Spearthrower DVD

• This is the new atlatl DVD featuring Doug Leeth, Bob Berg, Mark Bracken and Richard Lyons. It was created by Doug Leeth and has 2 hours of important atlatl information.  It will shows you how to use an atlatl and make darts as well as discuss several theories and practical applications of the atlatl. It makes a great gift for the primitive skills enthusiast. It is a “must see” for the beginning atlatlist especially for anyonewho has not had any contact with other atlatl throwers.

The video is geared toward the beginner or the person who knows little about this fascinating hunting device, however the advanced atlatl enthusiast will like it as well There are 18 chapters in the video and it is a packed with twohours of expert information and interviews on making your own equipment and how to use it.

In the time of “wood, stone, antler and bone” came the most powerful and effective hand held primitive weapon in the world. Without it, man would not have survived to “invent ” the Bow and arrow.  “The Atlatl” is that weapon, powerful enough to take down a Woolly Mammoth or a giant Bison in times long pasted.

Join Doug Leeth and his special guests as they take you back in time showing you all about the “Atlatl”. Discover some “how to’s” on making your own equipment. Learn accuracy tips and get the fever for the competitive side of the Atlatl & Dart. “Spearthrower” is an instructional video, the first of it’s kind and is sure to excite the primitive soul within you.
What is an Atlatl?
The atlatl (pronounced “at – lat – tul”)is a wooden handle about  18-24 inches long use to propel a spear or “dart” many times farther than a person could throw that same dart with their arm.

At the tip end is a hook, point, or pin.  It is used to cast or throw darts with great accuracy and tremendous force. The darts are about 5 feet long and are flexible and look like oversized arrows.

The back end of the dart is hollowed

out a bit so that it will fit over the pin on the atlatl. This helps hold it in place but the dart is also held onto the atlatl with the thumb and first finger of the hand that is holding it in preparation for the cast.  The arm then goes back and thenforward.

When the atlatl reaches somewhere around the halfway point of the cast the dart flexes and springs off of the pin and flies into the air. The animation to the right demonstrates this motion

The atlatl has been in use for at least 20,000 years and predates the bow and arrow. Compared to the atlatl the bow and arrow is a very new development. The atlatl was used all over the world. Some say that this very effective weapon was a major contributing factor in the extinction of the mega-fauna in the Americas which consisted of the large game animals like the wholly mammoth.