Sling slapping Bulwark?

[Coldbringer]

Decided to train and use ranged weapons with my Bulwark since he found a tier 5 Sling and some good ammo to go with it. Initially had intended to Q swap to it for some ranged shots, and then swap back to melee weapon and shield when the situation called for it.

For shits and giggles I decided to melee with the shield and sling. To my surprise it's more effective than my tier 3 unique melee weapon. How is the slings damage calculated for melee attacks, as it has none listed?

And what exactly is going on? Without animations I'm left with troubling questions that have no answers. Am I bitch slapping monsters in the face with my sling like some raging feminist swinging a severed ballsack?

[HousePet]

Should be your unarmed attacks.

[0player]

Your melee weapon is probably salmon.
That or you have really, really good gloves. Gloves modify unarmed attacks but you can't see how if you're not trained in them.

[Coldbringer]

Well the sling does give a large bonus to physical damage and physical resist penetration. Still surprising that punching does as much or more than a tier 3 axe. If I have on the lightning gloves it procs chain lightning and nova, sometimes both at once.