You know, atlatls do, like d8+1 damage.

Just sayin'.

Does this mean I can finally hunt with my replica Krull glaive?

Because that would be sweet.

Cheers,
Dave at Garfield Ridge

Who had a glaive in Krull?

Dave, not to out-geek you, but I don't think you know what a glaive is.

I don't understand this, why do the states regulate the manner in which you kill deer?

Well, I guess they have to approve weapons for the safety of other hunters, as well as the capacity to kill an animal (most of the time) quickly.

Maybe some underpowered weapons would only injure a deer? Like maybe they don't allow you hunt deer with birdshot.

Not that you would. But just in case you're a sadist.

Some chick name Ayla invented the atlatl, right?

While not a standard glaive, the hero in Krull did carry a switchblade, five pointed, throwing star thingy that he callled The Glaive.

It also has to do with the seasons to regulate the population of deer, Scott... certain weapons like bows, spears, blackpowder loaded weapsons etc. have a longer allowable season because it's more difficult to hunt (and therefore won't lower the population of deer as fast as modern guns would)

When's possum-tasering season?

What about superpowers? When can I kill deer using only the power of my mind to paralyze their autonomic nervous systems?

I'm holding out for trebuchet season.

Kill and tenderize in one easy step.

Any Civilization III geek will tell you that the best part of being a Javelin Thrower is that after you defeat the deer, you have a 1/3 chance of enslaving it. Which means you can put the deer to work at menial tasks such as building roads, chopping down trees, or irrigating your garden.

Ace, not to outgeek you, but that's what they called the five-bladed throwing disc in Krull, even if it wasn't a real glaive.

Shit, pal-- after the Superman Returns thing yesterday, now this. You want to 3-for-3?

Cheers,
Dave at Garfield Ridge

Dave, why mess with success? Stick with the trident.

OMG... Possums, tasers and trebuchets? I feel like I'm lost in fields of Lebanese blonde smoke.

Hey ace, how much do you charge for running an ad on the left?

Or maybe we could work out some kind of figurene/dice/comic exchange deal.

'Cause I've got some bitchin' stuff.

Floyd, yesssss .... even better, you can drag it back to your city and sacrifice it to your foul gods.

Geeks of the world, unite ... we have nothing to lose but your man-boobs ...

Lucky slobs on the east coast.

Meanwhile here in California, the legislature is considering whether or not to classify pantyhose as a lethal weapon.

you have a 1/3 chance of enslaving it. Which means you can put the deer to work at menial tasks...

The problem is, deer are dumb as a bag of rocks. Realistically, they're just eating machines that are so stupid they jump in front of cars. I know, the hood and fender of my car carries the scars of a deer encounter.

qdpsteve: WTF! Details please.

Sure, the atlatl makes for a superior pre-gunpowder age light infantry unit, but they're only really good against foot archers. I always preferred the Egyptian chariots and light cavalry.

/Rise Of Nations

When's possum-tasering season?

baseball bats are much more effective, and fun too! If you're really lucky you can get one with 'passengers'

Possums are mean, stubborn, and stupid -- always a bad combination.

I had one take up residence in my attached garage a few years ago. After several days of trying to gently convince it to move out I wound up shooting it..which I still feel kind of bad about.

When's possum-tasering season?

There is no "season" on possum. Or skunks, rats, squirrels, armadillos, ground hogs, and various other varmints. Just kill them if they are bugging you. Or capture them and subject them to approved Gitmo torture.

I never knew that they called it a "glaive" in Krull, I always thought of it as that five pointed, throwing star thingy. I did wonder, though, why he didn't lose his fingers like the toady did when he tried to catch the feral kid's razor edged boomerang. And I loved those fire mares.

Rabidfox, apologies. Just a joke.

However, given how anti-self-defense the California Legislature is these days (thank God most of the county boards and municipalities are more sane), the proposal wouldn't surprise me, seeing as how someone might conceivably build a high-powered slingshot of something of that nature from them...

God knows women ain't WEARING pantyhose anymore, and I was wondering where all those pairs I see for sale at the grocery store and mall are going. And when I go looking for... er... graphics of women in them, I have far more luck finding sites of MEN who like to wear the #@* ! things!! ('www.Geraden.com', anyone?)

Anyhoo, again, sorry about my bait-and-switch. :-)

Atlatl season? How the hell am I going to fit that into my schedule? I've already got tags for shotgun, muzzleloader, bow, rifle, pistol, spear, switchblade, 60mm thermobaric mortar shell, big rock, judo, jedi mind trick, flint knife, A10 Warthog, 1969 Buick Skylark 2-door, "Willie Pete" grenade, trident, machete, and chainsaw seasons. If I don't draw the line somewhere, my garage is going to start looking like Gacy's crawlspace.

HAH!

Envy me my Bambi-shaped Iron Maiden, Russ.

There's only three like it in the world.
Ted Nugent has the other two.

Ban semi-auto-Atlatl weapons!
I swear, when Atlatls are outlawed...

Ted Nugent has the other two.

You just gotta love Ted Nugent. How many other rock stars sell videos of themselves whacking dear?

I've whacked a dear myself with bow and arrow, so I kind of identify.

Lately, those big damn landscape-eating rats have been invading my back yard. I'm thinking about dusting off the archery tackle. I could whack a few shooting from the kitchen or the hot tub room.

OK, I meant "deer", not "dear".

I could whack a few shooting from the kitchen or the hot tub room.

Exactly how big is that trailer?

Michael,

When they congregate under my crabapple tree each Fall I have these thoughts, myself.

