slingshot vs flint lock /cap and ball pistol....

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jogforfun

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don't jump down on me to hard if this is a stupid question but given the modern advancements in sling shots who would win in a fight. in terms of accuracy, deadliness, rate of fire... I am pretty sure the sling shot would win against a flint lock but what about a cap and ball?
 
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On a one on one scenario a flintlock rifle would have the advantage when it came to deadliness and accuracy if fired from a distance as the greater the distance the slingshot would suffer in both of these categories.Another problem a slingshot user would have would be having to exposing himself more as a target to get a good shot off.A flintlock smoothbore can also be devastating if volley fire is used
 
What size and weight of ball are you launching from the catapult? At what velocity?
Compare those numbers with a firearm's, and ballistic performance questions will be answered. I doubt that a catapult's velocity could match that of a firearm. This would suggest lower ballistic performance.
Accuracy? Skill with catapult or pistol will make a big difference. Rifled barrel will affect accurate range.
Speed of fire would go to the catapult.
 
jogforfun said:
don't jump down on me to hard if this is a stupid question but given the modern advancements in sling shots who would win in a fight. in terms of accuracy, deadliness, rate of fire... I am pretty sure the sling shot would win against a flint lock but what about a cap and ball?
Click to expand...

What would you rather be hit by, a 50 cal lead ball traveling 1500 fps, or a 50 cal steel ball traveling 200 fps?
 
Interesting question, if you missed me at 80 yards with a muzzleloader, I could quickly close that to 30 yards or less after which you’d be in deadly peril from my slingshot.
 
https://www.popsci.com/technology/a..., Danny George,resulting energy of 199 Joules.

Can slingshots be deadly? Heck yes, but the energy produced doesn't hold a candle to BP firearms. The Brown Bess had muzzle velocity of 1300-1800 fps, flintlock pistols 900-1100ish, whereas slingshots generate significantly less (650 this once time according to the article, maybe someone has broken this record since?). This also leads to less effective range

Factor in the training of using a slingshot effectively v BP, and if your fight is army vs army, my money is on the boomstick due to the numbers. This assumes handheld slingshot vs flintlock. Get into caplock and the disparity only gets wider.

Did you ever read about the Austrian Air rifles they experimented with during the musket days? Interesting read
 
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Well, i`m really good with a slingshot- years of sitting around hurrying up to wait.
Have always had one in my kit, and still have one in there- 33 years later.
Some of them are powerful enough kill, and the muzzle loader shooter is not getting a second shot off if they miss. .45 lead balls from a slingshot hurt like a MoFo, and i imagine it would be really hard to reload while getting beaned over and over by that.
Don`t supposed it would stop a determined and mightily irritated shooter from chasing the slingshot user so they could use the empty gun like a club though.
 
Cant even compare both they are so different, a sling shot even the best wont compare, a 45 cal round ball flintlock antique pistol with a 6 inch barrel clock at 440 fps. JP.
 
This reminds me of one off story out of Somalia. My neighbour in Moose Jaw was a supply tech and was selected for one tour. On return he told me of the dreaded traffic jam in downtown Mogadishu.
Doctrine says you button up your APC when brought to a standstill.
Well this happened to a CF crew near the traffic circle. Sometimes a dead body or even a live child was thrown out by hostiles to grind an allied convoy to a halt. Few tense moments clearing the obstacle merely because you cannot tell from driving distance perhaps if they are dead or otherwise.
The crew commander closed his hatch forthwith and over the intercom directed his driver to do likewise.
Apparently a few seconds too late. The driver had an odd feeling and mistakingly looked over his shoulder and was pretty much immediately struck in the head from a stone catapulted by a sling. Just like the one David used to slay Goliath.
The crew commander had to pull the unconscious soldier into the back with considerable difficulty and drove the carrier out of this primitive ambush.
The medical officer said the driver was mere inches from certain death. If an armed sentry was guns up the person responsible would have been shot.
Just a strange story from Africa.
 
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A "few" years back some kid with a sling dropped a 500 lb Brute with his sling.
I think his name was dave .
Never under estimate primitive weapons of any kind.

david.jpg
 
I think David's sling was actually a staff sling (a stick with a short sling attached at the end) rather than a the shepherd's sling that he is commonly depicted with, because Goliath is quoted to have said "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?"
 
OP, there was a time when the same question was asked about flintlock firearms vs bow and arrows.

When the Indigenous peoples of several different continents first confronted flintlock firearms and even matchlock firearms, they were afraid of the new tech, simply because they didn't understand the limitations of the tech.

It didn't take the Indicines long to figure out the high tech flint locks weren't any more lethal than their own bows and arrows. In some cases, the bow and arrows even had a greater effective range and could get a lot more shots on target than the smoke/flame belching weapons.

Superior tactics and personal body armor on the offshore conquerors overcame the deficiencies of their firearms and when it got up close/personal, that's when iron swords etc came into play.

At very short ranges, 25 meters or less, a skilled person with a powerful slingshot could very likely have an advantage, not if their opponent was wearing any sort of armor though.
 
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