Blowguns - ModernBlowgun

Blowguns- The Beginner's Primer
An Authoritative Book Concerning the Details of the
Blowgun's Construction and Usage
Written By Oliver Krystal
Preview Release
Version 1.6
Prologue:
The young man moves slowly and stealthily from the deep woods toward the edge of the clearing. He is short
and muscular by today’s standards, and is dressed in a buckskin shirt, leggings, and moccasins. His jet-black
hair falls from beneath a turban-like headdress, decorated with a few feathers and shells. In his hands are the
long slender cane blowgun called Tugawesti and several needle-sharp wooden darts tufted with Bull Nettle. The
darts are called Gitsi. He has prepared himself by singing the hunt song, and shooting one of his darts away. It
is a sort of sacrifice to the spirits of the hunt. His black eyes are intently focused on his quarry, a flock of birds
feeding on the Service Berries in the low trees by the edge of a stream. They are considered to be a great
delicacy by the Cherokee. He makes a low hissing sound with his lips to calm and attract the birds.
The Cherokee are his people. He is of the Bird Clan, known for their prowess with the Tugawesti. He has been
preoccupied of late with a pretty young woman of the Blue clan, and the birds will make a nice gift for her
mother. Hopefully this will work in his favor when the women of the Blue clan consider his initial request to marry
the young woman.
Slowly he loads a dart into the blowgun, and raises it to his lips. Another dart protrudes upward from his gripping
fingers a few inches in front of his right eye. It serves as an improvised sight. The young man deliberately
relaxes his body, seeking to still himself from within. As in most aspects of his life, this relaxation technique is
spiritual in origin. A quick puff of air sends the dart on its deadly mission at nearly 200 feet per second. There is
a brief quiet flutter, and one of the birds falls to the ground. The other birds flit around in the trees, but do not fly
away. The young man slowly loads another dart. Otherwise he is as still as a statue. Another dart flies, and
another, and another. Each time a bird falls. He does not miss. The Bird Clan members are indeed masters of
the Tugawesti. When he has enough he gathers the birds, reverently thanking each one in turn for giving him the
gift of its life. He then turns toward the village, and the home of the young woman’s mother.
It is a beautiful day in the smoking mountains, the heartland of the Cherokee. The proud young man is full of
hope and dreams of the future. He has no way of knowing that within his lifetime, pale strangers will come:
Strangers who will change his way of life and that of his people forever. He strolls slowly along, daydreaming of
the pretty smiling face of his young woman.
Less than four hundred years later, the thriving city of Asheville North Carolina engulfs the area of the hunt with
tall buildings, paved streets, businesses and shops. The stream has long since been diverted, swallowed up by
concrete, asphalt, and steel. Pale metropolitan people hurry back and forth, living their contemporary lives. If
asked, most would have only a vague notion of what a blowgun is. They will never know how wonderful the birds
taste when rubbed with herbs and roasted on a stick. They will never master the subtle skill of the Tugawesti, or
care to try. In spite of this, there will be those few who remember. There will be those few who know…
Welcome to Blowgunning!
Blowgunning is not a well-known hobby. Now, you know of it as well. The purpose of this book is to
provide a very good grounding point for all new blowgunners to start with- so that you could spend
money on getting into the hobby and not on literature.
Some do paper blow darting as an alternative to air soft (Charles Shapiro). Some hunt rats (Blowgun
Joe), while others hunt rabbit and squirrels. There is also a sport version of which you compete for the
highest score. Some do all three and more.
Although there is a wealth of information about blowguns on the Internet, it may be confusing sorting
through it, or getting all of the good links which may not be found at first with a Google search. Index
A lists 16 blowgunning sites- read through them (some require Google translator). Although this book
contains a wealth of knowledge and is hopefully a very good starting point (as I intended it to be), it
doesn't have every thing. I have tried to get a complete listing of the websites that are available on the
web.
A lot of things are hyperlinked in this book. I did that so that I wouldn't have to copy paste a lot of
information that isn't mine or because I could not find a way to integrate that material into the text.
I also have various blowgunners from the message board who would be happy to answer you questions.
They are:
[email protected] Neon Dog, very interested in helping you with ten-meter
competition.
They would be happy to help you with any problems you may encounter. Also, feel free to visit the
Blowguns NorthWest Message board.
You may just find the answer to your problem there.
Oh, one thing. This book is to be given to your friends. It is available on the Internet from a myriad of
sites, and should not be charged for. Feel free to freely give it away for free..
Please note that this book assumes you have general knowledge of tools and how to use them. If you
see a term you do not understand, DON'T GIVE UP! Send an advisor an email and he would be happy
to help.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1- A Discourse Concerning Blowgun Safety
Chapter 2- History of blowgunning
Chapter 3- Designing a Blowgun
Chapter 4- Dart Design
Chapter 5- Target shooting/Aiming
Chapter 6- ASBA Shooting Regulations, Simplified.
Chapter 7- Poison
Indices
Index A- List of Blowgunner's Home pages
Index B-Blowgun Designs
Index C- Dart Designs.
