This is a thread dedicated to accuracy with the sling. It's first iteration was posted on July 11th, 2010 and it is due for an update as far as I am concerned... I will be going through and getting rid of the fluff and focusing solely on those things which are most important in an attempt to cover as much as possible in the relatively small scope that a single post can convey. Please understand that the things mentioned in this first post are universal to accuracy with any style. While other tips not covered in this first post may be specific only to a certain style. -Morphy,  March 6th, 2012

I. Ammo

A common misconception among new slingers is the idea that with enough practice any ammo will allow you to be accurate. The thought process often goes something like this: "Since a sling's natural ammo is stones, I should be able to use any stones and be accurate as long as I practice enough."

This thought process generally leads to frustration more than anything else.  For the highest degree of accuracy you must use the best ammo. So what is good ammo?

1. Shape: it should be smooth and round. No jagged edges and no flat areas. The most common shapes for a suitable stone ammo is egg shaped, football shaped or spherical/ball shaped. Any ammo with these shapes will fly as straight as you are able to sling them. You can always use less than perfect ammo when you feel like it, but remember not to expect too much accuracy if your stones are very irregular. If you sling a stone and find it makes noise in flight, that is a good indication your ammo is not ideal.

2. Weight: To be as accurate as possible ammo weight is very important. The first aspect about weight to consider is that all of your ammo should be as close to each other in weight as possible. This will help your mind correct mistakes from one shot to the next easier.  Ammo weight affects rotational speed of the sling; lighter ammo rotates faster and heavier, slower. Too great a difference from shot to shot will cause your shots to be difficult to control, and nearly impossible to really fine tune shots on small targets at longer distances. Try and have no more than a 2 ounce spread at maximum to maintain relatively good accuracy. For example: 4 ounces (115 grams) minimum weight and 6 ounces (170 grams) maximum weight or a 2 ounce (55 gram) possible variance. This is just an example, your preferred minimum/maximum weights may vary. A 2 ounce/55 gram spread is acceptable for accuracy practice. Though the smaller the target and longer the range, the more you will want to get as close to identical weights as possible. All slingers that want to achieve the best accuracy possible can benefit from attaining a cheap scale for measuring ounces/grams. Weigh your stones and either discard those that do not fall within the correct spread or save them for non-accuracy throwing.

The second important aspect of weight is that a stone that is too light does not give the feedback necessary for the proper control needed to hit small targets at longer ranges. How do you get the proper amount of feedback to be accurate? You have to have the proper amount of tension on your sling cords. Lower weights do not generate enough tension and therefore become very difficult to fine tune the control of a shot. In my experience my best accuracy comes with stones in the 5-6 ounce range. With an absolute minimum of about 4 and an absolute maximum of about 10 ounces. As you can see by that spread, ammo that is too light is much more detrimental to accuracy than ammo that is too heavy to comfortably use. You will still be surprisingly accurate even with ammo that is too heavy to sling far. You just won't have the velocity to do much with them. The best combination of both power and accuracy can often be found at about an ounce or two above what is considered at the edge of too light. Experimentation is necessary to find what works for you. I would suggest starting with 4 ounces and increasing weight while doing a lot of practice at smaller targets.

Another option is making either clay or cement ammo. All the same rules on shape and weight apply but for those of us in areas where stone does not occur naturally, this is a good option. No matter what you use, a large piece of carpet hung from a taut rope will serve well as a backstop and let you reuse your ammo almost indefinitely.


The Wind-up/Pitch

A sling throw has essentially two aspects to it. The wind-up and the pitch. The wind-up is the portion of the throw where the sling is not yet accelerating to throwing speed but is rotating fast enough to stretch the cords taut due to centrifugal force. During the wind-up your sling may not be moving all that fast. During the pitch you quickly accelerate from the slower speed of the wind-up and increase the speed enough to powerfully throw the stone.  

II. Form


Both the wind-up and pitch flow smoothly together and when taken as a whole they become your form. Your form is whatever way in which you choose to throw with your sling.  Knowing your form inside and out can mean you do not fluctuate nearly as much in your accuracy from day to day as someone who has no idea what works and what doesn't. You are looking for 2 things in proper form.

1. Control: The first aspect of proper form is control. You should feel in absolute control of how the sling moves from the beginning of the wind-up to the end of the pitch. If your sling does not feel like a perfect extension of your arm, some aspect of your slinging needs to be worked on. One example might be balance. You must have proper balance. Some prefer to keep both feet on the ground, never moving. Others prefer to step into the shot much like a baseball pitcher. Both can work, you will need to experiment to find what works for you best.

Another example: You will want to find which release angle works best for you. Some people try to release at a perfectly horizontal side-arm, some try to release in more of a vertical throwing motion while still others prefer a diagonal slashing motion. What works best for you will depend largely on your own specific style. These are just two examples. You will find many other things that can make your throw feel more or less controlled and repeatable.

Now we have talked about control, let's talk about consistency and repeatability. Consistency is the second aspect of proper form.

2. Consistency: Here's an example of the concept of consistency: Are you standing at the same angle in relation to the target every time? If not that can affect your throw. Try keeping your lead foot pointed directly at the target and use that as an anchor to get the rest of your body in the right direction. No matter where the target is, the direction of you body should always be at a consistent angle in relation to your target. This is just one example of doing your form the same way every time.

Again, practice with good ammo on smaller targets will help you understand what works best. Just keep in mind that what works for one slinger and their particular style may not always be what works best for you and your style. Remember, above all else having every shot feel controlled and consistently the same as the one before is what you are going for!

