Old School Slingshot - Medieval and Roman style 

Some backstory for the stone on the right in the thumbnail: it reads the greek word "Δέξαι", which means "catch". And that's one of my favourite sarcastic moments of history.

I feel like I should buy a dagger so Tod can afford a new sweatshirt.

Tod is not the kind of feller that gives up on a garment just because it has a little wear.

*Sees kid stealing apple* *realizes kid is probably just hungry and bored* "Hey kid, Ill teach you how to use a sling to keep the birds away and you can keep eating apples. Deal?" Ive met a few people like that in my life and theyve been some of the best influences of me.

Wearing a hoodie from the 14th century. Nice touch.

I made one when I was about 10 or 11 years old. I used to take it into the woods and set up targets. I found It way more powerful than my catapult and it only took about half an hour before I got the knack. After two weeks I could hit a can from 40 feet. Probably the most underrated weapon.

Some of the Roman sling bullets even had taunting messages molded in to them. One of my favorites is "Here's a sugar plum for you!"

Real life: Splits your head open through a bronze helmet DnD: "That'll be................1 damage."

Great video! As a balearic islander I would like to add a couple bits of information: There's another technique for slinging, you can spin the sling vertically on your side and realse it at a 45 degree upward angle to make a parabolic shot and make stones rain on the enemies. Also, ancient balearic mercenaries used to wear 3 slings of different sizes on them for different distances and projectiles and the legend says they were capable of sinking boats from the top of cliffs. Not the most accurate weapon but certainly a cheap and fun to use one.

I was waiting for an explanation for the sweater but he stated in the comments, its because he likes it... zero F's given, you got yourself a new subscriber man

Great fun! my friends and I started using the sling when we were about 9 and kept it up during the non snowy months until we were around 13 we got very good, wee only used stones sometimes larger ones like the 3-4 once ones you were using but we also tried 2-3- or 4 smaller ones for a shotgun effect taking birds would be no problem. If we wanted to we could hit some one from about 50 ft every time we used people sized targets but once actually had a battle with some older kids who were picking on us they were very surprised when we pulled out our slings and sent them home crying for their mothers!😄. A strike to the body could bruise and break small bones a head strike could have been deadly in the temple area. Rabbits were dead with a strike but it was a lucky shot to hit one. One of us actually accomplished that feat and we all felt to bad we never slung a stone at any animals after that. I am now 71 and you got me going I'm going to build one and get back in the groove using rifle targets Thanks for bringing this fond memory back from my childhood.

This what RU-vid was made for. Truly a classic video

Its 2 am and now I have a sudden urge to go slinging.

as a physicist the fact that you did several shots and took the average pleases me

amazing how powerful something so simple is. that's why I love slings, one of the first ranged weapons, has had basically no modifications over the millennia, and it's still a freaking monster.

I once saw a movie when I was a child with slingshots in it. I was playing and found some piece of fabric and a stone..and threw it. Didn't know where it went exactly,,,but was suprised how far it flew. 2 minutes later a car driver came and asked if I threw a rock at his car. :{ I sad "no". He believed me because I was to far from the road :D .

The tongue from an old shoe makes a great pouch.

"I don't know the truth of it... sounds good though". This man sums up history very well :) "It's cheap... well it's free..." this man is a great find! I wonder how many windows and bones have been broken because of this tutorial.

Hi Todd, i have thank you for this video, i am native from the balearic Islands, and i grew up with stories about the slingshoters, and also seeing the ruins where they used to live in, so just wanted to say thanks for the mention of my ancestors, also keep up with the good vids 👍

loved this video, my friends and I used to play with these when we were teenagers. We used the underhand vertical spin for distance, sometimes your method, but our favorite was with the simple overhand, like a American baseball pitcher. We got wicked powerful and accurate. But the best bit of mischief we got into was when we bombarded a construction site (which offended us by destroying a favorite place of ours for slinging and archery, and homemade cannon-fire) When the police asked us who was doing the throwing, we looked at them and said we wished we could throw rocks that far over the fence and we didn't know. All the while, wearing these cool leather headbands :) which was how we carried our slings. We also tried the staff sling, we used much bigger rocks and half bricks in them. Short range but really hard-hitting!

