You have a pretty good technique. I am from Menorca in the north of the Balearic Islands and I have been slinging for more than 30 years. You should swing the sling a little more slowly, because you are not going to throw harder by swinging faster and another thing, large stones were thrown with the sling. medium and short, because throwing stones of 400-500 grams did not reach more than 50-80 meters. The Balearic Islands fought with Carthage and Rome for more than 200 years. Today it is a federated sport in the Balearic Islands.
Thank you my friend! It’s all been self taught through constant practice so I always welcome any insight from people who have trained a lifetime as you have, greatly appreciated…truly. Truly a devastating and under appreciated weapon
@@yallprettysusFaster slinging might not necessarily translate into exit velocity of the projectile, I presume. It's quite an interesting problem if we look at force transmission in rotational movement, but I presume it could be connected to mechanism of projectile release or ability to perfect force transmission during release ?
One way to up the damage would be to include strength bonus to the sling damage representing heavier slings and larger projectiles. A slinger with a decent strength and dex, say 16 each, would do +6 damage.
I was the same till a few years ago. I got bored and made a sling, then started throwing rocks in the yard. I was almost immediately shocked by how devastating they can be! Football shapped lead shot is a true terror, but rocks are the cheap and easy ammo.
@@dashrendar5320 You are the first person I saw, who showed how good slings are and why they were actually used a lot in history. I've seen lots of documenatiers and I am sure some mentioned slings but they never showed the devastating effects. Since so few people talk about slings, having teachers like you who share and show informations about slings, is so valuable for the community!
Thank you for recognizing and showing your appreciation for us viewers. My mom always said I was an enabler, I’ll happily enable you. Keep up the fun educational work.
You are most welcome, this would not be fun if I was just throwing it into the ether, but talking with everyone that has those similar niche interests is amazing
Thank you, my friend. I know there are much better slingers out there than me so just doing my best to try and show a small amount of the potential power.
Dash, I don't comment really, but I wanted to say that I enjoy your videos, and because of what you're doing, I'm looking to get into archery. Not the heavy war bows that you use, but something to get me outside and active more. Thanks for what you're doing!
That’s so amazing to hear! Archery is amazing regardless of draw weight. It’s an amazing pursuit and I truly appreciate you taking the time to write. Good luck on your journey 💪🏹
What helped me massively to increase my projectile speed and accuracy, was all a lighter release cord with a good whip cracker. Your slings seem relatively beefy (well crafted, don't get me wrong) The whip crack tells you about your throwing power and helps to adjust the acceleration shortly before the release (in the last quarter of a second or so where the acceleration really happens / for the next throw of corse). Great content, please more of it.
Yeah, I have some other ones with thinner cord and a whip cracker. But I am practicing with them as I have not used them often so I’m working to get better with those before I do a video with them.
The sling is such an under rated weapon. I made one and learned to use it as a child. it's a nifty tool that is super easy to carry around. I always wanted to make a staff sling but never got around to it.
I would make these slings all the time as a kid because I was inspired by the story of David and Goliath, I still have a few slings, and I should probably go back to practicing with them.
Your so welcome Dash, your channel is amazing. I've loved watching you enjoy what you do, being your self, whilst growing your channel. I'll watch for as long as you make them, love your work brother and everyone be safe and have fun 👍 😁
I made 2 changes to my DnD campaign because of your videos. I added brigandine armor and most ranged weapons are based off of strength, not dexterity. Some puny little guy is not pull back a 165 lb war bow!
I myself as a DM changed the sling's damage die from a d4 to a d6. My logic is that a max damage hit should kill a commoner 100% of the time, a slinged stone to the head is not something you come back to tell tales from.
Outstanding video, that damage was devastating. I'd love to see a comparison between sling stones and lead projectiles, if surgeons were having to remove them from bodies that says a lot about their improved penetration.
Lovely videos, i really enjoy watching you talk about ancient history/weapon facts, breaking stuff, nerding out and just having a good time! Much love and support, peace mate! ⚔️
Great stuff man. I'd love to see a follow up one day showing what lead shot can do. I'm also curious how much wearing heavy armor impacts the equation.
Slings are OP. I’m loving the European stuff but there’s already so much content on the web I would love to see some pre Spanish weapons from the Americas. God bless you and the fam.
Agreed. The slingers under the legend employment as axillary were said to out match other ranged units of the time. As far as ancient ranged infantry go's, the slinger is vary much under appreciated. Not to mention the stones they used as ammunition they drilled wholes into, so they whistle when in flight.
