[dhancock]

I'm trying to make my choice of CS blowguns. I like the extensions on the non-professional makes, but I like the quality of the professional types. Any ideas on what I should get?

 

[GhostHawk]

As I see it you have 3 choices here.

A Keep it short. You really don't need 5-6 feet for target practice, 3' is fine for indoors, If you are planning to hunt with it, then I'd go 4'.

B There are a LOT of web sites selling parts, accessorys, etc. So maybe your better off buying two 2' blowguns and a ferrel to put them together? This one has the most flexibility

C Make your own from a piece of tubeing, aluminum, copper, pvc all work fine especially in shorter lengths.

At our local lowes you can buy a 5 foot long ' 1/2" pvc pipe for 1.47$ Couple of couplings, one for mouth piece, one for center coupling, and a single saw cut, and you have a nice takedown blowgun for under 3$. The only downside of this is you might have to make your own darts. Bamboo skewers and duct tape make pretty good ones. If in doubt search on utube for how too's. Inside of a day I was able to crank out a dart every 30-40 seconds.

As half inch PVC pipe is actually .6 inches inside I suspect that CS darts would probably work. (Havn't tested this myself, yet)

Best of luck to you!

 

[treefork]

The 5 foot 2 piece is awesome. Perfect union of the two pieces. Can't go wrong. I like the idea of the sturdiness of the Pro but I don't need a walking stick. A 2 pc option like this is versatile. 5 foot is a good balance of volume and length for accuracy and power. I am extremely pleased with mine. No down side.

 

[treefork]

Every few months they go on sale here

http://www.midwayusa.com/find?newcategorydimensionid=15212&cm_vc=21332PopCat

 

[dhancock]

Thanks for the help guys! I think I'll probably go with the 5 foot 2 piece. Maybe I'll get an extension. I've used a 3 foot section of PVC for foam dart battles a fair amount, but for targets other than humans, foam doesn't have the greatest force or accuracy.

 

[NaturalFork]

I always want a solid piece. But that is just me. Target practice is always done on a USA made .50 cal 4 footer. Hunting is done on a homemade blowgun. I gave my pro CS to a brother in law. If I need to hunt ... a homemade is cheaper and works better. But requires more effort.

 

[dhancock]

I went ahead and bought a CS standard two piece 5 foot. I like using a two foot extension with it. I'm looking forward to using it. Thanks for the advice!

 

[treefork]

Keep us updated how it works out for you.

 

[dhancock]

I've been practicing at about 25 feet. I can hit a tin can 1/5 times, so I still need some more improvement. I've been using a 2 foot extension most of the time. My two biggest problems: not getting the spear darts stuck too far in the wood, and not breaking the plastic stun darts. I set up a layer of carboard behind my targets, and behind that a wooden pallet.

 

[treefork]

I would lose the extension until your shooting and skill improve. 5 ft is much easier than 7 ft. You should be shooting the spear head darts into a softer material than wood. Layered corrugated card board for example or archery foam. The stun darts can be shot into a hanging t-shirt or towel for a back stop. No damage that way and easy to retrieve.

 

[dhancock]

I like the towel idea especially. I'll have to try that! By the way, how do you store your blowgun? In the blowgun manual (breath of death), it suggested hanging it, to prevent warping from leaning it. Do you think that is necessary for a CS?

 

[treefork]

I stand it on end muzzle down leaning up against the wall . LOL Its not delicate and will not warp. The special handling applies to wood, bamboo and pvc or any material that may warp easy. No worries here.

 

[GhostHawk]

I just stand mine on end so they are pretty much vertical.

I also just use a piece of 2" rigid foam for indoor target shooting. Much warmer in my basement than outside up here in Dakota.

I've also found for practice that long really doesn't help. In fact 3-4 feet is all you need for indoor shooting. Add on the extra when your going hunting. At least that has been my experience.

 

[Teach]

've also found for practice that long really doesn't help. In fact 3-4 feet is all you need for indoor shooting. Add on the extra when your going hunting. At least that has been my experience.

Thats one way to do it, but not what I would recommend. I'll explain. Generally most guys when they go out hunting don't take 50-100 shots before going after prey. When ever you go from one blow gun length to a blow gun of a different length there is an adjustment that has to be made. It takes a while to get used to. Your sighting radius is different with each there for your point of impact will also be different. Bowing a shorter tube is harder to get high velocities than with a longer tube. And it takes 50-100 darts minimum (for me) to make that adjustment each time.

This is just for myself now - I would never recommend anyone go less than a 4 foot BG. Yes short BG's can be fun, but for serious work longer is always better. It is harder to sight a shorter blow gun than it is to sight a longer blow gun. If you are a hunter and plan to hunt with your blow gun then shot placement is paramount and to get that, consistency is everything. For hunting I would not recommend anything less than 4 feet unless you need a short tube for dispatch shots to finish off game but a long tube works just as well if not better for that also as long as you have room to maneuver it's length.

Some guys like a short BG and a longer BG. I'm suggesting to stay above the 4 foot mark and use a length that is easy to use for what you want to use it for and then use that length for everything. Consistency is everything and not having to make adjustments every time you go from shooting a shorter BG inside the house to go hunting with a longer BG outside the house it is gonna benefit you greatly.

Select a BG between 4 and 5 feet to start with and work with it. Practice practice practice and avoid going from one length to another until you have mastered the basics. Then try different lengths to see if you like something else better. Decide on one thing then stick with it for everything if you can.

