Easy to make and a great game getter it is silent and deadly. you can bag 4 legged critters and larger birds, like duck and pheasant and geese. It also makes for a great weapon against two legged jerks.

I feel this has been an underrated weapon for hunting and for defense against a knife or clubs, just by swinging it you can defeat and disarm a person with a knife—gives you great reach.

The Argentine Gauchos have used them for centuries, they used the bolas as the cowboys used a lariat to stop a cow or calf in its tracks, by wrapping them around the legs.

All it really is is three balls, or if you like, round weights made of metal or lead. The old lead weights are very good for this weapon, but hard to get now. Cover the balls with leather, and and tie them to three lengths of cord of equal in size. Take the cords and tie them together, this will form a knot that is also your holding point while you helicopter the bolas. I have a set that I made with the use of pool balls. I have another set that the leather bags were filled with wet sand. You can use rocks, round and the same size is best. Or, you can use a bunch of smaller pebbles. You can buy small leather bags almost anywhere.

When the bolas touch an object with any one of the balls the whole thing will wrap up tighter than you may be able to unwrap them, at least it can be a chore.

Practice on a post that is covered in a several wraps of cloth. Make sure it is far from your dogs or any other live thing—They can kill or maim or disable in a heart beat. When the balls are heavy such as lead weights they will take out a human if it hits them in the head or any other critter. Billiard balls really work well.

It does not take long to become very very good with them.

Once I was at a lake side and just because I was there I threw the set of bolas at a flock  of ducks as they took off, as luck would have it I wraped one up out of sheer luck and brought it down like right now, it was dead. I had roasted duck that night.

The length of the cords

Try 2 feet first, is my suggestion, then move up to longer lengths as you improve your throwing technique.

helicopter the bolas over your head, you only need to do it one revolution. At first you will do more than one revolution but you do not gain much and game will see it the longer you stand there swinging this thing over your head. The aiming will come naturally as you use them. You can become deadly accurate very quickly.

I made a bamboo tube that I can carry my bolas in, first I push in a ball and follow that with the respective cord. Then the next ball goes in and again that is followed by the cord, the last ball,goes in and then the cord follows. I can pull on the cord on top and the device comes out not tangled up but ready to use. You can also use a tube made from PVC.

This is easy to carry on your person and weighs next to nothing.

Be aware that you do not hit own self in the head, you might not wake up. This is not a toy and you use these at your own risk, however it is a skill that you will not regret learning. It is a skill to own and is a lot of fun.

By Dude McLean

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