III. Your Sling

Each slinger will find certain types of slings that work well for them. For many years I swore by braided yarn slings. It was only when I put sentiment aside and forced myself to give paracord sling cords a try that I realized how much more I liked paracord instead of wool. One big reason is that wool stretches, which can add unwanted variables within your form and throw. You may like wool, or not. The point is, try all different types of slings to see what works for you. Approach new types of slings with an open mind.

I also find that heavier, stiffer cords and pouches do not work well for me. This is something to keep in mind as well. Some slings will immediately feel better to use than others. Take a good look at them and decide what exactly it is that is making it feel better. And then just as importantly, ask yourself why that particular aspect of the sling being that way helps. This can teach you more about your throwing and give you other ideas of possible improvments to try later. The difference between your control with a well made sling and a poorly made sling is quite large.

IV. Stretching

Not much to say here except that stretching is beneficial to the slinger. Keep your muscles and tendons limber and you will find you're faster, have more control and are less likely to injure yourself. Look up baseball pitching stretches if you are curious about where to start. Also keep in mind that whenever trying out new throwing styles/stone weights/slings or any combination of the above that you take it slow. If you do hurt yourself, obviously give yourself enough time to heal completely.

I threw out my elbow trying a style that was new to me and instead of letting it heal all the way I kept slinging. My elbow has not been quite the same since. Better to stop slinging a few weeks then to permanently hurt yourself.



Well, that's about it for the most general concepts in slinging. Each style has it's own peculiarities and each person will find, with enough practice, a way that works best for them. This post and thread is not an attempt to cover them all. But it should offer a good foundation for people to build up their own accuracy using techniques and tips that almost all veteran slingers find helpful.

Lastly, if you have your own tips by all means please post them below and add to the thread. -Morphy

Excellent material, thaks. I will add it into the FAQ section.

good points, however i can achieve consistency using any size, shape, or weight of rock (which really isn't that consistent, but i'm still able to shoot in a straight line). i think it's more on how your shooting that really makes a difference. two days ago i was slinging at the general area of a tree maybe 50 yards away. i used round and smooth, flatish but still round and smooth, slightly rougher textured block shapes that where pretty big, and chunks of concrete that where tennis ball sized. all of them flew pretty much the same, although with the larger ones i had less control, and so some of them went a little to the left (i'm a right handed sidearm). therefore, i think weight is more important for consistency than shape or texture. weight would make your slinging style faster (lighter rocks) or slower (heavy rocks). it would also effect whether your stone will go that right distance or not. use a 1/2 oz rock and unless if you have a short sling in an indoor area it will not go as far as you want it to, and so might hit lower than you want it to.

oh, just read the gifted slinger part, and even though i have a lot of posts and have been here a while more than half of the active guys here, i only sling maybe once every two or three weeks.

xxkid123 wrote on Jul 5^th, 2010 at 12:20pm:

i think weight is more important for consistency than shape or texture. weight would make your slinging style faster (lighter rocks) or slower (heavy rocks).

Kid, I considered putting this in as what you say is very true. Instead I just advised that rocks be separated into groups to try and cover all that. But that is a very good point, and for anyone that has experienced it, it can make a big difference on accuracy.

As far as using jagged projectiles of different shapes and sizes and retain consistent accuracy, some surely will be able to. But this is geared more towards beginners and even more experienced people that are having problems but can't seem to fix them. If you are able to hit a small rabbit sized target at 20+ yards with different shapes, sizes and weights of jagged ammo, consistently, you would definitely fall under the gifted category I mentioned.  ;)

Aussie wrote on Jul 5^th, 2010 at 5:48am:

Excellent material, thaks. I will add it into the FAQ section.

Thanks Aussie, glad you like it.   :)

Morphy wrote on Jul 5^th, 2010 at 2:11pm:

xxkid123 wrote on Jul 5th, 2010 at 12:20pm: i think weight is more important for consistency than shape or texture. weight would make your slinging style faster (lighter rocks) or slower (heavy rocks).   Kid, I considered putting this in as what you say is very true. Instead I just advised that rocks be separated into groups to try and cover all that. But that is a very good point, and for anyone that has experienced it, it can make a big difference on accuracy. As far as using jagged projectiles of different shapes and sizes and retain consistent accuracy, some surely will be able to. But this is geared more towards beginners and even more experienced people that are having problems but can't seem to fix them. If you are able to hit a small rabbit sized target at 20+ yards with different shapes, sizes and weights of jagged ammo, consistently, you would definitely fall under the gifted category I mentioned.  ;)

Absolutely every variable affects the projectile's performance to some degree. Even the notion that lighter stones will give higher velocity is not invariably correct. True with very heavy stones it takes more effort to accelerate them up to speed and the final velocity may be slower than a lighter stone, but heavier stone/pouch combinations are not as affected by air drag and the sling opens out more. Rotating on a bigger effective radius means a higher velocity for the same rotational speed. Additionally heavier stones retain their velocity better so even if the launch velocity is slightly slower the velocity at the target may actually be higher. Also excessively light ammo does not push open the pouch efficiently causing a late release. Jagged or rough ammo can cause the same problem even if the weight is the same as it hangs up in the pouch.

Any stone which whirrs in flight is crap. That sound may be fun to listen to but it's eating up your projectile's limited kinetic energy at an alarming rate as well as plying havoc with any accuracy you may be hoping for. Even nicely rounded stones that are excesively flat will windplane and veer off course.

In summary, good ammunition not only flies well once released but performs predictably in whatever style pouch you have.

