Slinging.org Forum - help with longer sling

jrob24 Tiro Offline over 50 golf balls lost so far Posts: 21 MA / USA Gender:	help with longer sling Oct 26^th, 2008 at 2:44pm So I just made a new paracord sling about 80 cm long from cup to cord end. Trouble is I'm not getting as good distance as I do with the shorter sling. Am I supposed to helicopter it to a high speed? Advice is wanted please.
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peacefuljeffrey

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Re: help with longer sling
Reply #1 - Oct 26^th, 2008 at 3:03pm

I don't offer this as "advice," but as a "this is what I do":
I keep to a shorter sling. The one I typically use is about 30 inches from loop to pouch.
It's not very long (it's also not "very short") but it slings golf balls well over the length of a soccer field. (Is a soccer field 100 yards from goalpost-to-goalpost? I'm not sure of that.)

When I tried a sling that was longer by perhaps ten inches, I didn't get near the velocity and distance.

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JustKnot

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Re: help with longer sling
Reply #2 - Oct 26^th, 2008 at 4:30pm

I started slinging with 55cm sling, next one was 70cm and then 120cm, at first I could not sling with that long at all - it seemed too long for me (I'm 160cm), so I shortened it with monkey's chain to around 80cm and then every time when I started feeling comfortable with the current length I loosened 10cm more. I was slinging full length in about a month Wink

Important! Do monkey chain near pouch -not the release knot

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David Morningstar

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Re: help with longer sling
Reply #3 - Oct 26^th, 2008 at 5:33pm

The technique for long vs short slings is different. For a long sling you need a long sweeping throw that covers a lot of distance.

Try standing sideways on to your target with your throwing arm horizontally back, slightly bent sideways at the elbow. Spin up in a vertical plane, clockwise as you look back at it. The plane of rotation is whatever feels comfortable, it will be angled away from the target by about 45 degrees or so.

Relax and give it a few slow rotations. You do not need to spin quickly, just enough to keep it going is fine. Pick up the timing of the rotation, you want to catch the point where the sling is going backwards at the top of the circle.

Throw at that point. Make a long sweeping sidearm throw and really reach forward. If you find the shot hooks off to the left then try starting with more bend in the elbow so the plane of rotation is more aligned with the direction to the target.

Its all about covering as much distance with your throwing hand as you can. As the circle gets bigger, so your throw has to get bigger as well.

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Re: help with longer sling
Reply #4 - Oct 26^th, 2008 at 5:40pm

You haven't mentioned what style you use but at the risk of stating the obvious, if you get better results with a shorter sling then stay with the short sling. However, as you also say, styles with more initial windup will allow you a longer sling and consequent higher release velocities. But don't be seduced by the "longer is inevitably better" mantra. It is quite easy to lengthen your sling to the point where you will not be able to accelerate it effectively and actually find your velocity dropping, especially if you have short arms.

JustKnot's suggestion of making an adjustable length sling and slowly letting it out as you get used to it strikes me as a very good idea. You may find your ideal length somewhere between the two extremes.

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peacefuljeffrey Interfector Viris Spurii Offline Peace through superior slinging power! Posts: 2700 West Palm Beach Gender:	Re: help with longer sling Reply #5 - Oct 26^th, 2008 at 9:37pm I worry that any monkey-chaining I would do to my paracord slings would cause serious drag that would inhibit velocity substantially. David: I am not getting a full visual of the style you are describing.
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jrob24 Tiro Offline over 50 golf balls lost so far Posts: 21 MA / USA Gender:	Re: help with longer sling Reply #6 - Oct 26^th, 2008 at 10:07pm Thanks for the advice. I'll try your technique David and If that doesn't work for me I'll practice more with a shorter sling. BTW I don't know what monkey chaining is.
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peacefuljeffrey

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Re: help with longer sling
Reply #7 - Oct 26^th, 2008 at 11:58pm

jrob24 wrote on Oct 26^th, 2008 at 10:07pm:

Thanks for the advice. I'll try your technique David and If that doesn't work for me I'll practice more with a shorter sling. BTW I don't know what monkey chaining is.

