ANST - Combat slings at Gulf Wars?

[Mark.S Harris]

Greetings,

I have been corresponding with an individual outside the SCA who found
the slings-msg file in my Florilegium. His last email included:

> I made my first sling about four years ago to throw tennis balls for my
> bird dog. I had thrown my arm out pitching them for her and figured a sling
> would eliminate any additional aches and pain. At first the balls went
> every which way, mostly straight up. The dog enjoyed it and got so she
> would start running after the ball as soon as the sling came in to motion.
> Eventually I reached the point where, when she started to run, I could put
> the tennis ball just over her head so it would land about twenty feet in
> front of her. Distance was not great, only about fifty feet but we both
> enjoyed it. 

> Accuracy in the horizontal plane (left and right of point of
> aim) is good; my accuracy in the vertical plane needs work. I could hit a
> man at forty yards, but it probably be somewhere between the head and the
> groin. [I believe here he means with a rock rather than the tennis ball]

I've begun to wonder if a sling might be neat to try at Gulf Wars. Because
of the practice needed, I'm thinking of next year's GW not this coming one.

Would a sling be legal in the battles at Gulf Wars that had siege engines?
What about those with combat archery, but not siege engines?
What would be the likely, legal ammo allowed? A single tennis ball? A
wieghted tennis ball of some type? A racket ball (might be difficult or
expensive to get)? 

If one managed to get as good as this individual, the fifty feet he mentions 
might be a workable distance. A heavier projectile would of course travel 
further.

Marshals?

For those interested, I will be adding his messages to the slings-msg
file in the near future.

Stefan li Rous
stefan at texas.net
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