Hucking hatchets
Mike Hamilton lines up an ax throw at Hank's Hatchets. (Daniel McKay/Whitefish Pilot)
Jared D'Andrea recently opened Hank's Hatchets, an ax-throwing hangout on Highway 93 South. (Daniel McKay/Whitefish Pilot)
Jared D'Andrea recently opened Hank's Hatchets, an ax-throwing hangout on Highway 93 South. (Daniel McKay/Whitefish Pilot)
There’s something about throwing an ax, Jared “Hank” D’Andrea says.
Standing about 10 feet away from a wooden board painted with target circles, D’Andrea lifts a small ax behind his head, pauses, and launches.
In an instant, the ax head is buried in a red bullseye.
“It’s a good stress reliever,” D’Andrea says. “It really gets the adrenaline going and the endorphins pumping.”
Hank’s Hatchets opened last week along Highway 93 South near the Montana 40 intersection.
At $15 an hour, customers can compete against each other or just throw for fun at Hank’s Hatchets, which features several ax-throwing areas — with fencing for safety — and private party areas as well.
D’Andrea says he’s been throwing axes for fun for the last year or so, and wanted to get ahead of a national boom in the sport.
“It’s pretty much trending across America right now. I’ve been living in Whitefish for about three years and I figured it’d be something different and fun to do,” he says.
“Skiing, drinking and hatchet throwing, you know?” he adds with a laugh.
The business is part of the World Ax Throwing League, or WATL, and D’Andrea has high hopes for what his shop can become.
He’s already thinking ahead about a Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, location, and he’d love to bring future competitions to the Whitefish business as part of WATL.
But right now, as Hank’s Hatchets gets through its first couple weeks, it’s all about managing the already-busy schedule.
Interested parties can sign up online via the business’ website, and the first couple days following Hank’s opening last Friday were packed ahead of time. There are walk-in cages to throw in on less busy days as well.
There’s also a bring your own beverage policy, where customers can bring in beer to enjoy while they chat and throw axes.
The idea is worrisome to some people, D’Andrea acknowledges, but the limit is two drinks per hour and most parties only stay for about an hour.
“A lot of people are like, ‘I don’t know how I feel about hatchet throwing and drinking.’ People are here for about an hour, so a beer or two and just before you start to get wild, you’ve got to go,” he says.
He also plans on offering Sunday events where kids aged 12 and older can throw. Those events are tailored for families and will allow no beer.
Whether it’s the manliest man, a child, or a woman in her 30s — D’Andrea claims this is the most popular demographic — a little ax throwing can be fun for anyone.
“It’s different. It brings out a different person in everybody. Even if you were to stop here for five minutes and throw a hatchet, it’s going to turn your whole day around. At first I just thought it sounded cool, but once you actually get doing it, it’s super fun,” he says.
“It just brings out that inner warrior, dude.”
More information is available at www.hankshatchets.com.