Slinging.org Forum - Hello from Canada.

Twiggy

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Hello from Canada.
Mar 6^th, 2024 at 2:12pm

Hello,

I have been interested in weaponry since I was a child of many forms, firearms, archery, swords, knives, etc.

In the back of my mind I knew that slinging does exist, especially being raised and taught in a catholic school I was familiar with the story of David and Goliath.

My interest in slinging was developed very recently where a couple days ago, I watched a video on youtube about them, and also how easy it can be to make a "quick and dirty" one. I've seen shoelace and leather, paracord and duct tape, etc. Of course more proper ones are made of paracord and leather, or leather and different string materials, or string materials alone.

I did make my own quick and dirty one, out of some left-over thick string I had, and a mask (as the pouch) left-over form the pandemic. Surprisingly, it worked (though I suck at casting right now) at least until the string ripped through the mask and it came apart.

I see slings for sale on Amazon, but I have held back on buying any because I know for some products anything off Amazon is not of good enough quality, but I am not sure if that applies to slings or not.

But anyways, hello, I look forward to learning more here.

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Caspian

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Posts: 31
Squaw Valley, California
Gender: male

Re: Hello from Canada.
Reply #1 - Mar 6^th, 2024 at 3:10pm

Welcome aboard!

As much as people (me included) like talking about their braided, woven, twisted, and any other well-made sling by them or other people, the quick and dirty slings are still really good. My Balearic style slings cower in fear of the velocity quick and dirty slings can produce, haha!

Yeah I'd say avoid buying slings unless you know more about the person making them. There's plenty of people on here who make and sell slings, but it's also fun to make them yourself. Aside from quality, which is a big factor on sling durability, there's also a lot of personalization that goes into them. Grips, lengths, double or single fingerloops, pouch style, whether the release cord is smooth or has a knot, all of these are really up to personal preference. The grips are moreso when you're using the sling, granted, but my grip is weird so it factors into the slings I make

Granted the personalization point doesn't really stand until you get really familiar with slings and then gravitate to one length or one grip, or one technique of throwing, or what have you.

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For thus says the LORD: “Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land at this time, and I will bring distress on them, that they may feel it.”

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Twiggy

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Re: Hello from Canada.
Reply #2 - Mar 6^th, 2024 at 3:34pm

Hi,

Thank you.

I have heard before that each side of the sling should be just slightly longer than your arm, so I guess the total sling should be slightly longer than your wing span? Would that at least be a good starting length?

I may commission someone from here to make a basic sling, with a large enough cup to hold a tennis ball.

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Caspian

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Squaw Valley, California
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Re: Hello from Canada.
Reply #3 - Mar 6^th, 2024 at 3:55pm

Twiggy wrote on Mar 6^th, 2024 at 3:34pm:

Hi,

Thank you.

I have heard before that each side of the sling should be just slightly longer than your arm, so I guess the total sling should be slightly longer than your wing span? Would that at least be a good starting length?

I may commission someone from here to make a basic sling, with a large enough cup to hold a tennis ball.

Yeah length of the sling, from center of pouch to fingerloop, I think is generally recommended to be from fingertip to armpit, though other good lengths exist. I personally use a 21" sling (measured from pouch to fingerloop) right now which fits my style, but I did learn on a 32" sling, as that's my fingertip to armpit length. I think that generally a longer sling encourages more pendulum-type motions that are valuable for developing good body mechanics while beginning, while shorter slings are more nimble and snappy but need good body mechanics to avoid injury, as it's so easy to put too much effort into throwing with a short sling and so strain your body.

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For thus says the LORD: “Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land at this time, and I will bring distress on them, that they may feel it.”

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Rat Man Slinging.org Administrator Offline Slinging Rocks! Posts: 13830 New Jersey, USA Gender:	Re: Hello from Canada. Reply #4 - Mar 6^th, 2024 at 6:18pm Welcome from New Jersey. Everyone is different as far as sling preferences go. I find a sling length equal to my "wingspan" to be ideal. So a sling with a folded length of 38" is ideal for me. Some prefer shorter slings. Experiment with different sling lengths, types, and styles of slinging to find what works best for you.
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joe_meadmaker

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PA, USA

Re: Hello from Canada.
Reply #5 - Mar 7^th, 2024 at 1:11am

Twiggy wrote on Mar 6^th, 2024 at 2:12pm:

anything off Amazon is not of good enough quality, but I am not sure if that applies to slings or no

I've gotten some nice slings (mainly leather pouches) off Amazon. I can send you links, but they're not so special that they can't be made easily.

Twiggy wrote on Mar 6^th, 2024 at 3:34pm:

I may commission someone from here to make a basic sling, with a large enough cup to hold a tennis ball.