There's a lot of comfort in a freezer full of free meat.

Other ancient bumper-stickers:

"You get Og's atlatl when you pry it from Og's cold, dead fingers."

"Ted Kennedy's car kill more people than Og's atlatl--what is 'car'?"

Of course, as modern people, we know what a car is--it's Ted Kennedy that scientists still can't explain.

"Reintroduce the Woolly Mammoth--starting with Central Park!"

I used to hunt during gopher mortar season, but with the restriction to 20mm shells it just got too hard to bring home the meat.

I applaud this. I'm not a hunter, but I am a gun-owner, and I have no problem with hunting or anything.
I have always thought it a little one-sided, though, like the joke about the deer shooting back.
I think if someone really wishes to appear a "skillful" hunter, it'd be far more impressive to me to see them kill a rabbit at 100yds with a stone than a rifle. Ditto the atlatl.
Especially if there were some actual danger involved.
Much cooler if the guy with the head on the wall got it by
chucking a spear at the charging beast, than taking it down with a gun that could sink a ship.

A'course, with the number of idiots that shoot their compatriots while climbing fences or cleaning "empty" weapons. These weapons of "skill" may make for some very interstesting nights for the ER staff.

Les, that restriction only applies if you hunt the early season. Late season gophers can be taken with any piece of ordnance you damn well want to use. I think they limited the early season to give kids a chance to get out there & learn the ropes without having to upgrade to a more complicated weapons system.

And I'm gobsmackingly shocked to find that you bring home the meat. Dude, gophers are meant to be mounted & placed on your billiard room wall, not eaten........well, if you're Granny Clampett you can eat them, but everyone else seems to know better. Personally, I follow the example of the buffalo hunters - cut out the tongue for food & leave the rest of the carcass to rot. The downside is that it takes a couple thousand of them to make a full meal, but the woodie that I get from killing makes the meal strictly a bonus.

"I have no idea how it could have happened, officer. I was cleaning my atlatl and the dart just went off. They don't come with safeties, you know."

Is there any lobbying for mandatory atlatl locks yet? You know, for the children? You would think the National Center for Stick Safety (formerly Atlatl Control, Inc) and Sen. Schumer (Commie-NY) would be all over this but all I'm getting from Google is a lot of pro-atlatl propaganga from the National Stick Association.

And I'm gobsmackingly shocked to find that you bring home the meat

I have to admit the thermbaric darts I've been using don't really leave anything to bring home. Is that so wrong?

When is congress going to get off their asses & pass some legislation protecting atlatl manufacturers from liability suits? It's not as if atlatl manufacturers have any assets to take in the first place, but it's the thought that counts, right?

If they don't get cracking, it's a metaphysical certainty that the next time some wacked-out adolescent goes on a killing spree with an atlatl he made in shop class, we'll start seeing commercials with whiny complainers talking about how "an atlatl killed my mother/brother/sister/pet".

Russ, all they want is some very basic, common sense stick control. Some of these atlatls are assault sticks and have no reasonable hunting purpose at all. How can you justify an atlatl that is 18 inches long and can hurl a dart 120 yards? Or leather piercing dart tips? You can't.

If the monolithic Big Stick Industry keeps producing these dangerous and indefensible weapons, it's only fair that they should carry the cost of all the stick related horrors that follow. Why can't you see that?

I just realized that over the years I have seen hundreds of deer around here, yet I can only remember seeing a couple of bucks. Why is that?

OK, I meant "deer", not "dear".

But it sure would hold down the divorce costs.

Scott - You've only seen a couple of bucks because of Liberal tax increases.

As for pantyhose as a deadly weapon it's simple, make a fist and hold your arm straight out in front of yourself, now put your thumb straight up and your index finger straight forward put pantyhose on your head and viola! In California that's a deadly weapon.

Just to get serious for a moment, I have one of Bob Perkin's atlatls and a set of his target darts. The original news article is wrong about the speed; it's not 80mph, it's more like 180mph. This weapon is capable of killing a buffalo with one dart and will quite easily go TandT a deer. At 50 yards it's just as effective at killing as any hunting rifle.

Russ, that's great news, because I like to take out a whole gopher village.

Hells yeah, atlatls are swiggety-sweet. The only thing available to the natives that could pierce a conquistador's breastplate in Montezuma's time, they say. Lots of fun to play with, a friend has a couple and we get a kick out of throwing that shizzle. At least as deadly as a gun within a reasonable distance, and probably as accurate as any handgun, given a little practice.

When will someone start making Jarts again? I'm tired of making my own..

wild iris & Uncle Mikey: this is interesting news. I've never used an atlatl before, but maybe I'm going to have to try one if they're as good as advertised. My only problem with them is the lack of a quick follow-up shot. I would think that a compound bow would even offer a quicker follow-up than an atlatl, and the Mossberg 12 gauge I use knocks them both into the dirt by comparison.

Not that there's anything wrong with stalking your prey and taking one well-calculated shot, but I'm more of a "shoot them, clean them, hang them in the garage & hit the bar in time to catch the Big 12 championship game" kind of guy. Maybe it's because I grew up in farm country and think of deer like Aussies think of kangaroos - great big rats.

the atlatl, a small wooden device that propels a six-foot dart as fast as 80 mph

The "six-foot dart" is more commonly known as a "spear". The Atlatl is just the throwing stick that hooks into the base of the spear and increases the moment arm, allowing you to throw it harder, further and more accurately.

VEGETARIAN indians word for rotten hunter