Slingers

[sitalkes]

Hi, I received my copy of the Feb/March issue on Monday (IRRC), and I think it's terrific. I've finally got through it all. The article on Macedonian phalangists was not convincing in that it spent too much time telling us what we already know (that they fought in close formation with unwieldy weapons and were well drilled) and not enough explanation on why they were light infantry. The article on peltasts contained little new information but the article on Slingers was fabulous. ) The Slinger article contained slightly contradictory information in that the reconstructions showed the sling being held by a ring on the middle finger, wheras the text says it was held by a wrist band. I suppose that both are possible? The article doesn't mention how long the sling was, appart from saying they came in at least two lengths (long and short). Would I be correct to say 1 - 1.5m?

Cheers,

[M. Demetrius]

More info on slings, slinging, and related topics:
www.slinging.org
There's no specific length that's "correct" for a sling. Basically, either they're about long enough for the pocket to touch the ground when your arm is relaxed and hanging down, or they're longer than that. The whole point is that the faster the projectile is moving when you let it fly, the more energy there is in the projectile. Some folks can get the speed they want with a shorter sling and a single revolution, others want a longer one, and an extra revolution.

My own are typically on the short end, because I don't have enough control of the longer one. I find it harder to "feel" where the pocket is at the time of the release, because it trails further behind the throwing wrist. You can make a sling loop that fits around the wrist, or any finger that is comfortble for you to use. Most use the middle finger.

[Eleatic Guest]

Further sources: link from old RAT

[sitalkes]

Thanks, that's a lot of useful information. I have one other reference:

Evgeni Paunov & Dimitar Y. Dimitrov, "New Data on the Use of War Sling in Thrace", in Archaeologia Bulgarica 3/2000, pp 44-57

[PMBardunias]

I've been doing some experiments to determine if a spin is imparted to glandes as they roll off of the pouch material. A bilaterally symmetrical shape like many sling bullets are should spin the wrong way, tumbling in flight and going off like a buzz saw, unless such a spin exists. This basic concept is why muskets fire round balls and rifles can fire elongated shapes.

Without a spin the glandes should be asymmetrically dense- like a pellet for a pellet gun- in order to fly remotely straight. If anyone knows please tell me.

The other reason I 'm posting is that I came across this while searching the slinging.org site. Ever wonder what an incoming sling bullet sounds like?

http://members.aol.com/curiousaardvark/punky1.wmv


Update: answered my own question- they do spin:
http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1186253405

[Olaf]

While searching how to construct my sling one interesting site I found was the Balearic Slinging Federation.
As it seems slinging is still a competitiv sport there.

www.mallorcaweb.net/foners/fotos/00_Afotos.htm

[sitalkes]

Here are some other articles:

[url:3mhqgttl]http://home.exetel.com.au/bmboats/slings_main.htm[/url]- Evgeni Paunov's article about slings in Thrace

Slingshot articles (available from the Society of Ancients by buying the individual journal or by buying all the Slingshots on one DVD)

Russell King, The Sling as a Weapon, Slingshot 54/20-25
John Norris, Sling and Bow Ranges, Slingshot 55/27-28
Stephen O'Leary, More about the Sling, Slingshot 57/23-28

There's also a 67 page chapter on the slingers and men who threw stones in Volume V of W K Pritchett's "The Greek State at War" 1991 pp 1-67. This includes the full text of every ancient text on the topic that Pritchett could find. He makes it clear that throwing stones was practiced by all infantry ranks.

[Mythos_Ruler]

I particularly liked the part about the rod slinger. Never knew they had that.