I'm a newbee, so you can take this for what it's worth.  To get the consistancy you need to hit regularly, use one type of sling and stick with one length.  Bill

Bill Skinner wrote on Jul 5^th, 2010 at 9:07pm:

I'm a newbee, so you can take this for what it's worth.  To get the consistancy you need to hit regularly, use one type of sling and stick with one length.  Bill

I agree and would add ammo should be of one type; material, shape and weight.

walter

For form, I find that when my form is perfect, there is a feeling of effortlessness to it.  It's like throwing someone in Judo.  I have one or two throws that feel like there is no effort involved at all, no matter how big the person is I'm throwing.  When a sling throw happens this way, I know the target is hit the second the stone leaves the sling.  Daily practice is neccesary to figure out when this feeling happens and be able to reproduce it.  It happens once or twice a session now, but when I had more time, and payed attention to it, the frequency increased.  I was consistently missing a soda can by 3 or 4 inches, with occasional direct hits, from 25 feet, with power adequate enough to penetrate the can.  

A short post on accuracy .................  practice  :)  ,the rest will come with time.

Dan wrote on Jul 11^th, 2010 at 1:06pm:

A short post on accuracy .................  practice  :)  ,the rest will come with time.

Relating our experiences to others allows us to help people learn much faster then if everyone had to learn everything for themselves from scratch. Write any helpful tips you might have so others don't have to make all the mistakes you did when starting out. Practice is always most important but is a given no matter what you're doing.

It's not just meant to be about the original post, but a work in progress by anyone whose slung a few rocks. I'll  change the title to reflect that.

Dan wrote on Jul 11^th, 2010 at 1:06pm:

A short post on accuracy .................  practice  :)  ,the rest will come with time.

Whereas practice is indispensible, of itself it is not always enough. Look at golfers and tennis players, they will often spend countless hours (and dollars) with a coach working on some minor error in form to get their putting right or to gain a few extra yards off the tee. As a rule we slingers are solitary in the pursuit of our sport and as for coaching, how many of us have had any at all? We must be our own coaches and work on form as best we can. Take onboard any advice from experienced members and use what aids we can. I strongly recommend videoing yourself. You may be surprised!

Hello, and thanks for the tips.

I'm new to slinging - first post here. I've tried a couple of styles and am now trying to get the underhand technique going. Using a simple 20 inch 'Malik Lund' sling, golf balls as ammo.

I've always been pretty awful at throwing stuff - doesn't seem to come naturally. I'm hoping that with slinging I can figure out why this is, and improve focus and aim.

At some 15 paces, shots are still going a bit all over the place, up to some 20 degrees right or (mostly) left off target. (I'm talking horizontal here - vertical aiming is for later.) It helps when I try 'pointing' at the target explicitly at release, though somehow this is hard to do. Now, I also tried just spinning the loaded sling around in a vertical circle, without releasing, to see if it actually spun in a straight vertical plane. I was a bit dismayed to find that it does not, even though I try. When the sling travels back up, it will be to the left now, to the right then - no wonder the shot doesn't go straight at release time!

I've also tried putting more of a horizontal motion into it, so that the circle is in a diagonal plane, not a plane standing straight up... not quite sure if it helps, as this additionally requires releasing at the right moment of the horizontal part of the motion.

The only answer here may be 'more practice' but let's hear if anyone has other ideas. Thanks - and thanks for this great site.

Well I'm not sure if I can offer you a better answer then more practice, but I can offer you some tips to do during practicing.

First swing slower. Don't try to destroy the target, just do medium to light power throws until you get a little more practice in the accuracy department.

Second, maybe try a longer sling. I know some people will disagree with me on this one but a 20 inch sling is pretty short. You might find after some practice with a 25-30 inch sling that their is a certain length that seems to work well for you. Not sure about that, but it's worth a shot.

Third, try getting closer ,maybe 10 paces instead of 15,  and make sure your not slinging at anything that could ricochet your ammo back at you. Once you get the hang of hitting it closer up try walking back 5 paces.

Fourth, find a style of throw that seems the most natural to you and then concentrate on doing that style the exact same way every single time. The rotational plane that the sling swings in is not as important as simply doing it the same way every time. Your body will get used to it if it's done the same way and you will know when to release.

Lastly, make sure your not inadvertently cupping the release cord with your other fingers. Keep your other fingers flexed outwards a bit as this seems to be something that some people do naturally and it can make your shots go wild.

Aussie wrote on Jul 11^th, 2010 at 5:50pm:

Dan wrote on Jul 11th, 2010 at 1:06pm: A short post on accuracy .................  practice  :)  ,the rest will come with time. Whereas practice is indispensible, of itself it is not always enough. Look at golfers and tennis players, they will often spend countless hours (and dollars) with a coach working on some minor error in form to get their putting right or to gain a few extra yards off the tee. As a rule we slingers are solitary in the pursuit of our sport and as for coaching, how many of us have had any at all? We must be our own coaches and work on form as best we can. Take onboard any advice from experienced members and use what aids we can. I strongly recommend videoing yourself. You may be surprised!

Your post reminded me about a quote by Ed Parker the founder of American Kenpo "Practice does not make perfect , perfect practice makes perfect."

Watching vids and taking on here can help make your practice perfect but, it is up to you to make yourself a perfect slinger.  8-)

Slinging is also a difficult to learn because it is "instinctive", unlike bows and firearms there is no aiming system .  

