I was just wondering what everyone was using for targets. I've been using mostly planks of wood and an old bench (the picture is a bit old so my set-up's changed a bit and also accounts for the snow) the planks being around 1.5 to 2 inches thick. They stand up to abuse pretty well and I've currently only destroyed completely one target (my first one) which was quite spectacular to see I can tell you.

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I usually sling while walking my Huskies. The new ones, Max and Pandora, aren't well trained enough for group walks and slinging yet so I don't get to do anywhere near as much as I did with Kali and Odin. My targets vary with my surroundings. Usually a man sized bush is my favorite.

I was wondering this myself. When I first started slinging, I was throwing from very close distances and ricochet was a serious consideration.

I started with just aiming at conifer tree trunks. Then I moved on to setting up .22 targets stapled to a piece of particle board.

I am no where near the target stage of my development.  For now, I am content to launch tennis balls and golf balls in an empty field.

If you get the technique down and focus on one style with one weight of ammo, the accuracy will come with regular practice.

But we are talking about an hour at least a couple of times a week for most people.  There was one guy from Canada who was ringing his gong pretty consistently in just a couple of weeks.  He didn't think using a sling was all that difficult and actually gave it up because it was too easy.

Not that I was jealous or anything.   

Perhaps I'd be more at risk of ricochet if I were better able to sling in straighter lines.

In my opinion the difficulty of slinging is relative to one's objective in its use. If you want to score headshots on rabbits at 30 yards, it is quite difficult for a beginner. I was actually surprised at how intuitive a sling is to use at the novice level. Especially since I have never been too great at throwing objects by hand, generally speaking. That said, there is a long road ahead of me towards achieving the level of proficiency that I look forward to.

I imagine there is a learning curve though.

One of the best back stops is a large piece of old carpet hung over a rope.  This works pretty good for stopping fairly large objects.  Lead and small stones will punch through pretty quickly, though.

If you have a garbage dump near by, it's pretty easy to get.  If not, call people that re-decorate houses or sell carpets.  Lots of times they remove old carpets and are happy to give them to you for the asking.