Let's talk about Hunting with a blowgun. What are the factors that need to be taken into account. I am hoping that some of our more experienced members can share their thoughts. Some examples of what I am looking to discuss is:
Is aiming different than target shooting due to elevation differences?
What is the minimum dart weight that should humanely be used for a quick kill?
Does blowgun length play a part in being more effective in hunting?
Please share your thoughts on hunting with blowguns.
When I hunted with my blowgun, about a 6' long .50 caliber hand made beauty, I used bamboo skewers about 90% of the time. I used corks on the end or a very light cone. All my darts were in the 38-42 grain range, no more. I tried very hard to keep them in this weight zone. For me, just like the natives of the Amazon and the South Americas, speed and flat trajectory was of most importance.."Knock Down Power" was not even looked at. All I had to do was go out and see how deeply a thin sharp needle or sharp bamboo skewer penetrated and there was my answer. I might add that although my two main blowguns were in the 6' range I also used 4' blowguns a lot. It sure was handier in the field and at most of the ranges I was shooting I did not feel handicapped at all.
To me the most important thing was dart speed and of course accuracy. My sharpened bamboo skewers penetrated deep into anything they hit and stayed in the animal as I barbed them, they were like a porcupine quill. Never used a broadhead on my darts as I wanted the same point of impact with hunting as well as target darts.
I might add the secret to dart speed is your blowing technique, it is a
COMBINATION of air volume, explosion of breath AND the continuation of that air flow till the dart leaves the barrel. Explosion of your breath is a quickly learned thing as the air is shot out from your lungs not blown .. you build up pressure and it is explosively shot out as fast as possible using the roof of your mouth as a air release valve !!! Watch the natives, they fill their lungs and cheeks to the max and on expulsion almost leap forward keeping the fast air flow going till the dart has left the barrel.(the quick leap/push forward actually improves dart speed a bit). Very, very few on YouTube are actually using a blowing technique correctly to get full potential out of the tube ! I'm sure in my day I could get the same or faster speed with a 4' BG than many are getting with a 5 or 6' BG.
My shots were in the 8-15+ yard range, rarely a little further. To say I hunted a lot with a blowgun would be an understatement for sure.
To bad we don't all live close by so we could exchange ideas and experiences. I have many to tell !
wll
