An atlatl is a small stick with a knotch in it and a cupped back used to chuck a spear. I’d like to make one and see how far I can chuck a stick into the back yard… Yes, it’s a guys weekend at Phlosphr’s house! 
Has anyone ever made one? Are they easy to make? Fun?
Making one is the easy part. Using it to stalk game and kill with it is much harder.
Sorry, I would like to know too. I can’t even imagine how they used weapons like this to hunt and kill back in the day.
I made one with a 3/4" dowel 36" long. I drilled a 1/4" hole in the side, near one end, and tilted a little so it almost exited through the end face rather than the far side. But it was a blind hole, not a through hole. Then I glued a 1/4" dowell about 1.5" long into this hole. The exposed end of the small dowell was sharpened to a small but rounded point. I could throw sticks with it, if the stick had a small recess in the end to receive the rounded point of the small dowell. Overall, my stick looked like a blunt harpoon with one barb.
Foolish mortal. Simply ask the International Atlatl Society!
Hmm…I was hoping to stay away from the hardware store…but I see your point using a dowel. There are a lot of sugar maples in the woods behind my house, tons of saplings that are perfectly straight. I’m going to try and make one out of those…Does the spear and the device have a specified length? How long does it have to be?
Edit: So there is a society…HA! Cool. Thank you
I have neighbors who can see what I’m doing…but our property goes back quite a ways…it’s about 1/2 mile to a mile of woods back there…but the field is about 500 yards…no way I’m chucking it that far.
Sounds like fun! Can I come over and help throw a few?
Sure…I’ll make two…I probably should anyway soas not to leave Mrs.p out.
[Butthead] They said foreshaft… hut hut hut [/Butthead]
You’ll be really impressed with the distance and power you’ll get versus without the atlatl. I made mine out of some scrap 1X1; it took me an hour of two, but I used power tools.
I also used two dowels attached end to end for the darts, to make them about 6 ft long. I can take them apart for easier transport. I use a length of galvanized pipe for the tip, to give the dart the proper balance. I’ve made spear points but I never really use them.
Missouri (where I’m from and learned a bit of atlatls) has a deer season allowing their use now.
One of my favorite things was to go to a local native mound culture state park and launch the darts with my atlatl. I just imagine I was the first person to do so in 1000 years at this site.
See, I thought you meant Axolotl. So, never mind.
Be sure to also watch the videos available on atlatl.com, starring none other than Atlatl Bob, who I’ve actually heard of! Though I forget why.
By writing a piece of software that eventually gets renamed PIP.
(Nobody will get this. Nobody.)
Your link says that the atlatl is also used by “Australian Bushmen.”
The term Australian Bushmen is not, to my knowledge, ever used to refer to Australian Aboriginal peoples. Also, in Australia the most common term for the spear-thrower is woomera.
Just FYI.
I hate to harp on spelling, but the correct spelling is potato gun. 
I have never made one but I’d love to. We don’t have time to make the coup de grâce of all guys weekends - a goat launching trebuchet but maybe next time the wives go on a retreat weekend! 
I was just at the local museum today, and took a good look at the atlatl they had on display. It seemed to have a bit of rounded bone at the throwing end, attached via some sort of gummy material. It also had a stone attached about a third of the way from the handle end, presumably as a weight.
First you buy it a few drinks…
I made one last year during a primitive outing. It wasn’t that hard, but we did use modern saws and such. We didn’t have a tip coming out of the top, we cut a hole down the middle and had a notch in the cut out. The guy who helped us make them gave us modern arrows though so it didn’t take as long.
I can tell you they will really fly though. Even with just an easy flick of the wrist it was a breeze to throw. Not to control but to throw. I might be able to find mine and take a photo of it.
