Any Atlatl enthusiasts out there?

[Huntnut]

I was just wondering if their were any atlatl enthusiasts on our forum here.
I picked up the trade a couple years ago. I built my own out of maple, using an antler tip for the spur.
I have been practicing regularly, and feel confident that I can make a clean kill with this weapon if given the opportunity.
I have been using goose wing feathers to fletch my 5 foot hardwood spears, tipped with an 86 gram 2 blade broadhead that I weld up in my garage.
The spear penetration that I am getting into my mackenzie is superior to my bow/arrows.
The accuracy that can be attained through practice is quite extrordinary. I watched a gentleman put 3 spears into a 4in. square at 40 yards on a demonstration film I watched on the net.
These things aren't legal to hunt deer with in Michigan (yet), so I can't try my atlatl out on any white-tails, but I thought maybe I could try my skills on some pigs on a local ranch. Does anyone have any clue if this would be a legal hunting method on a ranch? If so, does anyone know a ranch that maybe I could call to inquire?
I am absolutely obsessed with this weapon ever since I first read about them. I read that this weapon was probably the primary reason for the extinction of the mammoth.
I would love to get together with some people in the know about this sport.
What a pure, raw weapon to hunt with.
You better be a darn good hunter to score with this tool!
Hunt

[Huntnut]

Check the video out on this site:
www.worldatlatl.org/ (http://www.worldatlatl.org/)

truly awesome.

Hunt

[Grouse Hunter]

Huntnut,

I would not consider myself an enthusiast, but I have thrown one several times from a friend at the Chelsea Archery Club. You are right you can generate some serious force with it.
I know that you have a wildlife background, but I thought the Wooly Mammoth went extinct due to environmental ( serious temperature change) issues. Please correct me if I am wrong.

[Huntnut]

In all truthfulness nobody knows for sure...It's all theory.
I have read in many texts that the end of the ice-age caused one of the 6 or 7 "mass extinctions" our earth has seen through time. The mammoth being one of the victims.

It wasn't until I started researching the Atlatl that I found out some archaeologists believe that this weapon "could" have been the cause of the mammoth decline. That theory intrigued me, so I researched it further and found that many in the field believe that theory to be true.


Atlatl Archeology
Precision Atlatl and Dart Systems

By: Bob "Atlatl Bob" Perkins


Over 12,000 years ago, hunters tracking herds of the last ice age across the frozen tundra of what is now the state of Alaska became the first immigrants to enter the North American continent. These hunter-gatherers brought with them a weapon that reigned supreme among them and their descendents for thousands of years to come, the Atlatl. It was the first true weapons system developed by humans, originating in Europe over 30,000 years ago and spreading to every corner of the globe that humans occupied. In fact the Atlatl and Dart were used and improved upon for so long by our ancient ancestors that, comparatively speaking, the Bow and Arrow can be considered a recent development in projectile technology. So powerful and effective was the Atlatl that scientist and scholars speculate that it, along with the overkill tactics so common to the human race, caused the extinction of the Woolly Mammoth in North America before the end of the ice age.

I imagine that either one of these theories could be true. As a hunter I am biased towards the "prehistoric hunter theory". :)
*shrug*

I read stories about the ancient aztecs using the Atlatl(aztec word) against the armies of Cortez because it was the only weapon they had that could penetrate the metal armor worn by the invading Spaniards. Stories of darts being driven through one leg, through the horse, and out the other leg pinning the soldier to the horse have been used as an example of how powerful the weapon is.

Just imagine- stalking a herd of woolymammoths across the arctic tundra on your hands and knees, using the arctic wind and terrain to get close enough, and finally hurling a 7ft. spear into the side of the gargantuan beast to see it crumble 60 yards away from just the force of your arm? Can you say mammoth fever!?!?
Wow, what a rush that must have been. I imagine the food alone provided from one mammoth would make you an extremely valued person in the eyes of your tribe.
Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh....the good ole days ;)
Hunt

[Airoh]

I've read the same thing. I think alot of hunting points found in North America coincide timewise with the extinction of many mammals.
That hunting trip that started in Alaska and on down into the states musta been a blast!!!!!!
@l@ls were a hot item in Marshall Mich. last year. They have a primitive weekend get together every year.