Do you consider sling to be good enough to be your main survival weapon? Or you prefer other?

A knife should always be your main survival weapon as you can use it to make all the others.

But, no - a sling would not be great as your main hunting weapon.

The odds are you'd starve to death before catching any game.
Bow and arrow would be better: you can aim it and hold it ready to fire, so as not to spook your prey.

A sling is a great anti personnel weapon, but for hunting small game or even large game that spooks easily - not so good.

For very specific instances the right sling is actually preferable to a bow.

For hunting flocks of water fowl a pouched sling loaded with a half dozen pebbles gives you a much better chance of hitting something then a bow.

The versatility of a solid pouch would also be preferable over the limited ammo holding of a split pouch.

I kindda find that myself - when you train hand movemenets, you frighten all birds and game around. When you do do common bow momevent, it is much discreet. i noticed that local waterbirds are moving away if you are 25-30 m. So this with sling and more stones is not reall I assume?

+ another vote for bow, because here is almost no good stones, but lotsa woods

Pointy stick for me. Even easier to make than the bow and, if you burn the end to harden it, it can be a pretty tough weapon.

Every indigenous culture I know of had multiple weapons that filled different niches. I dont know of any that used the sling as a primary weapon. Could be wrong, but cant think of any off the top of my head.

On the other hand if you really want to understand why the sling was so popular as a secondary tool, go make a bow and arrows out of flint flakes in the bush and then hunt with them.

A little part of your soul will die everytime an arrow breaks or gets lost. Hell of a lot of work to make a good set of consistent arrows. Hence the need for a secondary weapon with cheap ammo.

My main survival weapon would have to be a good knife, followed by my Ruger 10/22.. (you didn't specify primitive weapon).  .22 long rifle is the easiest round to come by (at least in the U.S.) 
It seems a sling is very versatile, and is a good weapon to have in the arsenal, but not likely to be a main weapon.

I am not afraid broke/lose few arrow daily, because, you must do something anyway besides staring to fire on long nights with 18 h darkness.

depends on distance and tools:
for defence:
run>sling>hand throwing> spear/long stick> club> knife>kicks>punches>grappling>playing dead  :P

for hunting (probably): traps and hand throwing

With bow its easy to use any arrow you need: blunt on birds,
bodkin on humans, broadhead on hog-hunt, 4 x splitted for fishing, supa-plasma arrow (aka Fire),  ... ;)

Kick wrote on Oct 16^th, 2017 at 1:05pm:

Even easier to make than the bow and, if you burn the end to harden it, it can be a pretty tough weapon.

Right! To survive or "zu überleben" in german means to "vive" without help from anyone and anything. It means to be alone or lost in nature: No cell-phone, no knife and no shelter or sleeping bag - only your brain (and knowledge), your hands and your own teeth. You can be glad if you than still have your clothes and your shoes.

What you need then before all other needs is to build a "crest" to survive the comming (cold) night and the next (cold) nights. Therefore you INSTANTLY have to find something for digging - so to find a sharp stone and / or a pointed stock (and something similar to a line). Also the first food & drink will be something what is to dig out of earth or ground.

But funny are that people, which are thinking in situations of "accident" they ... totally fortunately (!) ... could have somthing with them like a map, app or navi, a chainsaw, a lighter and a lot of fuel for both of it.


But okay - maybe to survive is not the same as to survive, because Sam Flynn in full armor asks: "What I'm suppose(d) to do?", and the blond chicken Jam (Beau Garrett) in TRON answered: "SURVIVE!"


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qk_Hi5ArKE


And note: The "different" guy's recent armor had gotten a ZIPPER, but the most important thing after spending that bloody stupid Zipper is ... THE DISC!

To get back to your question; "
Musketeer wrote on Oct 16^th, 2017 at 11:56am:

Do you consider sling to be good enough to be your main survival weapon? Or you prefer other?

I love slings and slinging :D but would not consider a sling as my main survival weapon. I always carry one, but to survive in a wilderness setting, I want a rifle , bow, snares and nets also ;)

I also carry a sling with me all the time . I'd use it if I had it but I'd take a good knife over the sling if I had a choice. CA raised the best point , a knife will let you build an arsenal. Slings only gonna sling.

Problems is that with some bio-agent (rabies + flu) gone wild, economic collapse or war (see Selcos web) you may survive in your local surroundings: around me is no good stones (brought very few on build site of road etc), bud tons of nice woods + I cannot use sling in wooods = alas it limits my choices wheter I like it or not :(.

My 38 lbs Duck+BambiSlayer bow weighs 550 g, so it not a big deal bring bows two...

I know the sling has been used historically to kill unarmored men, but animals are different. You may take down small ones like rabbits and groundhogs, but deer I'm not too sure. It would probably just annoy a bear.

I thought that cruching dmage is tranferred all at once? It like you hit him with mace? Crush = more shock? Ane when you have on your head 10 cm steel plate and ask somebody to ht you with mace, you will feel it like it not there = am I getting something worng? My physics is bad?

Slinging at a brown bear would certainly be an epic way to exit this life. Might as well sling at a frieght train.  ;D

That's certainly one way to get a guaranteed entry ticket to Valhalla.

Main problem is with fact that roundish fluffy head of animal is not exactly perfect square and stone force is diminished?

Energies needed to kil animals:

http://slingshotforum.com/uploads/monthly_05_2013/post-898-0-56940600-1369363737.jpg

Musketeer wrote on Oct 17^th, 2017 at 6:51am:

I thought that cruching dmage is tranferred all at once? It like you hit him with mace? Crush = more shock? Ane when you have on your head 10 cm steel plate and ask somebody to ht you with mace, you will feel it like it not there = am I getting something worng? My physics is bad?

have you tried it?:P

100+ J is enough even for the biggest prey - http://slingshotforum.com/uploads/monthly_05_2013/post-898-0-56940600-1369363737.jpg

Think the potential is there to kill almost anything with the right projectile in the right spot . But that's a hard shot to pull off first time everytime.

