Sling Moore

Runner up in the "Worst Sling Projectile" Annual Contest

2012-01-15T11:21:00.003-08:00

Slingmoore officially does not recommend slinging a mill-stone.

It's not too late to order... wait you know what...

2011-12-24T21:02:00.000-08:00

Slinging West into the Pacific Ocean from the shores of Vancouver BC

it is too late to order a sling from Slingmoore that will arrive on Christmas morning...but it's not to late to suggest what that boy might want to spend that Christmas cash on. Think of the other options. The next few times he goes to Taco Bell he might spring for an extra squirt from those guacamole caulk guns... blow it all on a movie or two... download twenty apps from the internet... or donate it to feed the hungry... ok if he's considering that last one then forget the sling... but assuming the other three are more likely you can give him a little nudge toward buying a sling. It will last longer than any of these other options, throw a tennis ball farther than his dog can run, is much less fattening than guacamole... and to top it all off, you can finally get rid of that ten-times-regifted fruitcake by nailing it to the fence and declaring it a sling target. Merry Christmas all slingers and slingers to be.

Stuff a Sling in It.

2011-12-13T07:16:00.001-08:00

You have the tree, the lights, the chimney with the ceramic natural gas log, all is well ordered and ready to go but what's this?! Stockings?! They're Empty! What to do? Stuff a sling in there and forget about it. Weighing in at less than two ounces it will look like the stocking is empty. Imagine the joy on his face when he reaches in, expecting a Pez Dispenser and finds one of our slings. He'll realize that he actually does like fruit... just not in the same way you have been trying to get him to like it his entire life. Hide the fruit basket and remind him of snowballs. Sling in the New Year with Slingmoore. Slings are 19.95 plus $3.00 S/H.

Nothing says "I have no idea what to buy you" more powerfully than the gift of a sling.

2011-12-03T01:13:00.001-08:00

So what are you going to get him for Christmas? You know who I'm talking about. He needs nothing except maybe clothes because he wears his shirts until they disintegrate. He likes so many sports you wouldn't know where to start. And besides, he has all the gear for those anyway. He loves being outdoors, but it's hard to wrap that. He likes throwing stuff but what are you going to do... give him a rock? Ironically he might appreciate that, but you don't want to go that route. Instead give him the gift that screams "I have no clue what to buy you for Christmas." Give the gift of a sling. Not the kind you put your broken arm into, and not the kind you carry a baby in, and also not the kind you use to carry a firearm. The sling is the most simple ancient and powerful throwing tool ever weilded by men (like the one we're talking about) in the history of the world that could fit easily into your hand, or a stocking for that matter. He can carry it with him in the glove box of that nasty old pick-up of his...the one with the dried deer parts and motor oil in the back. He can keep it in his backpack for that moment at the edge of the lake when the bouy is just out of arm throwing range. He can keep it in his pocket and find creative ways to make apple cider, and keep that opossum away all with a single purchase. Slings are $19.95 with $3.00 shipping and handling, email your order to slingmoore@gmail.com and at least for this year...cross him off your shopping list. To see a sling in action check out some of our videos in previous posts. Merry Christmas!

See what we have in stock on our Slings in Stock page.

Fall 2011 Slings

2011-11-10T03:23:00.002-08:00

Fall 2011 Slings have finally arrived. Buying local has brought a Himalayan twist to Slingmoore. We're using two different types of leather, three different types of cord, and a beaded handle and trigger, all of which combine to make our slings trimmer, lighter and easier to handle. To celebrate our new designs we traveled to Thailand for some beach slinging.

Detailed shots of the new slings are located on the "Slings in Stock" page just under the Slingmoore logo.

Sling Students

2011-10-19T18:52:00.000-07:00

When you choose sling students it's important that you screen them for ill-will toward you. Seeing that a sling "accident" would be pretty easy "happen". Thankfully, though I didn't screen them, these friends of mine bore no ill will, and did a very good job on their first try. As usual all of them used different styles despite having one teacher. Fall 2011 Slings are finished and on their way, stay tuned for more info.

Slings in Stock

2011-10-10T00:18:00.001-07:00

Slinging in Dzongu

2011-10-06T08:34:00.002-07:00

In Dzongu, one thing that will gather a crowd quicker than a bunch of big loud Americans, is a bunch of big loud Americans with slings. In the second clip, my sling hits the ground where a recent earthquake had rumpled the asphalt. The rock jumped out, thankfully away from the afore mentioned gathered crowd. The rest of the projectiles went far and long into the middle of the Teesta River below. Slingmoore's Fall 2011 slings will be unveiled soon, till then, sling on.

Slinging From the Bow

2011-06-24T00:51:00.005-07:00

Slinging on a lake in Pokhra Nepal would be good enough. The mountains, the lakes, the possibility that Everest might actually be visible if the clouds go away. But slinging from the bow of paddle boat is even better. My target? "Chuck a rock without getting falling in". And this time I'm glad to say I hit my target dead on leaving me high and dry which in this case is a good thing. In other water related slinging news. Yesterday I was slinging at the Railey River and my sling left my hand with the rock and landed in the middle of the heaviest flow. After chasing it, breaking my flip flop and watching it rush away as well, I gave up. So besides my two back up slings that I haven't used in three months...both of which are missing parts...today slingmoore is slingless.

Sling at the Raven...Nevermoore

2011-06-08T19:17:00.003-07:00

My second day in Nepal I tried my sling at a raven sitting up in a tree. I missed of course by what I would call a country mile. But the raven...neither forgave... nor forgot. The very next day while reading outside this same bird flew up behind me and popped me in the head! I would have thought it a fluke had it not happened again five minutes later and several times the next day. He was so consistent at attacking only me and so many times that we shot this video with only thirteen seconds of recording. Now, at just the sight of my sling he spreads his wings and takes off. In the bird's defense, I have continued slinging passion fruit, tiny pre-mangoes, and acorn size dirt clods at my little avian enemy. But so far the score is

glen: zero

raven: nine

Slinging in the Himalayas

2011-06-02T17:45:00.003-07:00

One of the things that slingmoore slings do best is loading fast. When I was still experimenting with woven slings and different stay/trigger designs it used to take me half a minute to get the sling loop on my finger and load the ball, and balance the blah blah blah. But slingmoore slings load in seconds, I slap the rock in, thread my fingers and run them down to the stays to the rod and trigger. You can sling a whole lot if you can load fast and sling a lot more rocks per unit time. So it boils down to...(you'll just have to forgive me for this one)...The only way to get better at slinging is to sling... more. Load fast fire away.

