Bone a shoulder of atlatl-harvested venison and cube it. Dredge the cubed venison in egg then coat with brown bread crumbs. Set aside. Boil a half-cup of barley in two cups of water, stir, cover and let stand for 20 minutes. Cube a rutabaga or several turnips; slice a pound of parsnips into narrow strips. Ring two or three onions and crush a half a dozen cloves of garlic. Fry the garlic in a dash of olive oil. Add the onions, and parsnips, then the rutabaga or turnips. Don’t spare the olive oil because the venison is generally fat free. Don’t over cook the vegetables. In a large iron covered pot, sauté the venison until it is just browned but pink on the inside. Add the vegetables, barley, freshly crushed peppercorn, a dash of sea salt and a cup of red wine. Cover the pot and let simmer for 20 minutes. Serve with fresh brown bread and butter. This goes well with a hearty burgundy. Practice your French after the second bottle of wine.
Category Archives: How To
Atlatl Dart Making Instructions
Finished Dart. This dart is made from a 9/16×7′ Thunderbird Atlatl dart shaft, 3 Gateway full length fletches, artificial sinew and Elmers carpenter glue
A properly made dart is the most important part of a spear throwing set. These instructions will take you through the process step by step. Wooden shafts available from Thunderbird are made from straight grained hardwood. However, even the straightest grained wood may need a little straightening. This is accomplished by simply bending the shaft in the opposite direction of the bend. This is most easily accomplished when the dart is relatively new. After several months the shaft will season in and become harder to straighten without heating. If this is the case heat it over a heat source such as a kitchen stove and carefully apply pressure in the opposite direction of the bend (be careful not to burn the wood or your hand). I recommend the use of thick leather gloves for this procedure. Apply light constant pressure, checking often to see if the shaft is straight.
The heat will allow the fibers on the inside of the curve to stretch and the fibers on the opposite side to compress. Cooling will allow the wood to “set†and remain straight. Be patient and work back and forth over the full length of the shaft until all the curves and bends are straightened out. Be careful to not char or burn the wood. The tip of the dart is already tapered for the field points enclosed in your kit. The top of the dart is also finished for using it with your atlatl. Finish the shaft with a waterproof wax or oil. Avoid finish at the tip and where the feathers will be glued or plan to scrape it away before glue is applied.
The best adhesive to apply the field tip with is “amber†hot glue, used in a commonly available hot glue gun. Put the hot glue on the wood, turning the dart shaft to apply it evenly. Heat the field tip at the open end , enough to melt the glue when it is applied to the tapered end of the dart, turning it almost as if you were tightening a screw. The glue will set when it is cool. Wait until the glue is totally cool to the touch before casting it, or you will loose the tip. Do not put the glue into the hollow part of the field tip first as the glue will harden before you can attach it to the wood.
Trim three feathers to the desired length, leaving a ½ ” tab at each end where the vanes are trimmed off. Tie the feathers to the dart with a 4 foot length of artificial sinew or thin thread. The strand of artificial sinew will split into four parts that are perfect for fletching. Be careful to separate it along the natural seams or it will “fuzz upâ€. Start by determining the location of the front end of the fletching. Allow 1 ½’ from the back end of the dart to the back end of the fletching. Use a dab of glue to embed the thread at the front end of the fletching. Roll just enough of the thread onto the dart until it “catches”. Then place the first feather with the front tab centered over the thread. Wrap it twice and add the next feather the same way, then finish with the third. The three feathers should be evenly spaced around the round dart. After covering the tabs with thread, start wrapping the thread through the vane in a helical fashion. The best results are achieved by wrapping at the same angle as the vane leans back from the quill. Finish by covering the back tab with thread. Whip the end with a loop of thread, pull it through and snip off the excess. Smear a daub of glue on the thread at each end. – Bob Berg
Bob Berg With Several Finished Darts. Here is the result of several hours of dart making by Bob Berg. Two of these shafts were painted black.
Aztec Atlatl Battle Instructions
Aztec Atlatl Battle is a field game that pits two teams consisting of eight atlatlists against each other. Each team will have one person designated “Chief” and one person designated “Shaman”, all other players are designated “warriors”.
The 12 yard by 80 yard playing field represents a section of causeway that once linked the Aztec city of Tenochchitlan with the mainland. Each atlatlist must have an atlatl and three darts. In addition each contestant must be represented by a target made from ethelfoam or similar material that is 24″ square and two inches thick. Radiating concentrically from the center, the targets must have a 6″ inner circle of blue, around that is a twelve inch circle of red , and outside that is the final ring of 20 ” in yellow. The targets are held off the ground by hardwood tripods three feet high. The tripods should be of a design to be able to be easily moved with “feet” that allow them to be planted sturdily into the ground yet hold the target center 3 feet from the ground.
The field of play is cordoned off with rope or tape in a rectangle 12 yards by 80 yards inside a safety zone 50 yards by 120 yards. The playing field is divided into eight 10 yard sections called zones.
The play occurs in rounds. In each round each person shoots the amount of darts allotted to him or her from directly behind his or her respective target.
Each person starts with 3 darts. Regardless of the order of shooting everyone gets to shoot all of his allotted darts for that round. For safety’s sake only one shooter is allowed on the field at a time. The order of shooting is of no importance and may be determined by the Judge. Everyone must be ready to take his or her turn as it comes to keep the game moving.
After everyone has shot, the round is over and the “dead” are removed from the field. The wounded give up one or two of their darts.
- Those hit in the yellow ring give up one dart and those hit in the red must give up two darts. Anyone hit in the blue is considered dead.
- The Shaman reside in their respective end zones. Shaman are not allowed to move to any other zone but they may move to any location in the end zone that they desire.
- Chiefs are allowed to move to any zone except their opponents end zone, at the end of a round. No one may move beyond or into a zone occupied by a “live” opponent. In other words a person may not move past the “war front”. However after a round where all opposing soldiers are killed in a particular zone the zone may be occupied by any one who is in position, when the round is over.
- Warriors may be in any zone except the end zones, however they must move only one zone at a time between rounds.
At the beginning of the game the Chief and Shaman start in the end zone and two warriors start in each of the other zones at their respective ends of the field, so two contestants will occupy each of the zones at first. The Shaman may allow the Chief to shoot his three darts if he so desires, as long as the chief is alive. The Chief may shoot the Shaman’s darts from behind his own target regardless of his location on the field.
It is the duty of the Chief to direct his team, be he dead or alive.
At the beginning of the game the chief determines the placement of his team members targets. A very important part of the game is the strategy and game plan. Each team should be constantly trying to devise a plan to foil their opponent.
It is recommended that each team provide their own tent on opposite sides of the field for shade from the sun. It will also make it safer than to have people roaming around if people stay in the general area of their tent.
A field judge shall be chosen who is familiar with the rules of the game and general safety rules of the sport. All decisions of the Judge are final as to scoring. In addition to this the Judge has the right to dismiss anyone violating safety rules from the field. The Judge may appoint a Safety Assistant to watch the field for safety problems. Both the Judge and his Assistant shall have a whistle, which when blown shall stop all shooting. After the safety issue has been resolved, the Judge may resume play with a verbal signal.
This is a preliminary draft of the rules of this game. The rules may need to be changed as necessary to assure the safety first of all and the fairness of play.
This game is authored by Robert S. Berg of Thunderbird Atlatl, Copyright 2000.