The game of axe throwing has been around for as long as there been axes. In recent years, axe throwing has grown in popularity, especially around urban areas giving rise to a bunch of indoor axe throwing ranges.
Generally, an axe throwing range will offer you 3 kind of axes:
- Hatchet
- Camper’s Axe (Camping Hatchet)
- Tomahawk
Every axe mentioned above has a different length as well as weight, you’ll primarily select the axe based on the weight that you can comfortably throw one-handed. You can move on to heavier axes if you are planning to throw with two hands.
Why choose a Hatchet?
From what I’ve seen at the axe throwing range, the majority of people will go for the hatchet because it’s light weight and it’s fairly balanced consider its length. The handle are usually fabricated from wood so it has a smooth handle that’s easy to grip; some handles are polished so it doesn’t slip out of your hands from sweaty palms.
One of the primary advantage of using a hatchet is that a hatchet can easily be thrown with one hand. A hatchet is also easily replaced should one break for any reason. The hatchet offered at the range is fairly cheap, you can find them at the home improvement stores all day long.
Because of how cheap and accessible hatchets are, it is often customized by hobbyist with unique designs and engraving to show them off at the range.
Why choose a Camper’s Axe?
A camper’s axe is longer than the hatchet and the handle is either constructed out of wood or all steel. This makes the axe very durable for prolong usage and provides a suitable weight for people that prefers heavier axe.
One of the features of a camper’s axe is its length, it is significantly longer than the other axes.
The key advantage of using the camper’s axe is its weight, it is noticeably heavier than the hatchet and a heavier axe tends to stick better to the target.
This may be my personal opinion, but the camper’s axe usually has a more slick and tactical stock design comparing to a very cookie cutter hatchet.
Why choose a Tomahawk?
If your local axe throwing range is generous and tasteful, they might offer you, the tomahawk. A tomahawk has a light weight and short handle much like the hatchet, but with a large axe piece.
It also has a straight handle comparing to the other two axes which typically have a curve handle, this gives the thrower a different feel at the grip that may serve as a better handle style for their hands.
The tomahawk is intended to be thrown with one hand, so for anyone out there that is looking for something more than a hatchet, a tomahawk is a good pick.
The tomahawk also caters its design for someone who prefers a more rustic or historic looking axe since the axe’s history pre-dates Colonial America time period.
Because of its unique design, anyone carrying one will likely find themselves asked to try their axe at the range more times than they like.
Which Axe Sticks Better?
I would be lying if I said that the heavier the axe, the better it sticks. The truth to axe throwing comes down to the weight, the techniques, and the force at which it’s thrown.
On average, a heavier axe will stick better because of its weight, but a heavier axe is also hard to kept balanced. On top of that, it may require you to use two hands which may be an issue if you’ve got an arm in the cast or one hand gripping a beer.
People that aren’t used to throwing with two hands might fight themselves struggling to use the heavier axe because it involves a different set of techniques.
A heavier axe would also require you to throw the axe with more force and that could make the axe stick rather than bouncing off.
One of the rookie mistakes to throwing a heavier axe or any axe for that matter is that the person throwing concentrate so much to applying more force that they forget to implement the proper technique.
A light weight axe offers a smoother transition when it comes down to techniques, since your hand(s) won’t be struggling a whole lot focusing on the balance.
Additionally, the weight advantage of a lighter axe means that you can throw it with more force. Think of it like throwing a baseball versus a shot put ball. You can obtain more speed by throwing a lighter weighted object than a heavier one.
A faster speed applied with a light weight axe can also increase the likelihood of an axe sticking.
How much does Technique Affect the Axe Throw?
When it boils down to axe throwing, technique is everything!
Without the proper form and the proper techniques, you can throw all the advantages of the axe itself out the window. Applying the proper techniques would allow you to throw the axe straighter, more accurate with less effort and make the chance of it sticking repeatable.
The Determining Factors of Landing a Bullseye based on the techniques:
Here are some of the questions that you may ask before throwing an axe:
- What is the proper axe throwing stance?
- How far do you stand from the target?
- Where do grip the axe handle?
- How far do you extend your arm before a throw?
- How far back do you bring the axe upon a throw?
- When to release the axe?
- How much force do you apply to your throw?
- One-handed or two-handed?
- Right hand or left hand?
And the list goes on, but you get the point.
The Proper Techniques to Axe Throwing
Let’s bring back that list, shall we?
What is the proper axe throwing stance?
- Stand up straight with one foot forward, the foot you put forward would depend on if you’re throwing with the right hand or left hand.
- Right Hand Throw = Right Foot Forward
- Left Hand Throw = Left Foot Forward
How far do you stand from the target?
- How far you stand will vary from range to range, but generally about 4 to 5 meters or 13-16 feet. There’s going to be a line marked on the ground indicating where you should stand behind.
Where do grip the handle?
- Grip the axe handle towards the bottom with maybe one inch or a couple of centimeters exposed at the bottom is typical .
How far do you extend your arm before a throw?
- Extend you arm as far as it would normally would.
- Your arm should be straight and aligned at your shoulder. Remember not to bend your elbow until you are bringing the axe over your head.
How far back do you bring the axe upon a throw?
- With a one-handed throw, bring the axe back until your hand is just a little past your ear.
- With a two-handed throw, bring both of your hands back with the axe until it is just about to touch the back of your neck.
- In a two-handed throw, it will also help if you lean back with your chest pumped out.
When to release the axe?
- With a one-handed throw, as your arm swing down, you will release the axe handle when your hand reaches eye level.
- Remember that when you are doing a one-handed throw, continue the swing of your arm until arm straightens out at the elbow in the downward motion.
