I have nothing against Atlatls but its not something I would buy and bug out with. I collect indian artifacts and have seen detailed drawings of how its made and how it works. I even saw a TV show where an expert demonstrated the difference in hand thrown spears and an atlatl. The atlatl kicked the hand thrown spears ass for accuracy and hitting force. If I have to bug out, I'll be loaded to the hilt with firearms and ammo. I would find the atlatl really handy if I were out in the wild with nothing but a hunting knife. Knapping a point, making the dart, making the shaft, and making the throwing stick would be an all day job but there is no way I would leave home with an atlatl for my only protection and source of game to eat. However, if I wanted to learn to use one and wanted to practice a lot, I definitely would use the more perfectly straight store bought version. For those who don't know about atlatls, they are a throwing stick, a long spear shaft, and about a dozen darts. When the spear shaft with attached dart hits the animal, the recoil causes the dart to stick into the animal and the spear shaft to drop off on the ground. The hunter then retrieves the spear shaft and inserts another dart. Then the hunter tries to follow the darted animal and stick his ass again with another dart. This continues until the animal bleeds out and dies. Then its suppertime.