I just found this topic, Morphy, and found your advice helpful.  One thing that helped me recently get more consistent was to keep my eye on the target. This is probably a no-brainer for some, but I realized I was starting off supervising my rock in the pouch, then moving my attention to the target as I moved toward the pitch.  When I consciously made an effort to ignore the stone (sling, et cetera) once it was in the pouch and focus on target exclusively, I found the throws going nearer the target, and more consistently in the same area throw after throw. It made for one of those "plateau" moments, where, far from perfect, you feel like you just moved up a level. Your part on "consistency" reminded me of this, so I thought I'd add it. Good topic. Thanks for taking the time.

NP Matt, thanks for your addition. That's what this thread was meant to be about, everyone adding things that helped them. I still find I need to remind myself to do that at times. It's good advice for everyone IMHO.

I am actually glad you brought this thread to the top. I was thinking about it the other day. I was thinking a revision to my first post was in order with a focus on more specific things everyone can do to really help their accuracy.. Maybe you bringing it up is a sign to get it done. I might have to do that when I get back.

Great thread, glad it came up again.  I find a clue for me is putting my mind into my hand, where it then focuses 100% on the target.  What does that mean?

Actually, I can tell you that it happens if you are pouring a pot of boiling water, or working with a razor sharp knife.  You know when the only thing that matters is not dropping that glass cup or expensive antique.  Similarly, you have to orient everything around your throw towards that target.  It happens when you throw a ball.  If you focus too much on your whole body or some aspect of your form, you are getting away from the all important sling hand.  When you throw a ball, you don't focus on the twist of your hips but on the goal you have for the ball in your hand.  It's the same with slinging except with slinging, there actually are techniques that do and don't work.  Throwing a ball is much more straight forward.  

Excellent slinging technique with accuracy is something which is discovered through much experimental practice, then lost through concentrated practice, then rediscovered again through more experimental and concentrated practice, only then to be lost again through more concentrated practice.  Every time you try to hone in on what you discovered instinctively so that you can do it again, you loose it because you don't yet know what it actually is and you only think you know.  The instinctive mind is not the rigid concentrated mind and yet both parts of the mind are needed to be a consistent and successful slinger.  When you concentrate, you loose your instincts.  Yet this battle between the two minds is necessary until you learn where to concentrate to make your instincts flow.  Does that make any sense?  It's just another way of putting things I guess.  

Without mentioning the obvious like starting your throw with the sling hand held back, or some of what's already been said above, I think there are only a few universal things that are common to almost all accurate techniques be they Balearic, figure 8, Greek or whatever else.  Morphy definitely mentioned a lot of them in his initial post:

#1 Technique is called “Tracking.”  At least that's what I call it.  In this technique you must focus on the pebble and finally you become one with the pebble.  

Ok in plain language, in tracking, your arm, or forearm or at least your wrist, or hand follows the sling around during at least a portion of the final rotation of the sling, prior to the throw.  Your windup could be behind you, or over your head, or left out altogether.  It doesn't really matter but prior to your throw, during the final rotation of the sling, your arm will give way to align with the sling before the throw, to track it around so that it's pre-aligned before you throw.  This tends to occur with a "Breakout."  That's another term I've found helpful.  In Balearic slinging the slingers tend to windup tight and behind, usually low, then they suddenly allow the orbit of the sling to break out from this tight orbit, pulling their loose arm behind it.  That's tracking.  The stone is guiding their arm rather than their arm guiding the stone.  It's a give and take you might say.  This is less obvious in figure 8 then in most other techniques but I believe it still occurs during a section of the throw.    

#2 Technique.  “Throw at Target!”  Yep, that's it.  If you don't concentrate on that, it doesn't matter if your form is flawlessly consistent every single time.  Every single movement you make during slinging must be oriented around that target and little else other than the ground you're standing on.  It's easy to forget this as you focus too much on your form.

#3 Technique. “Economy and Ergonomics of Slinging Motion.”  With the above two nearly universal principles, find what works for you and the more consistently you can do it, the better.  For some this means a focus on a very static technique in which they try to move their arm as little as possible from my windup position prior to the throw.  For many others, it means a very dynamic technique in which they throw their whole arm and body into the movement every time.  Many others only allow their forearm to track the stone.  Find what you can make work consistently and accurately.  We all have different bodies and minds so we will end up with different paths to success.  You will find what works through experimentation but many of the clues you find will be only yours and won't be something that can be done by others.  Every little thing you do will affect where your shots go but different people will have different biomechanics and get different results from the same techniques.  You'll find trends and learn a lot this way until you find what puts you on target again and again.  Hopefully once you discover it, it's not something too difficult to do on a regular consistent basis....    


         

Good approach, Whipartist, old friend, and also that of Morphy, to the fascinating question of accuracy. It is an issue that should be continuously active for each brings their experiences. I think the secret of accuracy  passes first through an exhaustive mastery of the technique, then by a constant practice for a long time until the technique becomes unconscious and we enter the intuitive phase, in which the only thing that we must pay attention is the feeling emotional, or spiritual if you want to call it that. At this stage what must  grab the attention is the intense desire to hit the target, nothing more. In Spanish that feeling is called "tino" and I don´t know how to translate it properly, but it is what we have when we throw a stone at hand without being conscious of the arm or the body, but only of the strong desire to hit. It's the feeling to be sure of hitting the target. This is the final training, to develop the "tino", to intensify it, forgetting everything else. For that we first have to get a skill with the sling so that it is a real extension of the arm to which we pay no attention.  
     