At 50 meters you only have a few seconds before the bear is gnawing on your skull. Better make it a good shot!  :thumb:

Sling is definitely NOT an good weapon to survive such meeting... More than once anyway... ;) And we are talking two moving targets here! This is shot worthy David himslf ;)

True. Thats what gets me. Even with a good rifle knowing how fast they run and the fact that anything besides a lethal shot is likely to end up in you dying is a pretty clutch shot.

Speaking of that...

https://youtu.be/tEIGqD80N6U

Worst things in my areas are hogs...

There are bears in Finland but they don't hang around in Helsinki :D Myself and my girlfriend did stumble upon a wolverine once just outside of Helsinki centre in a wood in Viikki. The dogs (two corgis) ran off barking and we chased after them thinking they were going for a squirrel. One of them stopped but the other one ran up to a furry ball and poked it with her nose. It turned round, hissed and ambled off into the bushes. The dog was lucky not to have it's face ripped off. They can take down elk so a corgi wouldn't have stood a chance. No-one believed us because they don't usually come so far South but not too long ago some tracks in the snow were found and there have been some other unconfirmed sightings. Personally, I'm convinced it was a wolverine. The ears, head shape and the way it walked were very distinctive. The adamantium claws and Canadian accent were also a dead give-away...

Was it smoking a cigar and reeking of angst? They are known for that as well.

Well... If thing go awry for some reason with civilizaiton, many animals will go ballistic. Bear and wolves return to some woods...

I think I would go for an atlatl and darts before going for a bow and arrow.  Way easier to make than a bow, which should have seasoned or dried wood for best results. 

The bows I have made from green wood have not done very well. 

Plus, an atlatl and dart can be made from one sapling and are way quicker to make than a bow and arrows.

Check out Primitive Technology on YouTube under the Weapons section.  He does bow and arrow, atlatl and dart and sling.

For atlatl you need good dart from sesoned wood anyway, so...

Quite usable green bow is bundle-bow IMHO.

I will had to make bow of south americans jungles because here is still between 70-100 % water in air. I.e. low brace etc.

REading bowyers bible III just know btw.

Question is if it isnt best just yie oldie throwing stick and fire handled javelin + heavy spear for bigger animals...

I have seen atlatl darts made out if bamboo, and river cane. It can be green or dried.

Atlatl is sortta mix between sling and bow...

I have and use am atlatl, it would be easier to use and make in tge bush before a sling.  U could go bow, but then u gotta learn how to make cordage. 8lug u want a good chance,  u would have to learn flintknapping first to make stone points and stone knives and other tools

Easiest way IMO = throwing stick for small animals / ripe foods in trees up to 20-30 m. Few light throwign javelins in 400-800 g range + 1 big ass spear 2-3 kg for big animals. All points hardened in fire.

I agree. All of those are basically just different types of stick. If you are lucky in finding the materials they need almost no shaping or working at all.

Well, huntin+gatherin is one thing, but survival is about limited resources and fight for survival with others... Some crazy doode with gun could be gamechanger pretty guickly...

One of the best survival skills is knowledge,  and practice.  But I am interested in bushcraft which isn't survival it's thriving.

Thats probably why Primitive Technology's channel is so popular. Hes gone way past just survival. His tiled hut with heated floors is pretty amazing.

That's one of my favorite channels, i just read a recent interview with him. He does it full time now, just living off the revenue generated by the ads, he lives in Australia.

His videos are amazing. Not a single word spoken but everything is crystal clear. It's a mark of a good video maker that the pictures really do speak a thousand words.

If you click CC, some of his videos have a narrative where he explains what he is doing and why.

Funny thing today - most people of today is aware of fact, that Walking Dead is survival show OR any 3D games makes you perfect in suriving within soldier hordes.

Probably won't be my main weapon as i'm not that accurate with it.  but it is my backup along with the bola and atlatl and knife/axe and slingshot etc.

There is no TV show or video game that is a survival orientated show.

When Hollyweird gets involved, they suck all the yummie out of a subject.  And replace it with manure.  From a bull.  Or a horse.

Something is relatively OK - Naked and afraid shows that thriving even when you are expert is almost impossible for modern human, but other is total crap: Survivor where people screw each other for money....

BollyWood is btw. reason why some people plan to bring with their BUG OUT BAG 30 kg just in guns and ammo...

Naked and Afraid is the most legit "survival" show I've seen. Little off subject but going back to that video that youtuber made about is the sling useless as a survival weapon, he mentions that unless you have a great deal of experience with it, it's useless. Fair enough...but Naked and Afraid shows us that concept applies to even the most basic skills like fire making. Quite a few of those experts fail for days on end just trying to get a fire going or potable water. So I guess under that criteria pretty much every skill is useless.

(Glad I got that off my chest. Back to normal programming.) ;)

Hmm.. I noticed that one doode in Dual Survival used sling too... Some later series.  Using "normal" and "programming" - you joker! :P

Eine Schleuder ist einfach zu fertigen. Aber es gibt einfachere Methoden. Fallen, oder einen Peitschenbogen. Diese Einfache Art, Ruten zu benutzen lernte ich als Kind in Ungarn kennen. Wir verwendeten Esche dafür. Allerdings haben wir es anders gehandhabt als auf dem Bild.

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Jaegoor wrote on Oct 23^rd, 2017 at 5:01am:

Eine Schleuder ist einfach zu fertigen. Aber es gibt einfachere Methoden. Fallen, oder einen Peitschenbogen. Diese Einfache Art, Ruten zu benutzen lernte ich als Kind in Ungarn kennen. Wir verwendeten Esche dafür. Allerdings haben wir es anders gehandhabt als auf dem Bild.

  That's from the American Boys Handy book, by Daniel Carter Beard. He helped form the American Boy Scouts. Most of what is in there would now be banned or considered abuse.   What it's showing is a Swiss Arrow.

Romans have own throwing arrow - Plumbata.

Yeah atlatl, spear, bow would all be things you'd make before trying to use a sling as a survival weapon.

There are a couple of things you can do in your favour, bolas ammo would be the first thing  Imade after the sling.

Well after putting out snares and deadlines :-).
 

A good blade is generally the main survival weapon.. a sling is useful in the right hands, but not able to create tools or process food etc.