Slinging at the Teesta

2011-05-23T20:22:00.003-07:00

Nothing like slinging at a swift river with no shortage of rocks... I'm amazed at how picky I've become. In the U.S. I would sling anything, asphalt, pinecones, I even slung an empty bottle once...(by the way...don't do that) I was so desperate for projectiles... but here, if it doesn't look like I could cook it sunny side up and slap it on my grits, then I don't even give it a second look... behold Teesta Slinging

West Sikkim Slinging

2011-05-05T02:55:00.000-07:00

Slinging in Sikkim yesterday. We stopped on the side of the road and I took ten shots at a huge leaf that I couldn't it at that distance. But more interesting than any of it was the view from where I was slinging. If nothing else, slinging in Sikkim is beautiful. My boy's favorite part?...feeding the pig.

Slingmoore...with an Asian Twist

2011-04-14T02:04:00.001-07:00

Slingmoore has relocated to the Himalayan foothills and so naturally we've acquired a bit of an Asian bent. Bamboo stay rods, patterned trigger beads, a rich chocolate brown leather, and deeper set rivets all come together for the kind of sling that you'll wanna keep tucked in your pocket for that moment when you are standing in an open field with a slingstone in your hand. These are coming soon... Ordering and pricing haven't changed with our location however... orders can still be emailed to slingmoore@gmail.com.

Happy Slinging...

If you give a monk a sling...

2011-03-31T02:58:00.000-07:00

...he just may put down his cricket bat to give it a try. As I entered the grounds of this monastery, we found some monks playing cricket. They were playing rather carefully since even a half way decent hit would send the ball plummeting several thousand feet to the river valley below. A nearby terrace wall looked like a good target area to me and so I whipped out my sling out and gave it a try. It just so happens that if you can catch a monk just after his yearly memorization exams he may be keen to try his hand at slinging. "Guietro" as it's called here. He shot backwards, sideways and then forward getting better with each shot. We used the cricket ball that they had been playing with as I arrived.

Broken Hacky Sacks

2011-03-05T20:24:00.000-08:00

Hacky sacks make pretty good projectiles when they slam into something soft like the grass or a hand... but... or the asphalt, or a park bench and they don't last long. I made my own out of leather and the innards of a broken one which lasted wonderfully until it landed in the lake. It's funny how things filled with rocks don't float very well. The woven hacky sacks work well though a little more expensive.

A sling, a cricket ball, and a hilltop

2011-03-02T18:52:00.000-08:00

This is the first slinging I've done at altitude. Of course, around hear 4500 ft really isn't anything at all. In fact "dara" means hilltop, or something like that anyway. "Mountain" or himal can not be applied unless there is snow on it year around. The best thing about slinging in the Himilayas is the cricket balls. The ones sold in the shops around here are tennis balls filled with something to make them a bit heavier like a cricket ball. It's the perfect slinging size and weight. The worst thing about slinging in the Himilayas is that behind every bush and signpost there are ten people. Almost anywhere I go is to dangerous to sling... So to the mountain tops... I mean the hilltops I shall go.

Give the gift of a sling... hurry... there's still time.

2010-12-24T10:45:00.000-08:00

It's crunch time. At this point, you either give them cash, regift the fruitcake, or see what you can find in the garage. Instead of that, why not give them a sling? Ok so there's lots of reasons not to get them a sling, but let's not think about those things right now. Slingmoore can ship slings to your loved ones anywhere on planet earth, and since it's a sling we're talking about, the farther away they the better. So there's still time. Let them sling in the new year...with the most simple, ancient, and powerful throwing tool known to men... under two ounces... the sling being under two ounces... not the men.

Visions of slinging tools danced in their heads...

Slinging off the Battery in Charleston SC

2010-12-19T15:53:00.000-08:00

You have to be careful when you're slinging off the Battery in Charleston SC. First of all, there are three year olds everywhere, and they don't mix with slinging, well maybe that was just mine three old. Second, it's possible that you might hit Fort Sumpter. And usually when Fort Sumpter is bombarded from the Battery it is not appreciated. The cannons that were used for said bombardment are still here, sitting behind me in the park, the biggest collection of this type of cannon in the world.

Your Weird Nephew

2010-11-20T13:29:00.000-08:00

You know who I'm talking about. He's built things with legos that just may outlast the pyramids. He can list the islands taken by U.S. forces in the pacific during World War II in chronological order, but he's not sure how you're related to him. Last year he attempted to cut down a two-hundred year old oak in with a hacksaw. There's usually a living creature in one of his pockets. You wouldn't recognize him without mud on his face, and it's often not mud. What are you going to get this kid for Christmas? I'm telling you, Get this kid a sling. The best gifts keep on giving. Your weird nephew won't put this thing down until Spring. Sure, you'll wonder why entire bags of apples and plums disappear over night, and scratch your head when squirrels cower at the sight of a tennis ball, but nothing... nothing says "I love you and I have no idea what to get you for Christmas" better, than the gift of a sling. Meet your nephew right where he is, and give the gift that will keep him there for at least a couple more years, because you know as well as I do, he's weird, but man is he entertaining.

Sling Golf

2010-11-10T07:15:00.000-08:00

If there is ever a Masters for Sling Golf, I will not be wearing the green jacket at the end.

Sling Index

2010-11-08T07:16:00.000-08:00

The Sling Index calculates slinging accuracy as margin of error in the angle of each shot. Assuming a circular target area. The point of release, the center of the target, and the edge of the target form a right-triangle. At the vertex where the slinger stands the angle gets smaller and smaller as the accuracy of the slinger improves since both increased distance and decreased target area shrink the angle. Therefore the lower the Sling Index, the smaller the angle of error possible to still allow a hit on the target, and therefore the better the accuracy.

