Sling (weapon)

“ As was generally the rule, no protective covering was allowed the slingers—the one in question has not even a hat—who from the nature of their weapon were perforce compelled to be always in open order when in action and at a distance from the enemy, and presumably suffered less than the closely-packed bodies of men-at-arms, billmen, and even archers. His sling appears to be in no way different to the Saxon weapon shown in Fig. 70. The last man is clad in a coif and hauberk of mail, and is armed with an axe. ”

“ Hitherto it has been assumed that the African had not arrived at this invention. The sling in the same way serves to lengthen a lever, but the spear or stone is in this case not thrown by means of a catch on the stick or board, but by a string fastened to the root of the forefinger, while the free end is coiled round the missile. If the warrior throws his arm forward, the weapon leaves the hand by centrifugal force, uncoils itself from the string and flies away with great initial velocity. ”

“ Stones are flung by hand, and then by the sling, a contrivance widely but not universally known among savage tribes. From first to last in the history of war the spear or lance is grasped as a thrusting weapon. Its use as a missile no doubt began as early, but it has hardly survived so far in civilization. Thus used, it is most often thrown by the unaided arm, but a sling for the purpose is known to various savage tribes. The short cord with an eye used in the New Hebrides, and called a ‘becket’ by Captain Cook, and a whip-like instrument noticed in New Zealand, are used for spear-throwing. ”

“ The early defenders were men who used the sling for chief weapon of defence, and great numbers of slingers’ platforms—little flat spaces contrived in strategical 80positions along the sloping sides of the hill—remain, like so many primitive artillery emplacements; while quantities of their ammunition—pebble-stones that are not in the course of nature found on the crests of limestone hills—may be picked up. ”

“ Funda, Sling, Gen. The sling has been employed by most of the peoples of antiquity as a weapon of warfare for hurling stones, chiefly flints or leaden bullets (glandes) . The slings of the Egyptians were made of leather thongs or plaited cord. The funaitores, or slingers, of the Greek and Roman armies carried each a provision of stones in the folds (sinus) of his pallium, a shield on his left arm, and brandished his sling in the right hand. The most celebrated slingers were the inhabitants of the Balearic Islands, which took their ancient name from this circumstance.
Fig. ”

“ Spears were not the general army weapon. ↑
9 The account here given of the use of the sling was as a war weapon; it was also used for sports and betting contests. Slings were made of coconut fibre, usually with much care. ↑
10 An apparent recognized custom of a child’s seeking favor, or recognition, as in the case of Umi on his visit to Liloa. ”

“ Of bows and arrows it was not possible to make many in that short time, but of slings there was no difficulty in making enough to supply our entire force—and among these people, who are wonderfully skilful in the use of it, the sling is a most deadly implement of war. ”

“ What the sling does. It does two things: (1) It steadies the rifle, and (2) helps to take up the recoil,—that is, to reduce the "kick."
Its use. There are a number of different methods of using the sling. Experiment with different ones until you find and decide upon the method best suited to you.
The sling should be used in all firing,—combat practice as well as at target practice.
[Pg 483] Always adjust the sling so that it will be tight.
Have the arm loop no longer than is necessary to reach the middle of the small of the stock. ”

“ The illustration below shows another very convenient form of gun sling, which we have found to answer admirably. When in use, the muzzles of the gun are above the left shoulder, and the stock behind the right thigh. By bringing the right hand back the toggle securing the loop round the grip is instantly released, when the gun drops into the right hand, releasing itself from the ring by its own weight, and is ready for instant use. ”

“ They have no contrivance like a bow to discharge a dart, nor any thing like a sling to assist them in throwing a stone; which is the more surprising, as the invention of slings, and bows and arrows, is much more obvious than of the works which these people construct, and both these weapons are found among much ruder nations, and in almost every other part of the world. ”

“ When the arm is fitted with a sling, it is practically lengthened by as much as the length of the sling attached to it, and this, too, without any appreciable increase in its weight.
The longer the arm of a catapult, the longer is its sweep through the air, and thus the farther will it cast its projectile, provided it is not of undue weight. ”

“ Draw the sling with your left hand, and let go the firelock with the right at the same time, that it may hang by the sling on the right shoulder, the muzzle upwards, dropping both hands down by your sides at the same time. ”

“ So we are taught first to grip the small of the stock with the full hand, the thumb along the side, and with the forefinger to take up the slack of the trigger till it engages the mechanism, and then to take a little more, till presently the gun will go off. At this point, while using the sling to secure a good aim, the shooter should squeeze, that is, he should slowly and steadily contract his whole hand, all the fingers together, till in a moment—Bang! ”

“ The 18-pounder field-gun makes a most ear-splitting crack for those who stand in front of the battery, and, moreover, the sound seems to come from only a few yards away. The sniper’s bullet will strike the parapet with a resounding crack, followed by the whirr of its passage through the air, and a new-comer might easily imagine that one of our own men had fired from the next traverse. ”

“ The slinger is as usual bareheaded and devoid of bodily defences. With him is an archer also discharging combustibles affixed to the end of an arrow. He is habited in a sleeveless leather hauberk strengthened with round plates, presumably of metal; a coif of mail or leather covers his head. The third figure carries a sword, spear, and pole-axe, possibly his own, and also the close-quarter weapons of the projectile throwers. ”

“ In boots a man has no chance of using his toes to cling with; even to bend his foot is beyond his powers, and a boot once worn out cannot be repaired in camp, whereas a moccasin may be patched until none of the original article remains.
A sling for your rifle is a necessity in all mountain shooting ”