- With a two-handed throw, you’ll want to release the axe around the eye level as well.
- When you carry the axe in the downward motion, your back will likely arch with your butt sticking out. Your body should essentially resemble a banana when you let go of the axe.
- Just remember that in a two-handed throw, carry the axe through the throw in one motion and straight down the center. Don’t try to bend your arms or wrists at the last moment, you’re not trying to throw a curve ball here.
How much force do you apply to your throw?
One of the general misconception about axe throwing is that the force comes from the hand, but that’s wrong.
The force of a one-handed throw comes from the elbow flattening itself out from the bend. (Remember you’re not trying to snap your elbow, so doing it fast does not always guarantee the best results.)
With a two-handed throw, the force doesn’t come from the arms, it comes from your core or your abs. In essences, you are doing the exact same thing like your bend in the elbow.
Leaning back before the throw makes the body bend and as you snap forward in the throw, your body flattens out. When you carry the axe through the throw, your arms with naturally come down further giving you the arched cat or the banana shape stance.
How much force you apply to the throw is determined by how fast your throw is and also from a series of trials and errors.
Some people can make an axe stick with minimum force applied to their elbow or core. Others will have to apply a lot more force based on how fast they want the axe to land on the target as well as which axe they picked.
One-handed or two-handed?
I’m going to lay this one out plain and simple:
It depends on the person throwing the axe. It really is a personal preference, it has nothing to do with how tall you are, how much you weigh, or how drunk you are. It’s a preference.
(Please do not axe throw while drunk!)
Right hand or Left hand?
Use your dominant hand, you’ll have a lot more fun because you’ll have better control of the axe.
If you choose to use your non-dominant hand, the axe throw will be weak, off-balance, and often thrown at an angle rather than straight.
Axe Throwing Safety: DOs & DON’Ts
I’m not really going to ramble on too much on this note because they’ll explain everything to you when you are at the range. For some of you out there that might want to precautionary measures ahead of time, here are some tips:
DO:
- Wear comfortable clothing.
- Do go to the range sober.
- Wear closed toe shoes (Steel-toe shoes for maximum protection)
- Carry your wallet, axe throwing can be quiet addictive.
- Have fun!
DON’T
- Don’t wear two many cranium or bodily accessories.
- Don’t go in drunk, self-explanatory.
- Do not bring kids to the range that may be unsupervised.
- Don’t injury yourself before the game.
- Ladies, long finger nails and gripping axes doesn’t go well together.
Trying to Start your Own Backyard Axe Throwing Range?
I know that going to the range can be quite costly, I mean each session is like $30 for an hour or maybe 20 throws.
Axe throwing is not rocket science and to start one of your own in your backyard doesn’t cost much.
Get started by going to going on craigslist or your local classified site and see if you can’t snag a few fresh pallets for free.
Tear those down with a prybar and piece them together with a few nails and 2x4s. That should be sufficient to mount all that pallet boards.
Next, head on down to your local hardware stores and pick 1-3 bottles of spray paint.
A simple trick to get a drawing a perfect bullseye is to put a nail in the center of your target after cross-measuring. Tie one end of a string to the nail and the other end to your spray can. Walk the spray can around the pallet target in a circle to form a ring.
For a larger ring, use a longer string and a shorter string for smaller ring.
Each one of these pallet targets will last you about 2 months or longer depending on the frequency of your use.
If you had a rough month at work, it might last you only for a few weeks.
All jokes aside, if you would prefer to have long lasting targets, you might need to put forth a little bit of money to get better wood like pine or spruce wood boards. These targets can last you 6 months or longer and you can even patch these up to extend its lifespan.
Once you have your target, go ahead and measure out 13-16 feet from the target to the starting line.
Finish your prep with by laying out some finger food and a few cases of beverage and it just might entice your friends to be hungry for more than one night of axe throwing.
When you are done setting up your game and decided the menu, you might consider getting one of the three axes mentioned earlier.
Best Throwing Axes for Starters
Now that you’ve learned everything you need to know about axe throwing, it’s time to pick your companion. The one that will “stick” by your side even when you are low in the game.
For a budget hatchet that won’t break the bank, there’s a pretty good one selling for under $20 on amazon. It even comes with a thermoplastic sheath.
Since they’re so cheap you can have a party of 5 for under $100. A pretty good bargain if you ask me. It’s great for prioritizing quantity over quality, but with this hatchet, you won’t have to worry about quality.
Is hatchet not your thing? Try one of these camping hatchet (Camper Axe), they have one on sell for just under $35 on Amazon. You can better protect your axe with the button down fabric sheath that comes included.
If you are itching for a little bit more attention at your backyard gathering, why not try one of these tomahawk? They cost only about $45. This one comes with its own sick looking sheath and I mean it’s made be SOG, so you know it’s a kicking axe.
In fact, why not just get at least couple of each to bring variety to the table? You can form two lanes just like the range and you can share the axes and reduce the overall cost of having to get an axe for everyone attending.
If you want to make things interesting, try pushing back the starting line or spray some smaller targets for bonus points.
Why just throw axes?
I mean if you followed through with my tips, you’ve already got a target set up, why not try throwing something else for a change to spice things up?
If you haven’t tried knife throwing yet, it’s just as fun!
The best part about it all is that it is inexpensive, try out a set of these throwing knives from Amazon. They cost less than $15 and it’s made from a reputable company.
I won’t go into great length about knife throwing here, I’ll save that for another post, but a quick tip is to hold your knife at the tip of the blade.
Follow through the throw like you would throw an axe one-handed. You’ll adjust over time, but this is a good place to start if you are fresh to knife throwing.
At this point, it doesn’t matter what you throw, just remember to invite friends, play safe, feast up, and have fun!