You can read books all you like or watch TV documentaries on surviving in the wilderness. However, you’ll feel suffocating despair when it actually happens to you.
When you’re lost or stranded in the wilderness and you realize that help is not on its way any time soon, you have to try and keep a cool head as you face a huge challenge – survival. You want to be known as the person who made it out on their own.
Whenever a person goes into areas far from the city, planning in advance is the key. You have to imagine some of the worst scenarios, understand the weather of that area, the animal life, and the problems a person could encounter. It’s impossible to pack in all the survival tools there are, so one has to consider the most important ones and pack those – fire starters, water filters and a throwing stick.
A Throwing Stick Can Provide a Meal
Known also as a rabbit stick or baton, these are excellent hunting, fishing and protection weapons. In a survival situation, it will be appreciated when carefully aimed, as it brings down a rabbit or duck for a meal. Long ago, the throw stick was taken out on hunting trips where it doubled up as a digging tool, scraping tool and even as a fire starter when rubbed on soft wood.
Hunting tools, such as throw-sticks, are a necessity for bush-craft, for hiking, or for if you’re lost in the wilderness. Non-returning boomerangs are kind of like the rabbit stick that was a common weapon of American Indians to throw at small game. They are thinly carved to go further, straighter and to have more impact.
Excellent as a Hunting Tool
These sticks were found in aboriginal societies, as well as in ancient Egypt.Throughout history, the sticks, which are as long as your arm and as thick as your wrist, have been as important as boomerangs, more so for the very earliest of civilizations. Boomerang throw sticks were used all over the world and were the first thing to be thrown by man towards an animal.
Throw sticks have recently been discovered in 1933 in the tomb of Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun, and in fact, dozens of these throw sticks from ancient Egypt can be found in museums in Egypt. They were made from a hardwood of that area while some were carved from ivory or ebony with gold caps and exquisite bark wrappings.
Today, custom designed throw sticks are used in competitions which include categories, such as accuracy-, long distance and endurance throwing. Much design and contouring goes into these sticks made from quality plywood, strip laminated hardwood, and from tree limbs with a natural bend. The sticks fly in a straight line, and when thrown, they rotate rapidly, striking the rabbit or bird and killing or injuring it.
A Simple Throwing Technique
Experts suggest you can throw the stick like a frisbee or you can throw the rabbit stick by extending the non-throwing hand toward the target and propelling the stick side-armed or overhand. With the overhand throw, for instance, you can aim at the target by extending the left arm. Move your stick back over your shoulder then shoot the right arm until it is above and parallel to the left arm which will be the release point.
Make Your Own Throw Stick
You can make your own stick by selecting a good, stout branch from a hardwood tree. If you can’t find a branch with the right kind of angle, it’s possible to warp green wood by heating it over the coals and to bend it while it is soft and pliable. Cool and dry it by placing the bent stick between two rocks. The stick can be flattened by shaving off two opposite sides, making the stick more aerodynamic.
Of course, if you’re heading into the wilderness, you can buy a throw stick, and here we look at some of them:
PL Bombardier (Aluminium)
[easyazon_image align=”right” height=”400″ identifier=”B00GJJOOEY” locale=”UK” src=”https://deadbullseye.com//sites/deadbullseye.com/files/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/61hYAU0aoTL.jpg” tag=”deadbullseye-21″ width=”150″]Maximum Distances Reached
This angling throw stick from Svendsen Sport is quality. After all, it comes from a company who market a large range of products, such as, among others, Scierra and Savage Gear. Svendsen Sport is one of the biggest suppliers of fishing tackle in Europe. The PL Bombardier has been perfectly shaped so that it can reach the maximum distance with the least amount of effort. It’s a fishing throw stick, coming with a soft-touch, non-slip handle.
Super light Aluminum
Constructed of a super light aluminum, the stick from a large fishing tackle retailer can help you catch fish and live to see another few days in the wilderness.
