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Blowguns? Anyone use one for hiking or camping?

I

IAFF318

Joined
May 19, 2006
Messages
70
:thumbup::thumbdn:I know it would not be my first choice to use in a survival situation or as the main means to put food on the fire, but does anyone use them regularly. I had one when I was a kid that I bought out of the back of a boyscout mag. Had lots of fun with it, never really hunted with it. I have seen the ones that CS offers and they look like good stuff, even if all the editing makes Lynn Thompson look like Annie Oakley. Just wondering, was thinking about picking up I have a birthday coming up.:rolleyes:
 
From what I have read in Backwoodsman magazine they are an awesome tool for getting small game....unfortunately they are illegal where I live !!!!
 
I use one to play with They can be quite effective game getters I imagine.. if you have the right tipped darts... However it is illegal to use them in most places for hunting.
 
I made one as a kid using a PVC pipe with darts made from nails with taped on cone shaped tails made out of paper. It was amazingly accurate even out to 70-80 feet. Can't think of an easier projectile weapon to make. Even easier than a sling or slingshot. Much more accurate as well.
 
From what I've heard they work quite effectively at taking small birds if you use a long dart. The dart goes through the body and prevents them from flapping effectively. They just fall to the ground ready to be dispatched.

Not sure from a personal standpoint though.
 
I've found them ineffective for the most part.

Like RescueRiley mentioned, the right tips are key-- but the problem with that is the weight of the darts is so minimal, the tips can really throw off the trajectory of the dart. Also, when you start getting into broad head type darts, your penetration can drop dramatically. Unlike a bow, there really isn't enough force behind the dart to get the job done. I'm not saying that you could never take small game with a blowgun, but it it is definitely not the most humane or effective way to do it.

That being said, I have seen some rolled in nurotoxins that worked alright. You end up having to track the animal for a bit and there is always the chance that they get stuck in the tree, but they can work.

Personally I would take a folding slingshot/wrist rocket over a blowgun any day of the week. I've seen animals shot between the eyes keep on going about their business without more than blinking when the dart struck them.
 
BG's are fun but as for hunting, they are just plain cruel. I'll skip my BG hunting story.
 
I would only use one for hunting if my life depended on it. However, for fun, they sure are just that - fun!
 
They are fun, but I find it hard to see how they would kill an animal unless used with some kind of poison.
All the native people I've ever seen on tv that used blow guns to hunt, used some kind of poison put on the tip. Otherwise, it would be nearly impossible to kill an animal with one, unless you were a super accurate shot, and could get within 5 yards of an animal.
 
I've made broad head darts from small fragments of scalpel blades they are extremely light and maintain a good trajectory for about 50 feet.. Something like this would concielvably cause enough arterial trauma to a squirrel of possibly even a rabbit. to ensure a kill...However as any bowhunter will tell you.. when your method of killing is dependent upon hypoperfusion...Be prepared to do some tracking... and I would imagine a squirrel leaves a llot less of a bllod trail then a white tail.
 
I've played with them a bit.
Commercial .40 cal, got that because I put a barrel on a modified Co2 rifle...(insane power if the projectile could stand it, I put darts through 3/4" plywood)

And home-made with coat hanger wire and paper cones.


A fun toy to be sure, but consistant accuracy is TOUGH.
And not to beat the point to death, but wound size is very very small.

I lurked on a blowgun forum for a while.
I think hunting with them is not for the squeemish.
The people who did it basically said that having to dispatch prey with a stick was the rule. Even brain shots often resulted in a lot of flopping around.
I vaugely remmeber something interesting though, several people claimed that using some sort of hot-pepper stuff on the darts improved lethality significantly. I can't remeber the particulars, it was some time ago.


Using solid pellets might work though, I can see knocking very small game out of a tree and stunning it long enough for you to finish the job. Might even have better balistic qualities then most darts.
 
I had one as a kid that I bought at a scout show and I still have it somewhere :confused: I'll have to dig it up now :p It came with about 8-10 darts, they were really simple, more for target practice. They looked like really long needles with a plastic cap/tail on the end. I had a great time shooting it into walls and doors growing up, of course my mom could have killed me for it :o

I never tried using it for hunting, there would be an occasional gecko that I would aim for, but I never became accurate with it....so lucky geckos :D

I would be hesitant to use it on small game, although, it would seem to work much like bow hunting for large game I would think. Shot placement would be key, and then you'd have to track down whatever it is that you shot.
 
I have one, just threw it away last weekend. It was a take-down model that I received as a gift, came with plastic bbs, piano wire and even some 'broadhead's. Definitely should stay in the "toys" category.

I doubt that they would be good for survival. Darts, even the "broadheads" don't do much damage besides pushing a little hole into food-sized critters. Of course you need to hit your target first.

Seems more like a animal maiming device than anything that will put food into the pot.

Remember that even native hunters have to add tree frog toxins to hunt effectively with them.
 
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