Guide from a Celtic open air museum here. To my knowledge Roman glandes (lead shot) could pierce shields and helmets. They also used whistling glandes. Those were modified glandes with a little drilled hole in them. Also when the Romans tried to conquer the Balearic Islands they had to put up extra shielding on the ships because of the amount of stones slung in their direction. The Balears were famous for their slinging skills. They were hired as mercenaries through the Classical Antique world. So too where the slingers of Rhodos.

Let me show you its features!

"There were fabulous stones all over the beach, and I wanted to sling" Fucking magnificent sentence that

I have little interest in ancient/medieval weaponry, but I can’t stop watching your videos. Your knowledge and delivery is captivating, and you tell the viewer when you are guessing or don’t know something. W,ell done Sir.

As someone who grew up hunting game (

Luis Pons Livermore has thrown rocks of around 150-200 grams at velocities approaching 50 m/s (Which would be somewhere over 180J). On episode 5 of 'History of weapons' on the History Channel, Luis Pons Livermore was filmed throwing a 200gram rock to 52 m/s. For a person who has just got back into slinging, 25 m/s is not bad. Most novices might reach to around 30-40 m/s, with differences depending on skill and length of the sling etcetera. I would probably be within this category as well, given that when I throw clay sphericals of about 80 grams, my range from standing is about ~80-140 metres, whilst with a short 'run-up' I can exceed 200 metres. With lead glandes thrown by good slingers, I wouldn't be surprised if you would see lead projectiles thrown to velocities approaching 60-70 m/s. If we assume that a glandes weighs about 50 grams, at 60 m/s this would give us roughly 90J, at 70 m/s this would roughly give us 122.5J. Glandes finds from Perusia generally mass around 70 grams, whilst other finds can be around ~20-100 grams. A lead bullet from the British Musuem with the inscription 'Dexai' or 'catch' weighs 105.16 grams, so there is a lot of projectile weights that one can choose from.

I just find it fascinating how such a simple weapon was so devastating in medieval warfare.

As someone already mention, I've read that ancient armies used vertical swings with only 1 or 2 revolutions. Some cultures preferred 2 for power, others 1 for a faster reload.

If the distance is indeed 40 meters, and is roughly at sea level - where sound travels at 343m/s, by the time you hear the sound from the hedge, 0.12 seconds has passed. Not super long, but almost 10% of your measured time. The actual speed (40/(1.6-0.12)) would be 27 m/s. 27*27*0.08/2=29J. 16% more than you calculated. Now, I realize that all measurements where guesstimates that would easily eat up this modification - but how often do you get to take the speed of sound into account? Great video, btw!

it's weird how we all have this ballistic computer built into our brains that just works and gives us a general sense of how to throw things, even when using something as abstract as as a sling. definitely seems to line up with the theories that we became the dominant species in ancient times by being the best at stamina and throwing. monkies can throw things with deadly accuracy, but they seem have a hard time shooting bows and arrows or playing billiards.

I'm not an old weapons guy or anything but you're making me want to learn to use a sling.

I can't be the only person who noticed Tod's comment at 3:00 about being on a boring holiday & going to the local hardware store to whip up a quick slingshot.... note to self, if ever on a holiday with a medieval weapon craftsman either keep them well occupied or make sure they include you in the fun! 🎯

Dad never taught you feels bad man.

One of my players in our D&D campaign swears by the sling. His character, a half-elf thief, has been using a homemade sling since the second session and mainly uses it for dislodging things or causing distractions but has also killed a few enemies with it, including a black dragon

