Imagine this.

You are a young man, barely having outgrown boyhood yet, in a society were the authority is still decided by chiefdoms and powerful families.
A conflict between opposing parties has erupted. As a fit man of age you are drawn into this as well. As the son of a middle ranking chief you have plenty of time for hunting with your sling, skilled enough to take the life of a small dear with a well placed river smooth rock.
Being skilled with your sling you have been given the task of assassinating another young man from the other end of the chiefdom who's party has been seen roaming the nearby forest.
Scurrying through the undergrowth you spot him and his companions having set up camp for the evening. You sneak closer, crouching behinds bushes, sneaking under fallen logs and hiding behind trees. You already carry a rock in your sling pouch because his guards are everywhere and you are unsure when you will need to sling a rock at short notice.
Finally you are in an acceptable distance of your target. Squatting behind a bush you peak up to catch a quick look at him before jumping up and hurling your rock at him.

But how?

If you are in such a situation where you have to crawl under obstacles and hide behind objects without knowing when you suddenly have to emerge from your hiding place and throw, meaning you have to carry the sling with a loaded piece of ammunition, what is the best slinging style to go by?

Both so that you can jump and crawl around with the sling and the sling having been fitted with a rock without any chance of it falling out.

Not a bad call.
And definitely a viable out-of-the-box creative option.

For me personally, I would use a couple rotations of the sling somewhere between over my head and at my side (whatever the surroundings allowed), and then a sidearm release.  This would be my choice because it's the style I use regularly and am most comfortable with.  I'm not one to practice many different styles, so that would definitely limit my options.

A question on the proposed the situation.  You describe needing to crawl and move around without dropping the projectile in the sling.  Do you picture the slinger holding the pouch and projectile in his or her free hand?  If not, the sling would need a pouch that holds the projectile very well.  There have been discussions in the past that cupped pouches may not release a projectile as cleanly as a flat or split pouch.  Which makes sense.  The more a pouch naturally holds on to a projectile, the more it will restrict the release of it.  So a sling that can hold a projectile while the slinger is moving around a lot, and one that can be used for pinpoint accuracy during an assassination, may not be the same thing.

You guys are forgetting the most important part, "How to get away from bodyguards whose lives are on the line if they don't catch you."

@Kilisi it is no use being short sighted in such a situation (if you care for your life) but my intention with this thread was definitely the “jumping, crawling and sneaking around” part

Yeah realistically I would just hold the sling in my hand until needed , and probably figure 8 with a drop. I’d be more worried about the space for the throw than how it’s held

Mersa wrote on Nov 17^th, 2020 at 9:28am:


I second turkey style.
Also... use razor glandes.  Aim for the eyes!

Then use Star Wars style.  The Force will be with you as you shoot antimatter glandes with your laser sling.  But don't forget Harry Potter's cloak.  Or maybe the ring of power will help them.