Pa. May Let Hunters Use Prehistoric Weapon - Yahoo! News

HARRISBURG, Pa. - "An ancient weapon that struck fear in the hearts of Spanish conquistadors, and that some think was used to slay woolly mammoths in Florida, may soon be added to the arsenal of Pennsylvania's hunters.

The state Game Commission is currently drafting proposed regulations to allow hunters to use the atlatl, a small wooden device used to propel a six-foot dart as fast as 80 mph. The commission could vote to legalize its use as early as January."

Please go here for an examination of Kinetic energy and Momentum regarding various hunting weapons, and sorry for the link but Booger is being frightful as I try to format. The List Of Sicilian Messenger

Kinetic energy is a useful tool, but not the be-all or end-all, neither is Momentum, and they are good references from which to draw information necessary to a conclusion.

Now on to brass tacks. An atlatl is fine for small game. Groups of hunters were necessary to take down anything larger than a small deer, and using an atlatl can put food on the table but it remains a small person's weapon and bears no comparison to modern hunting bows, or even the famed English Long Bow. Atlatl are far from humane, if humane is your thing when talking about hunting, and there are far better ways to take down game animals so this is nothing more than sport. Kill it, then eat it and I have no problem with any of it.

And as far as the Conquistadors being struck by fear, ahem. They won. Hundreds of them defeated tens of thousands of South Americans.

Guess they weren't ALL THAT fearful, eh?