In case you don’t know, a shepherd’s sling is a sling used to throw a projectile such as a stone or marble. It can be used for hunting, self-defense, and fending off wild animals. For example, shepherds would use it to throw rocks at wolves threatening their flock. Thus the term, shepherd’s sling.
In the Bible story about David and Goliath, David was a shepherd, so when the day came for him to fight Goliath, he used his sling. He slew Goliath by hitting him with a rock right in the forehead.
More than almost any other weapon, the effectiveness of a shepherd’s sling depends upon the skill of the user. For someone with no experience, it will be almost completely useless. But for someone with lots of experience, a shepherd’s sling could be deadly.
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In this video, Black Scout Survival explains how to make one. All you need is a 6 to 8-foot length of paracord. Here’s how to make it.
- Fold the paracord in half and drape it over your hand.
- Wrap one side around your hand four times.
- Take it off your hand while keeping its shape intact.
- Wrap one end around the middle and make a simple knot.
- Thread the working end through the three loops.
- Repeat the previous two steps on the other side.
- You should end up with a pouch in the middle of the paracord.
This is probably very difficult to picture, which is why I love the magic of video. Watch it below so you can see how it’s done.
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As I said, a shepherd’s sling is useless if you don’t know what you’re doing. Watch the video below to learn how to use one.
WOW. A complete lack of knowledge both about the bible and ancient sling tactics.
Losers all the way around.
never bring a knife to a gun fight
As a historical note, slings were used as an offensive weapon in combat besides David and Big G. The Romans used slingers. The missile was a lead pellet. Don’t know how much it weighed, but it would be like getting knocked in the gourd with a blackjack, depending upon the range.
Other armies have also used slings. Haven’t studied ancient army tactics enough to make any intelligent comment beyond that. While slings and projectiles aren’t nearly as effective as firearms and arrows, with out either of those implements, I would feel well armed with a sling that I could use effectively, assuming the other guy didn’t have a gun or a bow and arrow.
Hi Sharon,
I think you’ll find that David used Goliath’s own sword. He didn’t drag Saul’s sword out to fight Goliath.
I’ve been thinking about making one of these for a long time. Then, life gets in at the way.
And, gettin’ smacked with a high velocity, can of beans, is gonna leave a mark. It hurts bad enough when I drop a can on my toes.
Totally off-topic but read an interesting article on the unfair fight between David and Goliath. Totally unfair against Goliath that is!
Goliath wearing armor weighing him down and unable to maneuver effectively while David, just carrying sling, sling stones, and wearing only a loin cloth literally able to run circles around Goliath.
And what about the ineffective sling? Well archeological digs have found long range sling “bullets” weighed around 50 grams. And the short range sling bullets upward of 250 grams or about half a pound.
So Goliath would have been trying to close with David while David just skipped out of close melee range and in the meantime pelted Goliath with sling stones weighing about half the weight of a can of beans! No wonder Goliath lost!
There is no such thing as a fair fight – they are all unfair – both side think they can win – one is proven wrong!
For the most part most people would not get into a fight that they think they will lose. After all your thinking is setting up your outcome!
Goliath dressed to win and so did David!
The saying is that if you’re ever in a fair fight then you seriously screwed up. The entire Art of War book is about tilting the playing field against your opponents.
david stunned goliath with a rock. he killed goliath by cutting off his head with king saul’s sword