The throwing stick: making it, throwing it and its strict limits
A throwing stick is a sturdy, slightly curved stick that is thrown spinning flat. Thanks to the spin it covers a wide area and can hit a small animal on the ground. It is one of humanity's oldest hunting tools. In an emergency it is easy to make but needs a lot of practice – and it can seriously injure people and dogs. Hunting with it without hunting rights is poaching.
- 1 hour of carving, many hours of practice
Explained simply
A throwing stick is a strong, smooth stick, about as long as your leg. You do not throw it like a ball but flat, the way you skim a stone over water. As it goes it spins fast and flies like a propeller just above the ground.
People in the Stone Age already hunted like this, long before the bow and arrow. Today it is forbidden here because it often only injures an animal. And it is dangerous: a hard stick can also hit a person or a dog badly.
That is why the throwing stick is only knowledge for a real emergency. Anyone who wants to learn it needs a great deal of practice – at a backpack or a tuft of grass, never at animals and never where people are.
How it works
A thrown stone hits with only a small point. A stick spinning flat, by contrast, sweeps a circle as wide as the stick is long. If you aim a little to the side, one end still hits. That makes the throwing stick more forgiving than a stone.
The spin also keeps the stick stable in the air, much as a spinning top does not fall over while it turns. That is why a well-thrown stick flies flat and straight.
For this to work, both halves must weigh about the same. A stick with one heavy end wobbles, tips and flies off in another direction.
What really matters
Practice is everything. Anyone throwing a stick for the first time in an emergency almost never hits and only wastes strength. Only when a target five to ten paces away is hit almost every time is the throwing stick an option at all.
The distance to the animal must be short. Small animals often sit still because they trust their camouflage. Approaching slowly with the wind in your face gets you closer. From far away an animal is at most injured – the opposite of what you want.
The energy balance must be honest too: throwing, searching and throwing again costs a lot of strength. Traps, fishing and foraging pay off better in most emergencies.
Safety: what to watch out for
A throwing stick is a striking tool. It can break bones and injure eyes. Never throw towards people, dogs, grazing animals or paths, not even for practice, and only throw once the area well beyond the target is clear.
Children may help with carving but not throw, and nobody stands to the side of or in front of the thrower.
Without hunting rights any hunting is poaching. Almost all birds are protected. Animals that are hit are killed at once and quickly; an animal that is missed is not chased.
Step by step
Check honestly and choose the place
The throwing stick is only a means of finding food in genuine danger to life. Practise and throw only in open terrain with no person, dog or grazing animal anywhere nearby, and never towards paths.
- 1
Check honestly and choose the place
The throwing stick is only a means of finding food in genuine danger to life. Practise and throw only in open terrain with no person, dog or grazing animal anywhere nearby, and never towards paths.
- 2
Choose the blank
Find a sound, fresh or dry hardwood stick without cracks, about as long as from the ground to your hip and as thick as one or two thumbs. A slight natural bend, for example at a branch fork, is good but not necessary.
- 3
Carve flat and even
Carve the top and bottom slightly flatter so the cross-section becomes oval. The ends stay sturdy; side shoots and bumps are smoothed off. It is important that both halves weigh about the same – otherwise the stick wobbles in the air.
- 4
Grip and stance
Hold the throwing stick loosely at one end with your whole hand. Stand side-on to the target, feet about shoulder-width apart, weight on the back leg. Your throwing arm swings back to the side, roughly at hip height.
- 5
Throw flat with spin
Throw with a horizontal motion, like skimming a stone over water. Let the stick slide from your hand late and flick your wrist so it spins. It should fly flat, just above the ground.
- 6
Practise for a long time
Practise on a target such as a tuft of grass or a backpack five to ten paces away. Only when you hit it almost every time does the throwing stick make any sense in an emergency. Mark the stick with tape so you can find it again in the grass.
- 7
Only at short range
Small animals often sit still and trust their camouflage. Approach slowly with the wind in your face and throw only from a few paces. Better not to throw at all than from far away – otherwise you only injure the animal.
- 8
Act immediately after the throw
If the animal is hit, go to it at once and kill it quickly, as described in the entry “Checking traps, killing animals quickly and dismantling traps”. If you miss, let the animal go and do not chase it.
