Throwing stars and other throwing weapons

[SPEARS R FUN]

Good evening to all...
I am asking about throwing shurikens (ninja stars) as hunting and survival weapons...should the good ones be used or not for hunting, I almost cut a squirrels hand off when I threw one at it, I barely missed, I couldn't believe I was able to get that close, and that got me thinking. and while we are talking about this, how about other throwing weapons, such as an ax or a throwing knife....would one use them in a survival situation or even hunt with them. I love throwing all of these and have a target of thin plywood in my backyard...i am not skilled at all and am just an amatuer..would some one with some more experiance tell me what I could make a good target out of, like type of wood, etc. Opinions are greatly appreciated

 

[Bagheera]

Hi Spears R Fun,

My father thaught me long ago, never ever shoot/throw, hurl anything a living creature just for fun, if you don't intend to kill and eat it (except of course humans those are only targeted in self defense not for a Taco Bell diner

).

I have always adhered to his advise and I won't hesitate to kill an animal if I need it to survive.

Throwing shurikens at an animal makes me think of the Seventies when I saw each and every Bruce Lee movie with almost 100% hit rates with almost anything he threw at his opponents.

Keep using your sharp things just for fun but don't use them on animals, the chance of just inflicting wounds is to big.

It's also bad practice to trow equipement around in the woods because the chance of loosing it or having it stick 25 feet up in the air in a tree is to big. Also axe grips can break when you trow and your stuck with only a head and have to make a new grip etc.

Get yourself a nice small 22 long rifle e.g. the AR7 Survival rifle and a couple of boxes of .22 ammo.

I Holland those trowing stars are forbidden but also these beautifull handy breakdown .22 (and larger weapons) are off limits even to those who have a gun permit.

Have lots of fun piercing your wooden board in your garden.

Cheers from Holland,

Bagheera

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[This message has been edited by Bagheera (edited 04-11-2000).]

 

[Howard Wallace]

Spears,

The throwing stick is a primitive, and apparently effective, hunting weapon. The Australians use a non-returning boomerang. Other cultures have just used heavy sticks. The stick whirls in flight, and a strike with one of the ends can stun or kill a small animal.

Ron Hood has a video devoted to survival weapons, that covers the throwing stick, Apache throwing star and even the chakram. The use of slings is covered also. You might want to take a look at it.

 

[MacHete]

I loudly echo bagheera's sentiments. I will not kill anything that is not either a direct threat to me or needed to feed me.

But, if you want to hunt small game sans firearm, I ask you to consider airguns, bows and blowguns. BB or pellet guns are still broadly legal and have the additional advantage of being very quiet I have taken sqirrel with some relatively wimpy (less than 500fps) air rifles and air pistols. I found domed pellets to be the most effective in bringing them down. I would not recommend using a compound bow or crossbow with 60-175# draw weight for small game, but a child size "toy" bow, a target recurve of light weight or even a pistol crossbow could accurately take your game without cutting it in half. I have not tried this next trick personally, but I have heard that coating a blowgun dart with anbasol or other toothache cream will bring down small game. Whether that is because it numbs the animal or because the anaesthetic in the cream constitutes a lethal dose to the critter I don't know.

As with your throwing weapons, accuracy with the above will have to be achieved with much practice. Additionally, hunting with any of these methods will develop stalking skills.

You can make a durable target for your stars etc. inexpensively using any of several designs. The easiest would be to stand up a cross-section of log or tree-trunk and throw into the end grain. You've probably seen these types of targets used in the axe-throwing competitions at lumberjack games. If you don't have ready access to tree sections or you can't find a tree whose diameter is large enough to make a fair-sized target, get yourself a WHOLE BUNCH of 2x4's. You only need a couple of straight ones, the rest can be the warped stuff the lumber yard should pay you for taking. Build a frame as big as you can, but make it at least three feet square. Design the frame so that all of its sides can be sqeezed together with ratchet straps, turnbuckles or something. Cut the warped stuff into 4 or 6 inch blocks. Lots and lots of blocks. Cut the ends as squarely as possible. Arrange these blocks inside the frame, endgrain out, and clamp them inside the frame. As pieces become too chewed-up, you can rotate and then replace them individually. You can also use the grade-code painted ends of the lumber to arrange a bull'seye in the target or paint custom target designs on it.

I hope this info is of some value to you. Happy hunting.

------------------
Be Worthy

 

[Brian Jones]

Spears,

The traditional throwing stars used by ninja (shuriken) were never designed for killing, contrary to popular opinion and movies. They were distraction weapons -- not intended for sticking in targets. The blade length was usually too short. The only time they might have been used for killing was when rusty, or poisoned, and that usually was a long term thing, rather than immediate. And they never used them for hunting animals.

If you get Ron Hood's weapons video, you'll see the Apache throwing star, which is quite big. He shows one he made of metal, but also demonstrates in detail how to make one of wood. The four points of it are each about 6 - 8 inches long. you could make one longer as well. Something of that size is more effective. Check out the video!

Hope this helps,

Brian.

 

[SPEARS R FUN]

thankyou all for your help!
by the way, i kinda figured ninja stars would be used for harassment rather than any type of killing. I will get that Ron Hood video, thanks to all!
JOE!

 

[storyville]

Hey Bagheera,

Are you suggesting that Bruce Lee DIDN'T hit his targets!?!

(Hmm... you probably think he's dead, too)

 

[Yamakudaki]

I would agree that shurikens are certainly short distance hindrance weapons. They were also used as a hand held bladed weapon. Combat that might be done empty handed was even more devasting with an added edge. I would not suggest the use of shuriken for hunting. They may be illegal if concealed or having them.

 

[Stryver]

Rocks.


Plentiful, easy to throw, will easily take out small game. And, Bonus, you don't have to pack them with you ahead of time.


Stryver

 

[MichLee]

While those stars might be fun to play with, at targets not live things, I see little use for anythign as limited in their usage as such things for carry. Give me another knife any day. And as far as thrwoing my knives, I have better uses for them, I will carve a point , heat it over the fire to harden the point and throw that instead. Then I will use the knife to clean anythign I might kill with it. Just my opinion

, and we know all about those dont we.

------------------
Lee

LIfe is too important to be taken seriously. Oscar Wilde

 

[GLP-1]

Originally posted by MacHete:
I would not recommend using a compound bow or crossbow with 60-175# draw weight for small game, but a child size "toy" bow, a target recurve of light weight or even a pistol crossbow could accurately take your game without cutting it in half.

I must differ with MacHete. For small game, especially squirrels (which are very tough) and things on the top end of the size scale for "Small Game"(woodchucks, turkeys, waterfowl, big coons, etc.) a heavy bow is an advantage.

#1 Flat trajectory for small targets and shooting through holes in the brush.

#2 Use blunt points, or simple whittled points on the shafts, to take small animals without tearing them up. Also, blunts are less likely to snake under the grass and get lost. A pistol case glued to the end of an arrow shaft makes a great blunt.

#3 An arrow, even with a broadhead and from a heavy bow, doesn't tear up meat. It has no shocking power to pulp tissues.