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Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling? (Read 11547 times)
ghost0311-8541
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Re: Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling?
Reply #15 - Apr 27th, 2020 at 11:06pm
 
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ghost0311-8541
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Re: Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling?
Reply #16 - Apr 27th, 2020 at 11:11pm
 
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ghost0311-8541
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Re: Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling?
Reply #17 - Apr 27th, 2020 at 11:19pm
 
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Curious Aardvark
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Re: Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling?
Reply #18 - Apr 28th, 2020 at 10:24am
 
staff/long cudgel

What can I say I'm a blunt force kind of person Smiley
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Re: Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling?
Reply #19 - Apr 28th, 2020 at 9:32pm
 
   If a slingshot can be considered a primitive weapon then that's my choice.  Though only good for small game, it's very easy to use.  It takes only one session to learn to be accurate with a slingshot. 
    If you don't consider a slingshot a primitive weapon my next choice is the atlatl.
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AncientCraftwork
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Re: Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling?
Reply #20 - May 14th, 2020 at 1:47pm
 
Well I kinda changed my mind. I now consider the sling, bow and atlatl to be pretty much the holy trinity of primitive ranged weapons. Although I still like the blowgun for what it is, I want to make one out of traditional materials and see how well it works.

My family used to have perfect bamboo for it in our garden when I was a kid but my father removed it all when I was a kid too, too bad.

(although one can never fully remove bamboo, I bet if no one took care of our garden, within 5 years it'd be full of bamboo again).
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Curious Aardvark
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Re: Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling?
Reply #21 - May 14th, 2020 at 2:55pm
 
well as gut isn't very suitable for making slingshots - although I have seen one made with torsion bars and gut instead of rubber - and rubber bands are a fairly new invention. I'd have to say that slingshots are not primitive weapons.

You can have a stone bow Smiley
Those are fairly old.
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NooneOfConsequence
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Re: Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling?
Reply #22 - May 15th, 2020 at 1:38am
 
Definitely the meteor hammer
Close second is the wooden club/staff ... specifically the shillelagh if I had to choose only one type.
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Morphy
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Re: Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling?
Reply #23 - May 15th, 2020 at 10:30am
 
@Jauke- The Holy Trinity of primitive weapons. Yep, couldn’t agree more. The atlatl is a weird weapon. It is so incredibly simple to make yet hits like a truck. Definitely belongs at the top of the list.
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AncientCraftwork
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Re: Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling?
Reply #24 - May 16th, 2020 at 4:33pm
 
Morphy wrote on May 15th, 2020 at 10:30am:
@Jauke- The Holy Trinity of primitive weapons. Yep, couldn’t agree more. The atlatl is a weird weapon. It is so incredibly simple to make yet hits like a truck. Definitely belongs at the top of the list.


I read somewhere once, the atlatl/spearthrower was the ak47 of the stone age. Used by everyone around the world, simple and easy to make, very effective, hits hard.

The M16 of the stone age would be the bow. More precise, accurate and easy to use, a smaller caliber than the atlatl, but requires more maintenance and expertise to craft
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duckdiver
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Re: Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling?
Reply #25 - May 22nd, 2020 at 9:16pm
 
I have a lot of fun with bolos.  Easy to make from junk like old spark plugs, fishing weights, handy cord to start.

Mine range from 1-3 feet, sized and weighted to simulate the critters i’m pretending to catch when I play with them ranging from mice to wild hogs.

Lots of good clips on this site to see bolos in action and ways to make them, but I prefer 3 cords with similar weights and tied with a fat knot. Monofilament lines are sketchy to use as you can’t trust them not to brake without frequent close inspections for nicks.
Everybody loves fancy knots but the regular overhand knot works fine. Let weights hang evenly and take time to work out the cord length issues, sometimes sticking a fid or pencil can help keep knot loose while you make adjustments.
Some folks use washers at the knot but I don’t like the balance and they can get nicked and stick you.
After you make your bolo and want to start playing, consider rewatching the clips again first, with a cautionary mindset to the potential for unintended consequences.

The two basic throws I use are;

1. Twirl weights around by holding the knot and let go. 
Flys like a rock on a string, only in a bunch, with force per speed and weight. Speed is close to what you get from slings, and a lot faster and harder than I can throw by hand.

2. As above but hold a weight in hand with the knot, twirl and THROW at target, Little tricker than 1 to get hang of release.  Letting the front weights pull the hand weight works also, causing the bolo to spin sooner and a little slower with less distance.
Bolo flys  with the cool looking bolo twirl. Much slower speed than 1 but gives lots of entanglement at contact. Damage from weights comes from the speed they get wrapping around target more than the speed of the throw, and can be surprising.

Three of my favorites that sort of cover the range are the rat, spark plugs, and balls.

12” Rat Bolo   Tie 3 ,1-2 oz fishing weights to 3 individual cords of braided fishing line or lines from para cord cores. 
Works best for rats with first style, does’t usually kill them, buts stuns them long enough to get them and finish them off.

3’ Spark plug Bolo. Tie 3 or 4 cords with reinforced slip knot around plug body after knocking off ceramics with a hammer. Don’t trust using closing the gap for a handy loop. 
Basic all purpose bolo for both styles.  I use weights up to 3 oz and paracord sheath with cores removed.   
Fun at night when walking or jogging on asphalt streets with first style as the weights spark as they bounce and skitter down the street. Older plugs with lots of iron content spark best.

3’-5’  Ball Bolo  Poke 2 small holes in opposite end of 3-4 tennis balls, poke cord thru holes and tie a couple fat knot knots so cord won’t pull out easily. Be cautious when throwing at friends, balls can really hurt when they smack you at wrap speeds.







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« Last Edit: May 23rd, 2020 at 8:39pm by duckdiver »  
 
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Kick
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Re: Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling?
Reply #26 - May 23rd, 2020 at 4:42am
 
This red paracord bolas is the best one I've made. Flies really well.

The green paracord bolas has only the two weights and is thinner and is super fun and easy to use. Wraps surprisingly well considering it only has the two weights. Both of them hit surprisingly hard as well.
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vetryan15
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Re: Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling?
Reply #27 - May 23rd, 2020 at 10:21am
 
I remember seeing a bolo i would love to replicate eventually.  It was 3 pieces of  paracord,  using 3 1inch steel ball bearings, the ball bearings were wrapped in a monkeys fist with the paracord to 1 knot to hold onto.


I lost pictures years ago of some Inut bolas from Alaska,  that were found in the first decade of 1900s. One was wood or antler carved, with natural fibers. 3 pieces.  The other was 9 piece bird bolo with leather cordsge, and wolf teeth.
Both were amazing to see at a museum. From a behind the scenes tour from the curator when i donated some slings i made for thier education department.
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Frondeur
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Re: Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling?
Reply #28 - May 24th, 2020 at 5:01am
 
Hard choice for me, but I think I'd start with a good old pointy stick. I would add the atlatl later.

The main factor driving my choice is low tech and availability.
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vetryan15
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Re: Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling?
Reply #29 - May 24th, 2020 at 7:09am
 
http://www.thudscave.com/npaa/index.htm

If anyone is interested,  this site i spend a ton of time on. Its one of the most popular sites dedicated to the atlatl
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