I was asked recently how accurate I was at slinging and found the question difficult to answer. The size of the target, how many shots I took at it, and of course the all important, how far away I was, all depend on the likely hood of me hitting the target. I've slung with high and low percentages but the situations were not comparable. There must be a way to level the playing field, so that no matter what I'm slinging at and how far away I am, I can have a gauge for the level of accuracy I'm attaining to. To accomplish this from now on I'll be using the Sling Index.

Sling Index equals the inverse tangent of the target radius dividing by the distance of the target. So if the radius of your target is the same as your distance from the target, the sling index is 45. A very easy shot. At ten feet your target would be 300 square feet, about the size of a house. Conversely, if you are 19 feet from a 3 square foot target, the sling index is just over 3. A difficult shot, like standing on the sidelines of a football field and hitting a beach ball half way between you and the center of the field. This graph gives some idea as to how quickly the Sling Index drops with distance from a 1 square unit target.

Tiny Target in Decatur TX

2010-10-06T18:59:00.000-07:00

I have three reasons why this video made the cut. First, it's the first video I've taken in months. Second, the snazzy hat. Third, I came within a twelve inch radius of hitting a very tiny target at a farther-than-usual distance. This near-strike got me thinking about a way to rate the difficulty of different target situations. The mathematical formula for rating targets is still in testing, but I think it is well founded on how light decreases intensity over a distance. Moore to follow.

Keep Slinging
slingmoore

2010-09-24T13:18:00.000-07:00

During my last few days of slinging in Kentucky I was interested in getting a shot from the target's perspective. Curiously, I couldn't find anybody willing to hold the camera. Weird. But there were plenty of people willing to sling at me I noticed. We'd open each session with "I want you to aim for my head (only tennis balls here). It's amazing how sharply everybody's target percentages jumped when they felt the motivation to actual hit the target.

Slinging: Simple Rotational Dynamics Applied

2010-08-24T08:52:00.000-07:00

About slinging. It's basic rotational dynamics. Need I say more? The sling has three parts. The pocket, the stay, and the trigger. The stay and the trigger are the two ropes attached to the pocket, and as you would imagine from the names, the stay is the rope you hold on to, and the trigger is the one that you release. Now WHEN you release it is the MAIN issue. To make things simple, imagine yourself throwing a baseball, and for this example, picture yourself watching yourself throw from the side. You wind up, your arm goes traces a circle over your head and your wrist snaps and releases at the top of your swing, at the top of the arc. But the ball doesn't go up, it goes forward... roughly 90 degrees from the place your released it. Now imagine that that same ball is on a tether. As you are swinging the ball in a circle, each moment of the ball's circular travel, it yearns to travel in a straight line... but at there is a competing force. At the same time the tether overpowers the ball's yearning and keeps the ball consistently turning around the circle. The tether pulls the ball towards the center of this circle where you are holding the tether. So when you release the tether, it loses all ability to overpower the ball's yearning to go forward. So at the moment you release the tether, the ball will get it's wish and travel in a straight line that is perpendicular (90 degrees) to the line formed by the tether at that moment. Slinging is the same way, when you release the trigger, the pocket opens and the ball will travel in a straight line from that moment on. See... simple rotational dynamics.

Load it, Swing it, Release it.
slingmoore@gmail.com

Slingmoore back in Business

2010-08-21T21:01:00.000-07:00

View Larger Map

After a summer spent in the best slinging place on earth known to some as a "Canada" and over three thousand miles on the return trip alone. Slingmoore is back in business. I'm going to be building like mad the next couple of weeks so email me your sling orders.

Slinggames: Target Camera

2010-08-13T07:06:00.000-07:00

I don't think this needs any commentary. I laughed so hard watching this thing that I think I have inadvertently created a new genre of sling games for myself. Next stop: Finding someone to hold the camera...

Sling Games: Gallons of Gath

2010-08-10T17:24:00.000-07:00

I challenge thee to a contest of skill. Two consecutive hits on a gallon jug at fifteen paces. Impossible? Maybe. Here is a tip. Slinging involves both the vertical and horizontal dimensions. Trying to time your sling release in both dimensions at the same time IS nearly impossible. Instead, limit your dimensions. Tip the sling arc so that it is aimed at the target edge-on. Picture your sling arc like a circular saw, and line it up as if to cut the target in two. Then you are only dealing with one dimension. One more tip, don't start at fifteen paces, start at 5. Increase to 8, then 10 etc. Making this one change to my form shot my percentages up twenty percent. One more tip, begin with a standard size projectile. I recommend tennis balls, they are light, cheap, and are unlikely to damage anything or anyone inadvertently. And...they show up very well on video. The only prize this round is bragging rights, when we get to twenty paces then we'll talk prizes. Send your video links to slingmoore@gmail.com

Slinging at Crescent Beach BC

2010-07-28T21:56:00.000-07:00

Two recommendations for slinging at the beach. First, make sure nobody is around. This can be difficult since beachs usually have at least one lonely walker looking for seashells or beached whales. Second, bring a target. Despite the ubiquitousness of the perfect slinging rocks, there were few targets to be found. Occasionally the seagulls were tempting.

Sling Games: Target Tree

2010-07-26T16:24:00.007-07:00

After much practice slinging at many many trees I am throughly convinced that the one thing that will improve your sling close to 100% of the time is...
a larger target... and of course a little bluegrass playing in the background.

Sling Games: Sleeping like a Rock

2010-07-24T13:44:00.002-07:00

The goal of this game is to bask in the glory of being surrounded by
so many perfect slinging stones that you can even swim in them. As
you can see, I scored high on this game and will have to move to
another one if I want a challenge.

Sling Games: Straight Up

2010-07-23T18:03:00.006-07:00

The goal of Straight Up, aside from practicing the completely inapplicable skill of slinging tennis balls straight up in the air, is to have the tennis ball fall as close to your position as possible. Counting the distance by paces, this one was three paces away, obviously if the tennis ball hits you on the head, you win... or lose rather.

