History Main / SufferTheSlings

* In ''Film/BeyondSherwoodForest'', Gareth is an expert with the sling. In his first appearance, he knocks out an armoured rider on horseback with a sing sling stone.

* ''VideoGame/AgeofEmpires'', in its ''Rise of Rome'' expansion pack, introduced the Slinger as a ranged infantry unit that counters archers. In ''[[VideoGame/AgeofEmpiresII Age of Empires II]]'', they are replaced by the javelin-throwing skirmishers but return in the ''Forgotten Empires'' expansion as a unique unit for the Inca civilization, which deal bonus damage against infantry rather than archers.

* Literature/TheBible describes the Tribe of Benjamin in Judges:20, who had a far greater proportion of left-handed men than the rest of Israel. When Benjamin was in a dispute with the other eleven tribes and a CivilWar broke out, there is an account of a CurbStompBattle where outnumbered Benjamin, with its corps of picked left-handed slingers (numbering no more than 700) took on twenty-two thousand men in battle and slew the lot. The left-handed slings of Benjamin were especially deadly as they could target the un-shielded (and thus less protected) side of an opponent.
** More famously, DavidVersusGoliath. Goliath was a huge man covered with armor and carrying a sword and spear while an attendant carries his massive shield, David was just some guy with a sling. Goliath never stood a chance.

* ''TabltopGame/{{Exalted}}'' has these for its sneakier, less flamboyant Exalts. (Even though there are only about three of these.) The main benefits are that they are easy to hide and that they use the throwing skill but the range increment for bows - meaning that the Solar charm that triples attack distance suddenly goes from providing an extra few meters to an extra few ''hundred''.

* ''VideoGame/AgeofEmpires'', in its ''Rise of Rome'' expansion pack, introduced the Slinger as a ranged infantry unit that counters archers. In ''VideoGame/AgeofEmpiresII'', they are replaced by the javelin-throwing skirmishers but return in the ''Forgotten Empires'' expansion as a unique unit for the Inca civilization, which deal bonus damage against infantry rather than archers.

When a sling is used in fiction, the slinger will always whirl it [[EverythingsBetterWithSpinning round and round]] several times before loosing the bullet. This is [[RuleOfCool just for]] [[RuleOfPerception show]]-- in reality, the more (and faster) it's swung, the less accurate the aim - the point of a sling is (basically) to make your arm longer, thus increasing the speed and power of your throw. No more than two rotations are usually required.

* ''VideoGame/RiseOfNations'' has Balamob Slingers as unique units for the Maya civilization in earlier ages. Compared to the skirmishers they replace, they generally deal less damage, but are cheap to build, and move and attack very quickly.

* In ''Series/ThePillarsOfTheEarth'' a main character uses a sling (with correct form) in early episodes, but to little effect.

* Averted in ''Series/GameOfThrones'', during an ambush, a soldier gets his head smashed by a slung rock.

* In ''Literature/ClanOfTheCaveBear'', Ayla's Clan use slings for hunting small game -- rabbits and such -- but it's considered bush league stuff. "Real" hunters hunt in groups using spears to kill big game. A boy might use a sling, but once one has hunted using a spear he becomes a man. Ayla finds a forgotten sling and secretly practices with it until she is good enough to protect the tribe from a rampaging animal. She even somehow (in total defiance of how slings actually work) invents a way to accurately fire two stones from a sling at the same time. The men of her tribe, one who broke a spear she had cursed as a child with a female's touch, aren't too happy and this is one of the reasons she is banished from the tribe during winter, while pregnant. (Females can't use slings or spears. Ayla has to get special dispensation from the old gods in order to be allowed to use one after she's already taught herself how and can wield it better than any male in the Clan, using a talisman that makes her a little bit male.)

* ''Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'': Esmeralda uses an improvised one to provide a distraction for Phoebus.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' the sling and staff sling are dangerous but inaccurate. They're also the only ranged (non-bow) weapons that rate as a Hard skill. The staff sling in particular is ridiculously powerful, able to outperform almost anything short of a revolver.

A sling is essentially two strands of rope connected by a pocket. You place a stone or other projectile in the pocket, whip the contraption around, and let go of one end of rope, letting the bullet fly. It’s an easy weapon to make and requires no materials more advanced than cords and a fabric pocket, making this trope easily OlderThanFeudalism (and potentially OlderThanDirt).

A sling is essentially two strands of rope connected by a pocket. You place a stone or other projectile in the pocket, whip the contraption around, and let go of one end of rope, letting the bullet fly.

When a sling is used in fiction, the slinger will always whirl it [[EverythingsBetterWithSpinning round and round]] several times before loosing the bullet. This is [[RuleOfCool just for]] [[RuleOfPerception show]]-- in reality, the more (and faster) it's swung, the less accurate the aim. No more than two rotations are usually required.

