I have read a lot of westerns, but never one where the main character uses a sling as a second/third weapon. A sling for slinging stones. Has anyone ever seen this done in a western? If you read westerns; what do you think? I came up with an idea, and want to write an old fashioned pulp western. I was thinking about tying the sling in with a passage about how as a kid he always loved the David & Goliath story.
I've never seen it, but it could be interesting. I don't think they were anything coming close to a 'Common' weapon, in fact I'm fairly sure that they were almost never used, but that doesn't mean it's impossible or a bad idea to make a character unique. The problem with slings is that they take a whole lot of practice to use properly, their effective range is fairly short against a single target. (In broad military use they could be more effective, with an effective range of around 400 yards, but that's not an accurate shot, that's lobbing a bunch of rocks into the air and hoping to hit any random target in a big crowd.) Not to mention that, compared to a bullet, the relative damage inflicted is pretty low, and you can probably dodge it if you're quick. However, as a biblically-bent character who wants to imitate one of his childhood heroes, it could be pretty cool. Nobody is going to take a sling seriously, and it's really easy to find ammo for it - Anything rock-shaped will work. In short, yeah, it could probably work.
@Mikmaxs , Thank you much. I am thinking it will be one of those chase through a canyon by baddies thing. Using wits to survive. I thought it would be kind of neat to use a sling for diversions instead of throwing rocks to cause dirt to fall from high, or as a shot fires at one baddie, MC can sling a stone into a pool of water, making baddie think he was shot at. I also figure it can be something used when bored, like a gunfighter but can hit rattlers and stuff.
The advantages of slings is that they can be easily made and quickly too. If you character has used a sling before, is stranded somewhere and his main weapon is out of action (for whatever reason) then a sling could be something he could make with spare string or rope. Slings are also quite quiet so their use as a diversion could make sense. Thought if he was 'old school' and wanted something else than a gun, I would assume he would got for a crossbow or bow as they are much more common and easier to use. Slings, as mikmaxs said, take some practice. However, an experiences slinger can be very accurate depending on his sling style and ancient writers noted that some sling with immense accuracy, able to hit a particular area of a their target (the head of a soldier for instance) reliably.
Oh hells yes I'd read that. True, slings are hard to use, but so are a lot of things, and slings are concealable (even make-able) and rarely run out of ammo, sounds like an excellent choice to me.
My dad used a sling, and taught us as kids, and they are fun once you figure it out. This idea kind of came out of an idea I have been working on for a long time. I want to create the ultimate survival rifle/cheap firearm. I want it to fire any object containing common metals. If you picture a war zone, there is a ton of 'stuff' everywhere, remnants of everything that has taken place there. If I can provide a cheap firearm that does not need ammo, it will greatly level the playing field for any groups wanting to overthrow their government (in war torn nations). No longer would they need to give up all mineral right before getting any bullets to make the coup/revolution happen. Imagine how glorious it would be to pick up a small piece of shrapnel, drop it into a firearm, and fire it. No powders, no chemicals, completely self-contained, easy to fix, easy to swap out parts (that are inexpensive, or can be cannibalized from other tech easily).
This reminds me of Tolkien's Farmer Giles of Ham. Still neeeds powder, but it's close to your weapon.
