Like I’m surprised tha5 novels don’t use them that much, like their op for how easy they are to make and how easy it is to get their ammo
Yeah if will only work on like easy creatures, but it will kill so many things if your skilled enough.
Also learning how to use them is easy
Problem with slings is that you need quite a long time to gather momentum. Everything it can do, other specialized tools can do better.
You want range? A yew longbow is probably the longest range weapon (if you believe the English) with more or less reliable accuracy and damage out of all single-person long range weapon. Historical records tells us that if individual accuracy is not a factor and it's intended to be used as a volley of arrows, the Mongol composite bow can easily out-range an English longbow at 600 meters. Slings can go like what... 50 meters? Maybe 150 meters if individual accuracy is not the aim.
You want penetrating power? A crossbow can do much better. You can even put an aiming sight on it and become a sharpshooter after 1 week training.
Slings require time to gather momentum and there is a timing that you have to be mindful of if you want to hit the target. You miss this timing and the bullet goes somewhere else. This problem does not exist with a bow or crossbow. With a bow, it's just a matter of how long and how far you can draw the string. With the crossbow, once you've pulled the string, you can take all the time you want to aim your bolt.
Ammo for slings is actually not that easy to acquire. Sure if accuracy is not an issue, you can grab whatever rocks you want from the ground, but they will not go where you want them to go. But David hit Goliath on the exact same spot 3 times, you say? Well, History Channel once made a documentary on that, to determine if that actually happened. They determined that the Bible story was very possible to have happened, because the place where the duel was held had a very peculiar feature. They found that the rocks there were very smooth and very round, almost perfect spheres, which means there was no variable that affected accuracy. Very few places in the world have this peculiar feature and unless you have round stones with no sharp edges, it will be almost impossible to determine exactly where it will go. You can aim it, but it will not go where you want it to go if the target is beyond 10 meters. Even throwing the rock with your own hands would be more accurate. Sure, you can argue that a skilled slinger will have no problem hitting the target at even 100 meters, but the same argument can be made for bowmen, except bowmen will be able to shoot a slinger before a slinger can get into the range of his sling.
If you want to use the sling for hunting, well, you can't. The very sound the sling makes as you swing it to gather momentum is so loud that your prey will run long before you're ready to launch the bullet. You know, that almost sound speed wooo wooo wooo sound that you hear as you swing it above your head. If the prey can't see you swing the sling, the sound the sling makes will definitely make it run. Any sling long enough to be able to deliver a killing blow (instead of a maiming blow) will be loud to a herbivore. They're not the stealthiest weapon. Sure you can argue that bows make a loud sound too, but that loud sound is just one sharp crack once the string is released that even if the prey can hear it, it's already too late because once they hear it, it's too late to avoid the arrow. With bows and crossbows, there is no sound while you're preparing to launch the shot.
To summarize, the sling is a very troublesome weapon, for the user. Sure, a skilled user would be able to deal as much damage as any other weapon with similar accuracy rate. But the road to there is very long and annoying. You can teach a kid to draw a 20 pound bow in an evening and he would definitely be able to shoot in the general direction of where you want the arrow to go. But teach a kid how to use a sling, it will probably be a week of practicing in the open field before you're confident enough to stand next to the kid when he uses the sling.
Seriously, Ai-chan thinks the only reason why anyone would choose a sling over a bow and arrow or a crossbow would be if the island they're on has no wood. Heck, even an atlatl would be a better choice, and that's a stone age weapon. Though if Ai-chan is stuck on an island with no wood, Ai-chan would make a slingshot out of bone and the most elastic plant fiber Ai-chan can find. Sure a slingshot is a much shorter-ranged weapon, but at least a slingshot is easy to use and has zero chance of hitting yourself.