Although slings require considerable training to use effectively, they are quite lethal (just ask [[Literature/TheBible Goliath]]) and have an extremely long range of about 400 meters, which is longer than the vaunted English longbow and only outranged by the very best composite bows. Much like how [[HistoryRepeats bows would be supplanted later on by firearms,]] slings fell out of use due to the significant training requirements, as many sling-using ancient cultures began training while they were children. The concussive force they imparted certainly would have been more effective than early arrows against armor and shields of the time even if they failed to penetrate, especially in the case of [[AbnormalAmmo lead bullets]], and there's speculation the hard-to-see rounds would have had a [[LosingTheTeamSpirit unique psychological impact on foes]]. Despite all that, slings are generally perceived as a weak weapon in fiction. They are usually given to kids, beginning adventurers, angry peasants, or idiot {{Mook}}s, and are very rarely treated as the lethal weapons that they are in real life. This is probably due to confusion with the slingshot, a child's toy that is about as lethal in real life as a sling is in fictionland.

* In ''PrincessPrincipal'', Chise challenges a bully at school to a duel with pistols, only to find that he's sabotaged hers. Fortunately, these old-fashioned dueling pistols shoot lead balls -- so Chise takes off her ribbon and uses it to ''sling'' a ball at him. She practically takes his arm off.

* Slings are a common (and deadly) weapon in ''{{Literature/Redwall}}''. Otters in particular favour them, along with javelins, as they aren't damaged by water. Noteworthy in that they are not portrayed as a particularly weak or lower-class weapon; at least one Otter chieftain favors his sling.

Although slings require considerable training to use effectively, they are quite lethal (just ask [[Literature/TheBible Goliath]]) and have an extremely long range of about 400 meters, which is longer than the vaunted English longbow and only outranged by the very best composite bows and much like how bows would be supplanted later on by firearms, slings fell out of use due to the significant training requirements, as many sling-using ancient cultures began training while they were children. The concussive force they imparted certainly would have been more effective than early arrows against armor and shields of the time even if they failed to penetrate, especially in the case of [[AbnormalAmmo lead bullets]], and there's speculation the hard-to-see rounds would have had a [[LosingTheTeamSpirit unique psychological impact on foes]]. Despite all that, slings are generally perceived as a weak weapon in fiction. They are usually given to kids, beginning adventurers, angry peasants, or idiot {{Mook}}s, and are very rarely treated as the lethal weapons that they are in real life. This is probably due to confusion with the slingshot, a child's toy that is about as lethal in real life as a sling is in fictionland.

* The French series ''Series/ThierryLaFronde}}'' is about a young French medieval lord and Myth/RobinHood {{expy}} who fights the English invaders and French traitors. His weapon of choice is a sling, which is [[TheyCallHimSword included in his moniker]] ("fronde" means "sling").

* The French series ''{{Thierry la Fronde}}'', about a young French medieval lord who fights the English invaders with a sling. He's basically the French equivalent of RobinHood.

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. Tyrion Lannister is shown slings being TestedOnHumans (specifically [[MakeAnExampleOfThem slaves who have tried to escape]].) The results are rather nasty.

Although slings require considerable training to use effectively, they are quite lethal (just ask [[Literature/TheBible Goliath]]) and have an extremely long range of about 400 meters, which is longer than the vaunted English longbow and only outranged by the very best composite bows (and much like bows would be supplanted later on by firearms, slings fell out of use due to the significant training requirements, as many sling-using ancient cultures began training while they were children). The concussive force they imparted certainly would have been more effective than early arrows against armor and shields of the time even if they failed to penetrate, especially in the case of [[AbnormalAmmo lead bullets]], and there's speculation the hard-to-see rounds would have had a [[LosingTheTeamSpirit unique psychological impact on foes]]. Despite all that, slings are generally perceived as a weak weapon in fiction. They are usually given to kids, beginning adventurers, angry peasants, or idiot {{Mook}}s, and are very rarely treated as the lethal weapons that they are in real life. This is probably due to confusion with the slingshot, a child's toy that is about as lethal in real life as a sling is in fictionland.

* Literature/TheBible describes the Tribe of Benjamin in Judges:20, who had a far greater proportion of left-handed men than the rest of Israel. When Benjamin was in dispute with the other eleven tribes and CivilWar exists, there is an account of a CurbStompBattle where outnumbered Benjamin, with its corps of picked left-handed slingers (numbering no more than 700) takes on twenty-two thousand men in battle and slay the lot. The left-handed slings of Benjamin were especially deadly as they could target the less protected unshielded side of an opponent.
** More famously, DavidVersusGoliath. Goliath is a huge man covered with armor and carrying a sword and spear while an attendant carries his massive shield, David is just some guy with a sling. Goliath never stood a chance.