Throwing axes may not be everyone’s idea of a great way to spend the weekend – but it should be! Granted it takes enough space, a solid target, and no one around to get in the way. But just the thing when out camping.
NOTE: DO NOT throw axes or knives at living beings – particularly trees. It will kill them as surely as if you threw them at a squirrel. Only more slowly as the damage to the bark slowly strangles them. Otherwise known as “girdling” or ring-barking in the forestry world.
While you can throw just about anything from a hatchet to a full sized axe, certain purpose-built tools can make it more enjoyable. For example, the SOG Tactical Tomahawk is deceptively easy to throw and quickly makes you feel quite capable. They are relatively inexpensive (get three!) and hang together well, even when they inevitable hit one another on the target.
Beside their weight and heft being just about right, they have disks cut out of their heads that whistle as the fly through the air. Really you need to throw for 2-3 rotations to really appreciation the characteristic sound. But that is not terribly hard to do once you get the hang of it. Two full rotation is about 30 feet or so and quite manageable.
As well, due to the spike on the back end, half rotations also stick just as well as a full rotation to the edge. In fact, turning the axe around to lead with the spike – while a bit more dangerous on the backswing – is recommended to try.
