primal experience

Flinging axes for fun

- BUSTER WOLFE

Many years ago, throwing an ax might have been followed by dragging home a deer or bear. Mississippi was once a wilderness with early Native American migrants who had traveled from the Great Lakes to inhabit the land.

Fast-forward to today. At least eight Mississippi businesses are giving present-day adventurers the same thrill of the simple—yet stunningly deadly—action of tossing a sharpened metal blade attached to a wooden handle to a plywood target 12 feet away.

Ax throwing is one of the world’s fastest-growing family sporting experiences to pop up in the Magnolia State, and its popularity is expanding exponentially.

Oxford, Brandon, Starkville, Biloxi, Tupelo, two in Hattiesburg, and soon-to-be one in Corinth have all started or built ax-throwing venues for wannabe Davy Crocketts. With accouterments like beverages, children’s games, flat-screen TVs, and other amenities, each site has its own character.