It's a way of tying a length of line into a series of interlocking overhand knots so as to shorten it significantly. Each overhand knot is "slipped" into the next one and they can be undone in a moment by "unlocking" the last one and tugging the end of the line. Each bight slips back out of the one before it and the knots are gone like magic.

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Re: help with longer sling
Reply #8 - Oct 27^th, 2008 at 1:02am

Quote:

I worry that any monkey-chaining I would do to my paracord slings would cause serious drag that would inhibit velocity substantially.

I've used the monkey-chain to shorten cords for several years; I am always playing with my cord lengths, and the monkey-chain let me adjust the lengths fairly easily. I have not noticed any additional drag from the knotted cords.

By the way, JustKnot is correct: the monkey-chain should go near the pouch, NOT near the release knot and the finger-loop. If all the extra cord (and mass) is at the release-knot end of the cord, you will have more bad releases because the release cord can't get out of the way fast enough (because of the mass dragging at the end of the cord).

Here is

how to tie the monkey-chain knot

. This knot has a lot of other names including chain sinnet, bugle braid, and crochet stitch.

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David Morningstar Slinging.org Moderator Offline Slinging Rocks! Posts: 3429 UK	Re: help with longer sling Reply #9 - Oct 27^th, 2008 at 2:52am peacefuljeffrey wrote on Oct 26^th, 2008 at 9:37pm: David: I am not getting a full visual of the style you are describing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EY7EOspW594 This is what I am trying to emulate with my long slings.
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peacefuljeffrey Interfector Viris Spurii Offline Peace through superior slinging power! Posts: 2700 West Palm Beach Gender:	Re: help with longer sling Reply #10 - Oct 27^th, 2008 at 5:23am Kewl, thanks. I was gettin' lost where you said, "you want to catch the point where the sling is going backwards at the top of the circle." How can that be the release point? It sounds to me like it would launch the rock backward...
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David Morningstar Slinging.org Moderator Offline Slinging Rocks! Posts: 3429 UK	Re: help with longer sling Reply #11 - Oct 27^th, 2008 at 7:40am peacefuljeffrey wrote on Oct 27^th, 2008 at 5:23am: Kewl, thanks. I was gettin' lost where you said, "you want to catch the point where the sling is going backwards at the top of the circle." How can that be the release point? It sounds to me like it would launch the rock backward... And the next line says....
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Curious Aardvark

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Re: help with longer sling
Reply #12 - Oct 27^th, 2008 at 11:11am

lol thats the unmistakeable frame of balearic slinger

and that's the same style david suggested.

very good distance style.
Not really suitable for a very long sling. though 80 cm isn't that long so should work.

If you check out balearic slingers thread (david and goliath) he gives length of his slings in cm.
I tend to do mine in inches. 30 inches should be near enough 80 cm though, so yep that style works well with a 30 inch sling

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David Morningstar

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Re: help with longer sling
Reply #13 - Oct 27^th, 2008 at 2:26pm

Curious Aardvark wrote on Oct 27^th, 2008 at 11:11am:

lol thats the unmistakeable frame of balearic slinger

and that's the same style david suggested.

very good distance style.
Not really suitable for a very long sling. though 80 cm isn't that long so should work.

If you check out balearic slingers thread (david and goliath) he gives length of his slings in cm.
I tend to do mine in inches. 30 inches should be near enough 80 cm though, so yep that style works well with a 30 inch sling

I use that style with a 50 incher, but then I am 6'1" Tongue

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Re: help with longer sling
Reply #14 - Oct 27^th, 2008 at 3:36pm

I tried it with a sling that long in wyoming.
Hurt like hell - but went almost exactly as far as my normal sling and standard sidearm.
Just couldn't get the speed into the long sling that I can get into a short sling.
That and being a shortarse don't help lol

One of these days I'll work out how larry does it

It says this on the monkey chain animation page thingy: Quote:

And, when pulled, all of the knots vanish as if by magic

So how do you stop the knots disappearing as that would be not terribly useful for slinging ?

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