Fustibalus - Staff Sling

[Smithy]

Justen, you're incredible.

I would find an experienced slinger and work alongside them for a while. For incendiary shot use semi molten lead.

What, why ahhh, panick.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Justen, you're incredible.

I would find an experienced slinger and work alongside them for a while. For incendiary shot use semi molten lead.

Hmmmm, wouldn't that dribble out as you swung it? :? ?

[M. Demetrius]

Not to mention red hot metals will cause vegetable fiber to flame up immediately, and greatly reduce the life of leather, if that is what your sling pouch is made of. Most folks think the heat mentioned by the ancients is greatly exaggerated.

140F is about as hot as a hand can generally touch and hold, so lead sling bullets pulled from a pot of boiling water (some kind of tongs would work) would still be mighty hot when they got to the target.

Imagine that sunk an inch into a thigh or abdomen! It could still be 180F, or 80C. Yikes! Cooked beef!

[John Conyard]

It's really a two man job. One man casts the bullets. After a few seconds in the mould the lead is hard on the outside, but hopefully still soft in the middle. Put it in the pouch. Wet the pouch if you want to, but the shot will not be in it for long. Cast it ASAP. The shot may break open on inpact, or just smoulder away in the wood.

But of course this sounds fine on paper. Now go try it. Let me know how you get on and let's compare notes.

[Smithy]

The Scotish beach was to cold and windy, My shots where burried in about 30 seconds, I could not load the copper pipe into the sling as the wind was picking it up and the shot was falling out.

If that was not bad enough the sand was whipping arround like a sand storm my face was red and my whole face was in pain.

Looks like I need to find an indoor space :x

All my effort wasted..... I atleast found out that I need no new kit.

[Robert Vermaat]

Looks like I need to find an indoor space .

Or wait for better weather. :wink:

[Smithy]

I am in Northern Scotland about just south of the mountains...... I can see them from the beach.

So that was mild weather

[Medicus matt]

I have decided to do this without chain as (please do correct me)

Alright then.

Unless you're contemplating wrapping yourself up in a few yards of actual chain, please stop calling it 'chain'.

It's a mail shirt, or lorica hamata if you want to be a bit more 'latin' about it.

Not 'chain' or chainmail'.

As for 'incendiary' rounds... stop it, just ... stop it.

[Smithy]

Incendury was a tad far fetched but I looked into what they used and it sounds like it smells worse than me after a weekends re enactment so I will end that stupid idea there.

[mjursic]

Just making a couple of fustibali this weekend to bring to our Castra Aestiva event next week. I might try a one handed version as well. Thoughts?
Michael Jursic
Ontario Canada