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FirstFreedom · October 17, 2006, 09:17 AM

A bow will give you a higher chance of success, if for no other reason then the final movement to release the projectile (letting go of the bowstring) is a much smaller movement than that with an atlatl, which requires the gross throwing motion that generates the energy, so the game can see this at the last second. With a bow, you can draw and create the energy while the game is looking another direction and hold then release at the right time (with a compound anyhow). I think atlatls worked well for centuries against the megafauna by the native americans after they populated the americas via the land bridge, because prior to that, all the megafauna, including bison and elk and moose, had to deal with was sabertoothed tiger and wolves and such, all of which attack in direct "hand to hand" combat. So the spear and atlatl, in the hands of this new predator called homo sapiens, were the first ranged weapons, and thus the game didn't really worry about you unless you were to get closer that 20 yards - which made them sitting ducks for the ranged weapons. But now, after 10K to 20K years of being hunted with ranged weapons by man, the game is now leery of any presence of man, and therefore, the bow is plenty challenging enough. Certainly a good hunter CAN take game with an atlatl, but taking leery game like ruminants is going to be *extremely* challenging, even to the best hunter, IMO.

October 17, 2006, 09:17 AM	#3
FirstFreedom Junior member Join Date: May 31, 2004 Location: The Toll Road State, U.S.A. Posts: 12,451	A bow will give you a higher chance of success, if for no other reason then the final movement to release the projectile (letting go of the bowstring) is a much smaller movement than that with an atlatl, which requires the gross throwing motion that generates the energy, so the game can see this at the last second. With a bow, you can draw and create the energy while the game is looking another direction and hold then release at the right time (with a compound anyhow). I think atlatls worked well for centuries against the megafauna by the native americans after they populated the americas via the land bridge, because prior to that, all the megafauna, including bison and elk and moose, had to deal with was sabertoothed tiger and wolves and such, all of which attack in direct "hand to hand" combat. So the spear and atlatl, in the hands of this new predator called homo sapiens, were the first ranged weapons, and thus the game didn't really worry about you unless you were to get closer that 20 yards - which made them sitting ducks for the ranged weapons. But now, after 10K to 20K years of being hunted with ranged weapons by man, the game is now leery of any presence of man, and therefore, the bow is plenty challenging enough. Certainly a good hunter CAN take game with an atlatl, but taking leery game like ruminants is going to be extremely challenging, even to the best hunter, IMO.