Common mistakes
- Throwing overarm like a ball – the stick then only hits with its tip
- Unevenly weighted stick that wobbles
- Too great a distance
- Throwing without the area being clear
- Hardly any practice
Quick view
Materials
Straight, fresh hardwood stick
About arm's length and one to two thumbs thick, ideally with a natural bend
Only take dead wood or wood you are allowed to cut
Always carve away from your body
Knife (fixed or locking blade)
Cut away from your body.
Rules on carrying knives differ by region – check local rules.
Brightly coloured flagging tape
To find it again after a throw
Remove every piece again when dismantling
Suitable for
- Open terrain with small game in long emergencies
- As a supplement when traps catch nothing
- Understanding how early hunters worked
Not suitable for
- Dense forest – the stick catches on branches
- Any situation with people, children or dogs within range
- Larger animals – they are only injured
- Birds – almost all species are protected
Prerequisites
- Genuine danger to life, no rescue within reach
- Safe handling of a knife
- Plenty of open space without people or animals for practice
Safety
- A poor hit only injures an animal. So throw only at short range and only at small animals sitting still. If an animal is hit, go to it at once and kill it quickly.
How it works
A stick thrown flat spins around its middle. This turns a narrow stick into a kind of rotating disc that, on impact, covers an area about as long as the stick. Compared with a stone, it forgives small aiming errors. The spin also stabilises the flight, so the stick stays flat and straight.
Advantages
- Made from a stick in an hour
- No cord, wire or bait needed
- Can be used many times
Disadvantages
- Needs a great deal of practice
- Dangerous for people and animals nearby
- Often only injures animals
- Poaching without hunting rights
Deep knowledge
Background
Throwing sticks were used on almost every continent long before the bow and arrow. Well-known examples are Australia's boomerang – the non-returning form is a hunting stick – and similar sticks from ancient Egypt, Europe and North America. Military survival manuals list it as a simple weapon for small game.
Today hunting with it is not allowed in Central Europe because it often only injures animals. As emergency knowledge it remains an example of how much can be made from a single piece of wood – and of why practice matters more than equipment.
Variants
- Two sticks
- Anyone with two throwing sticks can throw a second time at once after a miss. Both should weigh the same so the throw feels the same.
- With a heavier end
- Some throwing sticks have a natural knob at one end from a branch fork or root flare. They fly a little less steadily but hit harder.
Common mistakes
- Throwing overarm like a ball – the stick then only hits with its tip
- Unevenly weighted stick that wobbles
- Too great a distance
- Throwing without the area being clear
- Hardly any practice
Limits and risks
- No instructions for boomerangs, bolas or slingshots
- Lengths and distances are guide values
- No hunting of larger animals or birds
Material alternatives
Derived from material properties: a substitute must have all relevant properties. Observe the notes on the substitute.
- Straight, fresh hardwood stick
- Trekking poles, Sturdy sticks / poles (Do not cut live wood where prohibited.), Tent pole repair sleeve (Temporary only – have broken sections replaced at home.), Round logs (straight, sound) (Fell or take only with the forest owner's permission.)
Results come exclusively from structured entries. No improvised instructions are generated.
Sources (5)
- Headquarters, Department of the Army (USA) (2002): FM 3-05.70 Survival · Rabbit stick as a simple hunting tool for small game; thrown flat and spinning
- Bundesrepublik Deutschland – Bundesministerium der Justiz (gesetze-im-internet.de): Strafgesetzbuch (StGB) – § 292 Jagdwilderei · § 292: poaching
- Republik Österreich – Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes (RIS) (1974): Strafgesetzbuch (StGB), BGBl. Nr. 60/1974 – §§ 137, 138 (Eingriff in fremdes Jagd- oder Fischereirecht) und § 222 (Tierquälerei) · §§ 137, 138: interference with another person's hunting or fishing rights; § 222: cruelty to animals
- Bundesrepublik Deutschland – Bundesministerium der Justiz (gesetze-im-internet.de) (2006): Tierschutzgesetz (TierSchG) in der Fassung der Bekanntmachung vom 18. Mai 2006 · § 17: offence of killing without good reason or causing considerable suffering
- Republik Österreich – Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes (RIS) (2004): Bundesgesetz über den Schutz der Tiere (Tierschutzgesetz – TSchG), BGBl. I Nr. 118/2004 · Ban on cruelty and on killing without good reason