(Ah, my server is kaput from several days and I have lost by the moment the images)

Hondero,

Great to see you're still on the forum and also competing, old friend!  It's been a few years and I remember you talking about writing your book on slinging, which is now complete, and amazing!  Congratulations on such a great work; I have very much enjoyed reading the English version!!  

I like what you say about the final development of slinging mastery and I agree entirely.  I've glimpsed at this many times with some amazing shots resulting, but it sure is easy to loose that "tino," even if you're blessed enough to find it in the first place.  But it is essential because although consistent disciplined slinging technique is essential to accuracy, to focus on it is a distraction in the end from the best accuracy in which only the target is being concentrated on.    







 

 

Whipartist wrote on Nov 21^st, 2011 at 10:29pm:

I like what you say about the final development of slinging mastery and I agree entirely.  I've glimpsed at this many times with some amazing shots resulting, but it sure is easy to loose that "tino," even if you're blessed enough to find it in the first place.  But it is essential because although consistent disciplined slinging technique is essential to accuracy, to focus on it is a distraction in the end from the best accuracy in which only the target is being concentrated on.

I agree fully with you, the concentration on the target is essential, to such an extent that the zen bow masters, another intuitive discipline like the sling, affirms that you have to become one with the target, even saying that “when you hit in the center of the target, you hit in the center of yourself”. This mysterious sentence, like all zen sentences, possibly contain a great wisdom, besides a highly spiritual meaning in the line of Eastern spirituality. From the point of view of a western mentality and something more pragmatic, I imagine that they talks about that the archer gets to develop an unconscious mechanism of accuracy of great perfection and that his task consists only of acceding to it and to leave it to act automatically. For that reason when you hit on the center of the target it is because you have contacted with that mechanisms that is in the deep of you. The masters of zen bow are able to even hit the target with the lights of the shooting room off, which indicates that they take the target in their interior, perfectly located in relation to their position; until that point they are identified with the target.

You are also right, and I believe that it happens to many of us, that after some shots of extraordinary accuracy, the aim vanishes and began to fail as if "something" mysterious had become disconnected and we had lost the “tino”. That "something" is without a doubt the unconscious mechanism of accuarcy, and its disconnection is due to our lack of emotional intensity, to our relaxation of the emotion to hit. We shoot routinely as if we had ensured the success of the first shots, and the disconnection takes place. We do not know what happens because we make the same things that before, but we do not realize that no longer we have mobilized the same emotion. For that reason, the main consistency that there is to develop is the emotional one. If we are not able to make arise from our interior the emotion of the perfect shot and to maintain it of consistent way, our precision will be mediocre and irregular. In my opinion this is the final training, not easy to get neither a short training, and that requires a psychological (or spiritual) work. I am thinking about working on it facing the next Balearic competition  8-).

That's true,Hondero,one has to have an emotional motivation to hit the target.Slinging rutinely tends to ruin this.Although practicing is very important too for the physical part,the spiritual part what can make those incredible shots,and so hard to reproduce every shot.

Morphy, that was excellent.  I have found it's a "feel" and that's what is most addictive about it.  When you're zoned in it's an amazing feeling.  Runners, archers, shooters, musicians, dart throwers have all felt it.  One thing that has helped me if I don't have a lot of time or ammo is "dry throwing 2 or 3 times with no ammo and getting my groove, then I'll throw ammo then "dry throw" a couple.  It has helped me.  Again, this was an excellent post, you're always chock-full of good info.

Practicing at 13 meters.  My first throw this morning wasn't so great, but I quickly corrected my form and placed 2 good shots just 4 inches to the right of the tin can I was aiming at.  They grouped one on top of the other.  My 4th shot smashed directly into the can and sent it flying.  I had the emotional balance and belief in my technique and acquired the feel almost immediately today.  I have learned through many failures and successes that tremendous accuracy is possible to achieve, even if difficult.  Later on I kept practicing until I lost and regained the proper feeling repeatedly over an hour or so of practice.  The movements of proper slinging are too complex to understand completely.  They do come down more to something like an emotion than to anything else.  I describe them in my slinging journal from one angle and another.  I know that my throw has a similarity to a punch I once saw in a cowboy movie.  I use images and ideas to try to grasp what I'm doing but language doesn't have enough descriptive power to capture what needs to be known by at least my body, to sling well.

I think I am learning to sling less.  If I practice too often, my own fatigue and weariness can often shut my accuracy down.  Besides, the stiffness in my wrist isn't helping.  I know if I take the time to heal and go out when I'm feeling alert and energetic, I'll sling well.  Health and spiritual balance, Hondero is right.      

I thought I'd give my two cents since the quest for accuracy has been my only aim (is that a pun?) since I started slinging.

In my experience, these things helped me a great deal in achieving good accuracy
1. Practive EVERYDAY.
   When I did this, after 2 weeks, I honed in from about a 1m radius, to about a half meter radius (for probably 90% of my throws). I started out hitting a gallon jug at 20 yards about 1 in 40, by the end of 2 weeks, I was about 1 in 10 to 15. Consistent practice with little downtime in between seems to really stick in the brain better than waiting longer in between practice sessions. At least this is the case for me. The best accuracy I have achieved was during this last September when I was able to sling for several hours a day for about 4 days.  By the end of this, I was hitting a 1L bottle at various distances up to 25yards about 1 in 5.  But, afterwards, I discontinued practicing as much, and my accuracy has suffered tremendously.