Musketeer wrote on Oct 22^nd, 2017 at 10:34am:

Something is relatively OK - Naked and afraid shows that thriving even when you are expert is almost impossible for modern human, but other is total crap: Survivor where people screw each other for money....

Survivorman is genuine. He really is out there filming himself. He loses 7-9 lbs on every episode. He has to gain it back, then go out again.  Right now Bear Grylls is doing survival with washed up Hollywood actors, like John Goodman. Show how desperate they are.

Bear Grylls has always annoyed me. I much prefer Ray Mears if we are talking TV survivalists :D

    The sling wouldn't be my first choice as my primary survival weapon however I wouldn't consider it useless either.
    The sling is easy to make. There are many methods and different materials that can be used. Depending on where you are good ammo might be laying at your feet. Right after a big spear a sling would be the first weapon I make.
    If I had access to an elastic band my first choice of survival weapons would be a slingshot. They are fast and easy to put together and the ammo is also laying at your feet. Slingshots are very accurate. I woud also put together an atlatl, which isn't difficut to do. Then I would make a bow and arrows.
    The sling would be useful in hunting flocks of birds in the air or sitting waterfowl. It could also be useful for knocking squirrels out of their nests. Though not the best primary survival weapon its ease of construction, ease of carrying,  and no prep ammo laying around everywhere make it a must in a survival situation.

Survivornan is the real deal. Everyone else goes out with camera crews, medical teams, fake scenarios, etc. Les Stroud goes out alone. Everyone else is a wuss by comparison.

Les stroud is awesome,  Bear Grylls is a fake, remember he got caught in a hotel in a chat room a few years back, while filming an 'over night ' in the jungle.

That's why I prefer Ray Mears. He never pretended that he was staying over night or actually surviving, he was just showing what could be done, what was done by people that actually were in survival situations and what indigenous peoples have done for thousands of years. No bull.

Les Stroud is just a cool guy over all. Ray Mears World of Survival is one of my favorites because of the cultural aspects. Never could get into Bear Grylls or Dual Survival. Grylls answer to most problems seems to be drinking urine or whatever is most likely to get you hurt in a survival situation.

Primary weapon would be a hardwood throwing stick, shaped along the lines of a boomerang. I would have a sling handy just in case their were some fowl that were out of distance of the stick. Knife is the tool of choice.

Besides that, I'd set a lot of foot-hold snares along deer trails and try to start forming fish hooks as well.

I've made a fair number of solid long and short bows, and dozens of arrows, however, with the time invested in properly seasoning the wood and ensuring a good tiller, I could probably walk to civilization from almost anywhere in the same amount of time. If I could bring a bow with me, that's another story.


Also, on Bear, I would blame the producers more than him. They put out a show that people want to watch. He really has done a lot with the SAS reserves and climbing Everest after a debilitating back injury. But TV is rarely the best source for practical knowledge regardless.  ;)

I guess most of us have seen the episode where Bear drinks water that he squeezes out of elephant dung?  God.....

I still didnt get why he forces everybody to drink pee when it is not as survivalist techique usable - just to repulse?

If you like real survival shows, try Naked and Afraid (XL) - some doods catch even DEngue! And Alone is relatively good too - just you and few items.

johan wrote on Oct 16^th, 2017 at 2:18pm:

for defence: run>sling>hand throwing> spear/long stick> club> knife>kicks>punches>grappling>playing dead  :P

I guess you could just load a big stone into the sling and club things with it?

@ Deformed Skewb

what if it entangles at the target and releases the stone back at the user?
never tried melee strikes with a sling i think it's easy to hurt myself.

More likely is that it would just fall out so it's only a one hit weapon. Best make it a good hit...

Actually, I have seen this somewhere as usable bash weapon for people with sling on stick - when somebody gets near, you place big stone inside, if he is far, you throw it.

johan wrote on Dec 10^th, 2017 at 12:43pm:

@ Deformed Skewb what if it entangles at the target and releases the stone back at the user? never tried melee strikes with a sling i think it's easy to hurt myself.

Actually there is a weapon called a slungshot. It's a weight on the end of a rope. Used by sailors.  Also the martial arts version is called the meteor hammer.  It's the 2 weights on each end of a rope and alot longer.

@ vetryan15

those are a lot more safe to the user since the weight is tied .

all flail weapons need much more training and experience.
e.g. the first time using a nunchuck to hit a pole i used it as one would use a stick, that resulted to the striking part returning back to my backfist.
no matter how fast you strike.... :-[ ( there is a correct way of using it...)

so back to the question why use something like this and not a stick /knife or bat with which you are probably more experienced?

The Vikings had a weapon called the skepifletta. Basically, it's a version of a slingstaff. A notch is cut in the top of the stick, and a flat rock (flint is mentioned) is placed in it. It's cast like a slingstaff. I can see this easy to make weapon being used in survival.

A sling is so easy to carry, you don't have to limit yourself to a sling alone. I'd always carry a sling with me, just like I always carry one with me now. I often wear my braided slings around my neck. Nobody really knows what it is, I could walk around the police and they wouldn't notice. But when I need it, it's there. If I'm traveling and I see a good place to sling, I can take it out and pop a few shots. I am so used to carrying it, I feel naked without my sling.

In a survivalist situation, slinging is what I'd practice the most, simply because ammo is free and doesn't require effort to make. One time I hunted a bird with a sling. I simply threw a 100gr rock into a flock of overflying birds and one came tumbling down. Now that was not morally right to do, and I regret it. I never found that bird as it fell somewhere in dense reed. I now know hunting birds in flock is possible with a sling, but I probably should have known that to start with. Hunting flock is probably the best survival application for a sling in my country, as it's all flat and flocks are everywhere. Ducks and geese are another good potential food source to hunt with a sling. And you can afford to miss, as ammo is plentiful and so is prey. although I hope never to have to do it. I take no pleasure in hunting.

Rat Man wrote on Nov 11^th, 2017 at 9:32am:

I guess most of us have seen the episode where Bear drinks water that he squeezes out of elephant dung?  God.....

Don't tell me you're not curious. Doesn't every man at one point in his life wonder about the taste of elephant dung water? No? Oh ok...Ya me neither...

