Has anyone tried one of the throwsticks models from throwsticks.com?  I just tried one. Holy moly. They are so much fun, well made and so easy to use.  I'm excited to get another model. I started with the 'Karli" model because it was advertised as having good range and wasn't too spendy compared to some of the others.  I've thrown it 145 yards on flat ground and only had it for about a week. The motion from a disc golf forehand throw translates really well.

I have two Karlis.  They had a sale at one point and I got two with the intent of being able to throw twice before having to chase them down.

I've only thrown them a couple times in the yard though.  So unfortunately haven't let loose with a hard throw yet.  I have them in the room where I keep all my slings, bows, etc. and they keep getting covered up with stuff (and I forget I have them).  I need to just put them in my truck so if I find myself somewhere good for a test, I'll have them.



IronGoober wrote on Jun 8^th, 2025 at 12:40am:

The motion from a disc golf forehand throw translates really well.

That definitely makes sense.  I've only started working a forehand in disc golf within the past year or so.  So no overlap between that and a throw with the karli (yet).  Have you done it with a run-up?  I wonder what that would do for distance.

Just a crow hop, but enough to get a bit extra.

I've got one of Ben's Rabbitstick models, and I love it to bits. Not as long ranged as some other models, but I don't have the space for a long range throws so it work out perfectly.

145 yards with a Karli is incredible though! That's the first I've heard of one going that far - I can't even throw that far with a Central Desert Hunter! If it's not too much to ask, please take a video of such a throw!

I can try to film one. That was where I picked it up, not where it landed, btw. I don't know how far it bounced. Also, it wasn't level flight, I put it up in the air a fair bit to get that much distance. Flat, I can't throw it as far. But man, when you connect on a throw they just don't seem come down out of the air. Very fun.

Yes! I know that feeling of the throwsticks soaring off. Ben taught me to throw his Central Desert Hunter and I loved watching it just go on and on and never coming down until after about 113-114 yards out. It's the coolest thing ever and so very satisfying. If they're angled upward too much they have a tendency to glide backwards at the end of flight, as I'm sure you've seen.

@Caspian I didn't get any 145yard throws in this clip, but I had maybe 1 throw in the grass that made it to 130 yards.  1 of the throws back toward the camera made it to about 135-140 yards, but it slid about 10.  I can easily judge distance in this field because the trees are 30 feet apart. The video is in 4k so you should be able to zoom in and see the Karli.

https://youtu.be/mDHQqGzCQ8U

Those are some good throws! Very impressive.

Here's 1 throw that was very interesting because you can clearly see how the kylie adjusts it's angle of attack as it slows.

https://youtube.com/shorts/XUyY_2aCfZg?feature=share

After some experimenting with atlatl and throwstick, where would you put the accuracy level?  A cool experiment idea, set a target at 20 meters (or whatever a good starting point would be).  Throw a sling, at atlatl, and a throwstick to see what hits first.  Then increase the distance a bit and repeat.  It would be cool to see the comparison (even if the sling is getting target hits more easily because of way more practice).

Interesting idea, Joe. I would imagine that, ranking them purely by my limited atlatl and throwstick experience, the atlatl would be most accurate, sling second, and throwstick third. But that's just very general and anecdotal, there's a lot of variables to all three, and only one has fletchings to smooth out some variables. Of course I imagine that if you had a master for each respective weapon, they'd all perform about the same, perhaps with the atlatl having the tightest group. It's a close one though, and it may also depend on how accuracy is determined, i.e: by group, by time/attempts to hit a bullseye, by singular shot/throw, etc..

But for people with no experience whatsoever, I'd probably say the atlatl would be most accurate, throwstick next, and sling last. But in the long run throwsticks are hard to get accurate with, maybe moreso than slings. Ben has even had some issues throwing his own sticks - even at a couple paces... sorry that might be confidential information :-X

...All jokes aside, he's a really good throwstick thrower.

But as mentioned I have very limited experience with all but the sling, and even then I'm not accurate  ;D

I have had to on MULTIPLE occasions talk myself down from getting a Kimberly Stinger. With the shipping and everything, I really can't justify it right now, but one day I will have one!

So, I purchased his 'Central desert hunter' recently... let me just say. Damn! That thing goes so far. My best throw with it was 172m. That's 188 yards. (plus minus about 3 yards)

I started making my own sticks as well. They are surprisingly simple to make.  I wanted to learn more about how to tune them after making about 4 and having 4 that all flew a little differently.

So I got a piece of particle board that was about 1/2" (12mm) thick and started with just the outlined shape of a stick. Then I would remove material, throw it and see how it would change. The surprising thing is that just taking the shape and putting a 45 degree bevel on it made it fly surprisingly well.  I kept at it and eventually removed enough material for the cross section to be part of a circle and it had so much lift it just went skyward. After doing this, It went so high when I threw it that when it landed it broke in half.  It was a great way to learn what does what. I would recommend trying this to anyone who is interested in these tings. And if you aren't interested in them...you need to be. they are so much fun.

I learned during this that if you have too much lift, you can round the bottom side and that will remove some lift. Getting the perfect amount of lift really helps the sticks go straighter.  If you have unbalanced lift, the stick will veer to the right, or at least that is why I think the sticks I have are doing that.

IronGoober wrote on Aug 9^th, 2025 at 1:26am:

My best throw with it was 172m. That's 188 yards.

Awesome!  Are you going to send it to them?  That's farther than the record they have on the website.

Sounds like you got some good info from the experimentation.  Are you going to make one out of a sturdier piece of wood?

I've made a bunch. My best throw with one I made went 147 yards, but it isn't tuned nicely. It precesses really fast. I have one stick that I'm in the process of making from a fresh oak branch that I'm trying to dry at a reasonable enough rate that it won't crack, though I might have already failed at that. I have high hopes for that one. Very dense and a great shape to the stick.  I have one stick that I also made from oak that is tuned really nicely and have thrown that 130 yards but it is too light to go any serious distance.

I did send Ben my best throw distance. I met up with him a few weeks ago to talk about slinging and kylies. It was a good time and it was what made me want to buy his Central Desert Hunter. That thing is just a step above his other sticks in how well it is tuned.

I've been itching to get some toys from throwsticks for ages - but with postage to Australia etc its very expensive.

We don't have good bow wood down under, but we do have good Boomerang wood. So have been thinking about making one myself with my hatchet and woodcarving gear.

I'll probably do this next winter (not a fan of getting out bush with all the danger noodles). Will post when I do it...

Funny to see others who like disc golfing on here!