I have found that 4 feet is a minimum length compromise that will do almost everything reasonably well and 5 feet does it better - for me. But I don't swap back and forth for the reasons stated above when it comes to hunting.

Best of luck.

 

[squirrelslinger]

I like a 2 1/2 foot PVC for indoor target shooting.

drop is virtually nil under 10m.

outside, I use a 5 foot Geezer type blowgun.

Stay around 4 ft and you should be fine.

 

[Gigmaster]

I shoot the 5' one-piece with the 2' extension. The Pro wasn't out when I bought mine, but I use it as a walking stick all the time, and I haven't had any trouble at all, and I weigh around 250 pounds.

You need to practice with the blowgun set up the way you intend to shoot it. If you practice without the extension, and get good, then put the extension on, it's a different blowgun now, and you have to start all over. The extension gives you at least 1/3 more power, and range, maybe more. I can hit my archery target (somewhere) as far away as 45 yards with the extension. Not good enough to hunt at that range, but all darts on the target somewhere.

If you are breaking darts, you are too close. I practice at 15-30 yards. If you are going to shoot much closer than that, you need to not use the extension. Even at 10 yards, the 5-foot is going probably be too powerful. At 15 yards, without the extension, I can send a broadhead completely through my archery target, and out the other side. I can completely bury a 1-foot bamboo dart in the target at 15 yards. The CS .625 is not a toy, like other blowguns. It is made to take game with, and do it well. You may want to get a .40 or .50 cal for target shooting. I have both, and I use the .40 cal for shooting at close range targets. I also break it down to 4' for shorter ranges.

It sounds like what you are doing is a lot like trying to shoot a 30-06 at an airgun range. Move farther away, or get a smaller shorter blowgun.

 

[Gigmaster]

They didn't have the Professional models when I got mine, and now my wife say's I don't need another blowgun (I guess she thinks 5 is enough....). One of my friends has the Pro, and the main thing that I noticed about his was that is is a lot heavier than mine. But I have never had any issues with mine, not even as a walking stick. I guess it's just a matter of personal preference.

 

[Teach]

I will use my 5 foot indoors right down to 2 yards. I just make a smaller target to shoot at as it takes just as much skill to hit a small target up close as it does to hit a larger one farther away. I have no problem with breaking darts what so ever. Roibin Hooding the darts is another matter...............necesitating the need to shoot one dart at one target and shooting each dart at it's own sepparate target so as not to skewer them.

I have both the CS models 5 foot two piece and the 4 foot Pro. Each has benefits over the other but really, aside from the mouthpieces I can't fault either of them and really like them both. I have been using the 5 foot more simply because I am so used to a 5 foot length but I still find myself picking up the 4 footer for the quick shot like a dog rooting through the trash or a cat taking a dump in my yard.......stuff like that. I really don't like going back and forth from one lenth to another like that as it throws off my shooting. But I am still trying to settle on ONE all around BG. It will probably end up being the 5 foot two piece both because of it being 5 feet rather than 4 and also because of the fact that it is easy to take pretty much anywhere because it breaks down into 4 pieces counting the coupler and mouth piece.

 

[treefork]

I will use my 5 foot indoors right down to 2 yards. I just make a smaller target to shoot at as it takes just as much skill to hit a small target up close as it does to hit a larger one farther away. I have no problem with breaking darts what so ever. Roibin Hooding the darts is another matter...............necesitating the need to shoot one dart at one target and shooting each dart at it's own sepparate target so as not to skewer them.

I have both the CS models 5 foot two piece and the 4 foot Pro. Each has benefits over the other but really, aside from the mouthpieces I can't fault either of them and really like them both. I have been using the 5 foot more simply because I am so used to a 5 foot length but I still find myself picking up the 4 footer for the quick shot like a dog rooting through the trash or a cat taking a dump in my yard.......stuff like that. I really don't like going back and forth from one lenth to another like that as it throws off my shooting. But I am still trying to settle on ONE all around BG. It will probably end up being the 5 foot two piece both because of it being 5 feet rather than 4 and also because of the fact that it is easy to take pretty much anywhere because it breaks down into 4 pieces counting the coupler and mouth piece.

I agree. 5 foot two piece is the way to go.

 

[Teach]

To the topic of storing, I don't think you would ever have to worry about a CS BG ever warping from hanging it horizontally. But for other BG's of inferior materials I would suggest hanging them vertically as my original 5 foot .625 cal was made of very thin walled tubing as it was all I could find locally at the time. I hung it horizontally and it did sag in the middle. A couple things contributed to this. The two ends of the BG that rested on the nails were resting on nails placed 5 feet apart so the BG was hanging by it's extreme end points (wall studs were 12" apart). Between the nails being too far apart and the thin wall of the BG tube it took a set and warped but only slightly. I thought at the time that it was a bad thing but as it turned out, by holding that bend in the barrel up while shooting the barrel sag ends up being perfectly straight while held. So the bad turned out to be a good thing but I still recommend hanging vertically for storage. It has a couple things going for it. One it takes up less wall space along the wall. Two it make it easier to remove a BG without hitting something within the room and the same while re hanging. After having that first BG take a set, I have always just hung them vertically. It may not really be necessary but I just feel better about doing it that way knowing all will be as it should be when I return again after months of not being used in storage. I overwinter in Mexico then return to Canada for the summers so mine hang for extended periods.