As kids we used to make slings, we used several techniques: Underarm was good for range and accuracy with medium to large stones but needed a clear ground/field (sling 800-1100mm) Sidearm, good for accuracy and speed of deployment and rapid fire, good for rabbits and other small game, small to medium stones (sling 400-800mm) start with stone/pouch in left hand, right hand behind head, aim left hand at target, 1-2 turns and release. Overarm good for long range, power, accuracy, final action similar to bowling in 'cricket', long sling (sling 1200-1500mm) the technique takes a bit of practice, not everybody 'gets it'. We also experimented with staff-and-sling, with a double-handed action they were lethal for power and range (out of sight and still going up), good accuracy with a bit of practice, we were soon banned from using them; (staff 700-1300mm, sling 700-1300mm). takes some practice to get right. The 'helicopter' wind-up was only used by clumsy people with no sense of rhythm and does nothing for power or accuracy. There was a short-sling overarm action that was good for rapid response at shorter range (sling 400-600mm) the pouch/stone is held in the left hand against the 'shirt-pocket', the sling goes around the back just below the shoulder blades, right hand rests on right shoulder close to right ear; on spotting a 'target' the release action is like an overarm throw similar to a baseball pitch. There was another variation of the sidearm involving a turn like a discus thrower, it improved range considerably but did nothing for accuracy. (sling 600-1200mm). We probably 'reinvented the wheel' several times over, as all variations felt 'natural'.

I've been slinging for 5 years on and off. I've even made slings using denim fabric from an old pair of jeans I had. Very fun stuff!

That sweatshirt looks more deadly than any weapon you have shown.

I have a paintball marker which I've tuned up to high levels of power. Firing breaker balls (essentially rubber-coated marbles), it hits with about 25 to 30 joules of force (enough to embed the breaker balls several centimeters deep in a phone book), so I think your estimate is correct. For contrast, air-powered riot control weapons usually fire in the 17 to 18 joules range. Higher than that is considered to be likely to result in death or serious injury.

As David said to Goliath... "Typical Philistine, bringing a sword to a sling fight"

A my friend taught me how to make and use a sling as a teenager. I used that knowledge to cause great destruction. After a time of experimentation learning how to use it I could use one to break cinder blocks.

And here I was, starting to regret not sleeping

there is evidence of thr romans useing lead shot with a hole of specific measurments specificaly designed to make more noise, the slingshot channel has a great vid on the subject

Holy crap! I can't stop watching! I love how through you are with your info! Humble and smart about your topic...thanks..going to make me one!

When i was a young man in the mountains of new mexico i was living a life of (frugal leisure with dignity) in a cabin on some worthless desert mountain land, with just a little money and a whole bunch of free time, a dog and a pick up truck. i spent hours with a sling shot and was simply amazed how accurate i could get with one of those things. I was using rocks a bit bigger than what you are using. i used some cord and a piece of old inertube rubber. You can get really really god with a sling, and i also worked on launching the rock from below the waist, kind of a tricky shot, but good when shooting thru the trees. also putting different spins on the projectile and i loved the sound a rock would make as it spun really fast. I could make some rocks make such a big arch, but could actually shoot those shots more accurate than a straight on shot. that was 42 years ago. i miss living in the mountains. my nearest neighbor was about three miles away.

I started playing with slings many years ago when I was in the army… Around ‘65. There are many different slinging “styles”, I found. I don’t care for the “helicopter” spin prior to release…. My favorite is to hold the sling by the pouch at arm’s length, aimed at the target, and then make a single swing around the body to the left till you hit the release point. This seems most accurate for me. (Some call this the “Apache” style..) I find that a vertical swing is best for distance, but not for accuracy.

I make my own slings using thin dyneema cord and polyester ribbon slings, and tend to use a grecian or apache (figure 8) style, all of which is probably fairly unimportant - but can attest to how awesome angular rocks sound as the buzz and whirr towards the horizon. A volley weapon that sounds like a hive of hornets coming, that you can't see, surely has a huge morale impact in addition to its physical impact? Joe T.

I do love an informative vid like this that just gets straight into it, bravo! So many these days include the words "so without further ado, let's get started" about 5 minutes into a 10 minute video, where the first half was taken up talking about what the video is going to be about.

Always loved sling weapons. So simple, yet absolutely devastating to light targets.

Love to see more videos like this ... esp the impact and effect on target. I made some shot out of fired bolder clay so was able to get a good shape and a hole pressed in the side made a superb whistle as they flew, they also exploded very satisfactorily on impact ... great stuff, more please

My own attempts, as a young teenager =), to use a sling convinced me that the only safe place to stand was where I aimed. That said, I watched a video here on RU-vid a while back where the man claimed he had visited countries where they still use them regularly. His technique was different. He would spin the sling to the side of his body so that the throwing motion was like a baseball pitch. There wasn't a long wind up, it would only spin 1-2 times, but he was accurate and claimed he hadn't been practicing more than 2 weeks. Someday I'll give that a try.