Yes, indeed, that was a brilliant, psychological tactic, just to unnerve the enemy. They didn’t provide as hard and impact, but their purpose was definitely just to break the spirits of opposing forces.
Man, big rocks like that, and the pain they caused my elbow, is why I switched to the figure 8 method. But your arms look like they can probably handle more than mine, so good on ya.
Seeing the devastation of older weapons make me wonder if it is worth all the tech and society ills needed to make our more modern weapons. Overkill just to get over-match. Good shots! both with slings and camera angles.
Loving the sling content! I made a sling following a Todd's workshop tutorial so much fun to sling rocks about with my son though we spend more time finding suitable rocks in the wild 😅
Yeah age does make a difference my son is 15 though he’s nearly taken my head off a few times with wayward rocks whilst learning 😂 either way time spent doing this is better than sitting watching Netflix
Honestly made me appreciate this weapon way more. And the logistic of say romans to ve able to equip men with a sling is ridiculously simple. Compared to outfitting men with bows or crossbows, the cost, weight and production of a dling compared to a bow, let alone the ammo, is kind of insane. You obviously need to train a lot to be good at it, but same with archery. And strength doesnt seem to be as much of a limiter. At an age of low technology, slings are kind of terrifying. Super lethal, fits in a pocket, almost weightless and even practically unlimited ammo.
So fun! I have started slinging with a simple one I made from chord and a YT tutorial. It's great, and makes me sore in muscles I have never been aware of.
when the armour fell down I was in the middle of taking a big sip of water, it was so funny and such a surprise that I spat it all over the floor. I just so happened to be right in front of my parents, they looked very concerned. 😂
I think the balearics sunk the roman ships by filling them with stones and overloading them. I don't know of the details though. Nice shots on that armor!
The Balearic slingers were legendarily skilful, but in reality in battle it's going to be quantity has a quality all it's own thing, and that the Legionaries could provide. You're just going to be chucking a lot of rock into the air in a plunging arc - in a close formation if it doesn't hit a shield it's going to hit the head/shoulders/upper chest of someone, and - even if not a knockout punch - spoil their afternoon. Job done
getting into historical vids is creating some really fascinating conversations in my D&D group (like upgrading the AC of padded armor and calling it gambeson). I've been pushing to switch bows to be based off of strength and swords to be based off of dex (and after watching your videos, upping the damage of slings) but so far while my DM understands and agrees in principle is afraid to upset game balance
I love you're videos dash. You've Inspired me to get all my weapons together, train and learn the sling and the bow. I'm having so much fun. Oh also try and sling a bochi ball haha that would be insane
This was excellent! You are improving greatly at filming your videos and it’s so cool to see why slings were so widely used! There is a book series called “the royal ranger” it’s the follow on series to “the rangers appreciate” and slings are used to great effect
So, something to keep in mind: even if you use the oversized sling with a smaller stone, that stone is traveling faster and with more energy than when thrown with other slings....so in theory, you might end up with some dramatic results, maybe even penetration that you couldn't get with the larger stones.
Very true, thinner cord is also helpful as it helps to accelerate the projectile faster. And having shaped lead is the best as it has much more math in a smaller package. So I’m working on getting some shaped lead one day, which would create some really great results. I think.
I am happy to sponsor any content that adds awareness to the sling. It may be a humble weapon, it may have draw backs and weaknesses, but it is also amazing and important.
I wonder if anyone thought of padded catcher mits for incoming stones? Can imagine the front line of Roman legions with a baseball mitt and spear in other.
Another great video Dash! I enjoy these sling and projectile videos. Quick question.. when I was a kid, my dad made me a length of rope with 3 monkeys fist knots, one on each end, and one in the middle. I used to play with it a lot, throwing it at my dogs legs, my sisters legs. Anyway…. I don’t know what it was called, but have you ever thought of trying something like that out? Might me kinda cool. These sling videos reminds me of that fun piece of rope. Aloha 🤙🏽
Love your channel, I have been trying to get to warbow weight bows for a while and your channel got i me into slings as well, although they are waaay harder to shoot and also don't help with my shoulders problems (unlike the bows ) :(
Thanks so much man! Yeah they are brutal to try and learn haha, and I 100% have to ice my arm whenever I do a long day of slinging stones. It really can be quite taxing but good luck on your journey my friend!
Slings were also used as a garote, flail, (wrap around a shield at close range) tail end can wrap around a sword to disarm, (at close range) metal detectors can't see it, and people rarely see it as a legit threat. Different materials can be thrown (oil in a bottle, feces. Thanks for your vids, sir.