So, I have been playing around with distance slinging lately. (Inspired by some here) and have learned a few thing playing around with trajectory (with drag) calculators as well as having a radar gun to see what my initial velocities are.

Today I had a throw with a 1m long sling that was 69 m/s release speed with a 74g stone at probably less than 30 degrees loft angle and it only went 253 m. (stones were painted fluorescent yellow and I used a laser range finder from the spot I found it which couldn't have been far from where it landed given the very soft ground which was a ploughed field)  I was surprised I wasn't getting a bit further given that a previous throw went 240m and was only ~58 m/s (but lofted higher).

From using the calculator, (the loft I varied between 25-32 degrees to see the effect on distance and drag coefficient) the drag coefficient of the stone had to be around 0.25-0.33. If you assume 0.3 for the drag coefficient of a stone, then Larry had to have hit damn near 100 m/s to get to 437 m. The other interesting tidbit is that by going to 2000m in elevation, one get about a 10% boost in distance because the drag is much reduced. (air is about 80% of the density). Larry would have likely thrown just over 400m at sea level.

I think that David Engvall must have been throwing in the high 70's low 80's to get to his record, given the aerodynamic nature of his ammo.

If we don't know for certain that the distance was measured from where the stone impacted vs where it was found, it could be significantly lower velocity than we predict.
A stone might skip 50+ meters on hard flat ground, and finding where it impacted would be quite difficult I imagine.
So perhaps he was instead throwing 380m with a stone?
100m/s seems a bit unfathomable to me. (unless Larry could pitch 90+mph barehanded)

69ms doesn't seem astronomical.

I've thrown stones that far and further, the flight time would seem about right.

Although given the stone is essentially decelerating for most of the distance I'd think the initial launch speed would be significantly higher.

Somewhere between a 30 and 35 degree launch angle seems to be the sweet spot.

Jaegoor always says 45 is better, but you just have to draw the travel arc to see that's wrong.

I like the scientific approach

So a 39 inch sling.
With the right ammo you should be able to hit around 300metres with a stone, I've seen you sling, you've got the technique and speed.

With Larry it's his throwing style that's the key.
It's as optimised as I suspect it's possible to get.

He started with baseball pitcher mechanics and improved from there.

It's a unique style and the hardest to replicate I've ever come across.
On a good throw he falls flat on his face and even the energy of the fall goes into the sling.

I've used the sling he used and held the stone.
Nothing remarkable about either.

I've also seen him outthtow a golf driving range by a significant distance.
How far,  we'll never know, but the gokfball was still in the up phase of the arc when it went over the ranges boundary fence.

It's a technique that only really works with a really long sling.

But if you want to break the record, even with lead, you'll probably need to copy his style.

AS far as I know, the only footage of him throwing is in the videos I shot of us playing slinggolf.

The only other person I know who used the same style, was larrys nephew Troy.
He'll be in his late twenties now. I met him in 2007
If he kept up the slinging, he could be the best candidate for creating a lead glande record on the planet

I recommend practicing the style on a beach, so you've got a soft landing when you fall forward.

The only time I succeeded in successfully copying the throwing style was on chesil beach, and the splash was too far Away to see.
Even a pebble beach is soft enough to fall into

Thanks CA.

I actually meant that 100m/s seems astronomical. That is the speed I've calculated that Larry must have hit for his WR throw. ( using a trajectory calculator with drag on a 50g stone https://www.desmos.com/calculator/on4xzwtdwz) ; David Envall's throw was likely in the 70's to low 80's (drag is so much lower on the dart)

I believe I achieved 300 m about a month ago, but have no way of verifying it. I was slinging across the Columbia River which was 400m (range finder) across and I was just guessing how close I was getting to the other side. I had a few throw that, at the time, I thought were within 50m of the other side, but again, no way to verify.  So I'll just have to keep trying.   I also think 300m with a stone should be doable.