Hunting birds in flocks is one of the historical uses of the sling (here Herakles bringing down the birds of Stymphalos).

---

I would agree this would be the most effective hunting method. A flock is a much larger target than a single rabbit.

There's lots of air in a flock of birds.  Slinging among them is pretty much a way to miss all of them.  Pick a bird on one side of the flock and sling at it.  The stone will still go through the flock if you miss what you are trying to hit.

Aiming at any bird smaller than a goose within 15 yards is folly. Even then, I'd bet 10 to one against me.
You must be a better slinger than I am.

As usual the issue is more to do with user proficiency than the weapons capabilities. In the scenario where we all walk in with our current capabilities the sling would only be effective as a hunting tool to survive on for a small handful of individuals. Most of us would be better off with other tools/weapons.
However if we consider that we were effective with the weapons of choice then the sling would be more than enough to effectively hunt with. Your not going to take down a TRex but I'm sure that you could get by.

As survival skills I think learning to sling and braid are very good skills to add to an existing skill set. However not the most important.

For flock hunting, if I could get close enough I would use a bola. Depends if they are over water or not I guess. I don't think a sling would be a bad weapon for it either, it would just take practice to see what is most effective.

Or sling three or four smaller rocks.  And be prepared to chase down and beat an injured bird or animal to death. 

Survival hunting isn't pretty.  And it's nothing like sport or even substance hunting where you pass up a shot because you don't think you can make a clean kill.  Even if the odds are against you, you'll still take the shot because you don't really have a choice.

Unless, of course, you value the animals' life more than yours. 

It depends where you live. Here in my flat and swampy country there are so many flocks, and they're big. You just need to be able to anticipate a bit, but it's not as hard as you might think. If you miss a couple of times no problem. I think it's the most effective primitive flock hunting weapon. I think in a survival scenario I could take down a few a day.

However, survival is a very broad term. Are we talking stranded survival, urban survival, societal-collapse-survival, etc. The best tool for urban survival is money, and if society collapses, a small tribe of likeminded and similar people. Once all the food from houses and stores is gone, then I'd have no trouble bringing a few birds to the stove. Diversification is the key here. One guy fishes, the other guy hunts birds, the other guys lays snares and another guy hunts deer and hare with a self bow, while the women scout for edible plants and berries. At the end of the day you're bound to have food on the table. Hunt & gather

yep for flocks of birds it's a pretty good weapon.

My survival strategy:

1. Build sling, store it in pocket.
2. 3 smooth, perfect stones, shape them with water and grinding if necessary store in other pocket.
3. Drive thru at KFC, bucket of extra crispy chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy and biscuits.

Morphy wrote on Jan 25^th, 2018 at 10:16am:

My survival strategy: 1. Build sling, store it in pocket. 2. 3 smooth, perfect stones, shape them with water and grinding if necessary store in other pocket. 3. Drive thru at KFC, bucket of extra crispy chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy and biscuits.

You forgot part 4: Show off slinging skills to people dining at KFC.

Part 5: Profit?

Part 6: "Whoops, I broke your windows!"

Part 7: Run like hell. 

You are now in a survival situation, running from an angry KFC manager.  ;D

I think a strong power walk would be enough to out run our local kfc manager

.

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yes....a sling first and foremost, with a small sheathed knife and a good walking stick.  there is no other weapon above a sling.

wild turkeys are the most fun to hunt with a sling, imo.  you can place the small caller in your mouth and hold it.  the best throw for it is the 'turkey hunter overhand', developed in the appalachian hills.  throws such as the helicopter or balearic styles that have a spinning windup are useless as turkeys can see very well. and standing really still while holding your hands above your head in the greek style for fifteen minutes waiting for a answering group of turkeys to approach can make that lil' sling and rock as heavy as a mountain after a while. check ur state hunting laws to make sure you do not violate them.  if u wish for a little more excitement, and wish for a predator hunt, bobcats, also are much fun to sling hunt.  a sling in the right hands with proper ammo can kill any north american animal..yes even bears.  i do not know any who have done so, but do know a man who used the turkey hunter overhand style to kill a deer once.  for real.

Rs perhaps you can join the hunting thread in sport and competition. Love to hear your experiences with hunting.

There are not many real life examples of hunting On here  so hearing any new ones is a great interest to me.

I have the idea that bears wouldn't go down very easily but agree that surely a perfect placed glande is capable of causing tremendous damage to an animal.

Always imagine a shot though the eye into the brain as the perfect shot.

I just remembered two other "primitive" weapons that would be easy to implement and potentially more accurate than a sling, the amentum and the Swiss arrow.

I know for a fact they've been posted about on the forum before but just for those unfamiliar, the amentum is a javelin with a piece of cord or a leather thong attached that works by increasing your throwing power.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amentum
The Swiss arrow (also known as a Dutch arrow, Scotch arrow, Yorkshire arrow or Gypsy arrow) is in some ways similar to the amentum but the cord you use is longer and doesn't stay attached to what you're throwing, in this case rather than a javelin an arrow (technically dart but basically an arrow).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_arrow

Both would be very easy to make in a survival situation I feel and would help in hunting, being that step above just a spear. The amentum was historically used for hunting, the Swiss arrow I'm less sure of and I'm not exactly sure of how powerful and so effective it would be but could most probably be used for smaller game. I've been wanting to make some Swiss arrows and try them out for myself but it's a little difficult here in the city to find the space for practice. If I can get to the Summer cottage this year, they'll be high on my "Make List".

If you are going to use a Swiss Arrow for hunting, even in a survival situation, make the shaft as thick as your thumb or slightly bigger.  The weight of the shaft is what will make it penetrate, you can't throw it hard enough to get good penetration with a standard sized arrow.

This was from throwing an arrow at a closed cell foam target, from about 10 paces or so, the standard arrow would barely stick, it bounced off several times.  A hunting weight bow would sink the same arrow about the width of your palm deep.

Ah good to hear of first hand experience with one. I suspected a regular arrow would be too light. I saw one video where they attached a metal nut fairly close to the tip to give it that extra weight which helped I think with distance as it would prevent penetration. I'm going to do some experimenting myself this summer hopefully.

