The
range of the sling has always been a point of contention
among enthusiasts and scholars. Present literature generally
underestimates the sling's range. Consider this snippet
of text from Thom Richardson's "The
Ballistics of The Sling", which provides an
overview of some of these statistics:
"The
more conservative estimates are around the 200 m
mark (Ferrill 1985: 25), Connolly suggests 350 m
(1981: 49), Korfmann estimates 400 m (1973: 37)
while Demmin and Hogg go to 500 m (1893: 876; 1968:
30). The few accurately recorded observations are
rather different. Reid records 55 m with a 227 g
stone, and 91 m with 85 and 113 g balls (1976: 21).
Burgess threw stones with his reconstructed Lahun
sling between 50 and 100 yds, but admits to being
unskilled at the art (1958: 230). Korfmann observed
Turkish shepherds sling ordinary pebbles, ‘in
5 out of 11 trials the pebbles reached 200 m, and
the three best casts were between 230 and 240 m
(1973), while Dohrenwend has himself thrown beach
pebbles over 200 yds (1994: 86)." |
Since
many of these statistics are formulated from authors'
experiences, the ranges that are creeping into literature,
and becoming the standard, might not be representative
of the true potential of the sling. The sling is a demanding
weapon; range varies considerably from amateur to expert.
Below is a table documenting the varied ranges of some
members on slinging.org's
forum. It's also important to consider the projectiles
used in the test. A stone or softball will not perform
as well as a biconical lead projectile, like those often
used in antiquity.
For
comparison, the current World Flight record for a "historically
accurate" English longbow and horn/sinew composite
bow is 306m and 566m respectively. It should be noted,
however, that these ranges were achieved using light-weight
flight arrows designed for range, and not for combat.
If
you would like to add your data to this chart, please
contact me at info@slinging.org.
Slinger |
Date |
Sling
Type |
Projectile
Type |
Projectile
Mass |
Throw
Style |
Sling
Length |
Range |
Jerzy
Gasperowicz |
2006 |
|
Bipointed,
lead |
|
Sidearm |
|
500m+ |
David
Engvall * |
1992 |
Pouchless,
special release |
Dart |
62g |
|
127cm |
477.0m |
Larry
Bray * |
1982 |
|
Stone |
52g |
|
130cm |
437.1m |
Melvin
Gaylor * |
1970 |
|
|
212.6g |
|
|
349.6m |
Vernon
Morton * |
|
|
|
283.5g |
|
|
258.2m |
LoboHunter |
2/6/05 |
|
Foos
ball |
42.5g |
Underhand |
109cm |
88.2m |
LoboHunter |
2/6/05 |
|
Egg-shaped
stone |
85g |
Underhand |
109cm |
177.3m |
LoboHunter |
2/6/05 |
|
Clay
gland |
85g |
Underhand |
109cm |
148.6m |
LoboHunter |
2/6/05 |
|
Weighted
golf balls |
162.5g |
Underhand |
109cm |
196m |
LoboHunter |
2/6/05 |
|
Lead
egg sinkers |
170g |
Underhand |
109cm |
198.2m |
Alsatian |
2/10/05 |
|
|
~90g |
|
~60cm |
~60m |
Alsatian |
2/10/05 |
|
|
~90g |
|
~100cm |
~100m |
Alsatian |
2/10/05 |
|
|
~90g |
|
~120cm |
~120m |
Zorro |
2/11/05 |
|
Stones |
|
|
84cm |
~100m |
Douglas |
2/11/05 |
|
Heavy
stone |
~500g |
|
|
~90m |
Douglas |
2/11/05 |
|
Lead
gland |
~85g |
|
|
~250m |
MammotHunter |
2/15/05 |
|
Bipointed,
clay |
34g |
|
94cm |
101.5m |
Thomas |
2/15/05 |
|
Softball |
312g |
|
|
95m |
Thomas |
2/15/05 |
|
Hard
baseball |
148g |
|
129cm |
~120m |
Oscar |
3/1/05 |
|
Golf
balls |
|
Underhand |
91cm |
171.3m |
NonkinMonk |
3/1/05 |
|
Stones |
~70g |
|
91cm |
182.9m |
Sammy
Atif |
3/6/05 |
|
Ice-filled
plastic egg |
|
|
|
~90m |
Jerzy
Gasperowicz |
2/15/05 |
|
Light
stones |
~25g |
|
|
~250m |
Jerzy
Gasperowicz |
|
|
Ice
balls |
|
|
|
~120m |
Jerzy
Gasperowicz |
|
|
Snow
balls |
|
|
|
~90m |
Tint |
3/11/05 |
|
Golf
ball |
|
Overhead
"tennis serve" |
48cm |
~170m |
Tint |
3/11/05 |
|
Golf
ball |
|
Helicopter |
167cm |
~195m |
David
T |
|
|
Golf
ball |
|
|
|
~230m |
David
T |
|
|
Cement
ball |
164g |
|
|
~150m |
Mike
Greenfield |
4/5/05 |
|
Stone |
82g |
Nwmanitou's
Overhand |
85cm |
~100m |
Colonel
Walker |
|
|
Orange |
~454g |
Modified
Underhand |
122cm |
~130m |
Colonel
Walker |
10/15/05 |
|
Stone |
~112g |
Underhand |
64cm |
~107m |
Crater_Caster |
|
|
Stone |
~113g |
Underhand |
60cm |
~107m |
Curious_Aardvark |
|
|
Stone |
|
|
58cm |
~210m |
Curious_Aardvark |
2007 |
|
Stone |
~57g |
Side-Arm |
~74cm |
~220m |
FunSlinger |
6/05 |
|
Stone |
~85g |
Figure
8 |
208cm |
~219m |
SEB |
|
|
Stone |
300g |
Side-Arm |
130cm |
~220m |
SEB |
10/05 |
|
Stone |
~100g |
Underhand |
80cm |
~173m |
Naiyor |
9/05 |
|
Lacrosse
ball |
~142g |
Underhand |
66cm |
~160m |
Naiyor |
7/05 |
|
Salt
flour glande |
~56g |
Underhand |
66cm |
~80m |
Leeds_Lobber |
5/20/05 |
|
Lead
ball |
42g |
Side-Arm |
175cm |
~180m |
Zorro |
9/05 |
|
Spherical
stone |
~40g |
Overhead |
71cm |
~119m |
Africa_Slinger |
6/05 |
|
Golf
ball |
~45g |
Figure
8 |
107cm |
~200m |
MammotHunter |
|
|
Golf
ball |
|
|
99cm |
101m |
Peter
van der Sluys |
|
|
|
|
|
|
~350m |
Peter
van der Sluys |
|
Woven
hemp |
Bipointed,
clay |
11g |
|
~50cm |
119m |
Stephen
Fitzgerald |
3/13/06 |
|
Smooth
stone |
~70g |
Oblique
Greek |
105cm |
~180m |
Stephen
Fitzgerald |
3/13/06 |
|
Golf
ball |
45g |
Figure
8 |
105cm |
~190m |
Stephen
Fitzgerald |
3/13/06 |
|
Lead
egg |
57g |
Oblique
Greek |
105cm |
200m |
Stephen
Fitzgerald |
5/15/07 |
|
1"
steel ball |
66g |
|
105cm |
212m |
Ben
Croxon |
7/11/06 |
|
Golfball-sized
rock |
|
Underhand |
90cm |
70m |
*
Current
or previous Guinness World Record holders
|