How relevant was the sling, really? What circumstances caused

>>2047036
Stones are really easy to find

>>2047036

very cheap, easy access to the weapon and rocks and shit u used, dont need to be trained much to use, apparently in ancient times better range than a bow.

with practice anyone can get good at it
even women and small kids can use it

darts and arrows are expensive

>>2047056

are there any recorded instances of child and woman armies?

>>2047078
Xena and that blond chick

>>2047036

Ask Goliath.

>>2047050
>dont need to be trained much to use
Yet skilled slingers were looked and prized.

>>2047050
>dont need to be trained much to use
>even women and small kids can use it

morons

>>2047096
They were, just like how good archers or javelin throwers were. But get a shit ton of people slinging fast rocks at an army and it'll still cause some damage.

>>2047096

surely anyone well-trained will be prized.

Slingers are cheaper than archers and easier to levy... Balearic slingers kicked ass back in the day. It's really hard to learn how to aim right but that's the case with javelins and bows also.

>>2047036
>How relevant was the sling, really?
Not very. A well trained slinger with lead shots would be a lot more deadly than an archer (the romans used them to fucking butcher parthian cataphracts, read about Ventidius' campaign), but have less range and less versatility (good luck arching shots above barriers).
Well trained slingers were also really rare compared to archers.

>>2047096
breaking news: good soldiers are more valuable than shit soldiers

>>2047036
one of the first human inventions to break the sound barrier

You cannot post ITT unless you have constructed your own sling and sent a missile 100 yds with it.

The only really proficient war slingers trained with the sling since early childhood. With practice though most people can use a smaller sling to take aim at small game.

>>2047132
and the first one was a dinosaur

>>2047078
Yeah, there are real Amazons. They give their boy children to neighboring tribes. They are disgusting ugly short nasty animals. They prefer poison darts.

>>2047078
oh I was thinking more about hunting small prey not war
but anyway the sling seems perfect for stealthy guerrilla warfare

File: smug.jpg (50KB, 573x615px) Image search: [Google]

50KB, 573x615px

>>2047142
as a kid i made a hugeass fustibalus and me and couple others hauled dead fish over around 150-200 meters wide bay onto some dickhead russian dude's roof. he never found out what hit him.

>>2047171

choice

>>2047036
It's cheap. Anyone could afford one

>>2047170
it's not. you need lots of space to use it. it's only good on open field.

Very. Didn't Alexander use them to great effect against Darius?

David v Goliath is a pretty shit fight.

>Big giant guy and little guy are set to fight.
>Little guy is equipped with gun. Shoots big guy in head.
>Enshrined as mythical duel with religious connotations.

>>2047533
nothing was stopping the big dude from using a big gun, he just chose not to

>>2047142
I've made a few. It's fun to do 6 ply plaits and have them split to form the cup (just like the Balearics).

>>2047036
Range equal to or better than bows of the time and the users could carry a shield shield using them,l more ammo, and be lighter than the archers.

>>2047106
No, they really won't. A large body of untrained, unskilled slingers will spend a lot of their time hitting themselves, each other, your men, and the ground. Then they'll die.

You'd be better off with bows or hand-thrown weapons in that situation, at least they'll go forward when loosed.

>>2047193
I too seen that movie