-

Sorry,  i think most slingers would get more calories diggin' up roots.
Only real chance would be slinging into a flock of birds.

slingingrocksforfun wrote on Jul 6^th, 2020 at 8:53pm:

Sorry,  i think most slingers would get more calories diggin' up roots. Only real chance would be slinging into a flock of birds.

Agreed.  Or slinging at a squirrel's nest. 

RS wrote on Jan 28^th, 2018 at 5:26pm:

wild turkeys are the most fun to hunt with a sling, imo.  you can place the small caller in your mouth and hold it.  the best throw for it is the 'turkey hunter overhand', developed in the appalachian hills.  throws such as the helicopter or balearic styles that have a spinning windup are useless as turkeys can see very well. and standing really still while holding your hands above your head in the greek style for fifteen minutes waiting for a answering group of turkeys to approach can make that lil' sling and rock as heavy as a mountain after a while. check ur state hunting laws to make sure you do not violate them.  if u wish for a little more excitement, and wish for a predator hunt, bobcats, also are much fun to sling hunt.  a sling in the right hands with proper ammo can kill any north american animal..yes even bears.  i do not know any who have done so, but do know a man who used the turkey hunter overhand style to kill a deer once.  for real.

This guy really was full of crap, wasn't he?  Wild turkeys are very wary, intelligent prey.  They are difficult to hunt with a shotgun.  I'd say one's chances of bagging one with a sling are pretty close to zero.  And a sling in anyone's hands won't kill a Brown Bear.  They are huge, tough, and their hides and skulls are thick.  As mentioned earlier in this thread, you might piss one off. That's the best you can hope for. 

That's what the sling was used for, flock hunting
A bird every once awhile is a nice addition to a main diet of fish, plants and other game
Pigeons taste good
The kills are pretty clean, you just hear a small thumpf on a hit and the bird falls to the earth, which is another impact that settles it

Rat Man wrote on Jul 7^th, 2020 at 12:44pm:

RS wrote on Jan 28th, 2018 at 5:26pm: wild turkeys are the most fun to hunt with a sling, imo.  you can place the small caller in your mouth and hold it.  the best throw for it is the 'turkey hunter overhand', developed in the appalachian hills.  throws such as the helicopter or balearic styles that have a spinning windup are useless as turkeys can see very well. and standing really still while holding your hands above your head in the greek style for fifteen minutes waiting for a answering group of turkeys to approach can make that lil' sling and rock as heavy as a mountain after a while. check ur state hunting laws to make sure you do not violate them.  if u wish for a little more excitement, and wish for a predator hunt, bobcats, also are much fun to sling hunt.  a sling in the right hands with proper ammo can kill any north american animal..yes even bears.  i do not know any who have done so, but do know a man who used the turkey hunter overhand style to kill a deer once.  for real. This guy really was full of crap, wasn't he?  Wild turkeys are very wary, intelligent prey.  They are difficult to hunt with a shotgun.  I'd say one's chances of bagging one with a sling are pretty close to zero.  And a sling in anyone's hands won't kill a Brown Bear.  They are huge, tough, and their hides and skulls are thick.  As mentioned earlier in this thread, you might piss one off. That's the best you can hope for.

Slinging at a brown bear is a fantastic way to get torn in half lengthwise.

Razor glandes!!
Aim for the eye!
Turkey style
Bear burgers!!!!!!!

Don’t know what’s so unbelievable ha ha

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I think david in bible used it to drive predator animals away. wouldnt try it though...

Mersa wrote on Jul 8^th, 2020 at 7:40am:

Razor glandes!! Aim for the eye! Turkey style Bear burgers!!!!!!! Don’t know what’s so unbelievable ha ha

LOL!  This is why I loved RS. He turned trolling into an art form. Don’t get me wrong... CA did the right thing by banning him, and he was definitely trolling us with every post.  He really took advantage of the fact that we all wanted to believe the amazing sling stories he told. His creativity and ability to tell stories with just the right amount of believability in them was top notch. You always had to second guess the idea that it was all complete nonsense, because something about it seemed like it could maybe be true.  My absolute favorite of RS’s BS stories has still got to be Jesus the “Noodler”.  Stunning and catching fish with a flat stone was a close second.  ::)

Oh yeah I love the noodle story, it’s like a conspiracy theorist meets religion meets slinging.org, actually brilliant looking back, would make a great b grade comedy movie.

But I do like his turkey stories. Some of it had credibility and the fact that his style (or Morphy’s) is possibly the best trade of in movement for power and accuracy made the stories even better.

I don’t really practice the style that much but when I do I get surprised by how much power I can get in comparison to let’s say Apache.

I can’t remember who it was but it may have been Apex-apoc or RS that was convinced that captive release slings are the “hunting” slings. Whoever it was they made some good stories as well.

Ah good times on slinging.org

But jokes aside
Razor glandes, aim for the Eyes

“Razor glandes... aim for the eyes.” 
Bwahahahahaha!... that would be the high-drama moment of B-movie tension as Jesus the Noodler prepares his disciples to take a desperate last stand against Judas and his demonic horde!

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I remember reading some of his posts, surely his extravagant claims were inspiring and he seemed to have a very different approach to slinging, but at the end of the day he didnt even upload a picture of a sling.

Oh yeah I feel like your current hypothesis on slings align well with apex, but I’m fairly sure he also said he threw 800m+. Take what him and RS say with caution.

I do like the idea that a captive release sling is more silent at release but. I feel like there’s some truth to his stories but that said he also told big fibs

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AncientCraftwork wrote on Jul 9^th, 2020 at 4:52am:

A picture would've been nice but not revolutionary

A picture would be evidence that he is a little more than talk. A sling that did 800m+ would be pretty special.
I made a Y-sling for 20mm projectiles and I can tell it's not easy, the pouch was a fine work and it got destroyed in less than 100 throws. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMxYv8PU0R8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXzuO1tU25I @3:13
A picture would give away a troll

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https://i.imgur.com/DRfhQqq.jpg

I keep reading Apex posts in a heavy angry German-English accent
it fits how he wrote perfectly

Morphy this is the greatest photo ever, I’m posting it on my instagram

My tribute to the good times that RS brought us.  ;D May the Holy Noodler forever bless his path.

