So here's a question for you.
I have in the past done several posts on gauging the maximum *realistic* accuracy for the sling. And by accuracy I'm talking about your average scores over years, not temporary peaks we all have occasionally.
I cant speak for anyone else but clearly for me I've hit the wall with side arm many years ago. I can occasional have peaks that surprise me but I will never be anywhere close to bow accuracy with a side arm throw. It's just not in the cards.
So...assuming you have also hit the wall what variables can be changed if higher accuracy is the goal?
As to variables we have sling design, ammunition design and consistency, throwing style, tuning - (choosing the correct weight for your strength and sling length, best sling design for your throw and other sundries), amount of practice, and your individual level of average hand eye coordination.
Those are the variables that come to mind right now.
Ok let's set aside sling design and ammunition. Both seem fine and aside from easily testable things like possibly lateral and torsion resistance we haven't made a ton of improvement on design over our ancestors, if at all.
Let's also dismiss the raw amount of practice. The sling is addictive to use. Amount of practice isn't the problem for any dedicated slinger.
So that leaves tuning, your indvidual average hand-eye coordination, and throwing style.
Tuning I think is a concept that needs to be explored much more. But without the feedback of tournaments it seems to end up in endless conjecture. So let's set that aside for now as a black box. Don't really have any other option at the moment.
Next is hand-eye coordination- this is surprisingly not significantly a genetic aspect. Only around 5-6% of hand-eye coordination is genetic. The rest can be trained. *However* - you've already trained it ad nauseum simply by practicing. Anyone who has slung target in a dedicated fashion for years as probably noticed their hand throwing accuracy also increases. That's your proof you've broke your brain in a good way. I imagine if the neural pathways could easily be viewed in slingers our spatial awareness portion of the brain would look like a body builder who only trains arms- really overly built in that one area.
Ok, so after all that we get to the point. Throwing style, for now is holding at least me back and I suspect most of us.
I love the phrase - "If you do what's always been done, you'll get what's always been got."
If the veritable Greek God that is Luis Pons Livermore can't reach near bow levels of accuracy with a near perfect side arm technique no one can, regardless of how many more years you throw.
So, is it worth it to you to try a radically different and less powerful throwing style to potentially reach higher accuracy? Anyways, that is where I'm at.
Any thoughts on changes we can make in slinging to break past the wall? Because I have to say, this ain't working gentlemen.