What type of sling did David use?

[FollowingHim]

I've been having fun with the children making shepherds slings, and using them very badly. We made a load of safe ammunition (screwed up newspaper wrapped in tape), which means shots can go in all directions with no danger of heads or windows being smashed in, and have been having a blast all weekend. But it raised an interesting question.

Did David really use a shepherd's sling (the one you whirl around your head), or did he use a staff sling (a sling fixed to the end of a staff)?

The below video makes an interesting case that it was more likely a staff sling, the main reason being that the fact David was carrying a staff is emphasised in several places - but it is incredibly awkward to use a shepherd's sling and carry a staff at the same time. Using a sling is a two-handed operation. A staff sling also has the practical advantage that if you miss and the giant / lion / bear keeps charging, you're already holding your staff in a fighting position.

This video discusses the issue, then conducts a detailed comparison between a staff sling and a rubber slingshot - not a perfect comparison, however a slingshot has similar power to a shepherd's sling, it's just easier to use. The end result being that a staff sling is nearly as accurate as a modern slingshot (probably equally as accurate with practice), and has double the power of a modern slingshot (the projectile travels half the speed but is much, much larger).

 

[AmbassadorforChrist]

Well I have used a sling off and on for much of my growing up, and in my opinion that video did a very poor job of comparing the different slings.

I have personally put rocks through 3/4" plywood, and when done right one doesn't need to swing it over the head multiple times at all, one swing is all that is needed. There are also many techniques for throwing, all with varying degrees of power and accuracy.

As far as accuracy goes, lots of practice goes a long way, but so does string length, a short string gives more accuracy, but velocity suffer, and visa versa. I typically had about three foot long strings on mine.

Using a sling while holding a staff is not that hard, I use to do it all the time when I was watching sheep.
I would also argue that the shepherd sling has way more power then a modern slingshot. I don't recall where a read it, but someone once compared it to a colt .45 which I have no problem believing.

A couple of my favorite scripture verses about slinging are

Spoiler: Judges 20:15-16

And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men.

16 Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss.

and

Spoiler: Proverbs 26:8

As he that bindeth a stone in a sling, so is he that giveth honour to a fool.

anyone who has used a sling for long enough will have a rock stick in the sling, and it will dang near rip someones finger off!

Here are some pictures of my sling.

 

[AmbassadorforChrist]

Here is a short article about Cretan archer, and the Balearic, and Rhodian slingers.

 

[steve]

I love it!
But who decided the length of the staff?
Even another six inches would do wonders for the velocity.

I agree with AfC, it wasn’t well done.

Further thinking, the staff is actually a miniature Trebuchet.

 

[steve]

Here is a short article about Cretan archer, and the Balearic, and Rhodian slingers.

“Slings were simple to pick up but took a lifetime to master the precise angle and flick of the wrist needed to hit a man at 400 meters. ”

super impressive!

 

[cnystrom]

Further thinking, the staff is actually a miniature Trebuchet.

A hand trebuchet! The bazooka of its time?

 

[AmbassadorforChrist]

“Slings were simple to pick up but took a lifetime to master the precise angle and flick of the wrist needed to hit a man at 400 meters. ”

super impressive!

Indeed! I think at that point it would be a case of "fire for effect" though, and probably not done with rocks.
It would have probably been lead, like the lead shot mentioned in this article (not the same article I mentioned previously).

 

[AmbassadorforChrist]

I love it!
But who decided the length of the staff?
Even another six inches would do wonders for the velocity.

I agree with AfC, it wasn’t well done.

Further thinking, the staff is actually a miniature Trebuchet.

I think the length of the staff would be left up to the individual, much like string length on a regular sling.
Disclaimer! I have never used a stick sling, but it seems like it would be awkward, and difficult to use.

@The Revolting Man this would be a great video topic for your YouTube channel if you could represent it well, especially if you put them through a chronograph and compared the energy with different materials. Just thinking out loud here.

 

[AmbassadorforChrist]

It's a little off the original topic, but this a tutorial on weaving a replica of a sling found in King Tutankhamun's tomb.
I have attempted to make one in the past, but never finished it completely.

 

[FollowingHim]

@AmbassadorforChrist, I agree the video has many flaws, but I was hunting for a direct comparison of staff and shepherds slings and couldn't find anything - except this, which isn't a proper comparison and has many flaws, but which I found very thought-provoking even if it is wrong!

A hand trebuchet! The bazooka of its time?

Yes, exactly. A trebuchet is very simply a mechanised staff sling. The staff sling can throw larger stones than a shepherds sling, and was used in medieval times for sieges. There are paintings of staff slings used in naval battles - probably partly because you can't whirl a regular sling around without getting it caught in the rigging, but also because you can throw large weights with them.

Staff slings have been used in modern warfare to throw grenades long distances.