A bit more on staff slings
A bit more on staff slings
Are there any *good* references floating around on how to build and (more importantly) operate a staff sling? There are a couple of easy to find pages on the web, but they do little more than state the obvious. What I'd like to know is how some of the supposedly very long ranges (more than 300 meters) were achieved with these devices. What sort of dimensions are optimal for the staff and sling? How is it held and fired? I'd be curious to know if anyone here has experimented with these weapons at all.
I tried to fool around with one at one point, as per instructions that someone who'd been around since AS dirt put on paper... you know, the spoked wheel pavillion kind of instructions...
I couldn't get it to work worth a damn. I mean, I really tried, and I can throw with my arm better than that thing could. And I throw like a sissy. And 300 meters is patent BS.
You should join me in an effort to legalize real slings. It's possible, if you're good, to pretty accurately shell people at sixty or seventy yards. That's what, double the effective range of arrows?
HELMUT
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Bridging the gap between his contemporaries, Helmut wore boxer- briefs.
I couldn't get it to work worth a damn. I mean, I really tried, and I can throw with my arm better than that thing could. And I throw like a sissy. And 300 meters is patent BS.
You should join me in an effort to legalize real slings. It's possible, if you're good, to pretty accurately shell people at sixty or seventy yards. That's what, double the effective range of arrows?
HELMUT
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Bridging the gap between his contemporaries, Helmut wore boxer- briefs.
Right now I have a 48" staff with a 36" sling. The proportions are a bit awkward, but I can throw a golf ball to about 55 paces (roughly 270 feet). A 2oz lead fishing weight will go a bit shorter, but I suspect that is because of the 12" orange streamer attached to it (recovery of the shot would be impossible without the streamer, as the lead sinks a good 4" into the ground).
Now, as far as accuracy goes, I haven't really been "aiming" at anything...
Now, as far as accuracy goes, I haven't really been "aiming" at anything...
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Fearghus Macildubh
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http://www.st-cuthbertsland.demon.co.uk/ssl_gall.htm
I made a sling roughly like this one and i could throw river rocks about 300 feet. the rocks were around 2 lbs each and egg shaped
Slainte
Fearghus
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"How long will we fight? We will fight until hell freezes
over. Then we fight on the ice."
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The rules are: pillage first, then burn.
Failure to follow the rules will lead to
summary dismissal from the raiding team.
I made a sling roughly like this one and i could throw river rocks about 300 feet. the rocks were around 2 lbs each and egg shaped
Slainte
Fearghus
------------------
"How long will we fight? We will fight until hell freezes
over. Then we fight on the ice."
----------------------------------
The rules are: pillage first, then burn.
Failure to follow the rules will lead to
summary dismissal from the raiding team.
Well, I've put together a new "experimental" staff sling that is giving me significantly better range. The staff is 78" and the sling is 74". It's much more comfortable to hold than the designs that I've seen published on the 'net and it gives the sling almost a full 360 degree arc, instead of 225 degrees, as is the case with shorter slings. Without much effort I can get around 500 feet of range ( ~ 150 meters) with a golf ball. I no longer think the claims of 300 meters are so unrealistic. I'm confident I could improve my range with better shot (lead bullets instead of golf balls), a calmer day, a lighter staff (currently solid oak), and of course more practice. The biggest obstacle persists; lead shot sinks into the earth and cannot be located. I've tried attaching streamers, but they slow the projectile. Can anyone offer a possible solution or alternative?
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Armourkris
- Archive Member
- Posts: 1412
- Joined: Sat Feb 03, 2001 2:01 am
- Location: vancouver, BC.
well, if you dont mind pancaking your shots somewhat, try a large, preferably empty, but not necesarily 
), parking lot. that may be large onough, i just dont know what the lead shot would do to the pavement and vica versa.
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What, drawn, and talk of peace! I hate the word, As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee:
), parking lot. that may be large onough, i just dont know what the lead shot would do to the pavement and vica versa.------------------
What, drawn, and talk of peace! I hate the word, As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee:
My apologies, I thought we were talking about staff slings for use in combat.
Yeah, it stands to reason that if you've got a 48" staff, you can hurl a chunk of lead pretty far. Tennis balls are another matter.
The one I played with in the past had a staff of about 24" and a leather pocket. Avoid that combination.
This has been all very interesting, I think I'm gonna go build one of my own to play with.
One more thing. I bought a block of cheap soapstone two Pennsics ago to cast sling bullets. If you just carve out an oblong depression with a dremel, you can use an open mold, since the meniscus formed on the cooling lead will be enough to make it pretty round overall. I cast 2 oz. bullets, get about 40 of them out of a 5lb block of lead.
HELMUT
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Bridging the gap between his contemporaries, Helmut wore boxer- briefs.
Yeah, it stands to reason that if you've got a 48" staff, you can hurl a chunk of lead pretty far. Tennis balls are another matter.
The one I played with in the past had a staff of about 24" and a leather pocket. Avoid that combination.
This has been all very interesting, I think I'm gonna go build one of my own to play with.
One more thing. I bought a block of cheap soapstone two Pennsics ago to cast sling bullets. If you just carve out an oblong depression with a dremel, you can use an open mold, since the meniscus formed on the cooling lead will be enough to make it pretty round overall. I cast 2 oz. bullets, get about 40 of them out of a 5lb block of lead.
HELMUT
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Bridging the gap between his contemporaries, Helmut wore boxer- briefs.
Where did you get the soapstone? I've been meaning to try casting some authentic shot, but don't have any better materials than green sand. There is article here < http://www.staff.ncl.ac.uk/nikolas.lloyd/sling.html > which mentions some other types of sling bullets, such as those shaped like acorns and even some possible evidence of lead spheres. I found it especially amusing how the Greeks often stamped taunts and other short messages onto the bullets ("Take that!").
Yeah somewhere I have a picture of a Roman bullet with a pretty large and obvious penis and testicles imprinted on it...
I don't remember which merchant it was, but I think there are at least two that are on the merchant row in back of the barn right next to the road. The stone is crap, but it doesn't need to be great just to cast a bullet. Putting a design in it is another matter, you need decent stone.
I got a piece that was about 9" long, 1 1/2" by 2 1/12" on the end. I carved into the end to make the bullet, a depression about 3/8" deep. then you can pour your lead in it, wait for it to solidify, and grab the end (it's long enough so that the other end doesn't get hot) and throw the bullet into your sand to cool off.
Casting 40 bullets takes about an hour, and that's only because I started with a 5 lb block of lead and had to melt it off in increments.
HELMUT
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Bridging the gap between his contemporaries, Helmut wore boxer- briefs.
I don't remember which merchant it was, but I think there are at least two that are on the merchant row in back of the barn right next to the road. The stone is crap, but it doesn't need to be great just to cast a bullet. Putting a design in it is another matter, you need decent stone.
I got a piece that was about 9" long, 1 1/2" by 2 1/12" on the end. I carved into the end to make the bullet, a depression about 3/8" deep. then you can pour your lead in it, wait for it to solidify, and grab the end (it's long enough so that the other end doesn't get hot) and throw the bullet into your sand to cool off.
Casting 40 bullets takes about an hour, and that's only because I started with a 5 lb block of lead and had to melt it off in increments.
HELMUT
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Bridging the gap between his contemporaries, Helmut wore boxer- briefs.