Tag Archives: Atlatl Hunting

Thunderbird Atlatl Elves Ready for Holiday Orders!

It is a busy time of year at the Thunderbird Atlatl shop. We are ready for your atlatl and dart orders. Gift certificates are also available.
In the next couple of weeks, we cannot handle custom orders.

Shop cat, Molly, is ready to help with gift certificates. Molly & our dog, Tina, worked hard on atlatl orders. Tina is no longer with us but Molly carries on the work.

The majority of our orders are shipped Ground Advantage via the post office. Due to holiday shipping price increases and the oversize charge, there is additional shipping for other services. While not guaranteed, the post office says orders going out by December 17 should arrive by Christmas. Here are the holiday mailing deadlines for USPS/UPS/Fed Ex:
Note that these deadlines are guidelines; weather, inventory issues, congestion may delay arrival of packages.
Here are some of the shipping deadlines for those looking to receive packages by Dec. 24.
2025 holiday gifts shipping deadline:
USPS: Ground and First-Class by Dec. 17, Priority Mail by Dec. 18, Priority Mail Express by Dec. 20. Shipping might take longer for Alaska and Hawaii addresses. UPS: 3-Day Select by Dec. 19, 2nd Day by Dec. 22, Next Day by Dec. 23.
FedEx: Ground and Home Delivery shipments by Dec. 17, 4-day by Dec. 18, 3-day by Dec. 19, 2-day by Dec. 22, 1-day by Dec. 23; Overnight or Express shipping deadline is Dec. 23, Same-Day still possible on Dec. 24, depending on zip code.

Valentina (Tina) is no longer with us but she was always ready to help out. We know she is with us in spirit. She and Molly made a great team. Molly is working hard to carry on the for both of them.
Molly will try to train her fellow felines (Nadia, Opal and Chester) to help out this season. She says our new canine helper, Reggie, does not have Tina’s skills. Molly is not expecting much help from Reggie this season.

Thunderbird Atlatl in Florida

Thunderbird Atlatl will be escaping the Northeast cold for a couple of weeks and will be attending two knapins in Florida.

We will be at the Silver River Knap-In Saturday, Feb. 17 & Sunday, Feb. 18 at Silver Springs State Park in Silver Springs, Florida. There will be International Standard Accuracy Competitions on Friday, Feb. 16, at 4 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 17, at 4 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 18, at 10 a.m. For further information contact Silver Rivers Museum at Silver Springs State Park at (352) 236-5401. The museum is located at 1445 NE 58th Avenue · Ocala, Florida 34470. It is located within the Silver River State Park. The park is situated off Baseline Road (CR 35) and one mile south of SR 40.
1445 NE 58th Avenue · Ocala, Florida 34470
www.silverrivermuseum.com

The following weekend we will be attending and demonstrating at the 11th Annual Ochlockonee River State Park Stone Age and Primitive Arts Festival. The event will be Friday, February, 23rd; Saturday, February 24th and Sunday, February 25th. There will be ISACs at 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday at 10 a.m.

Ochlockonee River State Park is located four miles southwest of Sopchoppy off of US Highway 319, 429 State Park Road, Sopchoppy, Florida 32358. For further information contact Kristin Ebersol, park manager, at 850-962-2771 or email: Kristin.Ebersol@dep.state.fl.us

Atlatl hunting featured in new video story

Atlatl hunting is featured in this Playboy Magazine video story. The video features a lot of our atlatl friends. Author Dennis Nishi did a great job on the story.

Look for Brian and Dawn Wagner of Missouri in the beginning of the video. Brian has successfully taken deer with the atlatl. Dawn is working very diligently on getting a deer with the atlatl. We predict that will happen in the fall of 2015.

The video also shows Professor John Whittaker of Grinnell College, Ron Mertz , members of the Missouri Atlatl Association, and World Atlatl Association. If you check out Brian Wagner’s tshirt during the video it is one of David Carrigan’s popular atlatl tshirts. Dave is currently working on a new atlatl design. Some of Thunderbird Atlatl’s hunting darts were in the video. Check out the video and enjoy.
Andy with his gar. That's Micah behind him.
Some of hunting and fishing photos from past years.
Gary's Boar

Thunderbird Atlatl’s Memorial to Friends who Rediscovererd the Arts of Hunting and Fishing with the Atlatl

Wendel Adams, my good friend who passed away several years ago was a fellow atlatlist who helped in the Great Atlatl Hunting Experiment where we relearned how to use atlatls for hunting big game. Wendel was from Kentucky. He was an amazing machinist and an avid outdoorsman.

The art of atlatl hunting had been lost and after about a decade of experimentation we figured out how to do it again. We also shared atlatl fishing trips in Florida and Kentucky.

Wendel helped me build my first dart tapering machine when he and his wife Bobbi came to visit us in New York. I think it was 2001 or 2002. Not to forget, the many times Bobbi and Wendel helped make my life and my family’s life much more comfortable on the road through their gracious hospitality.

Our dear friend and fellow atlatlist the late Wendel Adams.
Our dear friend and fellow atlatlist the late Wendel Adams.

I also remember the late Lou Becker, an atlatlist and boyer from Michigan who was an inspiration for me also in the effort to discover how the atlatl may have been used for hunting. I met Lou in the early 1990s when he was experimenting and making atlatls. Lou was a kind and gentle friend who shared his enthusiasm for hunting and learning with me. Along with his many other responsibilities, Lou served as President of the Michigan Atlatl Association.

Good friend and fellow atlatlist and boyer the late Lou Becker.
Good friend and fellow atlatlist and boyer the late Lou Becker.