2. Focus on the "feel" of each throw.
   By this I mean try to "feel" if you are throwing right, left, high or low, before the stone hits. You can then use the visual feedback from seeing where it hits to correlate what feeling hits where.  You can then just throw completely by feel. This greatly increases my accuracy during a given session, if I start to lose my accuracy, I have to try and "recalibrate" by figuring out what feel hits where.  I tried doing this by closing my eyes while I threw ( I only did this twice). I first calibrated, and then tried closing my eyes, my first throw was a hit. The next were misses by a few inches, this was throwing at a 1L bottle from ~20yards.  For me doing this is very necessary to develop accuracy.

3. Try to consider each throw a throw by hand and not a sling throw.
   This kind of goes with the above statement. I found that when I think of the throw as simply as I would a throw by hand, I tend to be more accurate. If I start thinking about all of the mechanics of "slinging" then I stop "feeling" the throw and concentrate on too many things at once. This gets me out of the "intuitive" mode and I start missing more.

4. Throw at many distances
   I find that a good way to reset if I've just lost my accuracy when throwing at something is to either throw at something much nearer or much further away (usually much further away, because it forces you to really refine the mechanics). When I start getting close again at the new distance, I come back to the original target, and usually start hitting it.

Also, I have to give credit to the previous authors on this post, it is good information and good to see that others have similar experiences to what I am having in my accuracy quest.

Off topic replies have been moved to This Thread

Pretty much redid the first post entirely. Been meaning to for months now. Lot's of new stuff. Even though it's still really long, I got rid of a lot of the superfluous nonsense.   ;) Peace.

Morphy wrote on Mar 6^th, 2012 at 12:58am:

Pretty much redid the first post entirely. Been meaning to for months now. Lot's of new stuff. Even though it's still really long, I got rid of a lot of the superfluous nonsense.   ;) Peace.

I like it a lot. It's a great resource. One thing I would add towards ammo consistency is that keeping ammo that is similar is a lot more realistic than getting perfectly egg shaped or round stones every time. What I do is follow the Apache article, and choose a common stone shape that is fairly accurate rather than always looking for that perfect stone.

Thanks Kid. Yes it's true if you have access to stones with all similar features or deviations they should provide a similar enough foundation for you to work with. Just like if all your arrows are spined slightly too high, so long as they are all the same spine you should be able to compensate for their deviation from normal.

Morphy wrote on Jul 5^th, 2010 at 2:39am:

