This date was so much fun. A friend of mine got me into reading Comanche Moon, a novel by Larry McMurtry. I think maybe the idea of the bows and arrows and tomahawks inspired my choice for this one. Not to mention, I’ve been wanting to try axe-throwing for a while!

I chose to go to St. Hubert’s Hatchet House .

The atmosphere was very friendly and inviting with lively groups having a great time with each other. The staff was awesome. I had come straight from a long day at my son’s gymnastics meet, and forgot that closed toe shoes were a safety requirement for my axe-throwing adventure. They graciously whipped out a GIANT beautiful pair of Crocs for me to use.

Brett got me set up with my target and hatchets and got me started by teaching me double and single armed throwing techniques. They coach patrons through some practice rounds with each of the 4 different provided hatchet types, and then cut everyone loose. The staff checked in on everyone regularly to answer questions and offered great tips to help people throw more accurately.

My throwing was clunky at first. I had trouble getting the axe blade to hit and stick in the target. I eventually figured out my mechanics and started getting hits! I cycled through the various axes and tried them all with the double armed throw until I started to get comfortable and consistent. Then, I did the same thing with the single armed throw.

I really liked a Swedish style hatchet for my double armed throws, but loved the Tomahawk style for single arm. I was excited that I started to get bullseyes with my single arm Tomahawk throws pretty consistently. One of the instructors, Kevin, thought it was pretty cool too and let me do some throws with his personal custom competition hatchet. Oh my. It was perfection. Every single arm throw I did with it was a bullseye. It felt so precise. He got some action shots and a video to capture the excitement.

It does feel a little weird to do things like Bowling and Axe-throwing alone. They are activities where people take turns and they usually involve at least 2 people or a group of people. A solo person bowling during league night or throwing axes alone in a room full of rowdy groups is a curiosity. I had some friendly exchanges with the people bowling in the lane next to me during Date #21 .

However, my solitary axe-throwing made an older gentleman from one of the groups feel uncomfortable and concerned for me. He came over to my lane to tell me that I had to be sure to not go alone next time because having someone with me would make it fun. I know this person likely meant well. I was surprised that he took time from his group and their game to come across the room and tell me how I should play mine.

He didn’t say hello or ask me if I was enjoying my throwing experience. I thanked him for stopping by and told him I was having a great time and asked him how their game was going. I don’t really understand this kind of thing. I would prefer that someone just say hello and/or ask me a question than to tell me how to spend my time and presume they know anything about what my feelings are. Whoa. I just went off the rails there for a minute. Axe-throwing…

Aside from my brief and weird encounter with the uncomfortable gentleman, this experience was a blast. Brett and Kevin encouraged me to check out their axe-throwing league, which starts in September. You never know! I’m certain I’ll go back there for sure! I’m better at bowling with my left arm. Maybe I’ll work on single armed throws on the left side next time!! I would LOVE to have a hatchet like Kevin’s. It was a magically crafted thing of precision.

22 Dates down!! Thank you for reading!