I think the sling's performance as a main survival weapon would hinge on what it is exactly you intend to survive - And how good you are at slinging! Personally, I would not trust my own skill in the sling if it came to hunting game... But if I were taking down zombies at intermediate range, then maybe. ;D Ultimately, I think that with my level of skill with the sling, I might prefer it for taking down attackers, not prey - If I wanted a "main" weapon that I could use with more versatility I might go with a spear of some kind, like the fire-hardened stick Kick mentioned. (Maybe you could lash your knife to the end of the stick to get a better point?)

Morphy wrote on Jul 9^th, 2020 at 7:44pm:

My tribute to the good times that RS brought us.  ;D May the Holy Noodler forever bless his path.

Very clever!  I never made the connection between the noodle sling and the FSM. It all makes sense now!

My tribute is not quite as visually enlightening, but I added a fake quote at the bottom of every one of my posts. I imagine if a movie was made about Jesus the Noodler, the role would have to be played by Russel Crowe... or perhaps Terry Crews

...for posterity, and in case I change the quote to something else later:

“My final hour is at hand. We face an enemy more numerous and cunning than the world has yet seen. Remember your training, and do not fear the hordes of Judas. I, without sin, shall cast the first stone. That will be your sign to attack! But you shall not fight this unholy enemy with stones. No! RAZOR GLANDES!  Aim for the eyes! May the Lord have mercy, for we shall show none!“  -Jesus the Noodler

First time I read your quote and then saw it was by Jesus the Noodler I laughed out loud. Yes, Jesus the Noodler, the lesser known messiah of the slinging community.  :)

I picture Jesus the Noodler as a 1-dimensional version of Jesus where every parable and miracle and sermon somehow ties back to slinging... like the guy in My Big Fat Greek Wedding who made everything about Greece.

I have to stop myself because the jokes just write themselves. I actually really liked RSes posts. But then again I do have a weird sense of humor. RS if you are out there I may not believe much of what you wrote but I appreciate the fact that you were willing to write it. It definitely added a different flavor to the usual threads we get here. No hard feelings, some of the stuff I’ve said has been pretty crazy myself lol.

Now Apoc on the other hand... that thread still remains as one of the most soul destroying of any I’ve seen on here. I tried to derail it but there was no stopping it.

Well I tryed to aim for the eyes :o

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Awesome!

Definitely give you a headache

Ok, that’s it. I’m making a razor glande t-shirt.

I’ll be your supermodel!!

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100m “deereye” shot!!!

https://youtu.be/AFa1-kciCb4

This song was playing in my head during your video.  ;D

I’m definitely the ugly

Mersa wrote on Jul 16^th, 2020 at 12:46am:

I’ll be your supermodel!!

Ok... How about this for a t-shirt?

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Love it!!!

Not going to lie that’s pretty funny.  ;D

   That's great, NOC.  All we need is a volunteer to try it.

ok... I put it up on Amazon, then I realized it is only available for print-on-demand in the US and UK.  Since Mersa wanted one, I threw it up on Redbubble.com too so he can get them in Australia.  Apparently redbubble lets you print it on anything from a shirt, to a mug, to a bath mat?!
I really just wanted this as a shirt for myself, but if anyone else wants a shirt (or a Razor Glande throw pillow?  COVID-19 face mask???) here are the print-on-demand links:

https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/52933365?ref=studio-promote

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DB6YPSS

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... and no, I didn’t hire models. Apparently redbubble.com has a method of transferring the 2D image onto a stock model photo in a fairly realistic way. Probably using convolutional neural nets, but I’m not sure. Pretty cool trick though.

I'm out of the loop, can someone please link the appropriate thread so I can feel included again?

IronGoober wrote on Jul 20^th, 2020 at 4:41pm:

I'm out of the loop, can someone please link the appropriate thread so I can feel included again?

Ha!  Yeah it’s a little bit difficult to follow. This thread is where RS invented the turkey style throw. That launched a conversation about the other tall tales RS told, including razor glandes in the eye. RS mentioned hunting bears with turkey style, which, combined with razor glandes sounded like an awesome t-shirt, so I threw some artwork together and uploaded it to print-on-demand services so anyone who wants a shirt can order one. Mersa said he would be my model if I had a shirt made, but it looks like redbubble used AI (deep convolutional neural networks) to virtually place my art on a shirt on a real t-shirt model!  So that’s it. You are now up to speed ;D

If you want a Razor Glande t-shirt, you can order one from Amazon or Redbubble. I ordered one this morning from Amazon, and it’ll be here in two days. I will post photos when it arrives.  I’ve never used redbubble.com for print-on-demand before, so I have no idea how good they are, but since Mersa is in Australia and I can’t set up Amazon POD there... it was my best option for getting a shirt to Mersa if he wants one.

I’ll add it to my “to buy” list

My photoshop king fu may be weak but I could see this being pretty fun. Might have to make up a shirt or two to add to the collection.

I, for one, am definitely having fun with it. Amazon’s turnaround was super fast! I can’t believe that you can go from idea to printed t-shirt in less than 48 hours!

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Dang, talk about the ultimate inside joke t-shirt! That is a sight to behold, I love it!

2 days is impressive. I'll have to consider this for future use.

IronGoober wrote on Jul 21^st, 2020 at 5:48pm:

Dang, talk about the ultimate inside joke t-shirt! That is a sight to behold, I love it! 2 days is impressive. I'll have to consider this for future use.

I will have to try Redbubble to see if they can be that fast and to compare quality.  Amazon’s shirts are top notch, and the turnaround was amazing. The downside to Amazon is that you need to already have a seller’s account to have t-shirts made that fast.

   That is an awesome tee shirt.  Does it come in any color other than black.  With two shedding Huskies (if you've never been there you can't imagine) I avoid black clothing like the plague.

Outstanding! This is going in my amazon buy list. I wasn't even here for the original joke, but I still love it.

There is definitely a dearth of sling humor related products on the market.