It's good to see ancient slingshot's still being used

Well, you are completing your father's story with teaching slingshot use; it's called closure. Thanks for the video. I also like throwing things

That was the middle finger and NOT the index!

"its a 44 slingshot, the most powerful slingshot in the world, and could blow a man's head clean off, you just have to ask yourself one question..."

So glad you got closer to the camera instead of doing the entire video in Montana

Brave man, doing math on video. I really like that you do your calculations out loud.

I made one a couple of years ago, was quite impressed with the power and range something so simple can achieve. I want to have another go at them eventually, it's just a matter of finding a way to train without risking innocent lives and whatnot.

When we played with these years ago we would make a leather H, punch holes in the four ends of the H, and thread one string through each top hole and one string through each bottom hole. It makes a very easy pocket. Also, I always threw sidearm as you do but friends of mine would swing underhand. They would not get the power I did, but they did get accurate a lot faster, because throwing underhand means you're probably already lined up for windage, and you only need to concentrate on release timing to control elevation.

Thank you for throwing the same ammo by hand to show the comparison.

Love slingshots, I took a wooden shed down with one when I was a lad.

Pretty cool, I bet the whizzing noise of a thousand slings with curved shots would test the mettle of any army.

Love that cardigan;) Good vid as usual!

This is a great channel showing us great dedication to médiéval weaponry

I'm not convinced this is that much better than throwing it.

Damn...that's some serious impact energy 😱

The right figure to look at to compare firearm bullets and sling shots is not energy but momentum. The squaring of speed gives bullets an unfair advantage. We obviously know a sling shot won't cause cavitation and hydrostatic shock like a bullet might, but it will still fracture bones, penetrate skulls, and mash flesh locally. A 0.08kg projectile at 25m/s has a momentum of 2kg.m/s, while a 9x19mm 0.008kg (124gr) bullet at 350m/s has a momentum of 2.8kg.m/s. And suddenly, that comparison makes much more sense, and gives a much more pertinent approach to the phenomenon. Not that you can say Tod slings at about 2/3rd the power of a police handgun, but it's indicative of a high efficiency for a very simple hand held weapon you can basically DIY with hardware store string and use with rocks from the side of the road.

Lovin the dedication to that hoodie!

Im amazed by the force with such little effort.

In the US the index finger is the first finger. We call the middle finger the "middle finger". PS: I've always wanted to learn how to throw a sling. Thanks for the info. You have a great channel.

I used to be able to break cinder blocks with a sling as a teenager. And my dad didn't teach me either lol.

A simple but very fascinating weapon! Thanks for sharing, mate!

FYI Canada is Metric as well, my friend. Great video. I made a sling years ago. You have inspired me to dig it up and start slinging again. Thanks.

I've been a slinger for many years now. Over a decade ago, I was practicing on a beach, for lack of a better word, that had an appreciable amount of forest behind it. I was slinging rocks I found on the beach and slung one off into the undergrowth. It was one of those angular, flat kind of rocks Tod mentioned, and it made a hell of a buzzing noise as it moved through the air, and happened to hit a couple small branches and shore them off a tree at which I was aiming. I didn't know there was a couple making out in the same bushes into which I'd just closely buzzed with a rock until they bolted out of the brush, and their eyes went absolutely dinner plate-sized when they came out to see a white guy loading another rock into a sling and getting wound up for another throw. They absolutely hauled arse off the beach! I got a really good laugh out of that incident. I still have no idea how long they'd been there, because I'd been slinging on that beach for quite a while that day before scaring that couple.

I used to hit pop bottles at 50 to 100 feet with a sling. We didn't actually go hunting with the sling much, but a couple of us would hit a jack rabbit now and then. Like Todd says, it's easy to get the knack, but difficult to get good with it. It's a very underrated weapon in my opinion, especially when you consider how easily they are to make and the abundance of suitable ammunition.

Used this sling many years. Kids used them to drive off baboons and elephant from crops. They were very accurate. Good video and it shows what a hand grenade will do to your clothes when you don't throw it.

