Who here has thrown a spear with an atlatl or woomera? (pix heavy)

[mix]

I did it for the first time recently, really fun...would like to do it again

(not me, the only decent pic i could find)

Atlatl/Woomera

background
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atalatl

[Kali]

1. no but I know what they are

there is one on the wall at my parents - given to my father by an Aleut man he knows.

[WolverineDG]

2. I've tried

wasn't too successful at it though. Never hit the plastic deer target they had set up for us. But it was fun.

dg

[mix]

3. i was better at accuracy than distance, great time

[WolverineDG]

23. I pretty much sucked at distance too

although on one throw, I nailed my foot. :rofl:

dg

[Lars39]

4. Tried.

It's a lot harder than it looks. Saw a demonstration of this at some fort or other in TN.

[WolverineDG]

13. The guy in my group who was the most accurate,

hitting the plastic deer every time, was a fly fisherman. He said the technique in casting both was so similar, it was scary.

dg

[Lars39]

19. Heh...so wading in water does pay off. :^)

[rrneck]

5. Wonder how it would work with a "T" handle? nt

[mix]

6. you mean to hold your hand in place on the atlatl ?

[rrneck]

7. Yeah. So that when you hold it the

shaft of the atlatl went between your second and third fingers. That way you could "throw" the spear much like a baseball with your palm forward. With practice you might let the shaft of the spear rest on top of the atlatl against a finger or two. Or better, a small fork on top would support the spear when you raise it to throw.

[mix]

10. i don't know enough about throwing it, having only done it one time

but i caught on to it immediately and simply threw it like a baseball, as if i were pitching (just the throwing motion, not the wind-up), complete with leg kick at the end...if you make this modification let me know how it goes, sounds plausible...
:hi:

[WolverineDG]

14. The ones used by the Anazi had a little hook

to hold the spear steady as you threw it.

dg

[mix]

15. those were the ones i used, ingenious

[WolverineDG]

22. I would look at the replica the archaeological center made

& wonder how the heck the ancients came up with the idea of the atlatl at all; the hook was an afterthought, because I can easily see someone figure out how to keep the spear steady on the atlatl. Almost drove myself nuts. :crazy:

:rofl:

dg

[Taverner]

8. Wow - you could take out a Wooly Rhino or Mastedon with one of those!

[Strong Atheist]

9. Recommended,

dammit! x(

[ceile]

11. MANY times!

My man is the co-founder of the Austin Texas Lithic Arts and Technology League (ATLATL). They travel the country going to sanctioned competitions and stuff like that. In February we went to the Archeo Olympics at Seminole Canyon State Park (TX/Mex border). He competed, I looked at cave drawings.

Here:
http://atlatl.boganstrictor.com/

[mix]

12. excellent, thank you

i would like to do it again soon

[WolverineDG]

26. That sounds like fun

Are they going to have another one next year? I'd like to check it out. :)

dg

[ceile]

27. Check here

http://www.shumla.org/

Shumla organizes it each year. We usual stay in Del Rio and drive to the canyon.

[mysuzuki2]

16. only in a previous lifetime

[mix]

17. .

:hi:

[LostInAnomie]

18. Yeah, I sucked.

I sent the spear flipping into the air and landing about 15 feet from me.

[Paladin]

20. Nothing Easy About An Atlatl.

I had an archeologist girlfriend many years ago and who loaned me one to fool around with. My hat's off to anybody (ancient ancestors very much included) who mastered the use of one.......

[LanternWaste]

21. back in my SCA days...

Back in my SCA days I did...

Glad I got out of that one as soon as I did-- SCA, even the D&D nerds laughed at them. :evil:

[mix]

24. SCA ?

:shrug:

:hi:

[LanternWaste]

25. Society for Creative Anachronisms

Society for Creative Anachronisms. Homemade armor and weapons as close to the original as we could get, put them on and then pretend we knew what we were doing.

It's been a loong time (1985 was my last encounter with them), but I imagine they're still around, hitting Ren fairs, and proably more zealotry with the advent of the internets. :)