Just got my Big Bore Blowgun today!

M

minipyro23

Joined
Oct 12, 2006
Messages
131
Hey, today my big bore blowgun arrived in the mail. At first I didn't think it would come since today was president but today was the schuled(sp?) delivery and they held through to deliver it. I was so excited when i spotted a box about 4 and half feet tall and a half a foot wide. I knew it was my blowgun, I run upstairs to my room and grab my mora 2000 to savagely slash the tape apart. I dump the content on to my bed and my first impression is wow this things a monster! The only blowguns I had before were two .40 calibers 3 and 4 feet. This thing was much bigger. It was a 4 foot .625 caliber big bore blowgun. I ordered a extra pack of 50 bamboo darts and 40 zytel darts to come along with my 36 darts that initially came with the blowgun. I quickly loaded a bamboo dart into the barrel and looked for the nearest thing to shoot. I see the box and deceide why not? I blast away as hard as I can and felt like I nearly popped a lung. I try again with the same results. Then I look at the blowgun from up to down and see a type of plug in the end of the barrel. Man I felt stupid. So I take it off and shoot. I made some quivers the other night with PVC pipe and a foam bottom. They have string with duck tape to go where your neck is. I also made one peice of cloth with string attached to clean the barrel. So I deceide to take it in the basement to give it a try. Compared to my .40 caliber this thing was very accurate. At 20-30ish feet I was getting anywhere from a half of inch to 3 inches of a group with the occasion stray. This was out of 8 bamboo darts. I found these to be more accurate followed by the zytels with the mini broad heads, broad heads, and stun darts. I was glad I ordered extra zytels and bamboo darts since they were my top favorite. When I got a little better I was shooting this little stuffed piggy probably about 6 inches and length and 2 inches high. This was smaller then what I planned to go for. I planned to go for rabbits, squirrels, and doves. Also when it warms up I want to try it on panfish. Anyways I had about a 80% chance to hit something vital which is pretty good in my mind for a noobie. Then I start thinking of penetration and deceide I could use a zytel head with a bamboo shaft to make "The Ulitmate Dart". I grabbed two pairs of pliars(sp?) and a bamboo and zytel dart. I look around for some cloth as to not damage the zytel head. I see my shirt and think why not? I go ahead and wrap the zytel dart head in it and attempt to pull them apart. Bad idea... I eneded up with a shredded shirt and a totally broked zytel dart. Then I think hmmm... the good folks of blade forums might want to hear about my blowgun and this is when the story ends. If any of you have any questions I'd be blade to answer.
 
We need links, we need pics....we need.... ummmm
a video of you "savegely slashing tape" with your Mora 2000! :eek:

Give us eye candy.
 
Not to be overly-critical or to ruin your enthusiasm, but blowgun darts rarely kill. Typically you end up cruelly maiming your target. I would recommend not actually using it for hunting, but just plinking or recreation. I have one as well and have lots of fun with it but would never use it against wildlife unless I found myself in a situation where my life depended on it.

Just like with any other hunting, be responsible and only take the shot if your positive your going to be able to drop your target. That's not really possible with a blowgun.
 
Skunk unfortunatly there will be no pics as I have no digital camera. I'll find the link for you in a moment. And Heroics what caliber is your blowgun and what is the make? I have no doubt these can kill and I can provide you several links showing videos and forums of hunting forums. Going to get the links now.
 
I am sorry to say that I agree with Heroics, I shot 3 squirrels and 2 or 3 birds and did not kill any of them they all ran or flew away with the dart. Some of them I hit very solid and I feel certain that they died later, I decided not to shoot anymore animals with a blowgun unless I can get a hold of some of those really colorful frogs. :p Chris
 
Heroics said:
Not to be overly-critical or to ruin your enthusiasm, but blowgun darts rarely kill. Typically you end up cruelly maiming your target. I would recommend not actually using it for hunting, but just plinking or recreation. I have one as well and have lots of fun with it...
Click to expand...