This is a thread dedicated to accuracy with the sling. It's first iteration was posted on July 11th, 2010 and it is due for an update as far as I am concerned... I will be going through and getting rid of the fluff and focusing solely on those things which are most important in an attempt to cover as much as possible in the relatively small scope that a single post can convey. Please understand that the things mentioned in this first post are universal to accuracy with any style. While other tips not covered in this first post may be specific only to a certain style. -Morphy,  March 6th, 2012 I. Ammo A common misconception among new slingers is the idea that with enough practice any ammo will allow you to be accurate. The thought process often goes something like this: "Since a sling's natural ammo is stones, I should be able to use any stones and be accurate as long as I practice enough." This thought process generally leads to frustration more than anything else.  For the highest degree of accuracy you must use the best ammo. So what is good ammo? 1. Shape: it should be smooth and round. No jagged edges and no flat areas. The most common shapes for a suitable stone ammo is egg shaped, football shaped or spherical/ball shaped. Any ammo with these shapes will fly as straight as you are able to sling them. You can always use less than perfect ammo when you feel like it, but remember not to expect too much accuracy if your stones are very irregular. If you sling a stone and find it makes noise in flight, that is a good indication your ammo is not ideal. 2. Weight: To be as accurate as possible ammo weight is very important. The first aspect about weight to consider is that all of your ammo should be as close to each other in weight as possible. This will help your mind correct mistakes from one shot to the next easier.  Ammo weight affects rotational speed of the sling; lighter ammo rotates faster and heavier, slower. Too great a difference from shot to shot will cause your shots to be difficult to control, and nearly impossible to really fine tune shots on small targets at longer distances. Try and have no more than a 2 ounce spread at maximum to maintain relatively good accuracy. For example: 4 ounces (115 grams) minimum weight and 6 ounces (170 grams) maximum weight or a 2 ounce (55 gram) possible variance. This is just an example, your preferred minimum/maximum weights may vary. A 2 ounce/55 gram spread is acceptable for accuracy practice. Though the smaller the target and longer the range, the more you will want to get as close to identical weights as possible. All slingers that want to achieve the best accuracy possible can benefit from attaining a cheap scale for measuring ounces/grams. Weigh your stones and either discard those that do not fall within the correct spread or save them for non-accuracy throwing. The second important aspect of weight is that a stone that is too light does not give the feedback necessary for the proper control needed to hit small targets at longer ranges. How do you get the proper amount of feedback to be accurate? You have to have the proper amount of tension on your sling cords. Lower weights do not generate enough tension and therefore become very difficult to fine tune the control of a shot. In my experience my best accuracy comes with stones in the 5-6 ounce range. With an absolute minimum of about 4 and an absolute maximum of about 10 ounces. As you can see by that spread, ammo that is too light is much more detrimental to accuracy than ammo that is too heavy to comfortably use. You will still be surprisingly accurate even with ammo that is too heavy to sling far. You just won't have the velocity to do much with them. The best combination of both power and accuracy can often be found at about an ounce or two above what is considered at the edge of too light. Experimentation is necessary to find what works for you. I would suggest starting with 4 ounces and increasing weight while doing a lot of practice at smaller targets. Another option is making either clay or cement ammo. All the same rules on shape and weight apply but for those of us in areas where stone does not occur naturally, this is a good option. No matter what you use, a large piece of carpet hung from a taut rope will serve well as a backstop and let you reuse your ammo almost indefinitely. The Wind-up/Pitch A sling throw has essentially two aspects to it. The wind-up and the pitch. The wind-up is the portion of the throw where the sling is not yet accelerating to throwing speed but is rotating fast enough to stretch the cords taut due to centrifugal force. During the wind-up your sling may not be moving all that fast. During the pitch you quickly accelerate from the slower speed of the wind-up and increase the speed enough to powerfully throw the stone.   II. Form Both the wind-up and pitch flow smoothly together and when taken as a whole they become your form. Your form is whatever way in which you choose to throw with your sling.  Knowing your form inside and out can mean you do not fluctuate nearly as much in your accuracy from day to day as someone who has no idea what works and what doesn't. You are looking for 2 things in proper form. 1. Control: The first aspect of proper form is control. You should feel in absolute control of how the sling moves from the beginning of the wind-up to the end of the pitch. If your sling does not feel like a perfect extension of your arm, some aspect of your slinging needs to be worked on. One example might be balance. You must have proper balance. Some prefer to keep both feet on the ground, never moving. Others prefer to step into the shot much like a baseball pitcher. Both can work, you will need to experiment to find what works for you best. Another example: You will want to find which release angle works best for you. Some people try to release at a perfectly horizontal side-arm, some try to release in more of a vertical throwing motion while still others prefer a diagonal slashing motion. What works best for you will depend largely on your own specific style. These are just two examples. You will find many other things that can make your throw feel more or less controlled and repeatable. Now we have talked about control, let's talk about consistency and repeatability. Consistency is the second aspect of proper form. 2. Consistency: Here's an example of the concept of consistency: Are you standing at the same angle in relation to the target every time? If not that can affect your throw. Try keeping your lead foot pointed directly at the target and use that as an anchor to get the rest of your body in the right direction. No matter where the target is, the direction of you body should always be at a consistent angle in relation to your target. This is just one example of doing your form the same way every time. Again, practice with good ammo on smaller targets will help you understand what works best. Just keep in mind that what works for one slinger and their particular style may not always be what works best for you and your style. Remember, above all else having every shot feel controlled and consistently the same as the one before is what you are going for! III. Your Sling Each slinger will find certain types of slings that work well for them. For many years I swore by braided yarn slings. It was only when I put sentiment aside and forced myself to give paracord sling cords a try that I realized how much more I liked paracord instead of wool. One big reason is that wool stretches, which can add unwanted variables within your form and throw. You may like wool, or not. The point is, try all different types of slings to see what works for you. Approach new types of slings with an open mind. I also find that heavier, stiffer cords and pouches do not work well for me. This is something to keep in mind as well. Some slings will immediately feel better to use than others. Take a good look at them and decide what exactly it is that is making it feel better. And then just as importantly, ask yourself why that particular aspect of the sling being that way helps. This can teach you more about your throwing and give you other ideas of possible improvments to try later. The difference between your control with a well made sling and a poorly made sling is quite large. IV. Stretching Not much to say here except that stretching is beneficial to the slinger. Keep your muscles and tendons limber and you will find you're faster, have more control and are less likely to injure yourself. Look up baseball pitching stretches if you are curious about where to start. Also keep in mind that whenever trying out new throwing styles/stone weights/slings or any combination of the above that you take it slow. If you do hurt yourself, obviously give yourself enough time to heal completely. I threw out my elbow trying a style that was new to me and instead of letting it heal all the way I kept slinging. My elbow has not been quite the same since. Better to stop slinging a few weeks then to permanently hurt yourself. Well, that's about it for the most general concepts in slinging. Each style has it's own peculiarities and each person will find, with enough practice, a way that works best for them. This post and thread is not an attempt to cover them all. But it should offer a good foundation for people to build up their own accuracy using techniques and tips that almost all veteran slingers find helpful. Lastly, if you have your own tips by all means please post them below and add to the thread. -Morphy

After loooooooooooooooong time, I managed to enter again to this wonderful forum. Due to necessities, I stopped practicing with the slings for long time. But I am still alive and shooting (not kicking).
So... I used all the info given by Morphy. I only have to add that from a distance of abt. 15 metres, with a sling of 75cm, I could get a target surface of abt one screen of laptop (abt 17''), four times out of 20. The ammo was abt 60 grammars jagged rocks. The sling was paracord. The target was at the height of my shoulders (1,5 metres). Thank you very much. It was extremely helpful. And yes, practice is essential.  ;D The problems started when the target went to the earth level. The rocks insisted going over it, to the hospital tree behind. :D. I will try again tomorrow.
Again many tks.

I'm so glad to hear it was helpful to you Theostravos! That's what this forum is all about, learning from and helping each other. I confess I had forgotten all about this thread. I wonder what present day Morphy would think of this advice? Hopefully it hits the basics at least. Oh my I've become cynical in my old age. I'm reluctant to reread this. Maybe tomorrow.  ;) (Or maybe not).

It often happens with me when a projectile flies directly at the target, and you are sure that you hit, it turns out that it is not and it falls two meters from your target

Man that's an old one. I've learned so much since then. I'll have to reread this and see what I got wrong lol.

As for missing the target this definitely can happen with a vertical throw but if you get a swinging target you'll never question if you hit or not.

It works flawlessly, imagine how the projectile will fly into the target, my accuracy has increased. Then I imagined a dotted line going from the sling to the target and I hit the target right at 16 yards.