Slinging at Crescent Beach

2010-07-15T16:41:00.003-07:00

Here's the challenge. Stand 20 paces from any object about a foot in diameter and sling away until you've hit the object twice. Divide your score of 2 hits by the total number or throws. A perfect set will be of course 2 hits divided by 2 throws with 100% accuracy. The idea here is to aim at repeatability. Anyone can hit anything after an infinite number of throws but how long does it take you to hit the same thing twice? We shall see. To submit a score, send a YouTube link of an un-clipped video of the event to slingmoore@gmail.com

Glen Moore
http://slingmoore.com

Slinging Plans

2010-07-07T13:12:00.002-07:00

The beaches here are composed mostly of rock, so I will be traveling to the Pacific Coast this month to get some good sling footage, hopefully be able to catch a rock in mid air, leaving the pocket. I asked a friend of mine to come and he said that he had at one time planned on doing photography and filming making as a career. It was one of those situations when the only possible way it could get any better would be if a chocolate ice cream truck driver ran up to us screaming, "help! my truck has broken down and I need somebody to help me eat it before it melts!"

visit to sling-heaven coming soon
slingmoore.com

20 paces...18 paces too many

2010-07-05T02:44:00.009-07:00

My first idea for a contest aimed at improving accuracy was this: five slings at twenty paces aimed at a common everyday item, the milk jug. "Difficult, yet do-able" I thought. Well, I was half right. On this attempt I slung zero out of the five. So I'm posting this video for two reasons. First it's a good baseline, we can only go up from here. It's a kind-of "before" picture for the slinging world. Second, I've included floating "o"s that show the approximate strike spots for the stones which is a bit encouraging as I was at least close on three of the shots. I was reminded that David wasn't slinging at june bugs. Perhaps I should increase the size of my common everyday item to something a little closer to his preferred target size, a lake perhaps.
Reconsidering the rules
slingmoore.com

Cries of the Slingless

2010-06-20T15:36:00.009-07:00

I was reminded recently of a commerical that seems to describe well the recent unpleasantess I experienced in the mountains...

slingmoore.com

Guess who forgot his sling?

2010-06-19T21:45:00.005-07:00

Went hiking at the lower falls in Golden Ears Park today. Was
surrounded by hundreds of rocks, thousands of rocks, millions and
billions and trillions of rocks. And I forgot my sling. Perhaps the
Almighty King of the Universe wanted all those rocks just where they
were today.

Live to sling another day...
http://slingmoore.com

Canada, a land flowing with rocks and open places

2010-06-16T14:39:00.004-07:00

If Oregon is the land of smooth slinging rocks, then they flow down
there from Canada. On my way home from classes a few days ago I
passed this scene which is I must say typical for this area. Am I
dreaming? Have a entered some strange slingers paradise? In any
case, with the help of my morbidly fit brother in law I have decided
on some slinging contest parameters, stay tuned for an instructional
video.

Tons of Smooth Rocks Everywhere

2010-06-14T21:57:00.007-07:00

Upon entering Oregon I learned that the etymology of the name of the state isn't known precisely. Due to this chink in the armor, I am going to weigh in and propose that "oregon," is an ancient Native American word for "tons of smooth rocks everywhere."

West Coast Slinging

2010-05-10T17:01:00.010-07:00

Somewhere on the rocky shores of the west coast of these United States... rocks are finding themselves back in the ocean after a wild ride in one of our slings. Adam was kind enough to send a shot of this stone's last view of the sun. I love form, it's like he's firing from a 45 degree angle but overhand rather than underhand as I do. Do you have slinging shots? Send them to slingmoore@gmail.com In other news I've been thinking a lot about a slinging contest testing accuracy. I'm thinking about five stones thrown at a standard size target, at a standard distance. Contestants could send an unedited video of their five throws... and maybe a few bucks with the best percentage taking the purse. We'll see... details to follow.

'till then, keep Slinging
slingmoore.com

ESSE Contest Results, and the winner is...

2010-04-19T10:58:00.014-07:00

Thank you everybody for participating! I have been both encouraged and insulted by most of your guesses. :) The guesses were as follows:

Kevin: 2
Mark: 3
Ben W: 13
Karagan: 13
Patrick: 17
Patti: 18
Kirk: 19
Matt: 20
Chris: 20

In the end, I shot 11 out of 24... and if you counted the ones that were very close...(which I didn't) I would have shot 13 exactly so congrats Karagan and Ben, your slings are on their way! Thanks again everybody!

Free Sling Contest

2010-04-18T04:13:00.008-07:00

The facts: Twenty four eggs were slung at a circular target ~6 feet in diameter at 20 paces. It's the barely discernable circle scratched onto the barn.
Your job: Follow SlingMoore and guess how many eggs out of twenty four hit the target. Email me at slingmoore@gmail.com
My job: To send a free sling to the closest guesser, guessers.

I'll give you a hint, it's not zero, and it's not 24... rather... somewhere in between.

This weekend in Fitchburg KY

2010-04-06T03:41:00.008-07:00

This weekend April 9-11 Sling Moore will be having it's first annual Egg Slinging Spectacular of Easter. Posterity will likely be laughing at me, but will have to remember this event as the ESSE. Many videos and pictures will be taken, and I will be holding SlingMoore's first-ever contest. The contest is open to all of SlingMoore's followers (old and new) to see who can guess my firing percentage out of 24
throws at a circular target 3 feet in diameter (~27 square feet), at 20 paces (~50 ft) from the target. The follower(s) with the correct or closest guess will be awarded a free sling, in the event of having several winning guesses, both will receive slings! Send your "how many hits out of 24 eggs slung" guesses to slingmoore@gmail.com, I'll see you in Fitchburg.

goliath should've thought twice

2010-02-17T13:23:00.030-08:00

Maybe Goliath was sleeping during the Philistine class titled "WHEN TO DUCK." Or perhaps, like many, he under estimated our hero and his little sub-two-ounce weapon. He would not be the first to do either. These two slings are our finest creation yet. The smaller one shown here loaded with an avocado pit against the backdrop of the ugliest-yet-most-comfortable couch I have ever owned, known to all who have slept on it as "Mr. Squishy" is built specifically for a golf-ball sized projectile. It is trim, light, and exceptionally strong. I have yet to test the max distance and am wondering if it will rival a typical golf driver. Which brings me to the question, "has anyone ever tried sling golf?" I think the time has come. The larger one is designed to fit a baseball/tennis ball sized object, and is the first design. Genuine leather, 90 inches of nylon sheathed para-cord, and of course months of design and testing come together to make the simplest most powerful throwing tool ever wielded by a us featherless bipeds.

