The other day I found an Nerf boomerang like I had back in the 80s - three points instead of two. My excitement was subdued when I failed, after a good 45 minutes, to figure out how to get the thing to come back to me! I tried various angles but couldn’t seem to figure out a “sweet spot”.
Anyone know what the proper way is to throw this thing?
I’m not sure a Nerf three-point boomerang is actually designed to come back to you rather than just fly sort of like a frisbee. If it is designed this way, then the cross section view of one of the arms should be asymmetrical. If it was so designed then it probably was designed to be thrown forehand by a right-handed person.
You might try holding your arm at about 45 degrees and throwing with a downward motion with a slight wrist twist aiming to hit the ground about 10 feet in front of you. If the boomerang levels off and starts to rise then you’ve got a chance to boomerarng it with practice – but I’m not sure I’d hold out much hope.
It definitely comes back to you, really wouldn’t be much of a boomerang otherwise. As for how you throw it, I don’t remember there being any particular trick to it. OldGuy’s suggestion is pretty much right on. 45 degree angle, slightly downward, and it should come back.
I used to have one of those boomerangs, and the above certainly sounds like the directions I remember.
They do come back to you, but unlike a conventional boomerang that makes a giant loop outdoors, the nerf makes a tiny little loop in your dorm room. It’s not really designed for big sweeping circles.
The folks that make the Aerobie flying ring also made a boomerang called Orbiter. To throw the thing properly, one held it at a slight angle, tossed it very hard at a point about 25 feet in front of the thrower and let go approximately when the forearm was parallel to the ground.
I surprised myself once throwing the thing. The sun blinded me for a moment and I lost track of where it was. Thing clobbered me in the back of the head.
I used to have a wood boomerang and the way you held it to throw was grab the long leg near the tip and hold it where the other leg was pointing the direction you wanted it to go. The intuitive (and wrong) way to throw it was with the point of the “V” forward.
Since it is a Nerf toy, I’m assuming some flexibility. The flatter the arms, the straighter it goes. To increase turning, flex the arms “up” on the curved side.