Rat Man wrote on Jul 22^nd, 2020 at 12:39pm:

That is an awesome tee shirt.  Does it come in any color other than black.  With two shedding Huskies (if you've never been there you can't imagine) I avoid black clothing like the plague.

Amazon limits your color choices, but I can add another color if you want something else. Is there a specific color you prefer?  here are the options:

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Waxwing_Sling wrote on Jul 22^nd, 2020 at 1:44pm:

Outstanding! This is going in my amazon buy list. I wasn't even here for the original joke, but I still love it. There is definitely a dearth of sling humor related products on the market.

Well, between the t-shirt and the Youtube videos I've produced in the last couple of days... I may have hit my creativity quota for the year, but if Mersa gives me any more brilliant t-shirt ideas, I'll be happy to try again ;D

If you have any ideas or requests for another humorous sling-themed shirt Waxwing, I'd be happy to try my hand at another one.  We few slingers around the world definitely need to advertise our hobby more, and making people laugh is a great way to spread the word.

NooneOfConsequence wrote on Jul 22^nd, 2020 at 10:19pm:

Rat Man wrote on Jul 22nd, 2020 at 12:39pm:    That is an awesome tee shirt.  Does it come in any color other than black.  With two shedding Huskies (if you've never been there you can't imagine) I avoid black clothing like the plague. Amazon limits your color choices, but I can add another color if you want something else. Is there a specific color you prefer?  here are the options:

...actually it looks like you can already pick from a bunch of color options on Redbubble without me having to change anything.  Here's the direct link for a t-shirt on Redbubble:

https://www.redbubble.com/i/t-shirt/Razor-Glandes-Aim-for-the-Eyes-by-tacpar/52933365.7H7A9

    Thanks.  BTW, gray is the very best color if you live with multiple shedding Huskies.

The hero in this story for me is definitely the bear. It looks so goofy it conveys the full craziness.

It turned out that I really only had two choices for royalty free drawings of a standing bear.  Here is the runner up:

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I'm not saying you made a mistake in your choice, but...

I Know, I know. The club bear is silly enough to be on a shirt inspired by RS, but the drawing style didn’t match the slinger drawing, and the club just doesn’t make any sense at all. Maybe I will have to try another shirt that uses this bear?

Doesn't make any sense at all? Sounds like an RS post :D

Kick wrote on Jul 24^th, 2020 at 11:19am:

Doesn't make any sense at all? Sounds like an RS post :D

Club bears weren’t really RS’ style. It’s too fantastical and not plausible... RS’s stories were more geared towards getting other slingers to try doing dumb stuff like slapping a pool of water with a flat rock or bending your wrist to form a hand-turkey at the end of a throw. If there’s a story about a bear holding a club, there’s no action you can take that looks silly in response.

Well I think it's a matter of how proficient you are with it
But in a survival situation with nothing on your back but your clothes. A sling is available from your clothes. from plants . It makes for a good improvised weapon
And cord is a definite survival tool

Very seriously  ;), it seems that the main survival weapon for the bear is the club.

TOMBELAINE wrote on Jul 29^th, 2020 at 7:19am:

Very seriously  ;), it seems that the main survival weapon for the bear is the club.

It’s an excellent choice for any bear in a survival situation. A club in the right paws can kill any north American animal... even other bears.  I do not know any who have done so, but I do know a retired circus bear who used the turkey overhand club style to kill a deer once.  for real.

NooneOfConsequence wrote on Jul 29^th, 2020 at 8:15am:

TOMBELAINE wrote on Jul 29th, 2020 at 7:19am: Very seriously  ;), it seems that the main survival weapon for the bear is the club. It’s an excellent choice for any bear in a survival situation. A club in the right paws can kill any north American animal... even other bears.  I do not know any who have done so, but I do know a retired circus bear who used the turkey overhand club style to kill a deer once.  for real.

LMAO!

You’re all mistaken, that’s a giant spliff, the world most dangerous bear a stoner bear

slingbadger wrote on Dec 23^rd, 2017 at 5:38am:

The Vikings had a weapon called the skepifletta. Basically, it's a version of a slingstaff. A notch is cut in the top of the stick, and a flat rock (flint is mentioned) is placed in it. It's cast like a slingstaff. I can see this easy to make weapon being used in survival.

Can someone tell me more about this? I can't find anymore information.

Ich kenne zwar viel was wikinger betrifft, aber dies ist mir unbekannt. Es scheint mir auch keine reguläre Waffe zu sein.

It can be used for hunting. It's not suitable for all prey in all situations, but like any hunting your primary weapon is your brains.

Fruit bats sleep in trees higher than you can throw by hand. Birds sleep in trees as well, even chickens.

Hunting larger size animals primitively isn't about killing an animal with one well aimed shot every time. Great if it happens but often it's about injuring or slowing them enough that you can finish them off. Or herding them into a trap or towards others.

It would be my primary ranged weapon

a wrote on Oct 31^st, 2020 at 3:33am:

It can be used for hunting. It's not suitable for all prey in all situations, but like any hunting your primary weapon is your brains. Fruit bats sleep in trees higher than you can throw by hand. Birds sleep in trees as well, even chickens. Hunting larger size animals primitively isn't about killing an animal with one well aimed shot every time. Great if it happens but often it's about injuring or slowing them enough that you can finish them off. Or herding them into a trap or towards others. It would be my primary ranged weapon

Bats!?   :o  You want to hunt bats!!!??  Has 2020 taught you nothing?  ;D

Despite being named slinging.org this thread shows that this forum really does hate the sling sometimes.

I eat rabbits, why not bats ?
I saw a video that showed aborigines hunting bats with boomerang.
All to your pans !  ;)

Bats are good eating, the wings stink like an unwashed armpit but you don't eat those anyway.

@ Kilisi you are one of the only people on this forum who regularly hunts with the sling and probably the only one who has a positive opinion of the hunting + slinging combo.

You must teach us your arcane knowledge.

Slyngorm wrote on Nov 22^nd, 2020 at 3:58pm:

You must teach us your arcane knowledge.