“ The advantages of uniformity of size and form are recognized among some savage tribes, who make use of the sling at the present day; the sling-stones, for instance, of the New Caledonians being carefully shaped out of steatite, and, what is worthy of remark, approximating closely in form to the Roman glandes, being fusiform or pointed ovoids. The same form on a larger scale, about 3 inches in diameter and 4 inches long, has been adopted by the natives of Savage Island for missiles thrown by the hand. ”

“ The shell-fire grew more and more intense. The air was thick and choking with smoke and chemical fumes, and vibrant with the rush and shriek, of the shells, the hum of bullets, and the ugly whirr of splinters, the crash of impacting shells, and ear-splitting crack of the guns' discharge, the 'r-r-rupp' of shrapnel on the wet ground, the metallic clang of bullets and steel fragments on the gun-shields and mountings. ”

“ Gun is canted to the right. Sling is on the outside of the arm. Right thumb is across small of stock which is the cause of bruises and sore lips. Left elbow not well under. Eye too far from rear sight piece.
No. 2. Legs not straight. Gun canted to right. Left elbow not well under gun.
No. 3. Legs are in an improper position. Body is twisted to the left.
Sling. Your ability to hold the rifle steadily in any required position will be greatly increased by the proper adjustment and use of the sling. Indeed, you cannot hope to hold the rifle steadily unless the sling is properly used. ”

“ He could hear the whine of the bullets as they passed overhead; he could hear the lead ping and pound against the car-sides. He had little fear for the boxes of ammunition surrounding him; the cartridges were covered enough by the powdered fluxing-slag to be cushioned against concussion. Once, indeed, a bullet splintered against the wood of the very box against which he leaned. He held his breath and waited, racking and swinging onward toward the moving lights. ”

“ The shell was coming straight at us, and the sensation one then experiences is indescribable. The air twangs and vibrates, and the vibrations seem to be communicated to one's flesh and nerves—almost to the marrow of one's bones. The detachment crouched down by the wheels of the ammunition wagon and the drivers sheltered behind their horses. At every moment we expected an explosion. ”

“ The only means I had of drawing Selim’s attention was to fire off my pistol, but I was unwilling to throw away any of the ammunition. The person was by this time about to descend the hillock. With great pain and difficulty I got round the tree into the sunlight, and fired. Immediately the person began to run towards me; when, unable longer to stand, I sank down on the sand, fearing that after all he might be an enemy. I reloaded my weapon, therefore, and leaned back against the tree, with the scimitar I had taken from Antonio in my hand, determined to defend myself to the last. ”

“ One steel bullet, or one shell, fired from a modern high-power gun into a chest of shells or bombs, loaded as they are with highly explosive material,—one such bullet or shell thus fired, might set off a chest of shells and carry death to all around, these shells, exploding other chests of shells, and these still others, creating a sort of hell in all directions. The possibilities thus created by modern highly explosive ammunition materials are terrible, horrible to contemplate. ”

“ In addition to the ordinary manœuvre period in which cavalry and infantry participate, artillery units go every year to a practice camp which is a special area set apart for the firing of live shells, with a view to giving officers and men alike training in the realities of their work. The so-called smokeless powder—which in reality is not smokeless—used on these occasions, together with the passage of a shell through the rifling of the gun, renders the cleaning of the bore an even more messy business than that incurred in firing blank ammunition during tactical exercises. ”

“ For an instant I entertained the idea of fetching up a couple of machine-guns out of our cargo and mounting them on deck, but gave it up again. It would have been senseless to attack our heavily-armed escort with a machine-gun and risk a battle, especially as my crew were not used to this weapon, which was of the latest army pattern. Each time when we let some dark object down the side into the water the escorting vessels shot away. They must have been horribly afraid of us. The officers of the Bluebell told me later on that they thought we were dropping mines! ”

“ When all is ready for business, a sling is passed under the horse’s belly, and also supports his chest and quarters; the ropes attached to this sling meet over the middle of the horse’s back, and are hitched to the chain of the windlass or crane. Two soldiers have each hold of a rein attached to the head-stall on either side of his head, while they soothe and allay his fears by hand and voice, or, if he violently resist, hold him by main force, until he is snatched from the ground and swung over that portion of the sea which intervenes between the beach and the vessel. ”

“ The pellets of the shotgun-like charge that blasted out from the gun were small, needle-shaped, and heavy. They were oriented point-forward by the magnetic field along the barrel of the weapon. Of the hundreds in each charge fired, only a few penetrated the spacesuits of the targets, but those few were enough. The powerful drug in the needle-pointed head of each went into the bloodstream of the target.
Each man felt an itching sensation. ”

“ The diameter of the exterior of the sleeve must be such that it can be pushed into the gun barrel without pressure. To fire the grenade, a blank cartridge is placed in the chamber of the rifle; the quantity of powder left in the cartridge is regulated according to the distance at which the missile is to be thrown. At the moment of firing, the explosive gases penetrate between the sleeve and the stem and jam the sleeve against the grooves of the barrel. ”

“ Stink-fire lances prepared in the same manner that stink-pots are, and particularly useful to miners. When a sapper or miner has so far penetrated towards the enemy as to hear the voices of persons in any places contiguous to his own excavation, he first of all bores a hole with his probe, then fires off several pistols through the aperture, and lastly forces in a lance a feu puant, taking care to close up the hole on his side to prevent the smoke from returning towards himself. ”

“ As the war progresses the French tend to use more and more of these explosive shells, which are used against infantry in the same way as are shrapnel. The only difference seems to be that they are made to burst a little lower. Their effect is very terrible. A heavy bursting charge is employed, and although the fragments are small they fly with such force that they make fatal wounds and even cut into the wood of rifle stocks. I observed the body of one German whose back had been pierced with about forty small particles of a shell which had burst close to him. ”