Take-down Atlatl

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Govannon
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2012 7:18 pm

Take-down Atlatl

#1 Post by Govannon » Wed Sep 12, 2012 9:22 pm

G'day guys,

Saw an earlier post about Atlatls from outbackarcher and I thought I'd share some pics of mine which I sourced from a bloke called Atlatl Bob in the US. I went with a two piece take-down model (apparently made from Easton shafts) to try out as a survival hunting tool, as when dismantled the dart shaft pieces are pretty much similar weight and length to two aluminium arrows.

The Atlatl itself I bought from a mob called Thunderbird Atlatl. It's the far simpler part of the system as essentially it's just a stick with a dart riser and hook on it. As a bare-bones survival choice you could ditch it and just take the dart pieces; I reckon a basic one could be made from a branch in half an hour.

I haven't had a chance to take this out to the range yet and estimate an equivalent "poundage" to a bow; its variable unlike a bow is the man or woman behind it and their efficiency in throwing. Also at 163cm or just over five feet it's not going to have the raw kinetic potential energy of some of the big darts (up to seven feet) which I'm assured by the OS sites have been used to hunt bear and deer.

I think it's a real shame there's not (to my knowledge) a local Atlatal or Woomera manufacturer as I'd like to explore this long-neglected grand-daddy to the bow and support local artisans if I could. If anyone could suggest where I could get the "raw" shafts in either aluminium or wood as an alternative that would be great as I don't think the construction would be too full on.

Anyway my first post on this forum and glad to be here :)

Cheers, Nick

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Atlatl dart seated into the Atlatl hook

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5 darts and Atlatl

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These are standard screw-in field points and the darts will accept broadheads

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Close-up of the attachment system for the two dart sections

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The Atlatl hook doesn't require any special socketing, the shaft hollow is sufficient

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The fitment is very snug and I have every confidence in it being almost the same performance as a one-piece unit

jcm
Posts: 839
Joined: Tue May 23, 2006 11:12 pm
Location: sydney

Re: Take-down Atlatl

#2 Post by jcm » Wed Sep 12, 2012 9:41 pm

Nick,
Interesting Stone Age Weapon.
A few suggestions for your sourcing for wood or alloy Atlatl material.
For wood -dowel -Bunnings
For Easton alloy shafts - your local archery retail .
Regards

John

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Blinkybill
Posts: 368
Joined: Thu Jul 05, 2007 6:48 pm
Location: Stoneville, Perth, Western Australia

Re: Take-down Atlatl

#3 Post by Blinkybill » Wed Sep 12, 2012 9:42 pm

Hi Govannon,
Its good to see another atlatl enthusiast here! :smile: I think they are great fun to use and build. I have never tried one of those carbon/aluminium ones though.
I have built a fair few atlatls myself out of various woods, using bamboo for my darts and I ended up getting some pretty huge distances with them and got fairly accurate too.
I got most of my information about building them, etc. from Paleoplanet. http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/
I haven't really done any 'atlatling' for a while though... But if you want to know anything or need a hand, I'll be happy to help out. :biggrin:
Cheers,

Ben
Yer, I had a really cool name but someone stole it from me...

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Fanto
Posts: 569
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2012 1:06 pm
Location: Adelaide

Re: Take-down Atlatl

#4 Post by Fanto » Wed Sep 12, 2012 9:48 pm

I like this. thanks for posting
"So long as the new moon returns in heaven a bent, beautiful bow, so long will the fascination of archery keep hold in the hearts of men" The Witchery of Archery, Maurice Thompson

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Govannon
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2012 7:18 pm

Re: Take-down Atlatl

#5 Post by Govannon » Thu Sep 13, 2012 7:48 pm

Thanks for the advice guys! I'll look at making a dart next from bamboo or dowell based on your recommendations.

Cheers,

Nick

RobHunter
Posts: 249
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2011 5:40 pm
Location: Cranbourne Victoria

Re: Take-down Atlatl

#6 Post by RobHunter » Fri Jan 25, 2013 8:29 pm

Further to this (belated lol)

http://makeprojects.com/Project/The+Atl ... QJfEPLhfTp

This seems a good guide

Rgds

Rob

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