Tag Archives: atlatl

Atlatl and Dart Sets, unique, memorable and practical gifts! Order Today!

Are you looking for a unique gift that will tie in history, sport, exercise, science and fun? Well, an atlatl and dart set combines all that and more! Plus atlatls and darts can be used by people of all ages!

Atlatls and darts are a great inter-generational sport. People from youth to elders and everybody in between enjoy atlatl competitions and games throughout the United States.

Thunderbird Atlatl is proud to offer our wide variety of atlatls, darts, atlatl kits and dart kits for holiday gift giving. Order now, before November 30 and beat the holiday crunch. We make atlatl sets that have been tailored to various kinds of atlatl users. We offer tried and true hunting equipment and fishing harpoons as well as target equipment designed for individuals at every level of atlatl competition from absolute beginners to advanced competitors. We also make equipment especially designed for group activities like Boy Scouts, 4H clubs or other youth and adult oriented organizations. Atlatl clubs and organizations abound including the World Atlatl Association and many regional groups. And you could always start your own group.

Our atlatls and darts are truly made in the United States from locally grown hardwood and materials. All of our atlatls have been designed by us and made in our shop. We pride ourselves on our over 20 years of service to the atlatl community.

Atlatls, a sister sport to archery are delightful gifts because they tie in so many interests together into one package from flintknapping, competitions, atlatl hunting, atlatl fishing, and survival skills. In the primitive skills arena, atlatls are often part of workshops that combine fire by friction, cordage making, flintknapping and fletching. Atlatls also have an interesting connection to history and pre-history.

Atlatls require a shorter range than archery and it is easy to set up a little competition area in a back yard or field near your home. Atlatl ranges can be set up in areas as small as alleys between buildings or inside larger buildings with 12 feet or more of ceiling height. You just have to make sure that an errant shot will not damage anything behind your target.

Thunderbird Atlatl Bob Berg’s expertise covers over twenty years of experimentation, learning and teaching throughout the atlatl world. Bob has taught hundreds of workshops throughout the United States and Europe.

Check out our various atlatls and give us a call at 800-836-4520 or email us at contact@thunderbirdatlatl.com with questions.

We look forward to hearing from you. Shown below are some of our atlatls and darts. Our darts come in five, six and seven foot sizes. Fletching colors vary depending on supply.

Thunderbird Atlatl offers a wide variety of atlatls.
Thunderbird Atlatl offers a wide variety of atlatls and darts.
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Getting Ready for Holiday Orders!

Happy Thanksgiving! The Thunderbird Atlatl shop is ready for the holiday ordering season. We will attempt to keep the online catalog updated with inventory supplies. While we are happy to do special orders, we cannot promise all special orders before Christimas. Give us a call at 800-836-4520 if you have a special request.

We usually can ship priority mail through the post office through December 20th and still have items arrive by Christmas. To guarantee service, you might want to try Express mail or go through Fed Ex or UPS.

It’s best to try to place your order before December 15 to assure Christmas delivery. We will also be offering Gift Certificates online. We can email the gift certificates or send them through regular mail service.

Happy Holidays!

Thunderbird atlatls featured in Reality Rush’s Eviction: Celebrity Edition

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Last weekend, Reality Rush put on a “Big Brother” themed competition featuring celebrities including pop star Lance Bass, actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler, actress Sara Paxton, baseball player Cutter Dykstra, actor Zach Cregger, and more — as well as Big Brother star/winner Dan Gheesling and his wife, Chelsea.

The event also featured several other Big Brother stars, including Mike “Boogie” Malin, Jeff Schroeder, Rachel Reilly & Brendon Villegas.

The twelve players competed through a three day game based on the CBS reality show “Big Brother.” According to the Reality Rush website: “It is a complete understatement to say this cast BROUGHT IT! It was our most competitive group of gamers to date that delivered a game packed with intense strategy, alliances and big moves.”

One of the “Power of Veto” challenges featured Thunderbird Atlatls! Here are some photos of the celebrities (including Lance Bass, Sara Paxton, Zach Cregger and Dan Gheesling) throwing our atlatls and darts.

