I have been slinging regularly with the primitive Shepherd’s sling for almost a year now. I have been able to achieve hunting level accuracy with this weapon. So Today I want the share all that I have learned through this amazing journey.
Now I have made a number of slings from various materials and have a few tips on sling construction. Longer slings are more powerful than shorter slings. But shorter slings are much more accurate. My short sling is 27 inches in length.
The design of the sling pouch affects how the stone is released. The 3 strand cordage pouch has minimal contact area with the stone. This causes some stones to fall out prematurely during the cast. Conversely, the leather cup pouch has too much contact area making the release timing less consistent. For me, the split pouch design offered the optimal amount of contact area.
The release end of the sling, if it ends in a knot or point, will sometimes break the sound barrier thus causing a sharp crack. This cracking sound spooks game, attracts unwanted attention, and causes my release finger to flinch thus decreasing accuracy. So instead I made the release knot end in a puffball of fibers with uneven length. This will stay subsonic and thus silent.
Now onto the sling stones. Ammo consistency has a huge impact on accuracy. So First you want to collect smooth round pebbles from streams and creek beds. Then group them by size, the larger fist sized pebbles and the smaller quail-egg sized pebbles should discarded. Only the medium sized stones are kept for practice.
Now after a few practice sessions you’ll notice that some stones are consistently released too early, these stones are much less dense than average and should be discarded. You’ll also notice that other stones consistently release too late, these stones are much more dense than average and should be discarded. Finally you’ll notice that some stones consistently veer off in a curved trajectory, these stones have non-uniform internal densities and should be thrown away.
What you end up with is a collection of highly consistent stone ammunition.
There are a number of slinging techniques, my favorite is the Greek overhand followed by the underhand due to their relatively easier learning curve.
When practicing with the sling, a few important things should be kept in mind. First your muscles need to be relaxed, so do some stretching before practicing.
Your mind must be completely clear. Try to not think about anything when slinging. Distracting thoughts absolutely kills accuracy.
When aiming, keep both eyes open and look at the target try to focus on a small point on the target, if there isn’t one then imagine a point at the targets center of mass. Now you need to look into the target, your eyes must lock onto the point on that target. When the cast happens, every part of your body will be in motion, but that lock between your eyes and the target must never be broken or you’ll miss.
it is important to control your breathing, casting right after the exhale seems to work much better than the reverse.
When executing the cast, remember not to put everything you got into it, that will kill the accuracy. Instead reduce the casting power to around 70% and make the hit.
Now here is the hard part! You need to practice, ALOT, You need to practice every single day for hundreds of days. Practice until your arm and back is sore, practice until thick hard calluses form on your release fingers. Practice until your muscles, your eyes and your mind becomes one. Practice until you are able to consciously purge all thoughts from your mind at a moments notice.
After nearly a year and 30,000 Casts, i can now hit a small game sized target 3 out of 4 tries at 30 feet and 1 out of 2 tries at 45 feet. Thus I’m at the skill level of a child from an indigenous slinging culture. An adult with a decade of practice from such cultures are able to consistently hit torso sized targets at 150 feet according to European colonial accounts.
The primitive rock sling is indeed a powerful survival weapon in skilled hands, and I hope my experience can help those who want to master this weapon. And now that I have that skill it has become my favorite primitive projectile weapon. Anyways Thanks so much for watching, If you like this video and want to see more please like share and subscribe to my channel. See you laters.
