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Message started by Goran on Jan 8th, 2023 at 10:58pm

Title: Greetings from Canada!
Post by Goran on Jan 8th, 2023 at 10:58pm
I first learned about slingers eons ago from the video game Age of Empires. Two decades later, I came across them again when learning about Dungeons and Dragons or something, and after a few YouTube videos I realized that these were dirt simple to make. So I did. After an hour of launching rocks into the ocean, I've been hooked for the last two months.

My first sling was a mess of paracord that was an utter and complete failure. After doing some more YouTube research, I made this with a couple leather strips and a grommet kit, and it turned out to be a great performer. This is still my main sling, and it packs up very tightly so I can carry it often, or even wrap it on a wrist.
Here's me trying it out for the first time!



My curious school-aged son wanted to give it a whirl, but we quickly realized it was too long for him to use. So I made one for him, keeping the "strips" connected in the middle so he could throw smaller stones a bit easier. Him and I are still learning, but I realized he's at an age where he could probably learn this a lot better than I ever could, so we'll see if I end up raising an ancient Balearic skirmisher or not.



Last Saturday I picked up some polypropylene twine and took a stab at my first woven Balearic-style sling. I used 6 strands of 15' twine, and didn't really do anything fancy—basic 3 strand flat braid down the entire thing. Recognizing that the split pouch was half as thick as the retention/release cords, I decided to tie some paracord in a cobra-knot pattern to reinforce it a bit and add some weight. Admittedly crude (and I haven't tried it out yet) but I get the feeling that I'm gonna end up removing that paracord and just using this until it crumbles. Gotta say though, this was the first time in my slinging journey that it felt like I was holding an honest-to-goodness weapon.



Of course, this morning my son asked me why I didn't make him one, so I applied a lot of lessons-learned from my first attempt and finished this a few hours ago (boy my hands are sore). I'm a lot happier with how this sling turned out. Some changes include adding material before the pouch to make it more robust and improve it's wear-and-tear. It's even tapered kinda, because the added strings were only about a foot long—you can see those strands of twine poking out of the release cord.



Overall, I'm really liking this slinging thing! My little one and I have been visiting the beach often to just fart around and launch stones into the deep. I suspect when he grows up a bit more, we'll try hitting targets. In the meantime, slinging has been a great way to bond with my son, and a good excuse to get out of the house when the weather lets us.



Thanks for reading my wall-of-text!

Title: Re: Greetings from Canada!
Post by Goran on Jan 9th, 2023 at 12:52am
Quote =\= Edit. Great job, me.

Title: Re: Greetings from Canada!
Post by IronGoober on Jan 9th, 2023 at 1:37am
Oh, man. What fun! If I had a son you bet I'd try to get him slinging with me too(or daughter!).

Good looking slings! Welcome to the slinging community, we're small but we tend to like each other!

Title: Re: Greetings from Canada!
Post by StaffSlinger on Jan 9th, 2023 at 7:16am
Nicely written odyssey, Goran.  Welcome to the group.  Glad to see you're bringing along the next generation!.  Lots of interesting historical stuff here too, for when your boy needs science or history projects or show-and-tells...   

I live on the ocean too -- down in Florida.  We don't have the geology for good slinging rocks though. so I throw golf balls, often in parks.  That way the sling looks like a game instead of a weapon.  Others throw tennis balls in back yard settings. 

Title: Re: Greetings from Canada!
Post by Goran on Jan 9th, 2023 at 8:18am

IronGoober wrote on Jan 9th, 2023 at 1:37am:
Oh, man. What fun! If I had a son you bet I'd try to get him slinging with me too(or daughter!).

Good looking slings! Welcome to the slinging community, we're small but we tend to like each other!

Thanks! It blows my mind how slinging has managed to have such a small presence online, when so many people do it offline.

Braided slings confused the heck out of me, until I saw this video, then suddenly it clicked. Not gonna lie, I mainly made an account here to post pictures learn more. :)


StaffSlinger wrote on Jan 9th, 2023 at 7:16am:
I live on the ocean too -- down in Florida.  We don't have the geology for good slinging rocks though. so I throw golf balls, often in parks.  That way the sling looks like a game instead of a weapon.  Others throw tennis balls in back yard settings. 

That's a real roundabout way to brag about your sandy beaches. :D

I'm pretty fortunate to live in a place with the right combination of solitude, waterfront access, and rocky beaches. The good news is most folks prefer the sandy stuff, so the pebbled beaches are usually empty!

Title: Re: Greetings from Canada!
Post by Rat Man on Jan 9th, 2023 at 8:55am
   Welcome from New Jersey, Goran. What part of Canada are you from?

Title: Re: Greetings from Canada!
Post by Goran on Jan 9th, 2023 at 9:45am

Rat Man wrote on Jan 9th, 2023 at 8:55am:
   Welcome from New Jersey, Goran. What part of Canada are you from?


Thanks! I'm on the West Coast, but I wouldn't mind moving back to the East Coast again if the opportunity ever comes up. It's beautiful here, but it costs an arm and a leg. :|

Title: Re: Greetings from Canada!
Post by Blindsquirrel on Jan 9th, 2023 at 3:10pm
.

Title: Re: Greetings from Canada!
Post by joe_meadmaker on Jan 9th, 2023 at 7:24pm
Welcome from Pennsylvania!

Title: Re: Greetings from Canada!
Post by Goran on Jan 10th, 2023 at 2:50am
Thanks, Joe! And thanks for making me an account!


Blindsquirrel wrote on Jan 9th, 2023 at 3:10pm:
u guys should check out the PracticalParacords weekly online sling competition

Dude's channel seems to come up often. If I ever get some free time, maybe I'll put together a target and see if I can't hit the broad side of a barn. If anything, would be another way to engage with other slingers. :)

Title: Re: Greetings from Canada!
Post by IronGoober on Jan 10th, 2023 at 10:52pm

Goran wrote on Jan 10th, 2023 at 2:50am:
If anything, would be another way to engage with other slingers.


That's it really. There is few chances to interact with other slingers, especially where you can see each other. But this is a good way to do it. There's one other small group of us that use Instagram chat that have done some live competitions, but we haven't done any in a while.  Fun times though!

Title: Re: Greetings from Canada!
Post by SmokinRocks936 on Jan 13th, 2023 at 10:06pm
Your slings are great!

Title: Re: Greetings from Canada!
Post by Goran on Jan 13th, 2023 at 11:15pm
Thanks! Coming from you, that's high praise! Like you mentioned, it's pretty incredible how easy you can make some of these.

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