Slings

Slings are formidable weapons. They are very easy to carry and they can find ammunition almost anywhere.

Slings is a really ancient weapon, but is still in use in some parts of the world. If practiced since childhood the accuracy can be amazing.

Types of slings

As far as I know there are three different types of slings.

• The leather sling with a pouch
• The braided/plaided one
• Staf slings

It seems the leather one can be found in the Nordics and northern Europe while the braided type is favourde in the Medditeratian and the Middle East.

Staff slings is considered a later development of the hand held sling.

Projectiles

Romans casted sling shot projectiles in lead, but for most purposes throwing small rocks will do.

For practicing purposes worn out tennis balls are perfect. They don't hurt when you accidently hit people with them and could be easily spotted in most terrain.

Making slings

Pouch

Generally speaking, a sling has some type of mechanism to hold the projectile. To accomodate different projectiles that are not perfectly round, and in different sizes, slits are produced in the pouch. These slits will make the projectile stick a bit better.

For braided slings the slits consist of a narrow opening in the braiding.

Straps

At each side of the pouch a strap is attached. The length of the straps is a bit uneven since one end is supposed to stick to your hand and the other end is supposed to held while building momentum in the throw, but then released and let go. The free end is generally a little bit longer and it's usually a good idea to tie a few knots close to the end so your hand can feel the projectile balance by the position of the knots in the hand.

The attached end of the straps holds a loop to fit a suitable finger.

Leather sling

Cut a pouch about 20 cm long and 8 cm wide and two leather straps. Create slits for fastening the straps.

The straps are fastened by lacing the end of them through the edges of the pouch piece.

Make sure the slit for the finger fastening is big enough for your finger.

The braided sling

The braided sling is made from three pieces of the same thread, braided in both single and double threads as described below.

1. Find strong string of about three milimieter diameter
2. Cut three pieces of string about 200 cm long each.
3. Find the middle of all strings and hold them togheter. This will become the finger slit.
4. Start braiding the three strings together from the middle of the strings. Braid for about sex-seven centimeters.
5. Hold the ends together so the braided part form a loop, and then continue brading them together with two threads together in the braiding process. Continue the double thread braiding for the strap part for about another 30 cm.
6. Split up again and braid two braids, two single thread braids, for the projectile slit, about 10-12 cm long.
7. Combine the braids again to a single braid with double threads for the other strap.
8. Comming closer to the end of the strap, cut one string after another while braiding to thin the string out.

Throwing with slings

I know of three different types of throws with slings.

• Over the sholder throw
• Underarm circle throw
• The Spanish Throw

The intuitive under-arm circle throw

The most intutive one is the under-arm circle throw.

1. Position yourself with feet with shoulder with between them, half-facing the target.
2. Place the projectile in its pouch while holding your sling in the strap ends.
3. Hold your sling hand straight out at hip height, with the projectile hanging freely down.
4. Twist the wrist to start circling the projectile vertically and let go when the projectile is going 45° upwards.

Over the sholder throw - The easiest beginner throw

However intutive, the under-arm circle throw is a bit hard. It's easy to loose the projectile from its pouch prematurely while circling. To overcome this problem there is another way to throw the projectile.

1. Position yourself with feet with shoulder with between them, facing the target.
2. Place the projectile in its pouch while holding your sling in the strap ends.
3. Put the sling behind your neck, one hand holding the projectile in place, the other hand on the strap ends.
4. Build tension in the sling by pulling your hands apart while also bending your body from the hip to be able to twist back as the projectile is released.
5. Snap your body in motion by twisting the hip and at the end of the movement, release the build up tension in the sling - hurdling the projectile away.

This way to throw takes a little bit of practice to get the timing right, but has quite good hit rate.

The Spanish Throw - The longest throw

Throwing like a spaniard takes a little bit of practice, but is highly efficient. It's also beautiful to watch when executed flawlessly.

1. Position yourself with feet with shoulder with between them, half-facing the target.
2. Place the projectile in its pouch while holding your sling in the strap ends.
3. Hold your sling hand straight out at hip height, with the projectile hanging freely down.
4. Twist the wrist to start circling the projectile half a circle vertically upwards while also raising your hand to sholder height.
5. When the hand is at sholder height and the projectile is at the top of the circle, change direction of the circle from vertical to horizontal and let it complete another circle above your head and then let go when the projectile is has the target in the tangent of the circle.