Teeth wrote on Jul 4^th, 2024 at 11:37am:

Not in the example I'm trying to present.  Instead of a small target as I have shown in the image, imagine you're slinging at a wall.  Is the perpendicular line (of the point you're trying to hit) from your eye to the wall, or from the sling pouch (at the time of release) to the wall?  This is the big conundrum of slinging.  The slinger's line of sight and where the projectile is being release are never in line.  It's a "shoot from the hip" every time.


Teeth wrote on Jul 4^th, 2024 at 11:37am:

Partially disagree.  If your release angle from the pouch to the target is straight ahead (as in image A), then release timing is the same on the horizontal plane (left to right) no matter the distance.  A vertical adjustment will be needed depending on the distance to the target and the speed of the projectile.  But with orientation C, a vertical and horizontal adjustment are needed if the distance changes.


Teeth wrote on Jul 4^th, 2024 at 11:37am:

This is kind of the point of the question.  With orientation A, only an adjustment of vertical angle release is needed, depending on projectile speed.  With orientation C, both the vertical and horizontal angle needs to be adjusted.  If we ignore vertical angle, orientation A hits the target at any distance.  Orientation C needs to adjust the release time (angle) for any change of distance.

I agree that a change of body rotation (and even changing the direction of a forward step, which I do all the time) can affect the release angle.  But that's not really what I'm asking.  Ultimately the question is if a slinger prefers to make the adjustments with their positioning, or their timing of release (horizontal release angle).


Teeth wrote on Jul 4^th, 2024 at 11:37am:

100% agree.  There is no right or wrong answer to the posted question.  It is just something I'm exploring myself and was curious to see what others thought.

Definitely d but then lately I have been trying to incorporate
The whole American baseball pitching style into my hurls
You know the whole leg up bit

I never paid attention to it (meaning my positioning in front of the target) either for years.  It was only just recently I started thinking about it.  For the largest part of my slinging career, I have used the C orientation.  It just made sense to stand directly in front of the target.  And then a little while back I started thinking about moving more to the left side (as a right handed slinger) so that release angle adjustment (toward the target would be less) when the distance changed.  And it seems to work really well.  That's really the advantage of A.  If you move closer or farther away from the target, the release timing doesn't change.  You may need to adjust the vertical angle for longer distances, but the horizontal angle (assuming a sidearm release) is the same.

Maybe not related to the question specifically, but certainly a valid topic.  I haven't done a ton of slinging from cover, but have played around with it from behind trees.  A sling can definitely provide reach around the side of a barrier.  You obviously just need to make sure it's far enough in front so it doesn't interfere with your throw.  For me it was usually too much of a distraction to get any great results.

Today I used the rock carrier bag for the second time, it allowed me to stand in one place between throws and here's what I noticed:
I can make 3-5 throws and the stones will consistently go, for example, to the right and higher, to about the same place.
Then if I slightly change my stance in relation to the target, the grouping remains about the same, but the stones fly, for example, to the left or to the target. Previously, I assumed that the position of the front leg, looking in the direction of the target, is more important. But today it seemed that the leg standing behind and the direction in which it pushes the body at the moment of the throw are more important.

Has anyone noticed something similar or does everyone try to correct the throw only due to the hand itself?

From the pictures and description above, my throw is probably closest to what Stabyhoun described in this post:
https://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1719041137/7#7

joe_meadmaker wrote on Mar 9^th, 2025 at 10:51pm:

Oh, that's an important clarification. Probably at the time of release in my case it was something close to B.

joe_meadmaker wrote on Mar 9^th, 2025 at 10:51pm:

Yes, I almost always use the figure eight throw. But there is a caveat about the release point.

joe_meadmaker wrote on Mar 9^th, 2025 at 10:51pm:

I take a step when I try to make a strong throw. If I'm just relaxed, there's still a small push to turn the body.
Oops, I missed the clarification in your first message that you're talking about a side throw, because I read this topic when it was created and remembered it yesterday while thinking.
But honestly, I can justify myself, because when using the figure eight, I noticed that depending on the target's location, I can release it either from above or almost horizontally (almost like in the Balearic style, for example). 

Klydd wrote on Mar 12^th, 2025 at 1:59pm:


Shorter slings should feel more natural, while longer slings are better at generating more velocity/momentum.

Tennis balls are the norm for safety and accessibility reasons; they are one of the worse projectiles due to their construction (high surface air resistance), lack of density and mass distribution.