Use of the sling (the "David vs. Goliath" type)

Factual Questions
1

Can somebody please educate me about the use of the sling – the “shepherd’s sling” used to kill Goliath?

I don’t see how you could possibly aim this thing with any degree of accuracy, yet it seems people could strike targets effectively with this weapon.

Now, I can see how you could aim a “slingshot”. That makes sense to me. How far back in history do “Dennis the Menace”-type slingshots go?

Any info would be appreciated!

2

Well, it’s fairly simple. Get something going quickly in a circle and then release it when you want it to go straight. You can practice yourself with something on a long string. Whip it around your head and then learn when to release it to make it go straight in the direction you want it to.

Remember, however, that slings only do 1d4 damage unless you’re using a special bullet with additional damage of its own.

3

Here you go.

4

Same way you get to Carnagie Hall…

5

You can kill someone with a sling by taking the E train to 7th avenue?

6

Have you ever been there after two in the morning? I am amazed anyone gets out alive…

7

I’ve played with one.

The technique is NOT to spin it round and round. You basically use a motion similar to a baseball pitcher, allowing the sling to amplify the motion. The projectile whips around at the back, and ends up traveling the same direction as the hand moves forward, but faster, so it basically releases itself.

Imagine a trebuchet with your arm replacing the lever. I think it probable that the sling was the inspiration for the trebuchet.

8

Sure, you get a couple of wiseguys to throw the bum in front of the train. Think he’s gonna stop that with a sling?

9

I’ve used one as well. Unlike in the cartoons where the sling is spun over one’s head like a propeller and then released, the proper motion is to swing it once around your head and then step into it while releasing the load somewhat like it’s being thrown.

The sling I used was about 5 feet long and it was very powerful. Easily lethal. It’s amazing how fast and how far one can sling a large rock.

Accuracy, of course, was non-existent and it would take years of practice to use the sling with consistent accuracy.

10

Thae last time I saw a sling in action was when my brother’s friend tried to demonstrate its power, and accidentally bashed out the long side window of my father’s 1959 Dodge station wagon. Did a fine job too; there were no pieces of glass larger than a hulled peanut.

11

So let me get this straight. When use use a sling, you:

  1. place a rock in the little pouch in the middle
  2. take both ends of the string in your right hand (assuming you’re right-handed)
  3. swing it once, above your head, with the circle formed by the projectile being parallel to the ground
  4. release one of the strings when the projectile is facing towards your target

Is that right?