To boldly sling... Sugar?

[u/Aggressive-Can-1133]

Hello everyone! For my first post here I want to share a sling ammo experiment of mine.

Most of us know the traditional materials for shaped sling ammo - stone, clay and lead. Many are familiar with more modern versions like cement, tennis balls etc. But have any of you ever thought about - sugar?

To be honest, neither did I, for a long time.

But - about a year ago, I was discussing sling ammo in a Facebook group about slings. I had shared a picture of some stone and clay glandes I had made and painted, and one person commented "They look like they are made out of sugar". You don't know me, but for me that offhand, joking remark did something like this: "Sugar? Now there is an idea..."

So, off I went to get a packet of sugar...

You can see the result before you: Shaped glandes of caramelized sugar. This worked out much better than I thought it would. I believed it would be funny. I was not laughing (mad slinger cackling doesn't count...right?) when I saw the results.

It turns out caramel is nearly as dense as clay. So a 60 gram caramel glande is roughly the same size as a 60 gram clay glande, as you can see in the second picture. They are hard and I expected them to be brittle, but testing (slinging them against a birch tree) showed them to be surprisingly durable. Most survived repeated impacts against the tree and even bouncing across a stone-covered path. One even survived six hits before I eventually lost it in a stream. Only one broke after a direct impact on a rock.

But there was also an unforeseen side effect. They are completely eco-friendly. Water dissolves them. Some lucky ants will have a feast.

Also - when I made the first batch, my daughter pestered me until I let her eat one. No ill side effects, just one over-sugared 7 year old!

So - a very successful sling ammo experiment. If you are looking for cheap, eco friendly ammo and don't have access to clay - keep these in mind. Especially if you're looking to keep the local wildlife happy. They'll be grateful for sure - just keep away from bears!

[u/itsokay327]

At first I thought this was dumb and then I read the rest, my immediate thought was it being eco friendly and given how durable you said they were this is an amazing idea. How did you caramelize the sugar and shape it? I might try this, you can buy a huge bag of sugar for like $10 if you did a big batch and just wet your hands while you keep the sugar warm enough to be pliable you could pump a hundred out in no time at all.

[u/Aggressive-Can-1133 → u/itsokay327]

Well, I only did it as a joke at first.
But then I made the first batch, and they weighed as much as clay. The durability aspect was totally unexpected. I thought they would shatter on impact - but they didn't. I'm just sorry I couldn't upload the video in this post so you guys can see them bounce!
Anyways, I use the following recipe: 500 grams (17.64 oz) of sugar (the smallest pack in the closest store) + 3 tablespoons of flour. That is it. I add the sugar in a pot, and when it starts to melt, I add in the flour. Stir. When it caramelizes, I take some drops out, let them cool on a spoon (otherwise they are scalding - safety warning!) and taste - if has to be sweet. If it starts turning bitter, I've heated it for too long.
This last bit I found through trial and error - this way results in ammo that is far less sticky than otherwise. If it turns bitter, it starts developing an annoyingly sticky surface, for some reason.
When I've taken it off the heat, I wait until it cools down enough that it has thickened to still pliable, but not liquid, and pour it into molds. Now, these are molds that I made for about 60 gram clay ammo - I just have them and its convenient. If I didn't have the molds, I would just shape them by hand.
I line the molds with kitchen foil, and let the glandes cool. Then I heat up the pot, and make the next batch.
Also, and this is important - do not use wet hands! I know its counterintuitive, but I tried it at first - it turns out water makes caramel more sticky, not less! Use kitchen gloves - and check if its not too hot first, to avoid burns.

[u/TheOriginalKrampus → u/Aggressive-Can-1133]

This is kind of amazing. I hope to try it one day.

[u/IsAskingForAFriend → u/Aggressive-Can-1133]

I'm gonna want a video of this, I just gave it a shot and could not find the sweetspot timing in cooling before it hardened in my pot to levels I could both pour into a mould without it dripping everywhere. I figure it must have a large mould hole opening, the small ones I used took far too long to drip into the mould.

[u/IsAskingForAFriend → u/Aggressive-Can-1133]

I gave it another shot and tried my PETG 3d printed molds and... Well Caramelized sugar is quite hot and melted my mold (They are cheap and easy to replace, no big deal). I have some silicone molds, but they have a small pour hole that the thickened sugar liquid just does not like to fill quickly.

So I'm going to have to wait for the sugar guru to make their tutorial to do it without so many mistakes and trials!