I used to think like that but the CS Big Bore is like hurling finishing nails, it's totally different from the .38 and .40 Cal. Jivaro, Yaqui/Yaqua and similar pipes.

The most I killed back in the 1980s with a .40 Cal. was locusts during an outbreak...and some mice. :)

...but would never use it against wildlife unless I found myself in a situation where my life depended on it.
Click to expand...

Even though I think the CS Big Bore and more importantly...the darts...are light years ahead of .38 and .40 Cal., I would still agree with you here. That might change with CS's new razor-tipped darts, I don't know yet.

Just like with any other hunting, be responsible and only take the shot if your positive your going to be able to drop your target. That's not really possible with a blowgun.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think it is possible with a lot of practice and with this caliber blowpipe and razor sharp darts.

I still think people should restrict themselves to practice and they can practice for the rest of their lives and become incredibly skilled with one, then one day if they have to use it for emergency food gathering, they would be able to.

One of the big problems with writing a post like I just did is a lot of people don't realize I am talking about serious practice and not just six months and then thinking you're Ted Nugent with it. :D
 
Hey I've been having fun with these too! I have the 4' and 5' blowguns. I sure wish they'd make a take down model!

That end piece is actually a crutch tip so you can use the blowgun as a walking stick. The aluminum that they use for these guns are pretty stout/thick huh? And the darts are more like nails than the smaller "wire" darts that you normally associate with blowguns.

I've really enjoyed using my BB Blowguns, and highly recommend them to anyone. I like the mini-broad head and regular sized broad head darts. After sharpening them with my Dremel tool, it's impressive what they'll go through! The bamboo darts are fun too. I haven't used the stun darts too much yet. It's great that the whole package is pretty inexpensive.

These guns take some getting used to since they're so much larger than the other .40 & even .50 cal blowguns on the market. But I'm always surprised at how accurate you can be with them!

I'd recommend the book by Michael Janich, and the section on BB blowguns on the Cold Steel "Proof" DVD's are great too.
 
minipyro23 said:
Skunk unfortunatly there will be no pics as I have no digital camera. I'll find the link for you in a moment. And Heroics what caliber is your blowgun and what is the make? I have no doubt these can kill and I can provide you several links showing videos and forums of hunting forums. Going to get the links now.
Click to expand...

No problem, just "funnin" with ya.
A link would be cool to see just what this beast looks like.

I can shoot a wire dart clean through luaun plywood with my .40 cal.
Should be left to the hunter using proper ethics, and making shots with "probable" kill/mortally-wound chances.

If you skewer a dove, it's not going too far, at all.
 
Hey sonola how woudl you compare the 4 to the 5 foot models? I am thinking about getting a 5 foot model as well for more power. And yeah the darts are really beefy compared the smaller caliber wire darts. You think using it as a walking stick would slightly bend the barrel? I wouldn't want to loose some accuracy over that. I never tried to sharpen the darts yet might try and file some later. And I have been thinking about using a band saw to cut a small cut in the end to insert the tip of a broken number 11 x-acto blade. Yeah and I was really surprised at the increase of preformance compared to the smaller .40 calibers.
 
Skunk, yeah the smaller caliburs can put a wire dart surprisingly far into a peice of wood. Problem is they leave a hole the size of a pin and they have leave about no tissue damage. I once had a .40 spear head dart in the cuffs of my jeans and when I pulled them on I got it stuck about 2 inches into my foot. With a little effort I pulled it out and it hurt but not even a drop of blood came out! And runningboar I'm not doubting you or anything but what was the caliber of your blowgun and what kind of darts were you using? It really makes a difference.
 
