Night ‘Hawking

We thought a good way to test out the new Poplar target would be at night!! The Poplar targets are a lot lighter color than the Sycamore targets. This makes a big difference if we are throwing in the waning hours of evening especially if the targets are also in the shade. The Sycamore targets visually blend into the background where the Poplar targets have a lot more contrast and can be seen better as it gets dark. The ultimate test came the other day when we were at the TomahawkGuys “country” range when evening came upon us sooner than we were ready to quit. We got out the Coleman lantern and fired it up to see if we would be able to throw successfully by lantern light. We set the tomahawk bag in between the lantern and the throwing line to shield our eyes from the glare to preserve our night vision. With our eyes adjusted we were able to continue throwing well into the night!!

 

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New Poplar Tomahawk Targets

My friend Ed cut down his 3 foot Poplar tree and look what was inside!! New tomahawk targets!!!  A little bit bigger than old targets, these guys are about 33″ to 34″ in diameter. This is our first time with Poplar targets but my first throw seemed to stick just fine!! That was just 3 days after cutting the tree. Usually a “green” tree needs a couple weeks to cure or else the hawks just bounce off but apparently not Poplar.

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Ready to load the new Poplar targets
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New target compared to old

Starting to throw hawks – part 1

I was introduced to the Tomahawk Throw during a visit to the 2011 National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association Autumn Shoot. I was there with a friend and we wandered up to the area where the tomahawk throw was being contended. Since there were not a lot of people there at the time, we were able to chat with the lady who was officiating the throwing that day and she offered to show us how to throw the tomahawk. We, of course, took her up on the offer. After just a couple of tries we were both sticking the hawk consistently. Pretty much after that I was hooked. We hung out there throwing for about 20 minutes until we felt kinda’ guilty for taking up her time. At that point she directed us to “Commercial Row” where the vendors were set up and where we could find throwing hawks for purchase. I happened to find the same kind of hawk that I was using to learn with so, since it was working for me, I bought it. My first throwing hawk was an H&B Forge “Pierced Lady’s Tomahawk.” It is called “lady’s” because it is popular with women and children due to its smaller size and weight. It is, however, a fine throwing hawk and just happened to be the hawk that I threw with first…

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