It's the little slings...

2010-02-02T19:57:00.013-08:00

My wife and I have been trying to eat healthy. More fruits and vegetables, we joined a local CSA, and have been eliminating preservatives from our diet. One of the many benefits has been the onslaught of avacados, whose sole purpose on this earth, in opinion, is to take their place in the grand parade of flavors that is guacamole. In the midst of this change I received a gift order for a child's sling and so I sat down to make this little guy, thinking, "smaller is better for a little slinger." The only problem? I did not achieve a reduction in capacity. Though this little guy was designed to sling a golf ball, it can handle much larger game. The stays are continuous from the stay-rod to the trigger bead by passing across the back of the pocket. This forms a subtle cradle that would hold many an odd shape, and a much heavier weight than a golf ball. Even if a projectile only contacted the pocket at two points, the hold and release would still be unimpeded. Meanwhile, the guacamole was crashing down in waves, and what is to become of all these smooth skinned, near-egg-sized, just under 1/2 pound avocado pits? Let's just say they're not getting thrown out, at least not in the traditional understanding of that phrase.
SlingMoore

2010-01-30T14:48:00.003-08:00

These still shots from Texas are a brief how-to for side slinging. As in all styles, it's the timing of the release that is the real trick. So if you've been slinging for hours everyday since childhood to corral and protect your father's sheep then you probably think this is easy, but the rest of us need a lot more practice and a little instruction never hurt.

The Natural

2010-01-27T19:03:00.006-08:00

Have you ever thrown a tennis ball and had it disappear in the distance? It happened to me last night. I was showing a friend how to use his new sling and we couldn't even see where the ball went. With the continuous stays in the 2010 model sling, the curve produced on a ball is just perfect. It maintains the shallow pocket, but increases the holding-power of the sides... these guys are naturals. Happy slinging.

The 2010 Models are Rolling Out

2010-01-04T18:23:00.006-08:00

The new 2010 models are a vast improvement on previous designs. The continuous stays across the back of the pocket add strength and a more natural curve to the pocket. This allows the pocket a better hold on a larger range of objects including perfectly spherical ones which are the most difficult for a sling to hold and let go of well. These stays also allowed the chance to drop the side rivets for an even lighter sling... at least I think, I haven't actually weighted them yet.

Slingin Snow in North Texas

2010-01-02T11:16:00.003-08:00

The number of times that you have been delayed in traffic by a rogue elephant is likely close to the same number of times that it has snowed six inches in North Texas on Christmas Eve... but here I am in North Texas riding said rogue elephant all the way into town. Snow is really too light to be an excellent thing to sling but it does have some advantages... 1. It holds together well 2. It doesn't hurt whatever it hits which is why I aimed at the camera (glad I missed) 3. The dog has a great time. 4. It is plentiful! and can be sized perfectly.
Later I asked my family... "have I always had such a goofy laugh?" They just looked at me.

Slinging in North Texas

2010-01-01T05:23:00.004-08:00

Over Christmas I spent time with my family. For some reason my brother keeps finding himself in possession of the best slings this side of the Pecos... we spent some time slinging on his property. Most of the hits we made went trough the tarp to our great delight and then behind the target we descended to the creek bed. In the later shots we're aiming at the space between the two rust-stain streaks.

yule tide slings...

2009-12-22T06:29:00.002-08:00

Nothing says "I have no idea what to buy you" better than the gift of a sling...Merry Christmas!

This just released...

2009-12-11T02:20:00.007-08:00

Smaller and Smaller Moore Experiments Take 4

2009-12-01T17:39:00.013-08:00

This prototype has stays made from six strands of sewing thread. They are unbraided but tucked neatly under the back folds of the pocket on both sides giving the pouch a natural bearing-hugging curve. I think this may be as small as I can go and still control the release, the two beads are so small you have to wrap them around a finger to hold them well. It's a funny design, and I think I'll send it to my brother in law, I mean because what else is he good for if he can't test a super small sling for me? What else is there to do out in Oregon?! I mean honestly?! The innovation here, which I also tried out on the staple-hack-job on the former post is to have the stays folded back behind the pocket folds, it does an amazing job of curving the pocket. It makes for excellent pockets for perfectly spherical things, random rock shapes are betting fit into a flatter pouch, which I've already seen, but I'm curious to see if even the flatter pouch could benefit from the stays-behind-the-fold action. We shall see when slingmoore goes back to the drawing board for a new and improved sling.

Moore Experiments: Take 3

2009-11-27T17:38:00.010-08:00

The experiments have thus far led me to pursue two goals simultaneously. Goal One: To make slings built to sling particularly sized spheres. Goal Two: To make a sturdy sling of near-negligible weight. With this sling, I'm half way to both goals. The innovation here is using the stays as part of the pouch. This is THE advantage of a woven sling, the contiguous threads yield a good hold within the pouch. The great thing about it here, is that it saved the weight and space of the rivets PLUS (and this is the best part) the stays themselves formed around the bearing making an excellently spherical pouch. I was in haste to finish this one and so I used staples to close the folds. Other than this tacky detail, it's perfect. Lighter, smaller, faster slings soon to come...stay tuned.

light is right
sling in the year with
SlingMoore.blogspot.com

the Gift of a Sling

2009-11-20T02:22:00.015-08:00

Enough experiments, let me show you some proven designs. This sling's made from an 8"x3" piece of genuine leather, over six feet of paracord, including over 2 feet just for the knots, and of course wood for the stay and trigger. Not to mention months of design and testing have gone into making this sling pull off the one trick that every sling must know. The trick? It's the dual ability to fully cradle, and easily release. These two contradictory jobs live or die based on the pocket design. In addition to doing these jobs beautifully, a stiffer leather is employed here to add a snap to the opening. The rivets hold the cupped shape in both dimensions. The stay and trigger are wooden, allowing a light but secure hold. And of course the absolute best thing about it is... that nothing says "I have no idea what to buy you..." better, than the gift of a sling.