Voice a a scholarly gentlemen of the highest order. Looks like my uncle who drives dump trucks and builds garages. I love you bro.

Were you using that sweatshirt for target practice before you started filming?

Very effective weapon in the right hands. 👏👌🇬🇧

Wow! That's 90 km/h! I used to play with these as a kid, but never got very accurate with it. We used to swing it vertically, which is obviously wrong, hence even less of a chance to be accurate. Thanks for sharing one of my childhood memories!

After watching this video I know what I'm doing tonight. I've got some veg tan leather and i'm gonna make a sling! Tod you're channel is quickly becoming one of my favorites.

I remember in my early re-enacting days (I did late 15thC) someone brought a stick sling along to an event and that was lots of fun to play with, and easier to throw rocks in the right direction with :D I must have another go with a simple sling though, haven't tried in years. Thanks for such a clear and informative video Tod!

In 4:10 the cast led projectile on the right must be of Greek origin. The letters are saying ΔΕΞΑ>δέξου>receive. In the manner we say today φά'την>eat it. Or something like that.

I discovered your channel recently. I like your videos. I live in south america. During the spanish conquest Incas used slings as part of their weapons during their battles against them and their native allies. There is a chronicle of an spanish conquistador saying that slings could kill a horse with ease, or even break a sword in half. They sometimes used really long slings, as big as 2meters longs

Many years ago I crafted a sewn leather sling. I knew almost nothing about them. My version had a wrist loop and a thick sewn up pad to pinch for release. It was quite powerful and simple to use. I threw many things. It was either accurate ( short range) or long range.

Looks like a Roman centurion gave you his old sweater before going up north to build a wall.

The rounder the stone, the better direction. That's just aerodynamics. And yeah, David prior to the fight, went to a river to collect some round and smooth stones...

Its a cool thing you can make yourself, pretty awesome.

Tod, I have an alternative technique that might be worth trying. It's a back-hand release. Hold the sling pouch and projectile in your left hand, keeping the strings tense, stand with your right side facing the target, wind back, then release your left hand as you do a hard back-hand swing, releasing the projectile when it is flying in the direction you want. This method has no wind up nor pre-spin to it, but it also eliminates the skipped beat missed release problem. It also lets you sling something with surprise, because your target won't see you spinning the sling overhead before you fling a stone at them.

About 57...ish mph or so. I wouldn't want that hitting my head. Also, we have to remember a 3 ounce led slug would do more damage and presumably hit harder when wielded by a 'Peasant' trained to use a sling. Very informative. Great vids matey. ✝👍

"Sorry, Canada." And so, the tables have turned. Canada's also metric, btw.

love the lightning around 3 ounces !!

Great video. Thanks for sharing.

You need to subtract the time for the sound to travel back to the recorder. This will increase your speed reading and energy total.

When you see "slingshot" and you're surprised that the video isn't a Georg vid.

Fantastic video... thanks for sharing

It's amazing how little sound it made as it punched through that plywood.

As always, a great little video, interesting and informative. Sorry to be pedantic, it's a very minor point but you put the loop on your middle finger but call it your index finger. I've always thought that the index finger was the one next to the thumb? Anyway. Keep up the good work! :)

So, I guess this explains all the broken windows in my neighborhood 4 months ago.

Thanks for the video :) and for the slit tip, I'll have to try that! My dad taught me how to use one when I was a kid. I got to the point where I could hit a tree (had some stones going all over the place at first). he made one out of leather, which I remade a while back. I also made one out of sewing thread & some old fabric :D I took a patch of doubled up cloth (I think from old shorts) cut in a pouch shape, then took bunches of sewing thread & braided them together, braiding a loop in the middle, and then sewed the pouch onto that. I was showing my friend how to use the leather ones down by a river, I let one go down the river, and we waited for a few seconds thinking we may have missed the touch down, then way off in the distance we saw the water splash, it was surprising.

When I was 10 or 11 a chum & I made leather slings. There was an old railway cutting nearby so we would go down there and hurl the ballast - 2" chunks of basalt - until our arms ached. When we happened to hit them we could shatter bottles at 50 or more yards, which for a 10-year-old was like owning a nuke. Our parents never realized that we could have cracked each others' skulls.