Ive always wanted to try making and using a old school sling shot. The one where you spin it over your head and hurl a rock or other hard object. I tried that as a kid also but didnt do so hot. Ever try that momaw?
What you describe is not a sling
shot, it is a
sling. The terminology is pet peeve of mine. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Slingshots, hand held and braced against the arm, operate on the principle of elasticity. Rubber bands. You put a marble or a ball bearing in a pocket, pull it back, and let it go. They are mainly toys, invented some time around the end of the 19th century. You can hunt vermin with the more serious types of slingshots but..
The sling on the other hand, a long cord with a throwing pocket in the middle and swing at arm's length, is a weapon dating back to several centuries BC. It operates on the principle of leverage, second class in this case, allowing the slinger to loft projectiles at extreme speeds by extending his arm. It was militarily deployed by many civilizations around the Mediterranean because it was dirt cheap to make, and the extra weight to the soldier was only a few ounces. Slingers from the Belearic islands off the coast of Iberia were reported to be the best of the best. It was written by period historians that accomplished slingers could out-range bowmen. When used with lead shot, it was capable of burying its projectiles into flesh over a hundred yards away.
So yeah. Slingshots are toys, slings are proven-effective weapons.
I also know that the sling is supposed to be really hard to learn to use well. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> I know a little of the history of the weapon and I know they are easy to make, but I cannot help you with how to actually use one.
