My Atlatl

[TurtleMan]

Finally finished my first atlatl ! only took three years! the knock and the crow are the efigys i posted before, the bord is oak, the handle is swede and the bindings are fo-siniew.

[Trask]

Very Cool..How does it throw? Like to see some action shots. Me and my son have an Atlatl from Thunderbird and it's super fun

[longtimefree]

very cool, did you reproduce a certain type or create your own? i have been looking on line at historical sites to get an idea how to make one, any recommendations ?

[longtimefree]

did the darts thrown by atlatls ever have feathers like arrows? i am going to recreate one that will be functionable, ive never seen one thrown , dont known how much range it is supposed to have, how its supposed to fly, strait, arching,??? any help will be appreciated, is the strap on your atlatl your design?

[eddies]

nice work there man,

[TurtleMan]

thanx for the feedback! I will try to answer some questions the best i can. The desigen is a hodge podge, the handle is kind of like the famous basket maker atlatl found in a southwest cave, the other end i would say is more eastern woodland style, some good web pages to explore are thunderbird atlatl, paleo planet, and atlatl.com, the man to check out is Atlatl Bob Perkins, a true guru of all things atlatl. as far as range goes anyting over 100 yrds is realy good, sofar i can get about 50-75 yrds with mine but right now the viberium shaft i'm useing might be a little heavy but have some thinner shafts i will try. yes they did use fletching on most darts, but i am going to spear fish with this one so i thought i'd try a few without. the one i did fletch i used 2 phesant tail fethers and it works desent. the experts say the longer the atlatl the more power and distance but will sacrafice acuricy, so mine is a little on the shorter side. have never thrown before but only after a few days can hit a 2 liter soda bottle with some consistency from 10 yrds and a deer sized taget at 20.to throw a dart start with your left foot slightly forward [if right handed] right bisep level with sholder, elbow bent 90 degees stright up, then with all forward movement bring arm down and flick the wrist at the end of the throw.

[kirby]

Good job T-man. Looks great.

[PLS]

Heard any reports on how they work from a treestand? Missouri made it legal to use one last year. Been thinking bout trying to make one to hunt with. The deer are so thick where I hunt I don't think I would have to wait long to put it to use.

[TurtleMan]

no i haven't heard about treestands, but as long as there is clearance to throw there shouldn't be a problem, just like bows elivativation changes point of empact. practise at treestand hight and use Kantucky (or Misouri) windage and elivation until ya git good. now did they open a season for atlatls or is it included durring archery season? ether way might be getn' a few out of state deer tags! the only other state i new of was Pennsilvaina, i'd rather drive 3 hours instead of 10! i'd planed on hunting from a ground blind (brush pile not one of them famdancy store boughts), with one or two shooting lanes. atlatls add even more chalange than even primitive archery equipment, in that there is alot more movement involved in the shot, so what ever you use proper consealment is very important. I also want my shots under 25 yards max, not that the darts are inefective at longer distances just with my skill level 25 yards is what i feel comforable at. hopefuly with practice i can get out to 30 by deer season! right know planing a atlatl carp shoot in the next few days, just finished my first harpoon toggle, made out of deer antler with stone tip, got the disigne from harpoon toggels i seen in the Alaska section of Oversteets point guide. scaled down from whale size of corse!
if i can get my fiance to post for me i'll post some pics of my darts, hafted bottel glass points, and harpoon. will also try to get my carp hunt on film if she lets me take the camcorder!