Atlatl - Ancestor of the Bow?

[Blackhawk]

Has anyone seen and used an atlatl?

At a trad shoot this weekend, a fellow showed up with some homemade atlatls and darts (not arrows) that he had made.  He gave us a short lesson in throwing and we had some fun.

Before long, we were throwing the darts (two arrows joined together with 5" fletch and field points) down range about 80 yards.  

We tried throwing at 20 yard targets for accuracy, but only connected 10% of the time.  With practice, I'm sure I could improve.

If you've made one and used it, let us know about it. This sure was fun and very interesting to learn about the "grandfather of the bow.".

[mwmwmb]

I used to through one in college. but lately i have thought of making one and using cane for the darts. mostly for fun, not sure of the legality of hunting. I gotta make some trad bow kills first anyway.

[Blackhawk]

They may be legal in a few areas, however, I would believe much practice is required to get proficient.  There is some interesting stuff on youtube regarding the making and using the atlatl.

[Forest Archer]

I've made and played with some, alot of fun.   F.A.

[Tom I.]

Here's a link to a forum that has lot of atlatl information..

 http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/forums/24/t/World-Atlatl-Association-General-Discussion-Forum.html

Tom I.