It was a 40, and I realize that your darts are quite a bit bigger but the only darts I would think about hunting with would be a metal broadhead razor sharp. I would not shoot any living thing, except maybe a fish, with just a sharpened dart or one of those plastic psuedo broadheads. I have seen online, like you mentioned, people making broadheads out of exacto blades which looks promising, I have thought that hacksaw blades might be another source of broadheads. Chris
 
Yeah hack saws could work but that would make some excess work having to file a edge on it.(which I am not very good at by the way).
 
I too have only shot a .40, never a .625.

I apologize for my misunderstanding, although it still wouldn't use one for hunting myself, I now agree that a blowgun can be used for ethical hunting with plenty of practice.

either way cool tool. Thanks for the pics and the videos.

No offense intended...


:D
 
Heroics no fense takin, just want to let you know that they can be a ethical hunting tool. And running boar using hack saws blades would be some good practice for both my blowgunning and sharpening skills. While in the basement I had a idea. The mouth peice makes a comfortable handle and 4 feet is a good length as a walking stick for me. I figure you could load the tube with darts and seal the end with the little plug. It would look like and make a great walking stick and I would be prepared if I saw any critters.
 
Sounds like a good idea, only be sure to figure out a way that your broadheads won't be rattling around in there getting dull, little paper sheaths over the blades maybe?

If you have a dremel tool and a cut off wheel I think the hacksaw blade broadheads are very doable, remember your safety glasses with the dremel!!!!
 
Yeah I have a dremel need to buy some more disks though. And you could make paper sheaths or maybe make disks from cardboard or corks. Or I could just be lazy and shove em in there =P
 
minipyro23 said:
Hey sonola how woudl you compare the 4 to the 5 foot models? I am thinking about getting a 5 foot model as well for more power. And yeah the darts are really beefy compared the smaller caliber wire darts. You think using it as a walking stick would slightly bend the barrel? I wouldn't want to loose some accuracy over that. I never tried to sharpen the darts yet might try and file some later. And I have been thinking about using a band saw to cut a small cut in the end to insert the tip of a broken number 11 x-acto blade. Yeah and I was really surprised at the increase of preformance compared to the smaller .40 calibers.
Click to expand...

I bought both the 4' and 5' guns thinking that the 4' model would be better for travel since CS doesn't make a take down model. (I sure wish they would!) They do offer a 2' extension that would be pretty cool, but I don't know offhand who has them for sale. Length is the name of the game when it comes to blowguns and velocity/hitting power. I can't really say if you should buy the 5' model or not. Maybe you could just look around for the extension.

Do you have one of the CS "Proof" DVD's? If not you can get one for free off of the CS website. In it Lynn goes pretty in-depth about the BB blowguns and how useful they are with the different darts. (The section on the DVD about CS boar spears is very interesting too!)

As far as using the gun for hunting, people who doubt the .625's effectiveness on game up to about 5# really should check out the DVD. I feel that if the sharpened dart is able to penetrate through 3/16" leather and 1/4" plywood, it should have no problem on game as long as you have a well placed head/heart lung shot. I'd never use the darts without sharpening them first though. It makes a BIG difference when you sharpen them! I use the Dremel tool. A file would take too long. Remember, the darts don't have any edge on them at all. They're like a butter knife!

As far as using the gun for a walking stick, I wouldn't be afraid too, but haven't done so yet. The curved mouthpiece is actually a place to put your thumb when used as a walking stick. (That design is called a thumb stick, and there are quite a few regular walking sticks that have this feature.) I think you'd probably wear out the crutch tip before ever harming or bending the blowgun. When I unpacked mine a couple of months ago, I was really surprised at how stout the guns are! Like a lot of people, I was used to the smaller .40 & .50 cal blowguns.

I like the Janich book on blowguns, even though it has chapters that I'm really not interested in (like using poison, etc.)

All in all, this has been a fun recreation that hardly costs anything.
 
Hey sonola thanks for the reply! I'm about to check out that video at coldsteel. I think I might get the 5 foot and a 2 foot extension and I know that bladematrix has them both. Well I'm going to go watch the video. Cya
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top