What is a Hunting Boomerang?

Growing up in 70’s, 80’s and 90’s in Australia I, and most people around me, were aware that there were hunting boomerangs and there were returning boomerangs. We would see the traditional hunts on the T.V. of Aboriginal people going after kangaroos and emus, etc, and it was common knowledge that the hunting boomerang was a different tool to the returning one. The returning one was seen as more of a toy. Most people had one or more of these in their possession at some point, and had had a go at throwing it and attempting to catch it. 

When European settlers first arrived in Australia they were amazed that people had these throwsticks as hunting tools and for recreation. It had been long forgotten by most Europeans that they had once used throwsticks in their culture. In fact the oldest surviving throwsticks (hunting boomerangs) have been found in Germany and the oldest returning one was found in Poland. They have been used all over the ancient world, however people groups discontinued their use as the introduction of the sling and the bow and arrow provided a more reliable and effective way of bringing down game animals and engaging in warfare. Hence after many years of them not being used in Europe it was quite a shock for the new Australians to see these throwsticks being effective at putting food on the table, or campfire - to be more accurate. 

There were other small pockets of people groups of the world in the 1700 and 1800s that were still using throwsticks but none were using it as exclusively as the Australian Aborigine, who had only the hunting boomerang and the spear (commonly an atlatl type) to hunt and fight with. In time, due to the relatively recent popularity and common use of the boomerang in Australia, the continent has understandably become synonymous with boomerangs. 

It is interesting to receive comments on my most popular video on YouTube from around the world that display different levels of ignorance about the boomerang. For a start I didn’t know that a lot of people wouldn’t know that there is a hunting boomerang (or throwstick) that you can take down game with. Comments like, “Isn’t it supposed to come back?” are common. I’m sure there are shows where someone hits a target with a boomerang and it then returns to the thrower’s hand perfectly ready to kill the next bad guy, but I assure you no such phenomena is even remotely possible. 

A hunting boomerang has many names due to its wide use. It has been called a throwstick, kylie, boondi, rabbit stick, the list goes on. In Australia it was typically made out of dense hardwood trees (such as Mulga) that would also bend well (flex) on impact thus reducing breakage. There were two main types: one for throwing straight along and close to the ground to kill game such as kangaroos, wallabies, emus, etc, and one that resembled the returning type to kill birds and bats in flight. I also found a reference that mentioned a boomerang for hitting fish in shallow water but I haven’t seen much more evidence for it. 

The hunting boomerang can hit game out past 100 meters and bring them down. At this distance it would be unlikely to kill the animal but breaking legs was still very likely. The hunter would then club the now crippled animal after running it down. Throws at small animals up close were easy kill shots if hit in the right spot.

But how can a flattened stick glide as far or even further than 100 meters? Why doesn’t it just drop to the earth after losing its momentum like a rock or normal stick? Well, the answer is all in its shape. (Note: I will be answering this in layman's terms but for a more scientific explanation look up throwsticks.com and see the real physics behind it.) The bottom of the boomerang is flat and the top is curved, much like a plane wing. When it is thrown the movement through the air creates lift because the wind has to travel further on the upper side than the bottom thus pulling it up. 

The forward momentum and spinning also maintains the movement needed for the lift to occur, but what allows it to spin flat and also not tumble is its kink. A straight flat stick will turn not just from end to end but also side to side and will drop immediately. The kink prevents this by acting like an inbuilt keel in the air to keep the throwstick from flipping. As it slows from its original speed the boomerang starts to tilt backward and whatever part of it is in front is progressively pointing up, this adds to the lift it gets as well. The slower it goes the more it tilts back and the more lift it gets thus maintaining its flight longer than it would normally. With these 2 lift functions in place the boomerang will continue to glide further than it looks like it should (I mean who can throw a normal stick over 30 meters?). On top of this, many of the boomerangs that have been created have airfoils (grooves) etched into the top side to create even more drag to sustain altitude for even longer.     

This whole physical collection of factors can make the observer amazed by its capabilities. Its truly entertaining to see a stick just seemingly keep flying over 100 meters. I do believe that people discovered and stumbled across this technology purely by trial and error and further experimentation fuelled by curiosity and perhaps competitiveness. 

There have been many different hunting boomerang designs from within Australia and all over the world as different people groups developed their own techniques of making them. These techniques would no doubt be influenced by not only their needs but also by which materials were available. They all rely on the same rules to allow to them seemingly “fly”. I was always amazed by this myself growing up and am glad I took up throwing them.

I hope this clears up some questions about what a hunting boomerang is and how it works. I just love throwing them and testing my own and the boomerang’s abilities. Even though they are an old tool they are still amazing and fun to try out, so what are you waiting for?