Abbe Museum, Bar Harbor, Maine

Thunderbird Atlatl will be at the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor, Maine, Friday, July 7, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for the museum’s “Fantastic Friday” program.
Participants will have the opportunity to build their own atlatl and darts in a workshop with Bob Berg. Bob will also be giving a demonstration on flax and cordage making. Visitors to the museum will have an opportunity to try using the atlatl in the museum’s backyard. For further information check out the museum’s website at: http://www.abbemuseum.org or call our toll free number: 1-800-836-4520.

http://www.abbemuseum.org/index.php

Calder House Museum Program Cancelled

Due to the heavy flooding in the Equinunk, Pa. and Hancock, NY areas, the atlatl presentation has been cancelled. We hope to be able to reschedule in the future.
Bob Berg of Thunderbird Atlatl will be presenting a program on the atlatl along with a demonstration on Sunday, July 2, at 1 p.m. at the Calder House Museum in Equinunk, Pa.
The museum is located on the corner of Route 191 and Pine Mill Road in Equinunk, Pa. Check out our event calendar for contact information.
The Bureau of Land Management staff and the Outdoors Writer Association provided Thunderbird Atatl will a warm reception June 19, 2006.
Unfortunately the outdoor demonstrations for Shooting Day had to be cancelled because Lake Charles, La. managed to get a lot of the same rain that flooded Houston last week.
The Bureau of Land Management staff did a wonderful job setting up indoor display tables for all the exhibitors. Thanks to all who made the event a success.

Posted by Cheryll Berg

Louisiana Bound!

Thunderbird Atlatl will be attending “Shooting Day” at the Outdoor Writers Association of America Conference in Louisiana on Monday, June 19.

We will be demonstrating the atlatl and giving writers and other interested folks an opportunity a chance to try the atlatl.

The US Department of Interior is coordinating Shooting Day.

On June 22, Bob Berg is offering a fishing line workshop – showing how to make fishing line out of flax at the Home Textile Museum in Orwell, Pa. For further information contact the Home Textile Museum at www.hometextiletoolmuseum.org or (607) 648-4146.

Legalization of Atlatl Hunting in Pennsylvania Moves Forward

Russ Guthrie of Pennsylvania who is relatively new to the atlatl community has come on board to help get the atlatl legalized as a hunting implement in Pennsylvania. He has expressed a willingness to tackle the difficult part of working out the complex political kinks. He met with the Pennsylvania Game Commission on Monday, June 5th and made a well thought out presentation which included a handout and a video on CD. He also met with Jack Rowe and Bob Berg and mapped out a plan and strategy to move forward.

Russ has done a fantastic job of researching this project. He has not only researched the atlatl but also the stated goals of the Pennsylvania Game Commission. He discovered that the goals of the Commission are parallel with the goals of the atlatl community. Some of the commission’s goals are extending the use of Pennsylvania’s outdoors to include small interest groups, encouraging youth hunting and fishing activities and educating people about the heritage of Pennsylvania’s hunting and fishing history.

I applaud Russ for getting involved at this critical juncture and keeping us moving in a positive direction.

This is Russ’ contact information:

Russell W. Guthrie
Guthrie Strategy & Technology, LLC
1101 Central Manor Road
Lancaster, PA 17603
717-871-9763
717-871-9764 Fax

-Bob Berg

Split Ash Dart Shaft from Logs Using Stone, Antler and Wooden Tools

Split Ash Dart Shaft From Logs Using Stone, Antler and Wooden Tools

The following pictures show a progression from ash log to dart shafts in a project I did with students from Mercyhurst College in North East Pennsylvania. This method may yield 20 to 50 shafts from a small log about 6 inches in diameter. Ash is my favored dart material for hunting and fishing. This experiment was done with stone, antler and wooden tools to show that Native Americans had the technology to make dart shafts easily from trees. It took 2 hours to get to the point where we stopped because of darkness, but we had made several darts. I think two people working together could make a year’s supply of hunting darts in a few days using this method. If the shafts were stored in a lodge where they were dry and exposed to smoke they would become nicely seasoned in a matter of weeks. Fire hardening makes them ready for use immediately.
These are not exactly in order but I think you can see how it was done.

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Bob Berg

The world's foremost atlatl and dart outfitter