12 inch AK first review...

Munk:
Glad you explained it, then again I never was the sharpest tool in the shed.

Firkin:
In my experience, making good atlatls and their darts are much easier than making good bows. Practice could count here though; I've made many more atlatls and darts.
 
What kind of feathers do you use to fletch your darts and being a short person how long do you make them? :)
 
I was actually thinking of the bungee cord drawing the khuk back like a catapalt arm...with some form of trigger when a tasty rabbit would walk by the trail...
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munk, it's good to see that the coffee mug on the ol' brain-pan didn't damage the common sense center....:) jess pullin' your leg a bit.

Thanks, Fed, I'd heard tales of "weaponized" yo-yos before coming across this site, and really didn't know what to make of them. The rock-on-a-string bit makes sense though. I've seen footage of Chinese monks wielding blades on the end of long chains, and it looked pretty formidable. Not much use for hunting as far as I can tell. But bolos do work from what I've been able to tell.

"In my experience, making good atlatls and their darts are much easier than making good bows. Practice could count here though; I've made many more atlatls and darts."

Shirley, my limited experience hunting and target shooting (unfortunately many years ago) suggests to me that practice is also essential in hitting what one shoots at, no matter what the weapon.

Just makes sense to me that if going primative, one shouldn't try to start with fabricating the most sophisticated of tools.
 
Last fletched darts two years ago with the last of the turkey feathers given to me by a friend. Since I have chickens, was gonna try some of theirs this summer, only have used turkey. Generally I do about a "fingertip to elbow" size atlatl, darts I think about 4'. Can't vouch for technical correctness, was taught some time ago-ending up with this is the way I do it now.
Do you make them too?
 
I'm impressed Shirley; you know things. I just loiter here. I don't know much. It was just too good a place to leave.


munk
 
Originally posted by munk
I just loiter here. I don't know much. It was just too good a place to leave.
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That's my excuse, Munk. I'd say knowledge-wise, you're way ahead of me. :D
 
Originally posted by firkin

"In my experience, making good atlatls and their darts are much easier than making good bows. Practice could count here though; I've made many more atlatls and darts."

No claim to fame here.
I've made more working atlatls than working bows.
7 atlatls/6 darts(ran out of turkey feathers.)Functional.
Made 3 bows, 2 busted-no fix, 3rd made at a bow-making workshop, thankfully didn't bust, shoots and I still have it.

Shirley, my limited experience hunting and target shooting (unfortunately many years ago) suggests to me that practice is also essential in hitting what one shoots at, no matter what the weapon.

Just makes sense to me that if going primative, one shouldn't try to start with fabricating the most sophisticated of tools.
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If by, "fabricating the most sophisticated of tools" you mean the bow. That wouldn't be me. Can still hear the cracking of the first 2;
and still pray when I draw on the 3rd.
In earlier post, should've puta question mark after "bow and arrow".
First thing that came to mind as opposed to jumping a deer!:eek:
 
If by, "fabricating the most sophisticated of tools" you mean the bow.
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I didn't mean to say that atlatls couldn't be sophisticated....but making a crude bow seems more difficult to me. Haven't seriously tried to make either. Seasoned wood seems more critical for making a bow, and would be hard to find.

Have you made flexible atlatls with the weight and tried to tune them? They kinda look like there may be more to them than a lot of folks have thought. Seems that a lot of "primitive" tools have a bit more to them than many see at first glance. Easy to come by, throw-away tools that get the job done have warped perceptions of such things I think.
 
"Seasoned wood seems more critical for making a bow, and would be hard to find"

An aboriginal style bow (read that roughly round in cross section and gradually tapered toward the ends)is easy enough to make expediently from a fresh cut sapling of around an inch and a half diameter. Since it's green wood, and not seasoned, it won't last long, and will take a set and lose cast fairly quick. Still, it'll put enough rounds downrange to feed you for a few days. If you've got time to let it dry a bit before using, it'll work even better, but a hasty bow drawing somewhere around 40 lbs. is not at all difficult to make.

Don't have adequate materials to fletch or point your arrows? Don't need 'em. Get some straight young saplings about an inch in diameter (white oak is great for this), leave the business end full thickness, and starting about an inch or so back from the end, taper the "arrow" down to about a 5/16" diameter shaft. Trim to your draw length and cut a nock. You wind up with an unfletched arrow with a built up knob of wood on the business end. They'll fly straight enough to get the job done at fairly close range, and if you're good at stalking they'll take many a bird, rabbit, or squirrel.

Atlatls, bows and arrows, rabbit sticks, and spears? All good stuff, but bugs are very nutritious and easier to hunt.;)

Sarge
 
Originally posted by Bill Martino
There's nothing like fried flies and roasted squirrel heads.
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And the hand-picked wild mushroom stew makes the evenings more interesting...:eek: :p
 
And the hand-picked wild mushroom stew makes the evenings more interesting...
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Ah nothing like having the squirells heads and flies talk to you before eating them.:eek: :confused: :barf:
 
Munk:

Darn, you're good! Here I was trying to hide the "things I know" like:
-I've forgotten more than I remember.
-That it doesn't help to leave and come in again; if I've forgotten what I'm doing there in the first place.
-I know there's more, it's just not coming to mind right now!
(Taken as a complement however erroneous!)


Sylvrfalcn:

:cool: Appreciate all the good useable info. I'm going to give that a try. I enjoy the atlatl for fun (open area) but it's not suited for the woods that I'm in. Hundreds...no thousands..maybe millions of branches popping up everywhere.
I'll be keeping my eyes open for any other expedient tricks you got up your sleeves.
Why is I'm starting to get the feeling you got sleeves like "Merlin's"?


Ya'll just joshing about squirrel heads....right?
 
Why is I'm starting to get the feeling you got sleeves like "Merlin's"?
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Hey Walmart had a sale, what can I say.:rolleyes: :confused: :p
And as for the squirell heads, there's a reason besides being called the cantina this place is also called the psych-ward:eek: :D
 
Shirley, I don't run out of feathers. I have two Bronz Turkey males that seem to drop just enough feathers to keep me in feathers. I originally got them to help cut down on the number of grasshoppers in the yard. Before I got those I picked up feathers along the highway. There are some big turkey ranches south of where I live. When the truck loads of turkeys are on the way to the packing house they are always losing feathers from so much breeze blowing their feathers on the trip. Right now I am ahead of the game with gallon icecream buckets full of feathers.

I am going to change the atlatl I have been using. I am going to make another one and use a piece of antler for a hook.

I still change the length of the darts once in a while. Trying to figure the best length for my long arms.:D
 
Seems to me there is enough lost art in this forum to restart civilization should it be neccesary.


Pappy; what do those Turkey's do when confronted with snakes?



munk
 
Munk, I haven't figured it out yet but the males make one heck of a lot of noise when they come across a snake. I don't have any of the white female turkey's right now. When I had the five females they would gang up on a snake and eat it.

I watched them one after noon peck a copperhead to death and then eat it. When they were done, there was nothing left but bones. they will eat each other too if one of them gets a spot of blood from the fences ot any other scratch. The others will peck it to death if I don't seperate them and quick.:)
 
Pappy:
Seems you got the right state, right bird for atlatl enjoyment. :)


"turkeys confronted with snakes?"

Surest and quickest way to fill them gallon ice cream buckets with feathers!:D



Oops! Late post.
Didn't know female (turkeys!) could be mean'r than a snake!:D
 
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