I just came back from a boar hunt in Texas. I Drove 40 hours and spent 40 hours in the stand to get only two shots. My first shot was at 5 yards at a 200 pound boar but the dart was deflected by a mesquite branch. The second shot was at 12 yards but the wind was blowing hard and gusty and I just plain missed. The pigs were moving very late at night under the full moon. I had a great time anyway. I found an ancient dart point in the sand near where I was hunting which was the highlight of the trip.

My next trip will be to Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky for the annual atlatl fishing trip on May 3, 4, 5 and 6, 2007. Thunderbird Atlatl will be sponsoring a $100 cash prize or a $250 merchandise prize from our catalog to the largest atlatl caught fish. Call me for information if you would like to join us. 1 800 836 4520 Bob Berg

Windchills are minus 8 to 15 in the Northeast as we start off this week but we are looking ahead to spring and a variety of upcoming events!
We have a good stock of atlatls and darts ready for you to get out and start practicing with your atlatl Bob Berg and crew have been busy during the winter stocking up our inventory.
We are starting to schedule events for the 2007 season. So far, we have plans to travel to Maine, Virginia, Vermont, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and New York. We just returned from Kentucky and Texas. We will be updating out event list in the next week to let you know where we will be and what is going on with the World Atlatl Association, the International Atlatl Society, various state organizations such as the New Atlatl Association, Pennsylvania Atlatl Association, Ohio Atlatl Association, Michigan Atlatl Association and others.
There are great atlatl discussion sites at Paleo Planet – thanks to the efforts of Tom Mills. The link is: http://p081.ezboard.com/fpaleoplanet69529frm68
There are also great discussions on Dennis Lantz’ Atlatls ‘n’ more site. We will be working on updating our link pages so you can find these pages easier. Keep Warm! Spring is just around the corner!

Aztec Atlatl Battle Picture in Pencil

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Aztec Atlatl Battle in Oil on Linen Canvas

These are my recent interpretations of a picture carved into the stone of a pyramid in Honduras. The cape and quilted arm armor are as described in a book by Bernal Diaz – The Conquest of New Spain, used to fend off darts and arrows. The feather headdress follows closely the original carving. I don’t know if the colors are correct in the oil painting. My art work is a little primitive but it shows what I wanted it to show.
The People of Middle America of around 700 to 1000 years ago had developed a high degree of sophistication with the atlatl. In other places where the bow and arrow were introduced or invented the atlatl went out of favor but not in Middle America. The Aztecs favored the weapon over the bow perhaps because of ceremonial reasons. It may have been the Aztec weapon of choice because of the Aztec’s origins. The atlatl and dart are very good for catching fish from a boat. Perhaps because the Aztec village of origin was on an island in the middle of a lake the Aztecs never stopped using them. In any case when Cortez tried to conquer the Aztec empire they found the atlatl and dart to be effective against their metal armor, which the bow and arrow could not penetrate. © 2007 Bob Berg

Thunderbird Atlatl will be at the Jim Strader Expo Sports Show in Louisville, Kentucky, February 23, 24 and 25! We are looking forward to introducing the atlatl to this large audience of sports enthusiasts! If you are in the Louisville area, take some time and stop by the show.
Every May we are involved in an atlatl fishing contest in the Land Between the Lakes in western Kentucky. We will be promoting that event and the joys of fishing with an atlatl harpoon at the show.
Following the show, some members of the Thunderbird Atlatl staff are heading off for a few days of atlatl hunting in Texas. We are looking forward to a great time!

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