[easyazon_link identifier=”B00GJJOOEY” locale=”UK” tag=”deadbullseye-21″]>>>Click to see the latest price for PL Bombardier Throwing Stick<<<[/easyazon_link]
Gardner Tackle
[easyazon_image align=”right” height=”500″ identifier=”B01HTSF65O” locale=”UK” src=”https://deadbullseye.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/31X7jXAYOuL.jpg” tag=”deadbullseye-21″ width=”300″]
Modulus Carbon Adds Strength
The Pro-Pela carbon throw stick from First4Fishing is a lightweight, all-purpose stick. The stick is made from high-modulus carbon with a finishing wrap that makes the stick look good, but also adds extra strength to it. First4Fishing brings an extensive range of products to their customers who rely on the knowledge and expertise of people in the fishing business.
100 Yards is Easily Achievable
Baiting with lots of boilies is easier, and distance and accuracy may well vary, but 100 yards is easily achievable with hard 20mm baits. The entire stick weighs just 70 grams and is 96cm in length.
[easyazon_link identifier=”B01HTSF65O” locale=”UK” tag=”deadbullseye-21″]>>>Check out what other customers say about the Gardner Tackle Pro-Pela Carbon Boilie Throwing Stick<<<[/easyazon_link]
Korda Eazi-Stik
[easyazon_image align=”right” height=”258″ identifier=”B0037D20IM” locale=”US” src=”https://deadbullseye.com//sites/deadbullseye.com/files/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/21lRgERwZEL.jpg” tag=”deadbullseye-20″ width=”300″]
J-Shaped for Performance
At just 3.5 ounces, this throw stick used for catching fish comes from the Korda company. They produce quality products for anglers. The company has loads of experience with carp angling, producing products to help novice and expert fisherman. With its 20cm ultra-slim, textured handle, the stick has a unique J shape which is what contributes to its performance. It’s this shape which increases back spin which lifts the boilie in flight, and increases distance.
Tiredness in Arm Reduced
The stick is made from ultra-light polycarbonate plastic, and its long straight shaft provides more speed while also reducing tiredness in your arm.
[easyazon_link identifier=”B0037D20IM” locale=”US” tag=”deadbullseye-20″]>>>Click here for more info about the Korda Eazi Stick by Korda<<<[/easyazon_link]
NGT Carp Fishing Stick
Robust Polycarbonate Plastic Tube
This stick has been made from a quality polycarbonate plastic tube and comes with a rubberised, non-slip handle. This ensures that when your hands are wet, you get a solid grip for single or double handed throwing.
Greater Throwing Range
This stick is a must for all specimen anglers with a diameter size of 20mm x 92cm. The curved head of the stick helps with increasing the spin of the boilies which leads to more accuracy and a greater throwing range.
>>>Click to see the latest price for NGT Unisex FO Boilie Carp Fishing Throwing Stick<<<
Cold Steel Boomerang
High Impact Polypropylene Stick
Cold Steel Inc. is a knife and tool company, and their products are renowned for their strength and reliability. You can rely on them to provide folding knives, spears, axes, boomerangs, throw sticks, tomahawks and much more. Their tried and tested products can be relied on for the hiker, camper or for any emergency situation. Their non-returning boomerang or throw stick is made from polypropylene with a wood grain surface.
A Defense Tool of Note
The stick or non-returning boomerang has a thickness of 1.00†and overall length of 28’’ and is ideal for hunting purposes. This non-returning boomerang sports the most aerodynamic length and shape, and apart from hunting, it can be used for target and distance throwing, as well as being a defense tool too.
Final Thoughts
A throwing stick is a simple tool that you can throw vertically, horizontally or diagonally. Like anything that involves throwing, practice is required if you want to become proficient. There are a number of throwing stocks available today and the modern ones aren’t only made from wood, but from materials such as aluminum, plastic, fiber-glass and carbon.
A stout throw stick taken along with you into the wilderness can be a wise decision as it multi-tasks – bringing you in a meal, acting as a shovel, a fire-starter and as a self-defense weapon.
Whether you’re fishing or hunting, experiment and practice so as to find your preferred throwing technique, bearing in mind that you don’t need a big swing to achieve good distance, but using both your hands can certainly give you more accuracy. In the outdoors, you’ll wonder how you ever did without one of these versatile sticks.