Got Sling?
slingmoore@gmail.com

Done with cotton twine

2009-11-17T03:26:00.000-08:00

Maybe it's the low friction combination of cotton and steel, maybe cotton is just too stretchy, or maybe it's because I don't even know where the little bearing went but I'm done with cotton twine for now. I tried slinging the sling in the previous post into a dirt mound yesterday. I lost the ball, and I don't even know what happened. I didn't see where it hit, I'm not even sure I loosed it, it could have just fallen out. In any case, I think I'm done with cotton twine for awhile. I may still try a thread-sling made for a marble still, but later I think. It's time to focus on proven designs... the leather pouch always works, fits nearly anything and throws like a cannon. Slings still just $16.00 at SlingMoore all through Christmas, prices will go up after the new year, so this is a good time to get your sling on.

Woven Slings...Moore Experiments

2009-11-16T08:02:00.013-08:00

From slingmoore

Nearly 70 feet of medium gauge cotton twine, a 3/4 inch ball bearing and an evening of weaving unweaving and reweaving and voila! Still experimenting with weaving slings to particularly-sized projectiles, in this case I had a carry-anywhere pocket-sling in mind, but... I am unsatisfied... it's still a lot of string... I am thinking about trying heavy gauge thread next. These experiments have produced some new knowledge however. I have learned that you must have 12 strands minimum, and I've obtained a feel for how long to make each of the strands in the pocket...the splitting is delicate and I've never been able to construct it correctly the first time... Next stop... a thread string that can hold a marble.

Experiments at SlingMoore

2009-11-06T03:03:00.020-08:00

When I first started making slings, two pathways presented themselves: woven slings, and pouch slings. I researched both and it seemed to me that the woven slings were too size specific. In my experience coming across a rock is a rare event, let alone a rock that's the perfect size. So I still throw a pouch sling mostly because they're so versatile. But. I can't help just liking the way woven slings look, so I started experimenting with them. My first try was a denim pouch with hemp stays only. It was a 6 strand 3-plait weave: fun, but the weave was a draw-back, no advantage gained in weight or handling, purely aesthetic. So I started weaving the single split pouch. Wove one to fit a baseball, a ball bearing, and a golf ball. But still the weaving was very difficult to get to the exact right size even with the projectile right in front of me.

Then I had a revelation while I was teaching math one day. I was not limited to the one split design, I could split the weave multiple times if I liked. And so I did...This sling is the culmination of all that wandering. Made from burlap, it was woven from six, eleven foot strands. The draw (length from trigger to pouch) is 26" and woven in a herring-bone style. Pouch is specifically designed for golf-ball size projectiles, but the the four-split pouch weave will allow for a large range of projectile sizes, smaller and larger. This is my newest design, all of one material, and a great gift for that impossible-to-shop-for person.

Premature Slinging

2009-11-04T06:11:00.004-08:00

Top Five Ways to know it's too early for your child to be slinging...

5. They have a near-uncontrollable desire to put the trigger bead in their mouth
4. If the pouch was just a little bit bigger you could use it as a diaper
3. They've been mistaken for a projectile more than once
2. You still speak of their age using "months" as your unit of time.

and the number one way to know it's too early for you child to be slinging

1. Their first throw was aimed at you...and didn't miss.

Sling Early... Sling Often
SlingMoore
slingmoore@gmail.com

First Projectile Caught on Tape

2009-10-21T19:01:00.010-07:00

With my sweet wife behind the camera, I caught the first projectile on film. They're usually moving so fast that any digital camera that I can afford won't pick them up. But this was not the only thing. Apples have now moved to the top of the possible perfect projectiles list, they are inexpensive, slick on the outside, just the right weight, and about the right size, and did I mention...edible? There's a quality we haven't considered. On the sling just before this one, I came just a foot away from hitting a telephone pole 150 yards away. I am slinging a winesap apple here.

slingmoore.blogspot.com

If my father-in-law can do it...

2009-10-12T21:27:00.012-07:00

In general, one should be wary of sentences that begin with "if my father in law can do it..." But in this case, I must say, this is a very good first sling, in the rain, with two bad knees, and a light projectile. Maybe it's him, maybe military men are prone to excellence... or maybe... just maybe... it's the sling... Nah. The sling is nothing it's the slinger that matters. As I have said before and have confirmed every time I sling. Slinging is all skill, and perhaps a bit of good fortune, and of course I'm sure the sling from slingmoore didn't hurt. One more point of interest is that this is tennis back-board is an excellent practice ground. The field is small and contained, the projectiles abundant and cheap, and the best thing is... they come back to you. I would highly reccomend this to anyone starting out. If you don't have a sling and would like to purchase one. Email me.

slingin in SC
slingmoore.blogspot.com
slingmoore@gmail.com

South Carolina Slinging

2009-10-12T07:59:00.005-07:00

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The great thing about slinging in South Carolina is that there are tons of wide-open flat spaces. Many clean shooting ranges everywhere... tons of buoys right off shore... targets out the wazoo. The major problem with slinging in South Carolina is that... there are absolutely no rocks... I've been so starved for good projectiles that I have picked up raggedy pieces of asphalt that were so pock-marked they could have been asteroids and thought to myself..."hey there's a nice one." But I have a plan. Circa 1770's when hundreds of ships would sail from England with their holds full of enormous basalt boulders used as ballasts. Upon arriving in the States, they would chuck the rocks and fill the ships up with merchandise to ship back to England which was hungry for all sorts of products/raw-materials from here. So in hopes that some of these ballast rocks (now used as jetties) have broken down over the years into some tolerable size for slinging, I'm going to head over there and see what I can find to sling.

Have rock will sling...
slingmoore.blogspot.com

Splash-down in the marshes of South Carolina

2009-10-09T12:57:00.005-07:00

It's funny how sometimes you find your self on the top of a three story marsh-overlook venue and you just happen to have your sling in your pocket. Does that ever happen to you? Well this happened to me today. Nothing special about this video except that you can see the rock land out in the marsh, just a little white splash out among the reeds.

