Slingshots

A slingshot consists of two thongs attached to a 'pocket' and is twirled round and round to build velocity. Deadly on small game and

He has 2 pictures. The top one, a forked stick with 2 rubber bands with a small pouch in the middle is the traditional slingshot. I'm pretty sure that this is what Mark Twain has in his books. I made a couple dozen of these when I was a kid.

The 2nd picture is what we call a 'wrist rocket' - basically it's a slingshot (ie. it IS a slingshot), but has a strap or brace that goes over the lower forearm to help steady the slingshot during aiming. It's used in exactly the same manner that a sling is used on a rifle. Pretty much any discount sporting goods store (eg. Wal-Mart) carries these.

What you describe is a 'sling' - ala what David used to stun Goliath in the Bible Note: he did not kill Goliath with the sling as popularly believed - he used Goliath's own sword for the cue-de-gra (sp?). Bonus points if you can tell me why he (David) picked up 5 stones instead of just 1...

Some Theories:

1) His Shepherd's bag was fairly deep, so it would have been much easier to 'chamber' his stone if there were 5 to choose from instead of digging around for one...

-OR-

2) There were 5 primary fortifications of the Philistines, so the 5 stones where symbolic of God taking out the whole nation that stood against him...

-OR-

3) There were a lot a birds feeding on the dead carcasses of the Philistines after the battle and having a few extra stones would make for some fun recreational Varmint Hunting after the work was done...

-OR-

4) We don¹t really have a clue b/c the Bible doesn't give us much in the way of specific 'why's'

Am I anywhere close?

The most plausible theory I've heard is that Goliath had 4 brothers...

that's not a slingshot. I haven't the faintest idea what a valid politically correct name would be though. A slingshot consists of two thongs attached to a 'pocket' and is twirled round and round to build velocity. Deadly on small game and humans.

Coup de grace

Because, as the old Renger told the young cops, he must have been intending to miss a lot. Sort of a primitive hi-cap magazine. Bill Van Houten (USA Ret) 'No matter how hard you try, you can't throw a potato chip very far.'

Chris Barnes wrote

Are you sure?

1 Samuel 17:50 - So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. (NIV)

Yes, in the next verse he does use Goliath's sword to take his head off, but the way I read it, Goliath's already dead.

As for the 4 extra stones for Goliath's 4 brothers, I was familiar with that, assumed it said it in these passages and accepted it as fact. I don't see it. Now I'll have to look it up this weekend. Thanks!

Yessir! That's what David used to kill Goliath.

But the device Kevin is touting isn't a slingshot. Last commercial version I bought was named a Whamo Wrist Rocket..

Sam A. Kersh NRA Patron Member L.E.A.A. Life Member TSRA Life Member GOA, JPFO, SAF

In the US we called them slingshots but in UK (and probably other places) they are called catapults. A sling, on the other hand, is what you will see Palestinian kids using to hurl stones at the IDF. A sling can hurl much larger stones than a catapult, which is limited by its elasticity in the rubber bands. The first commercial slingshot I sent away for from the Whammo company in 1948 was a plywood handle with slots cut out for anchoring the elastic bands (surgical rubber I believe) and was superior to the ones I used to make from forked tree limbs and red rubber inner tubes tied together with string. It cost all of a buck. If you can find a beach with a lot of smooth stones you can spend an afternoon trying to unsuccessfully hit seagulls.

Not according to the dictionary:

Sling: A weapon consisting of a looped strap in which a stone is whirled adn then let fly.

SlingShot: A Y-shaped stick having an elastic strap attached to the prongs, used for flinging small stones.

Obviously, David used a sling in the Bible story. I used a variety of slinnshots to kill small game when I was growing up. Never could get the hang of a sling.

Jay T

Goliath has 4 brothers