm better at father distances but worse at close (I was simply awesome from across the room :) )

Rat Man wrote on Dec 22^nd, 2009 at 2:47pm:

Some say that accuracy is more important than power.  To me they're equal.  One seems useless without the other.

a weak throw that hits can still kill, or at least wound, whereas a powerful shot that misses does absolutely nothing. both together is the ultimate goal, but accuracy definitely comes first.

Also power is very easy, accuracy is very hard, at least in my experience, I am pretty accurate throwing a stone by hand, with a sling it is quite a different story.....While I could sling a stone with waaay more power than handthrown from day 1, I am still a long way of matching hand thrown accuracy (if that day ever comes...).

"Anyone ever have an awesome day where you hit the same spot 2-3 times in a row..."

I have just begun to get there. I'm also now finding the ammo from missed shots laying very close together. Sometimes they look like a nest of stones!

The fig 8 and helicopter are he two main styles I'm working on. For me, it's all about accuracy.

Walter

My best shot would be hitting a 2 inch wide property line stake at 25 to 30 yds. It was the first cast of the day. Those always seem to be the best. For me it seems like a full hour of practice today, improves my accuracy more the next day. I think that sometimes when I practice for a long period of time I start to tense up and over think. Then the next day it all comes back more naturally.

walter wrote on Dec 23^rd, 2009 at 11:01am:

"Anyone ever have an awesome day where you hit the same spot 2-3 times in a row..." I have just begun to get there. I'm also now finding the ammo from missed shots laying very close together. Sometimes they look like a nest of stones! The fig 8 and helicopter are he two main styles I'm working on. For me, it's all about accuracy. Walter

Yep, often hit the same spot several times in a row. Unfortunately that spot is often not on the target. Seem to have a problem with always shooting to the right. Then I'll over correct and miss to the left. Only sometimes does everything come magically together and the plastic oil can goes boom when the tennis ball connects.

Developing muscle memory takes a while. Once you got it, accuracy will improve dramatically. Using the same shape and size of ammo also does wonders.

Rockman wrote on Dec 23^rd, 2009 at 10:52pm:

Developing muscle memory takes a while. Once you got it, accuracy will improve dramatically. Using the same shape and size of ammo also does wonders.

Repetition is the key to technique.
Muscles and mind usually commit a movement into memory after 10 movements. It isn't usually an effective movement until about 100 repetitions. It isn't a refined movement until after about 2000 repetitions. It isn't a seemingly instinctual movement until about 5000 repetitions.
(Results from a 2003 study of muscle memory by John Hopkins University)

Good point Paleo... then again... the few moments in history when you were more likely to hear a rock heading for your skull must have lasted for an eternity for those on the recieving end :D

From what I can work out most trad. sling hunting societies placed greater emphais on snaring and the like and slinging was used as a way to earn supplementary food en route to seasonal homesites or whilst on campaign, but I guess that'd vary by culture and time period. Always good to get a reminder that you're not reading or hearing the same tales as other ppl, thanks!

Buggered if I'd try to sling up some lunch as long as I can find fishhooks, trace wire and beernuts for bait. I'd starve. But in the meantime all kinds of wildlife would get a kick out of my randomised approach to finding a target, haha.

Sorry forgot to add that I picked my "fixed" range points based on them all having level standing points etc.. I find once one foot is higher or lower than the other it tends to add power if the front foot is lower, accuracy if it is higher. Some kinda logic in there.

I never measure anything I just fling out there on a whim, though of late I've worked a bit on how many shots I can drop into say a 10 x 10m area in say two minutes... surprising amount of stone. Think if I was out there, I'd find someone else to bother.

