Slinging.org Forum - Biconicals or teardrops for range?

czechslinger1.0

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Biconicals or teardrops for range?
Jul 4^th, 2021 at 2:17pm

I have not yet tested this out. So I want to ask for your experiences. Which sling ammo flies better: biconicals or teardrops?
So far I had only used either clay biconicals, balls or ovals(from which straightest and furthest flying were biconicals)

But in my last patch of clay slingstones I made some teardrops to see how they fly to test against my usual sling-shot shapes(which of course all of those are in this patch), still waiting for them to dry to finally test it out for myself.

I am very curious about this and I'd like to hear with which of these you get the best range and how would you compare teardrops to other sling ammo shapes.

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Kick Forum Moderation Offline Posts: 4451 Finland	Re: Biconicals or teardrops for range? Reply #1 - Jul 4^th, 2021 at 2:47pm I personally haven't tried tear drop shaped ammo, but I can't see them sitting all that comfortably in a "normal" sling pouch. I really look forward to seeing what you find in your experiments.
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czechslinger1.0

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Re: Biconicals or teardrops for range?
Reply #2 - Jul 4^th, 2021 at 3:31pm

Kick wrote on Jul 4^th, 2021 at 2:47pm:

I personally haven't tried tear drop shaped ammo, but I can't see them sitting all that comfortably in a "normal" sling pouch. I really look forward to seeing what you find in your experiments.

True, I want to try them out with my normal slings, but I think I will have to make a sling with specialised pouch for teardrops. That means making another sling to my already ridiculously big sling collection which is great fun!

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IronGoober Interfector Viris Spurii Online ...and now, No. 1, the larch... Posts: 1601 California Gender:	Re: Biconicals or teardrops for range? Reply #3 - Jul 4^th, 2021 at 5:22pm If you do, can you please try Albion's half Cortaillod sling? I'd be interested to see how it works for others. If I can find a good range, I'll make one for myself. https://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1172017416/6825
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AncientCraftwork

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Re: Biconicals or teardrops for range?
Reply #4 - Jul 5^th, 2021 at 5:04am

there is no need for a special pouch design for tear drops but of course it can be made. But a split pouch or pouch that slightly cups works great. The heavy part of the teardrop is in front, so place that in the center of the split so that the tail sticks out. They work fantastic. I have not scientifically calculated the range but I think it's greater than biconicals to the eye. They seem to fly losing very little velocity

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czechslinger1.0

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Re: Biconicals or teardrops for range?
Reply #5 - Jul 5^th, 2021 at 6:12am

AncientCraftwork wrote on Jul 5^th, 2021 at 5:04am:

there is no need for a special pouch design for tear drops but of course it can be made. But a split pouch or pouch that slightly cups works great. The heavy part of the teardrop is in front, so place that in the center of the split so that the tail sticks out. They work fantastic. I have not scientifically calculated the range but I think it's greater than biconicals to the eye. They seem to fly losing very little velocity

Yes I tried to put one that is almost dry into my long balearic sling and spin it and it didn't fall out, so specialised sling isn't indeed needed.
I look forward to seeing for myself how they fare against my usual glandes. There has to be a reason they made sling bullets in this shape when biconical shape was available.

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AncientCraftwork Interfector Viris Spurii Offline Posts: 2403	Re: Biconicals or teardrops for range? Reply #6 - Jul 5^th, 2021 at 6:18am it is the most aerodynamic shape
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Scorpion Vin Descens Offline Still slinging better than archery! Posts: 210 Gender:	Re: Biconicals or teardrops for range? Reply #7 - Jul 5^th, 2021 at 3:54pm This form became the prototype of the bullet Minié, which replaced the round musket bullets
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Scorpion Vin Descens Offline Still slinging better than archery! Posts: 210 Gender:	Re: Biconicals or teardrops for range? Reply #8 - Jul 5^th, 2021 at 4:02pm Thus, the sling was the first weapon for which bullets were made in ancient times, in general, the sling is the prototype of a firearm
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czechslinger1.0

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Re: Biconicals or teardrops for range?
Reply #9 - Jul 5^th, 2021 at 4:55pm

Scorpion Vin wrote on Jul 5^th, 2021 at 4:02pm:

Thus, the sling was the first weapon for which bullets were made in ancient times, in general, the sling is the prototype of a firearm

Since I first tried biconical clay glandes I like to think of slings as ancient rifles. There are many similarities in how sling bullets fly to rifle bullets, especially when it comes to the way they are stabilised. If you look at a modern rifle bullet it looks almost perfectly like glandes used in the ancient times. I actually have a .50 cal bullet here and I think it would make excelent sling ammo. But now I have to resist the urge to sling it Cheesy

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Jaegoor Interfector Viris Spurii Offline Slinging Rocks! Posts: 2811 Gender:	Re: Biconicals or teardrops for range? Reply #10 - Jul 5^th, 2021 at 9:03pm Do a simple experiment. Throw ammunition high in the air. Or they drop ammunition from a great height. How does the projectile hit?
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Mersa

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Re: Biconicals or teardrops for range?
Reply #11 - Jul 6^th, 2021 at 8:38am

I think this question has so many layers.

It’s hard to really say without a lot of testing and defined parameters.

So let’s say that volume and material is set , so they both weight the same but have different surfaces and shape.

Now let’s say launch speed and angle are the same, in a vacuum they both travel the same distance.

So the real question is really about the aerodynamics of the projectile.

I would assume that the teardrop would be best if spin (rifle spin) wasn’t a factor. But with spin perhaps the teardrop is les stable , maybe the biconical has a better coefficient when spin is added to the equation.

It’s interesting for sure

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Curious Aardvark

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Re: Biconicals or teardrops for range?
Reply #12 - Jul 6^th, 2021 at 3:01pm

Well one reason biconical was more popular is probably simply because you can load a biconical into a pouch anyway round.
teardrop shape would need to be placed a lot more precisely.

In the heat of battle when you're under pressure. You don't want to be fiddling about loading ammo.

No clue on which would fly furthest. Interested to see how you get on czechslinger Thumbs Up

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czechslinger1.0

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Re: Biconicals or teardrops for range?
Reply #13 - Jul 6^th, 2021 at 5:07pm

Mersa wrote on Jul 6^th, 2021 at 8:38am:

So the real question is really about the aerodynamics of the projectile.

It always has been about aerodynamics, in vacuum a tennis ball would fly the same as 57g rock or clay/lead glande. Which is why I think it is such a shame humans can't live in vacuum, slinging on the Moon would be fun as heck!

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Jaegoor Interfector Viris Spurii Offline Slinging Rocks! Posts: 2811 Gender:	Re: Biconicals or teardrops for range? Reply #14 - Jul 6^th, 2021 at 6:42pm In fact, I have so far reached the greatest distances with one ball. A biconic projectile only flies to the apex with a spine. Then it falls sideways and is braked heavily
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