[jtilley]

I have never owned or shot a store bought blowgun, but some of the reviews I read make me wonder if I'm missing out on something. What are your thoughts on the benefits of homemade vs store bought , or store bought vs homemade?

 

[NaturalFork]

The advantages of store bought blowguns is that you can buy pre made perfectly fitting darts. with homemade you typically have to make or modify darts... which can be part of the fun.

 

[cjb4u]

Well some store bought can be cheap toys and anyone with a little patience and time can make a better quality product for little money. Nice thing on most store bought you get a lot of darts and have access to easy replacements. I just got a Cold Steel Pro and it is a solid pipe very solid. I have not had much time with it but will give a full run down when I have some time.

 

[superman365]

like the others said, darts can be easily purchased rather then having to make darts. but, homemade can be made to whatever length and is many many times cheaper then buying one (most of the time)

 

[neondog]

Many who have been making their own darts for a few years will shudder at the thought of buying darts because in most cases the cone to bore fit is NOT perfect and not up to their standards. There is also limited variations of weight and styles for commercial darts.

I've made hundreds of darts but still use commercial wire dart cones for competition. I buy several hundred cones at a time (black 50 cal.) and sort them according to size.

Cheap tubing or conduit gives you more piece of mind when thinking about chopping off three or six inches just to see how it affects your power. Everyone has different limitations on how much tube they can use and those limits change over time. Periodic experimentation is a good thing but would get expensive if all the tubes were mail-order.

 

[one shot]

i have 4 coldsteel blowguns and love them , having darts that fit exact is so much easier than having to make them. i use the heavy duty cs gun and have never had a problem with it bending even after camping and hunting trips. i use ti have a conduit gun but it would warp and have the darts flying left or right all the time.it also had a rough bore which slowed the darts down. if possible save your money and get the store bought one.

 

[Will Edwards]

I believe it all comes down to your circumstances: age, legality etc. If you can't order a blowgun, a 1/2 inch copper pipe has worked for me. If you can, get a Cold Steel 5 foot model

Sent from my SM-S975L using Tapatalk

 

[Jonesysoutdoors22]

It really depends on you,and how big of a hobby it is for you. You can just find things to make a bg and darts out of anywhere,cheap...can be part of fun don't pass that up. Plus home made might be better depending on your skill,and what's available. But if you have a few bucks, and really want to start shooting at all, i would highly recommend one of the cold steel pro models. I absolutely love mine and is great to shoot. Awesome power compared to smaller caliber bg. Major plus there is great walking stick too...i found the 4 ft model on sale with free shipping and I think I paid a whopping $22. Get a cold steel big bore,and home make you're hunting darts....that's my combo lol

 

[Will Edwards]

If you need a blowgun, use a 4 foot 1/2 inch copper pipe, and .50 blowdarts. Just wrap duct tape around the cones until you have a good fit.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008NWUVMY/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1455833718&sr=8-2&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=50+blowgun+darts