Help! I'm confused over hunting rules...

[Swampy Matt]

As I understand things, in the UK...

Bowhunting is illegal, But hunting with a rabbit stick is legal, just like hunting with a catapult.

Does anyone know whether hunting with an Atlatl is legal or not?

I can't find any information about it, and I can't work out whether it would be included under archery rules (as it is basically a really big arrow) or whether it would be classed as a rabbit stick (well, you do throw it! :wink: )

I'v made a couple of atlatl's in the past, and I'm fairly accurate with them. I would like to test myself against some real prey, so would appreciate any info.

Cheers.

Matt.

[Stuart]

you will most likely find that it falls into a gray area, look at the laws covering archery and see how they define a bow as then make a decision as to whether to could in any way be referring to an atlatl type device.

and do not hunt with it until you have a considerable amount of skill and of course don't forget a game licence. (cheap from the post office)

[Lurch]

Don't need a game licence for bunny.
Exception if you intend to sell bunny I think.

[Snufkin]

I am also interested in the law as it applies to atlatls, you definately can't use it on deer as it would be classed as "arrow, spear or similar missile"( can't remember the exact wording, from 1991 Deer Act I think).

[Stuart]

now that i have given it thought i think it would be classed by law as a spear, so you would need to find the relevent laws on spear hunting

I'm not sure how you would go about getting the land owners permition to hunt with a spear !!!!! :shock:

[Swampy Matt]

Cheers for the advice.

Landowner permission is not a problem - have a few friendly landowners around, which is cool.

As for the Atlatl, I think the easy option is to class is as a Bow. Practice with it in the same way i do with my bow and save the hunting until i get to somewhere its definately legal (some states in the US i think).

Now where did I put that field archery target...

[C_Claycomb]

Definitely not legal here, never mind if you have landowner's "Ok" or not.

Check in the US, I think some states differentiate between hand held and thrown spears. Not sure, but worth checking.