Make sure to check out this thread: https://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1344443926. Basic slings are really this easy. Cut out a shape in some leather, tie some cords on each side, and sling away. You mentioned shoe laces, leather, and paracord. Those will all make perfectly effective slings.

As to length, it depends on the goal. For target slinging I've found that most slingers prefer something between 24 and 30 inches. My own preference is right in the middle at 27 - 28 inches. As Caspian mentioned, that's center pouch to finger loop, so half the sling total length. If you're going for distance, you might want to go longer. You'll need to experiment though because (as has been mentioned) length really comes down to personal preference and the style used.

And welcome from Pennsylvania!

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xud9a - call me zud 👍 Funditor Offline Ringing Slocks ! Posts: 646 Nottinghamshire, England Gender:	Re: Hello from Canada. Reply #6 - Mar 7^th, 2024 at 4:25am Much most greetify to Twiggy. My EDC is a seat belt sling. Literally 7 inches of webbing strap -from a car seat belt- and 2 lengths of paracord. Quick one thrown together in 5 minutes a decent one takes 15 minutes. Check out the "I'm new" and "advice for begin. Good luck and welcome. 😁👍
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Twiggy

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Re: Hello from Canada.
Reply #7 - Mar 7^th, 2024 at 5:23am

When I made the one from the left-over string and mask I had, it wasn't that hard - it was quite easy.

What was preventing me from making one with a leather pouch in my head, is not wanting to pay the price for new leather (although I don't know the price of leather as I never worked with it) but it just came to mind that I could easily find shoes or even shoelace alone, and some old leather or fake leather products are a thrift store, and that'd keep the costs down.

I guess if I found leather or denim shoes, I could get both pouch material and laces in one package.

I think that may bne a savvy way to go.

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xud9a - call me zud 👍

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Nottinghamshire, England
Gender: male

Re: Hello from Canada.
Reply #8 - Mar 7^th, 2024 at 11:34am

If you were in uk Leather would be on its way to you as I have around 50kg in stock.

( I make stuff).

2 sources of supply.

If anyone throws out a leather chair/ sofa ..... how much did you want ? Many much with 5 minutes work with a box cutter !

Ask on freegle /freecycle groups.

Bags of scraps / offcuts on eeb ay.

Yes , I know Canada is freaking huge are you in Ontario ?
😁👍

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My outlook on life is Aristotalean; on seeing an Acorn I see a potential oak tree rather than Plato's view that it is a failed copy.
BE SAFE, BE SMILEY, BE STRANGE

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xud9a - call me zud 👍 Funditor Offline Ringing Slocks ! Posts: 646 Nottinghamshire, England Gender:	Re: Hello from Canada. Reply #9 - Mar 7^th, 2024 at 11:35am Still can't count ! 🤪
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Twiggy Novicius Offline Slinging Rocks! Posts: 6	Re: Hello from Canada. Reply #10 - Mar 7^th, 2024 at 12:17pm xud9a - call me zud 👍 wrote on Mar 7^th, 2024 at 11:34am: Yes , I know Canada is freaking huge are you in Ontario ? 😁👍 Yes, I am in Ontario.
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Twiggy

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Re: Hello from Canada.
Reply #11 - Mar 7^th, 2024 at 4:49pm

So, I went and gambled on buying one from amazon yesterday.

It came in today, and this is what I got, tiny pouch, totally uneven lengths.

Don't worry though, I've already started the return process and will be dropping it off free of charge at Canada Post tomorrow, and will get my full refund soon.

There's also a thrift shop near there, so I can try to get cheap materials to make my own there as well.

Just look at this junk.

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Rat Man Slinging.org Administrator Offline Slinging Rocks! Posts: 13830 New Jersey, USA Gender:	Re: Hello from Canada. Reply #12 - Mar 10^th, 2024 at 4:05pm Good Lord, what a crappy sling. How dare they! Of course it could be repaired easily enough simply by shortening the retention cord and retying the loop but still.... I'd probably return it too just out of general principle.
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TOMBELAINE Funditor Offline Slinging Rocks! Posts: 791 france Gender:	Re: Hello from Canada. Reply #13 - Mar 11^th, 2024 at 11:28am I think it's a sling with a wristloop. It works but you are right, it won't be my first choice if I was a beginner. Welcome from France.
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xud9a - call me zud 👍 Funditor Offline Ringing Slocks ! Posts: 646 Nottinghamshire, England Gender:	Re: Hello from Canada. Reply #14 - Mar 11^th, 2024 at 1:48pm I had a magnificent month in Canada in Acton. I visited for a wedding and flew to Thunder bay and did some walking on the Bruce trail. Toronto was interesting and I even found Real ale ... yay !!! 😁👍
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