How many slingers?

[Q Rutilius]

Idle thoughts on a Sunday afternoon....

I have heard that for a given area you can put more archers in it than slingers. Is this really true? I suppose that if the slingers shoot with a horizontal motion this could be true, but what if they use a vertical motion? And it must take some room to knock an arrow and maneuver about even in your "own space". Not being an archer I am not sure about this. Also, I have read in many sources that after a certain number of shots fatigue sets in for the archers. Is this true for the slingers as well? A vertical shooting motion, it seems to me, is comparable to throwing a ball (the motion that is), and weekends are full of amateur baseball players (pitchers) who throw baseballs for a considerable number of pitches. So, I am wondering if maybe operating a sling is less fatiguing and you can get off more shots in the same time period.

[M. Demetrius]

Well, we're about to start a slinger platoon, and I'll let you know. What little I've done with that, though, using either an overhand or underhand throw, you want LOTS of room between the slingers providing they're as amateurish as we are. Hey, those rocks can go off at just about any direction until you get the hang of it. We'll use the old tennis balls for learning to prevent keeping EMS too busy.