Foresight17 wrote on Nov 19
th, 2022 at 3:17pm:
I have found that long slings 100% do increase velocity. I usually use a 3 foot sling or a 2.5 foot sling and always struggled to get past 170 fps on my chrono, well recently I made a 5 foot sling and the speed increase was dramatic! 236 fps as my highest reading, and an average of 220 fps! This is all with the same 1 inch steel balls, 66.8 grams. I tested the range, and found that with my normal slings I can reach about 180 meters on average, however with the 5 foot sling I cleared 240 meters with ease. I managed to recover my first throw but couldn't find the following thrown balls. So yes, longer slings give dramatic velocity increases using the same ammo.
236 fps, Almost 72 m/s! That is very respectable! My best is 77 m/s so far. I've tried a 50" sling, but I do about the same with a 40". I think Archaic Arms did 82 m/s with a 46" sling.
One thing to be aware of that I only recently found, is that with long slings, sometimes the radar can pick up the end of the sling. I had changed a sensitivity setting to very high (small projectiles) on mine recently, and saw that it was picking up the end of an empty sling when I swung and cracked it just above the radar. However, turning the sensitivity down made this issue go away. I'm not sure if yours has that ability, but it is something to be aware of. You can avoid this by setting it up in front of you and slinging over the top of it, far enough that the cord doesnt' go over the top. This is potentially risky, but we live for danger, don't we?
I know Archaic Arms and Sarosh do it this way. I don't like to because the first time I tried it, I hit the chronograph with a tennis ball and sent it flying...luckily it seems to have survived. And I'm glad I wasn't using stones at the time.