Not sure if this is the right sub for this question, but I was curious about one of histories oldest ranged weapons, the boomerang.
I have seen it can be thrown impressive lengths (160 meters), but have no real idea of the damage it is capable of. The only video I could find of a boomerang actually hitting something was by someone who clearly knows nothing about proper form, and threw from maybe ten feet or so away.
Can anyone tell me just how deadly the boomerang was when used by a skilled individual? What kind of damage it could inflict when used properly?
Thank you.
400-500g is a not unusual weight for a boomerang (straight-flying hunting boomerang, rather than a returning boomerang). An experienced thrower can throw such a boomerang at speeds in excess of 20m/s, for kinetic energy of over 100J (translational kinetic energy, not counting the rotational kinetic energy).
This is approximately the energy that can be delivered with a blow by a club of similar weight (Alan R. Williams, The Knight and the Blast Furnace, Brill, 2003 gives 60-130J as typical energy for sword and axe blows). While this isn't as dangerous as a strike by an edged weapon, it is still a dangerous blunt weapon. R. W. French and G. R. Callender, "Ballistic Characteristics of Wounding Agents", ch 2 in J. C. Beyer (ed), Wound Ballistics, Medical Department, United States Army, 1962, report 58 ft-lbs (approx 80J) as an energy where "on the average it is probable that this amount of energy will insure a casualty". The boomerang also strikes with a narrow (but not sharp like a blade) edge, which makes it more damaging than an impact weapon with a broad striking surface.
The rotational kinetic energy can also contribute to damage when the boomerang hits.
Payne-Gallwey (of Crossbow fame) reported that
This weapon will travel, skimming low over the ground, to a range of from 150 to 180 yards, and the blow it gives a tree-trunk at 80 yards, is as if the latter were struck by a heavy blunt sword. As an instrument of savage warfare it would have a terrible effect on a scantily clad opponent.
(Arthur G. Credland, "Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey Bt. and the Study of Medieval and Ancient Projectile Weapons", Arms & Armour, Vol. 8 No. 1, 2011, 46-88)
Such boomerangs were used to hunt large game such as emus and kangaroos, and were capable of bringing down such animals at ranges in excess of 60m (at which distance, the boomerang, through its straight and level trajectory, can provide significant advantage in accuracy over spears).
As for the possible effect on humans, Michael Westaway et al., "The death of Kaakutja: a case of peri-mortem weapon trauma in an Aboriginal man from north-western New South Wales, Australia", Antiquity, 90, 1318-1333 (2016) report skeletal evidence that boomerangs or similar narrow-edged wooden weapons (like sword clubs (e.g., the lil-lil club), which will deliver similar energies) can kill.