Donnerschlag wrote on Dec 24^th, 2009 at 2:09am:

Rockman wrote on Dec 23rd, 2009 at 10:52pm: Developing muscle memory takes a while. Once you got it, accuracy will improve dramatically. Using the same shape and size of ammo also does wonders. Repetition is the key to technique. Muscles and mind usually commit a movement into memory after 10 movements. It isn't usually an effective movement until about 100 repetitions. It isn't a refined movement until after about 2000 repetitions. It isn't a seemingly instinctual movement until about 5000 repetitions. (Results from a 2003 study of muscle memory by John Hopkins University)

That´s very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Makes one wonder whether changing styles back and forth is a good idea. Find what you like and stick to it.

i think playing around with other styles is fun, but when it comes to using the sling for its intended purpose, hitting a target, you should find what works best for you and practice practice practice! on the other hand, having two or three different throwing techniques in your arsenal that you're proficient at can only be considered a good thing. especially if you're a combo slinger, that is somone who throws for both accuracy and distance.

Paleoarts wrote on Dec 25^th, 2009 at 10:11pm:

i think playing around with other styles is fun, but when it comes to using the sling for its intended purpose, hitting a target, you should find what works best for you and practice practice practice! on the other hand, having two or three different throwing techniques in your arsenal that you're proficient at can only be considered a good thing. especially if you're a combo slinger, that is somone who throws for both accuracy and distance.

Currently, I use:
Figure-8 for distance/"power", and either Apache, Greek, Byzantine, or a sidearm for accuracy.
I'm currently in the process of narrowing down the accuracy ones to just one or two. :P

I find anything under the 50m mark I'm best with a kind of "dropping-sidesnap next to my head" routine, like a partial overheard spin. The orbit of spin is probably at 45 degrees to my own vertical axis. For accuracy that is.  Getting better, slowly. A solo attacker at 100m would be a bit of guesswork for sure but I can hit my half an oil drum half the time at around the 40m mark, around half the time. Some days it's truly comical to watch me miss 20 times in a row, haha. For those shots I use small to medium sized shot (say 1 to 2 "golfballs").

Underhand with 1 or 2 revs for distances past those ranges works best for me, accuracy is so-so but it works a lot better with medium to large shot (or my infamous vegetable matter. if only there were more mimes here!) and can probably drop a rock in a 15m sq more often than not at 80 to 100m.

Would all be much quicker I am sure if I could get weather on demand and an infinite supply of standardised shot but I am getting pretty good at compensating and adjusting for variations - it's all going to plan,muwhawha!

I have been doing a bit of practice from a crouching position too, which the 45 degree snap method works very well with. Lots of low scrub around here so I often have to crouch to see down the hills,  and so on.

I have found recently that if I have a good day, and hit my target a lot (meaning more than a few times in an hour session...I know...sad) I will invariably have a bad day the next time I go out and sling.  It is extremely frustrating. I almost have no way of keeping track of my progress.  I suppose I should start counting shots and hits.

One thing I've been trying to pin down recently is what sort of training method to use to get more accurate.  Every time I change up what I'm doing though, my accuracy just gets worse. For example, I usually throw pretty hard, so when I throw softer, my accuracy actually decreases.  But maybe I just have to get worse before I can get better in this sense. I'm thinking I need to start focusing on "quality" over quantity. However, defining what "quality" is seems to be an issue.

Anyone have any particular training methods that seem to work well for them? (Other than just throwing a boat-load of rocks as often as possible).

irongoober, this might seem like a silly thing, but when i use an index finger and thumb grip with my bottom three fingers extended my accuracy is greatly improved compared to when i use the same grip and those fingers are tucked in. i have no idea why, it just helps. one other thing you might pay attention to is stance. make sure your feet are always in the same position and your body at the same angle to the target every time. focus on a particular spot on the target and don't take your eyes off of it, all the way through the cast.
http://i819.photobucket.com/albums/zz119/paleoarts/slings/100_1661480x640.jpg

Thanks, I'll give that finger trick a try. As far as feet placement and aiming at one spot, those are natural tendencies, I guess they come from many years of archery.  I definitely noticed improved accuracy when I started really, REALLY, concentrating on a single spot, and visualizing the throw and what the hit would look like...

But the moments when every thing comes together are few and far between.

John