Really shows how a sling can be deadly even if it's a high arcing shot and all the power comes from just letting the projectile fall. A rock or glande falling that would hurt. A lot.

Thanks guys!

I knew the mini pumpkins would hit harder than an ice ball, but it was surprising how much harder.  Most of them weighed 2 to 2.5 times more than the ice balls I normally use.  But they also took a lot more impact to break.  I can't even imagine hundreds or thousands of projectiles flying in at once.  At minimum, completely distracting.  More likely, devastating.

I think a rock or glande in this weight range would be lethal for an unprotected head strike.  Even just with gravity as only the acting force.  I thought about doing this with rocks, but that would require some upgrades.  I would need to pad the back of a shield.  My little leather bracer wouldn't be enough.  (There's a part in the video when I mention getting hit on the hand.  Today there is a slight bruising on that spot and it's a bit tender.)  I think I would also want to get a helmet or some other kind of head protection.

@Mersa - At some point we should do some brainstorming on a fruit/vegetable challenge.  There could probably be some humorous ideas come out of that, even if we don't do them.

True enough.

That would be an embarrassing hospital visit.  "You see doc, I was slinging a rock at myself and failed to get my shield up in time" 

It looks funny.  A little awkward too.  At Reenactor Fight we fired small water bombs.  These have broken through shields.  The fighters were very well armed.  Hitting the helmet almost always resulted in a brief knock-out.  Despite a chain shirt and thick gambeson, hits on the body left large bruises on the skin.  Often you could even recognize individual rings of the chain mesh.  The slingers were very feared after a short time.  At some point depth charges were banned.  😁

Luftballons mit Wasser füllen. Die Ballons muß man tapen. Sonst platzen sie bereits beim Schuß. Normaler weise platzen sie beim Aufschlag. Für die Fustibal haben wir Ballons mit etwa 250g befüllt. Wir verteidigten eine Burg. Unsere größten Distanzen waren etwa 80bis 100 m. Für die normale sling war das füllgewicht 80 bis 100g. Es gab auch eine schwere artellerie. Ein kleines trebuchet und einen onaker sie verschossen 3 und 5 liter. Diese einschläge waren furchtbar. Es gab einen ritter der von einer normalen sling am helm getroffen wurde. Es gibt ein foto davon. Er ging sofort KO. Es wurde aber erst zwanzig minuten spater bemerkt.

Fill balloons with water.  You have to tape the balloons.  Otherwise they will burst with the shot.  They usually burst on serve.  For the Fustibal we filled balloons with about 250g.  We were defending a castle.  Our greatest distances were around 80 to 100 m.  For the normal sling the filling weight was 80 to 100g.  There was also a heavy artellery.  A small trebuchet and an onaker they shot 3 and 5 liters.  These impacts were terrible.  There was a knight who was hit on his helmet by a normal sling.  There is a photo of it.  He immediately went KO.  It wasn't noticed until twenty minutes later.

That looks like so much fun! 

Only the armor saved him from worse.  I experienced some very dangerous situations with the sling.  Once a knight came to me with his squire.  He asked me if I could teach his tight.  So I showed him how to use a sling.  He was a good student.  He should only practice with tennis balls.  Unfortunately he didn't do it.  A few days later he was training alone behind the tent camp on a meadow.  He shot stones at a distance.  One of these stones flew backwards.  In the middle of the camp there was a riding area.  There his knight trained on a horse.  He was armed.  The stone hit this knight on the helmet.  Everyone clearly heard the impact.  The knight fell sideways from his horse.  He stayed there.  Nobody knew what had happened.  The knight wore a padded hood.  A chain hood over it.  And a helmet on it.  That saved his life.  His skull was fractured.  And a fracture in the upper jaw.  His recovery took almost six months.  The helmet had a clear blow.  You should never underestimate the effect of a sling.