Scorpion Vin wrote on Feb 1^st, 2021 at 11:15am:

It works flawlessly, imagine how the projectile will fly into the target, my accuracy has increased. Then I imagined a dotted line going from the sling to the target and I hit the target right at 16 yards.

That's great Scorp. Amazing feeling isn't it? That's one feeling every single one of us can agree on. I would highly suggest you go to the slingers guide section and search out my chapter on aiming. Believe it or not there was actually a time when I could aim. Now I just pretend to sling for the money and women.

Morphy wrote on Feb 1^st, 2021 at 11:21am:

Amazing feeling isn't it?

It is a very pleasant feeling when you hit  :o ::)

I've always believed (with zero actual evidence) that slinging and golf hit the same pleasure points in the brain.  You have this feeling of being in complete control even when you aren't. It makes you want to keep trying so you can get that next shot of endorphins when you finally get a hit.  Much like a gambling addict, you just keep thinking that you'll get it right on the next throw and never want to stop.  The nice thing about slinging is that it costs significantly less than either gambling or golf :)

Scorpion Vin wrote on Feb 1^st, 2021 at 11:25am:

Morphy wrote on Feb 1st, 2021 at 11:21am: Amazing feeling isn't it? It is a very pleasant feeling when you hit  :o ::)

30 years on and every good hit feels as good as the first. My conclusion? Slinging is better than sex.

Morphy wrote on Feb 1^st, 2021 at 3:36pm:

Slinging is better

Really better  ;D

Scorpion Vin wrote on Feb 1^st, 2021 at 4:42pm:

Morphy wrote on Feb 1st, 2021 at 3:36pm: Slinging is better Really better  ;D

Hmmm... I think you guys might be doing something wrong, but that's probably a discussion for some other forum  :whistle:

NooneOfConsequence wrote on Feb 1^st, 2021 at 4:51pm:

Scorpion Vin wrote on Feb 1st, 2021 at 4:42pm: Morphy wrote on Feb 1st, 2021 at 3:36pm: Slinging is better Really better  ;D Hmmm... I think you guys might be doing something wrong, but that's probably a discussion for some other forum  :whistle:

The real fun comes when you can do both at the same time.  8-)

NooneOfConsequence wrote on Feb 1^st, 2021 at 4:51pm:

I think you guys might be doing something wrong

I really think so, sling is better  :D

SerKraus wrote on Feb 1^st, 2021 at 5:19pm:

NooneOfConsequence wrote on Feb 1st, 2021 at 4:51pm: Scorpion Vin wrote on Feb 1st, 2021 at 4:42pm: Morphy wrote on Feb 1st, 2021 at 3:36pm: Slinging is better Really better  ;D Hmmm... I think you guys might be doing something wrong, but that's probably a discussion for some other forum  :whistle: The real fun comes when you can do both at the same time.  8-)

Sarah is that you?

I'm still chasing the rush of my first hit. I had made my super rough paracord and slingshot pouch sling, had gathered up some rocks and set up an old, fairly thin plank of wood as a target. First throw was a wide miss but it was at least going forward. Second throw hit the board dead on, split it in two and sent each half tumbling through the air in opposite directions. It was a lucky hit and I was hooked.

Scorpion Vin wrote on Feb 1^st, 2021 at 11:15am:

It works flawlessly, imagine how the projectile will fly into the target, my accuracy has increased. Then I imagined a dotted line going from the sling to the target and I hit the target right at 16 yards.

Oh yes, this is what I do too. Don't know who but someone on this site told me to do this and it is how I have been slinging since then.

Also, you need to "feel" how you throw.


Kick wrote on Feb 2^nd, 2021 at 3:19am:

I'm still chasing the rush of my first hit.

Kick... Please. We are all worried about you. Lay down the sling. Do something else. You have have family, friends, who love you and care about you. You can't control it and need professional help. One day you will pop a tendon and grow a grotesquely large right arm.

Slyngorm wrote on Feb 2^nd, 2021 at 5:04pm:

Kick... Please. We are all worried about you. Lay down the sling. Do something else. You have have family, friends, who love you and care about you. You can't control it and need professional help. One day you will pop a tendon and grow a grotesquely large right arm.

Imagine hearing a cop yelling "PUT THE SLING DOWN! NOW! I DON'T WANT TO SHOOT YOU BUT I WILL! DROP THE STONE!"

Sling jutsu  ;)

https://youtu.be/yE4_7NHYSLo

Morphy wrote on Feb 1^st, 2021 at 3:36pm:

Scorpion Vin wrote on Feb 1st, 2021 at 11:25am: Morphy wrote on Feb 1st, 2021 at 11:21am: Amazing feeling isn't it? It is a very pleasant feeling when you hit  :o ::) 30 years on and every good hit feels as good as the first. My conclusion? Slinging is better than sex.

See folks. I try to derail my own threads just as much as others.  :D

Slingen ist besser als sex? Na auf jedenfall häufiger.  :D

Slyngorm wrote on Feb 2^nd, 2021 at 5:04pm:

Kick... Please. We are all worried about you. Lay down the sling. Do something else. You have have family, friends, who love you and care about you. You can't control it and need professional help. One day you will pop a tendon and grow a grotesquely large right arm.

I can stop anytime I want. I just don't WANT to stop.

Jaegoor wrote on Feb 3^rd, 2021 at 12:52am:

Sling jutsu  ;) https://youtu.be/yE4_7NHYSLo

Wow Jaegoor I never thought about disarming an attacker with a sling. That's awesome! ;D