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The celebrities had a great time playing and competing with the atlatls. The ultimate winner of the atlatl challenge was Nick Todisco, who beat out Big Brother winner Dan Gheesling for the Power of Veto and managed to take him out of the game in the next round…so this was a crucial challenge in the competition!

For more information about this event, or Reality Rush, please see this blog post about the game: EVICTION: Celebrity Edition.

Melting Ice Sheet Reveals 10,000 Year Old Atlatl Dart

Pictures and stories were all over this week of a 10,000 year-old atlatl dart which showed up after an ice sheet melted near Yellowstone National Park.

Craig Lee of the University of Colorado at Boulder discovered the dart. The three foot long dart was bent with a sharp kink in it when discovered. It had a projectile point on one end and a cup or dimple on the other end. It is a birch sapling. To read more about this find and to see a photo, check out this link: Atlatl Dart Discovered

If you are ready to check out some newer atlatl darts, Thunderbird Atlatl has wooden and cane darts available in sizes ranging from five foot to seven foot. Darts are sold individually or in bundles of seven darts. It’s best to order at least three darts as shipping is based on length rather than weight and it’s difficult to ship one dart.

You can order through our web page or give us a call at 800-836-4520 or try our cell phone at 607-743-4379.

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Some of the darts manufactured by Thunderbird Atlatl

Traditional Darts

Fishing With Atlatls On The Rainbow River In Florida

Fifty-five inch gar landed.

The sun turned the sky to brilliant red as it sank beneath the tree line along the western shore of the Rainbow River. In the evening calm the clear water was glass smooth. I held my atlatl and harpoon dart ready in hopes I would get a clear shot at a fish. We could see occasional ripples cross the water around us, telling of fast moving small fish attempting to escape the clutches of some of the larger predatory species. But the sun reflecting off the top of the water kept everything below the surface hidden from view.

We talked for a while, waiting for the darkness to settle in. In the distance vultures coming in from every direction landed in a giant cypress tree that grew out of the shallow water of the flats. A symphony of alligators chortled in every tone belying their various sizes from small to very large. Earlier that day we had seen several large alligators sunning themselves on fallen logs. We weren’t here for alligators but anywhere you see gators you will see gar.

To spear gar with an atlatl you have to be able to see them well and they need to be in reasonably shallow water. At night with the Colman lanterns we have rigged to the bows of our boats you can see the gar as deep as twenty five feet swimming along like submarines barely wavering from their characteristic straight line course. You can see the inverted crossbows that we just purchased, they are great bows. The skin of a gar is like armor with the texture of rough sandpaper. To get a dart through this you need sharp points and enough energy to break through a quarter inch of bone like skin. It can be done with a bow but the arrow looses energy much faster than a harpoon dart. The added length and weight of the dart allow deeper penetration of the water, with enough energy left to penetrate the thick hide of the gar.

Leggs spotted the first giant gar as we entered a lagoon. He was not ready for it but I was. I had to cast at just at the right time to make the shot. I hit it right in the middle of its five foot long body and it took off. I let the line go as it retreated until I had nothing left but the float at the end of my line. I hung on as the fish dragged the boat several hundred yards. As the fish tired I pulled it closer to the boat. Leggs, being the bravest of us gaffed it into the boat. It slashed with its razor teeth just scratching the back of Leggs’ hand. He stowed it under the deck where it could not hurt us after we took several pictures.

It is an annual event for us to go to Florida in the middle of February to enjoy our atlatl adventures. We meet at Payne’s Prairie Campground where the annual Knap-in occurs. The park has great facilities and is perfectly situated for us to be able to go to the various places in North Florida to hunt and fish with our atlatls. Also Florida’s fish and game laws allow the use of the atlatl.

The sun drops below the treeline.
The sun drops below the treeline.

Red sky at night, sailor's delight.
Red sky at night, sailor's delight.

First atlatl shot with a harpoon...
First atlatl shot with a harpoon…

And first big gar, harpooned with an atlatl.
And first big gar, harpooned with an atlatl.

Fifty-five inch gar landed.
Fifty-five inch gar landed.

Andy with his gar. That's Micah behind him.
Andy with his gar. That's Micah behind him.