Apr 19, 2010
Are you throwing your tomahawk far enough?
In the Lyman Draper Manuscript 9S:36-37 - John Cuppy recalled: "Spies often practiced before going on a scout, shooting at a mark, throwing their tomahawks and sticking them in a tree [at] two or three rods and jumping over fences." Well, a rod measures 16.5 feet, so two or three rods is 33 to 49.5 feet. Many reenactors today throw their tomahawks from 14 to 18 feet. Maybe that's way too short in comparison to how far tomahawks were really thrown in the old days.
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You should see Pvts Ed Bacon and Kent Vincent. That distance backwards to the target, between their legs, over the shoulder, blade backwards, they could not miss that night, oh yeah it was midnight at the cabin. CAPT. Schroeder, Sgt Dennison, Dave Boehler and myself as witnesses.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see that. I'm game, we'll try throwing from 30 to 50 feet at the next shoot. That should be fun. I've thrown 30 feet many times, but 50 feet is harder.
ReplyDeleteI never measure or pace my throws, I simply judge them from experience. But the greater the distance without pacing, the greater the difficulty to actually stick the tomahawk in the target. The main object as far as I am concerned, is to hit the target. If I can hit it then it is a good throw at such long distances, if it sticks in then it is a plus.
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Thanks much Mr. Le Loup, you made some good points! More so, even if you didn't hit an enemy with the cutting edge of your tomahawk, just the force of the impact by the blunt edges or handle could cause him grievous harm. :-)
ReplyDeleteI love throwing tomahawks. I have been practice for awhile and have even entered in a couple competitions and you are correct. People today throw tomahawks way to close to how they were thrown in the olden days. I usually practice around 25 feet at first but have gotten all the way up 34 feet. It takes a lot of practice to throw that far anyways.
ReplyDeleteHerb, it's great to hear you love tomahawks and practice throwing them at longer distances. You're right, it takes a lot of practice to throw that far. Not many people today realize they threw tomahawks at such long distances in the olden days. I like to throw at long distances too. I prefer heavy tomahawks for long range throwing, they seem more stable but it takes some force when throwing them 50 feet. My largest tomahawk is so heavy, I put a short handle on it so I could throw it without breaking my arm. It's more like an ax than a hawk, but it's deadly when thrown. I love to hear the big thunk it makes when it sinks home, but it does have a nasty tendency to cleave my targets in two. :-)
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