Middle Earth Ranger Forum

Fits in a pocket, has unlimited ammunition (depending on your location), can be used for hunting or combat, can bring down creatures as small as a squirrel and as big as a giant...

...if you can just figure out how to aim the bloody thing.

I'm getting good distance, now, and at least am consistently shooting forward-like. I'm also experimenting with a few different techniques, many of which do NOT involved standing there twirling it above your head for ten seconds while telegraphing what you're about to do.

So how about it? Have any of you tangled with the mighty sling?

Don't think slings are specifically mentioned in Tolkien (though quoits are), but it makes sense--they're almost culturally universal...

Here are some of my attempts:

One
Two
Three
Four

Yeah, I've tried several times and have 2 laying around someplace. The trouble is you need a large area with 360 degrees of clearance and no one else is the surroundings.

My brother Mike had gotten pretty good and could consistantly hit a posted speed sign sized target from about 50-60 ft. He used to take lead sinkers a alter them with a hammer to form a more traditional sling bullet. It resembled a miniture football (ours not a soccor type). When he used regular stones he'd get them from a river or streambed, nicely smoothed and somewhat round.

I tried this out while we were building the house. I would spend an hour or so, chucking rocks out of our dirt “yard” into the tree line. Never got that accurate to fell any giants, but wasn’t horrible.
Slinging.org has some nice articles.
Wikipedia has a good short section on how to sling.
I believe the sling was mostly an ancient weapon used against non- or lightly armored troops. I always think to compare the Roman slingers engraving taunts on their lead shot, like “Take That, “ to our bomb crews writing on their ordnance.
The Anglo-Saxons only used the sling for hunting and a border on the Bayeux Tapestry shows a slinger hunting birds.
I cannot find a ME reference other than the later interpretation of AD&D Halflings’ use of the sling.
Could also be used as a survival hunting tool or weapon, but not very Ranger-ish on the batlefield or skirmish lines.

I toyed with slings constantly when I was a kid. Got pretty good.

Now...*sigh* I can throw it forward...but forward can, in my way of thinking, cover 90 degrees of motion, so...I'll stick to my bow, thanks. They're fun, but borderlining on useless in my hands. I'm WAY more accurate just throwing the rocks, though they're not moving as fast.

Beornmann wrote:
I cannot find a ME reference other than the later interpretation of AD&D Halflings’ use of the sling.
Could also be used as a survival hunting tool or weapon, but not very Ranger-ish on the batlefield or skirmish lines.

I believe it's mentioned in the Prologue to 'The Fellowship of the Ring' that Hobbits were adept at slings and stones. I will have to get my copy out and check it.

Mirimaran wrote:

Beornmann wrote:
I cannot find a ME reference other than the later interpretation of AD&D Halflings’ use of the sling.
Could also be used as a survival hunting tool or weapon, but not very Ranger-ish on the batlefield or skirmish lines.

I believe it's mentioned in the Prologue to 'The Fellowship of the Ring' that Hobbits were adept at slings and stones. I will have to get my copy out and check it.

It is. I was just listening to the unabridged version and it's in the chapter "Concerning Hobbits".

I would love to try it but I don't think it would be used to much for battle. Might have some hunting uses. I am working (very slowly) on a book and one of my characters will have a sling shot but I may sub in just a sling.

I just picked up the September/October issue of back woodsman and in it there is an article about attaching a sling to a staff. It goes into pretty good detail and sounds pretty promising.

The Romans had whole units of slingers from the Balearic Isles...where the best slingers are still found today. Later Roman armies had the staff-sling...a sling attached to a staff. The Celtic peopled too used slings for war...Roman surgeons found arrows did less damage than sling stones..although they were far more dangerous against armor.

For the most part, I doubt an individual sling would be very useful for battle. But for purposes other than that, they can be very useful. I have one I work with periodically...takes a deal of practice to get skilled with them.

Siani

i was in love with slings for a while. so simple, portable, and deadly. sadly after about 2 years of off and on pratice i cant hit the broadside of a barn. i may pick it up again, as bows seem very cumbersome to me, and i have yet to get good with throwing axes(which is what i currently favor).

slinging.org is a great resource.

Frothgar

http://slinging.org/index.php?page=maki ... ated-guide

StumbleUpon brought this up, and thought you might like it Chris.

I just found this topic and thought I'd let you know about my brother Timothy, who is a sling maker. Here is his website:

T.J. Potter, Sling Maker

Enjoy

cool site thanks for the link.

This articla was referenced over at My Armoury and thought some folkes here might be interested:

http://journalofasianmartialarts.com/cm ... mic-RD.pdf