View Larger Map

I also had to contend with a low roof and high guard rail, but the sling is versatile, and it was easy to just keep the rotations parallel to the ground. I'm using my favorite sling and the usual back pitch to send it, and of course... my little man wanted to help throw the "big rock." (no marsh creatures were injured during the filming of this video)

my first squirrel

2009-10-04T16:48:00.004-07:00

I'm standing in my backyard with my sling in one hand, and a tennis ball in the other, and a squirrel is sitting up on a tree branch munching on a walnut... and I'm thinking to myself..."I wonder if I could hit him..." so I loaded the ball... back pitched it... around once, around twice, and released the ball kind of slower but squarely in the squirrel's direction...

In the past, the safest place to be around me when I'm slinging is near the thing I'm aiming at... I've been so unlikely to hit my target...that it's a very safe spot... but this time... I hit the little guy. Good news is... I just barely brushed his tail... but the better news is... he moved and his tail that I hit was exactly where he had been a moment before... not sure what to think...

slingmoore.blogspot.com
slingmoore@gmail.com

the perfect projectile 2nd installment

2009-10-03T08:46:00.011-07:00

I just may have found it. The perfect projectile. A student of mine somehow acquired this polished piece of steel. It weighs just under a pound, is as smooth as silk. It's perfect save two small details which are revealed in the fact that I haven't slung it yet. Here's why: 1. I'm afraid to lose it as it would certainly go farther than anything I've ever thrown. 2. I'm a bit afraid of what it might do. I found an academic paper on slinging recently that had calculated the terminal velocity for sling projectiles on level ground at 128 ft/sec...which translates to...87 mph... which seems low, I'll have to read it more carefully, but in any case, I personally am not interested in the a fore mentioned ball of steel hitting anything except a large pile of dirt wherein which I can find it... and not be found guilty of reckless endangerment. So the only major problem with this projectile?...It's too nice, too expensive, too rare... It'd be like having a vintage Porche 911, who'd wanna drive it? Just a tad too perfect...

slinging steel...what else?
glen
http://slingmoore.blogspot.com/

making an impact

2009-10-02T12:45:00.009-07:00

A discussion ensued today at work over the relative power of a sling projectile versus bullets. The only academic article I could find on the subject, "The sling, The forgotten weapon of antiquity," states that even light sling stones can have a terminal velocity of up to 128 ft/sec or 87.2 miles per hour... and now I am chomping at the bit to aim a speedometer at these little guys and see if we can get a good reading... because in the end... I don't want to know what's possible, I know want to know how fast I'm actually slinging.

the classical sling

2009-09-28T18:52:00.004-07:00

Michelangelo's sculpture of the David depicts our hero carrying... you guessed it: a sling. It is easy to miss because most shots of the famous figure are taken from the front, but the sling pouch is visible only from the side and the stays only from behind. It got me thinking about Biblical references to the sling. The sling was used by ancient civilizations all over the world. Everyone from the Aztec's to the Egyptians knew and used this ancient weapon, Israel was no different. In Judges 20:16 a band of slingers are spoken of:

Out of all these people 700 choice men were left-handed; each one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.

Yikes... I'd be happy hitting a dumpster at 30 yards, in 1 Chronicles 12:2 the famous Benjamite slingers are mentioned:

They were equipped with bows, using both the right hand and the left {to sling} stones and {to shoot} arrows from the bow; {they were} Saul's kinsmen from Benjamin.

Slinging with both hands?! My left hand can't even hold a fork, then there's this interesting Proverb:

Like one who binds a stone in a sling, So is he who gives honor to a fool.

We all know what happens when the stone won't leave the sling, but is bound to it... it comes back around to smack you in the head. And of course the most famous of them all in 1 Samuel 17:40

He took his stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag which he had, even in {his} pouch, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine.

I must say in my search for the perfect projectile begun in the last post, David has been the best guide so far... smooth-rocks-from stream bed, but the search continues.

sling....moore
Glen

The Perfect Projectile

2009-09-22T19:02:00.004-07:00

I am currently in search of the perfect projectile, I have slung many things, balls, rocks, sticks (this is a bad idea), toys, trash, and various other assorted objects... I would love to hear suggestions... but for now... the hunt is on... stay tuned.

what then shall I sling?
glen...
slingmoore@gmail.com

Not Slinging at Red River Gorge

2009-08-31T03:59:00.005-07:00

If you would like to join the throngs of people that have been arrested for doing really stupid things, if you would like to severely injure a tourist, or perhaps fall from a high ledge onto a rocky surface forty feet below...then you should go slinging at natural bridge national park... otherwise, you should do like I did... and practice the art of not slinging... rather...just enjoy the view.

Moore-wisdom from Mr. Sling moore
http://slingmoore.blogspot.com/

Another day at the Falls...

2009-08-22T09:56:00.006-07:00

I'm heading out to the Falls of the Ohio for some more sling action with a friend of mine... videos to come... We're back, the bird that you see in the distance, you know... the one that's not moving? If you're wondering why we have a video of a bird not moving from his perch it's because not a single rock came anywhere NEAR said bird, it had absolutely no worries... and was in no danger...

SlingMoore
http://slingmoore.blogspot.com/

Slingin at the Falls of the Ohio

2009-08-17T07:16:00.009-07:00

View Larger Map

Hands down the best place to sling near my house is the Falls of the Ohio, an exposed Fossil Bed beneath a river spillway with the important fact being... there are thousands of perfectly sized, perfectly smooth rocks, out in the middle of no where. I took my eldest boy there with me the other day to test two identical slings save for the length of their draw, one short, one long. So how does the draw length affect things? I'll be brief...Short draw... easy handling, improved accuracy over short distances, just plain fun to sling...
Long draws... distance and power, I was firing things so far I could barely see them by the time they landed... and when they did they were shattering...

And you can have either since Slingmoore will customize draw length to your specifications, send me pictures, videos and your sling stories.

sling out loud
Glen Moore

http://slingmoore.blogspot.com/

the sling of my father...

2009-07-15T04:57:00.002-07:00

I took my father slinging a couple days ago. He's a pilot by trade, mathematician by training, so I'm thinking... "I better duck." The sling training he received from me was as follows, "ok...swing it once around your head and release on the tangent." This is the same training that I give anybody when they sling for the first time, unless I feel the need to explain the word "tangent," but he's a mathematician so I skipped that part.