I have a positive outlook, because guns are not available here or any other ranged weapon. So the alternative is throwing by hand which is how they do it here. And I'm a naturally positive chap :-)

It's very simple, you get as close as you can then take a shot, sometimes you hit, sometimes you miss. Or you herd a pig towards a net trap. There's no need for pinpoint accuracy, all that is instinctive.

I don't shoot long range, there's no point. Even if I hit I'll have problems finding the animal if it's not outright killed, and I don't enjoy killing things or having them suffer.

I can't speak for everyone else but for me I mostly see the sling as a poor survival weapon. True survival is hard even with a perfect custom bow and arrows. But for an afternoon hunting small to medium game it's a fun weapon whether you connect or not.

Morphy wrote on Nov 22^nd, 2020 at 6:35pm:

True survival is hard even with a perfect custom bow and arrows.

Depends where you are, I'm in the tropics, there's literally food all around me if I know how to get it.

a wrote on Nov 22^nd, 2020 at 7:29pm:

Morphy wrote on Nov 22nd, 2020 at 6:35pm: True survival is hard even with a perfect custom bow and arrows. Depends where you are, I'm in the tropics, there's literally food all around me if I know how to get it.

A buddy of mine has a wife from the Philippines so he's spent years over there. He said in some areas survival is a part of everyday life. Also work with a guy from El Salvador who talked about just going into the jungle to get their food half the time. Seems like an amazing way to live in some respects. The whole tropical island thing is just the cherry on top.

Where I am it’s fresh water that’s the hard one , it’s pretty much salt water or stagnant poison water, enough animals to hunt and trap but you would die of dehydration pretty quick in summer

What type of environment do you hunt in?
From the sound of it you mostly target small animals in trees.

Slyngorm wrote on Nov 24^th, 2020 at 12:12pm:

What type of environment do you hunt in? From the sound of it you mostly target small animals in trees.

Usually I'm after something specific, but mostly bush.

Fortunately, I don't have to hunt my food.  But I would be able to.  I could feed myself with a sling.  Likewise with bow or spear.  I shot a lot of rabbits.  You don't even have to hit them.  One hit in front of you in the ground and you are scared to death.  It's good.  It goes very quickly.  And the fur and bones are preserved.  Less mess during preparation.

Yeah I have an experience with a rabbit that might have been that exactly.
http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1509491851/4

Jaegoor wrote on Nov 26^th, 2020 at 6:05am:

Fortunately, I don't have to hunt my food.  But I would be able to.  I could feed myself with a sling.  Likewise with bow or spear.  I shot a lot of rabbits.  You don't even have to hit them.  One hit in front of you in the ground and you are scared to death.  It's good.  It goes very quickly.  And the fur and bones are preserved.  Less mess during preparation.

I have had birds fall out of trees stunned when I only hit the branch next to them.

   On another note, how viable a survival weapon a sling is can depend on where you live.  I have mentioned many times that southern New Jersey is alluvial.  During the last Ice Age the glaciers made it only as far south as north and central New Jersey.  As the glaciers retreated much of this area was under water. Consequently there are many perfect, oval shaped white river stones all over the place.  They make very accurate projectiles.  The sling would be a much more useful survival tool here than in the mountains where there's nothing but broken shale to sling. 

Rat Man wrote on Nov 27^th, 2020 at 2:52pm:

On another note, how viable a survival weapon a sling is can depend on where you live.  I have mentioned many times that southern New Jersey is alluvial.  During the last Ice Age the glaciers made it only as far south as north and central New Jersey.  As the glaciers retreated much of this area was under water. Consequently there are many perfect, oval shaped white river stones all over the place.  They make very accurate projectiles.  The sling would be a much more useful survival tool here than in the mountains where there's nothing but broken shale to sling.

I agree that makes a huge difference.

In a primitive scenario I need cordage to make fire and stones to boil water. Both also happen to be prerequisites for slinging so that goes hand in hand very nicely. And if we got clay to make clay sling bullets with we also got clay to make containers with. And this clay can also again be used to make a flywheel for a pump drill to make fire with. On a riverbed there's also a often a good stone to be used as a bearing block for a bow drill which works better than wooden bearing blocks that wear out. Stones are quite essential to survival, I'd say. IF there's flint it's even better. We got a cutting tool and a sparking device to light charred tinder. Flint is excellent for cutting small notches, skinning, and scraping dry wood for fine wood shavings that make excellent starter fuel for the fire pyramid.

AncientCraftwork wrote on Oct 1^st, 2021 at 4:39pm:

In a primitive scenario I need cordage to make fire and stones to boil water. Both also happen to be prerequisites for slinging so that goes hand in hand very nicely. And if we got clay to make clay sling bullets with we also got clay to make containers with. And this clay can also again be used to make a flywheel for a pump drill to make fire with. On a riverbed there's also a often a good stone to be used as a bearing block for a bow drill which works better than wooden bearing blocks that wear out. Stones are quite essential to survival, I'd say. IF there's flint it's even better. We got a cutting tool and a sparking device to light charred tinder. Flint is excellent for cutting small notches, skinning, and scraping dry wood for fine wood shavings that make excellent starter fuel for the fire pyramid.

I guess they were right to call it the Stone Age :D

Im so glad not to be in the stone age. For somethings stone cutters work well but for things like woodworking they are pretty brutal to use when you are used to good steel.

That’s only because you define “woodworking” as the act of making something practical with wood, where that “something” requires clean lines and well-cut edges. You should expand the little box you’ve trapped your mind in Morphy. You should aspire to build an utterly useless piece of art from battered chunks of jagged wood, for it is the caveman’s dream to have sufficient excess calories to waste on things such as art.

NooneOfConsequence wrote on Oct 6^th, 2021 at 1:20am:

That’s only because you define “woodworking” as the act of making something practical with wood, where that “something” requires clean lines and well-cut edges. You should expand the little box you’ve trapped your mind in Morphy. You should aspire to build an utterly useless piece of art from battered chunks of jagged wood, for it is the caveman’s dream to have sufficient excess calories to waste on things such as art.

Based on the current state of modern art which has become a meme of itself I will gladly make worthless crap if it means I can make one tenth of what some of these people make.