Axe Throwing 101: a Complete Guide to Rules, Technique and Games

Axe throwing has quickly spread across North America and other parts of the world as one of the favorite new bar games and sports among the younger demographic.

With hundreds of venues all over the globe dedicated specifically to axe throwing, it is poised to continue growing and be a popular game for many years to come.

Keep reading to learn exactly what axe throwing is, some of the basic rules, how to hold and throw an axe, tips, tricks and some of the more popular games for axe throwing.

What Is Axe Throwing?

Similar to darts, axe throwing is a sport in which the competitor throws an axe at a target, attempting to hit as close as possible to a bullseye. The governing body for the sport of axe throwing is the World Axe Throwing League (WATL).

Let’s take a look at their scoring system:

At any WATL sanctioned location your target will have four rings and a bullseye in the center. Each ring is worth progressively more points up to six at the bullseye.

The two small dots on the outer ring have a high risk and reward trade-off and are known as the killshot.

You can only attempt a killshot during certain times in the game and they are worth eight points.

A standard game consists of ten throws followed by tiebreakers. Players compete 1-on-1 and the victor is the one with the highest number of points after the ten throws.

The maximum score in each game is 64 (8×6)+(2×8), and the previously mentioned killshot is available for scoring on the fifth and tenth throws of the match (typically players will swap targets after five throws to ensure an even playing experience).

Players can compete in leagues and even in a World Championship if they are good enough! Sounds fun, right?

Before we can get you throwing, we first need to go over the proper way of holding and throwing an axe. We’ll then go over a few more fun games you can play at an axe throwing venue.

How To Throw An Axe

A couple of safety measures before we start!

1. Ensure the area around you and the target is clear of people before attempting to throw the axe. That means, you shouldn’t throw an axe while some is by the target or walking towards it. The key is: “throw together, retrieve together.”
2. Sharpening your axe will help it stick to the target much easier. This results in less potential danger to those around you, however, after you sharpen your axe, do not touch the blade directly with your fingers to avoid stitches – the sharper and thinner the profile of the axe, the easier it’ll stick.

When holding the axe make sure you have a firm grip similar to a baseball bat and keep the head as straight and perpendicular to the target as possible.

If you rotate the head of the axe it will cause it to fly sideways and also make it less likely to stick to the target.

There are two major ways of throwing an axe:

1. One-handed over the shoulder

2. Two-handed over the head

Both styles are equally popular and easy to do.

Depending on the wood being used in the target, if it is not soft enough, you may require more power.

If you find that throwing one-handed is causing your axes to drop on the floor consistently, try switching to the two-hand method to generate more power.

For the two-handed method you are gripping with both hands, bringing the axe straight back over your head as if throwing a soccer ball, pulling the axe forward and releasing when your hands line up with where you are attempting to throw.

For the one-handed throw we will start by allowing the axe to swing down beside our leg and using that swinging momentum to bring it up again past the ear of our throwing hand.

The next step is to follow straight through at the target and releasing again when your arm is parallel to the ground.

For a better visual representation of what is happening during each of these throws, Bad Axe Throwing has a wonderful page explaining in depth how to throw an axe.

Tip: For both methods, when releasing the axe you do not want to incorporate any wrist motion or attempt to guide the throw with your fingers. Simply release your grip and let the axe’s momentum carry it forward.

The World Axe Throwing League has also created a video that teaches you how to Throw Like a Pro.