So he swings it once, swings it twice (uh-oh I thought he's already not listening), released the trigger...and...and...! he shot straight. Not just straight though, straight as an arrow, straight as a line drawn in the sand by a stick, straighter than I throw...

He proceeded to throw with a consistency that rivaled my best slinging days which could prove one of two things:

1. Slinging is a very normal thing and the less I say, the better, because people have their own slinging style...OR

2. Sigh... he's a natural...

Personally, I prefer the latter explanation...

ah...slinging...
Glen Moore
http://slingmoore.blogspot.com/

Slinging Side-Arm Lesson #2

2009-07-10T20:42:00.005-07:00

if Sling Styles were women

If all the methods of slinging were women, the side-arm is the one that would have poems written about her. It's the most difficult, the most powerful, the most beautiful.

Getting there...not so easy.

As usual, it's getting there that's the hard part, but not undoable. Face your other shoulder to the target, let your sling hang straight from your slinging arm behind you. Take one slow wind-up around your head just to get the sling moving, take a second turn, still slowly around your head to flatten the plane of rotation so that it's parallel (lined-up) with the ground, on the third turn accelerate and release. In this video, I'm swinging at least twice most times which is all that's needed, but I've found that the extra swing produces more power and better accuracy... also notice the way I step into the line of fire upon release, I highly recommend this as it vastly improves distance in particular...

sling on...
mr. slingmoore
http://slingmoore.blogspot.com/

All Skill

2009-06-29T04:30:00.003-07:00

The fist time my dad took me to shoot our little .22 we set up cans and pieces of wood to shoot at. I didn't hit very many targets but I got close. IT WAS MY FIRST TIME SHOOTING EVER, and I got close?!

As the technological advancement of a weapon increases, the skill required to work it, (seemingly) decreases. Since the sling is only one step up from your throwing arm, having almost no technological complexity of any kind, save that of the lever...The Sling is All Skill

Contrastingly, my first shot with a sling landed on my right foot, my second one went backwards, my third went straight up in the air and landed about a foot from me taking my sling with it. The second time I went slinging I was aiming at the the broad side of a building standing about 30 meters away. I slung 10 walnuts, never even touched the building, ironically I almost hit a squirrel. Good thing I was slinging walnuts...hey maybe that explains the squirrels... BUT at least they all went in the general direction of the building... I was already getting better.

Only practice has improved my slinging, but I'm still not keeping track of how many times I hit my target, rather, how large or small my angle of error is on either side. I'm still just getting close. Ok once...once I hit a telephone pole from 20 paces.

I think this is what I like about the sling, there's some difficulty to surmount, skill yet to be obtained. What slinging stories do you have? Post them in the comments!

with much yet to obtain...

mr. slingmoore

http://slingmoore.blogspot.com/

How to Sling, Lesson 1

2009-06-28T20:06:00.002-07:00

The overhand throw. (see 2nd video for demo)

This is the safest and easiest sling. With your trigger hand close to your body, hold the loaded pouch out in front of you. Point the shoulder of your non-slinging arm toward your target. Drop the pouch and swing your slinging arm with the fall of the pouch to accelerate in a circle. As you approach the top of the arch, lengthen your arm out all the way and release the trigger at the top of the arch or just before.

DON'T SWING THE SLING IN A BUNCH OF CIRCLES! You can't get the pouch going much faster than you can on the first pass, plus it increases your chances of hitting something, or someone, you did not intend to hit, including yourself. Admittedly it looks cool, but that's about it's only usefulness.

Get your sling on...

Mr. Slingmoore
http://slingmoore.blogspot.com/

Slinging Basics... and by basics, I mean physics.

2009-06-24T05:17:00.003-07:00

Consider circular motion:

An object moving in a circle is only doing so because it is forced to. At every moment it's circular motion it's being accelerated toward a center, in this case by our stays. But, at the same time, at every moment the object would much rather travel in a straight line, and will do so if given the chance.

The slinger intends to give the object that chance... BUT wants to choose the moment. The moment, of course is the release of the trigger. As soon as the trigger is released the object will move in a straight line that is perpendicular (90 degrees) to the radius of the circular motion. Simply put, when released, the object will travel along the tangent at any point on the circle.

This isn't surprising considering simple throwing. With a baseball, if you want the ball to go roughly forward, you have to release it at the top of your swing. When you release a frisbee to throw it forward you release it out to the side. In both of these cases the release is 90 degrees from the direction of travel. This is more difficult with the sling because the stays put the slinger at a distance instead of directly holding the object.

But of course the real world is not frictionless so there are three delays you need to consider:

1. Trigger Friction

2. Object/Pouch Friction

3. Weight of the Pouch and Stay

These three factors will delay the moment that the object actually leaves on it's new life as a tangent traveller which means only one thing for the slinger... RELEASE YOUR TRIGGER JUST A FRACTION OF A SECOND BEFORE THIS PERFECT 90 DEGREES.

get your sling on...

mr slingmoore

Parts of the sling

2009-06-17T18:56:00.001-07:00

The Sling has three parts.

The stay

The pouch

The trigger

The stay and the trigger work together during the wind-up to accelerate the ball. At release, their jobs diverge. The stay is held firmly, while the trigger is released. At this moment the trigger is the catalyst transitioning the pouch from the holding job to the releasing job... These contradictory jobs are described in more detail above. It is the precise moment of the release that is the most difficult thing about slinging.

Moore attention will be given to specific techniques is subsequent posts, but for now it's important to note that the trigger must be released on the tangent. That is, exactly 90 degrees from the ball's intended direction of travel. This is not intuitive and difficult to master at first. But as with most things in life, it can improve.

Two jobs...

2009-06-17T14:52:00.001-07:00

The Sling. Simple in concept, but the design of an effective sling is subtle. The sling has two contradictory jobs.

Sling's Two Jobs:

1. Hold the ball

2. Let the ball go

The very best sling designs excel at the transition between the first job and the second. So while the cradle of the sling must be secure enough to keep the ball from rocketing off in some unintended direction during wind-up, that same cradle must also open quickly when the trigger is released. If the ball has to spend it's momentum pushing or rolling its way out of the cradle it will lose exit velocity and accuracy. In this way a good sling is known in the same way that relay races are won... that is... in the handing off of the baton.