Index D- Blowgun Accessories and How to Build
Index E- Product Reviews
Credits- Yes, I have to. It's where I tell you where I got this stuff.
Chapter 1- Blowgunning Safety
You didn't think that a blowgun book would deserve a page on safety would you? Well, normally I
would laugh and say, “No, it shouldn't.” But, if you've every looked for blowgun videos on You Tube,
you'll see plenty of dumb stuff.
Want to know what a blowgun can really do? Well, a 3 foot 40 caliber, (just guessing, the video didn't
say but that style seems to be a retailer favorite) can sink a wire dart (the multicolored ones on the
cover) more then half way into a butt cheek. Yep, somebody was that stupid.
Want a piercing but can't afford one? Well, the blowgun can solve all your problems. Yep, someone
was that stupid.
Think they can't be used in a crime? Well, several people were arrested for shooting other people with a
blowgun. Yep, they were that stupid.
Its annoying because it gives us, the honest law-abiding blowgunners, a bad name.
So I ask you to do several things.
1. Don't shoot anybody. Even if they ask you to. Even if they beg you to. Even if they offer
money for you to. A standard wire dart will do some pretty nasty things. The designs shared in
this book are worse. They are designed for maximum penetration. They were design by hunters
who desire to to quickly kill a small game animal. Imagine what they would do to a butt cheek,
and leave it at that.
2. Know if your blowgun is loaded or not. Keep it unloaded, unless you are hunting or intent on
using very soon.
3. If you are hunting, be consistently able (about 7 out of 10 times) to the “kill” zones of an animal.
Off hand, behind their shoulders is a good place to find a heart. Please practice humane killing.
I know that phrase sounds wrong, but it means that you need to eat what you kill (if at all
possible), and makes sure that your prey's death is quick.
4. Keep your hunting darts locked up so that no one can use them without you knowing. I built a
dart box that has a top locking device to prevent these kinds of problems. I am very willing to
help you design a box that will be very secure if you have storage trouble.
5. Only give your blowgun to a responsible person who knows and respects these rules. While
they don't have read this book before they handle the blowgun at least inform them that a
blowgun can be very dangerous used incorrectly.
6. If you live in California or Massachusetts, don't get caught with a blowgun. They are illegal
there.
7. Don't take a blowgun to a park. I had a run in with a cop because a buddy and I were shooting
paper cones at each other. If a cop does stop you, comply with his requests. He's not out to get
you. By the way, to scare you off, I think their was an unmarked squad car watching us. There
may also have been an officer on a motorcycle as well. This was a small town. Don't even think
about it in Chicago.
Other things to think about (no, paper darts aren't the same as hunting darts):
1. Don't run with a blowgun in your mouth. It'll hurt if it goes back in.
2. Wear safety glasses during paper dart wars. While fun, a dart threw the eye could occur and that
would be the end of your eye- as well as anymore paper dart wars.
If you follow these rules, you”ll have a fun time playing with blowguns.
Chapter 2- History of Blowgunning
Many people are aware that they were used in the jungles, in conjunction with poison (including the
infamous curare, featured in a Comedy Central sketch) by the pygmies- the blowguns of which may be
3-4 times the size that the pygmies are. It is said that these wielders could hit a humming bird in flight
at a hundred paces. However, the blowgun was found in more places than the South American jungles.
Japanese ninjas utilized them to poison those that they were employed to assassinate. They were also
utilized by the authorities and others in conjunction with pepper to blind attackers and unruly citizens.1
Blowgunning also gained firing rituals and such and is still popular today.
However, a relatively unknown fact (perhaps even among devoted blow gunners) is that the Cherokee
Indians utilized a blowgun made of river cane, and an un-poisoned wooden dart. They would select a
piece of river cane 6-9 feet long, bore out the solid joints in-between the sections, taking the
appropriate measures to smooth out the inside of the cane. Then, the cane is heated, then dried while
holding the cane straight. Darts are made of hardwood, and fletched with thistle down and sinew.
They never utilized poison on their darts, because they believed (rightly) that it would poison the rabbit
or another other small animal they were shooting out.2
Jivaro Blowguns constructed and sold their small .38 caliber blowgun in the 1960’s, 70’s, and 80’s.
They did this threw small ads in outdoors magazines, shooting magazines, and the like. The faded
away towards the end of the 80’s. Their vacuum, of course, was filled by cheap and wasteful things,
similar to the blowguns available today from “Home Defense” sites (a silly idea). Blowgun Joe has
one of these blowguns and uses it today, 20-40 years later. The .38 has been replaced by the .40
blowgun.
According to Cold Steel, the one exception to the over stuffed market of cheap, trashy, underpowered
blowguns was the J.W. McFarlin Company‘s version, a heavy aluminum .625 caliber blowgun. Lynn
C. Thompson (President of Cold Steel) acquired the blowgun company as soon as the company went
for sale. These blowguns are now sold under the Big Bore ™ name from Cold Steel.3
Today, the blowgun is popular in America. The ASBA currently regulates competitions in the US and
recognizes award winners. Some people believe that the blowgun also blowguns in the paintball arena
as a back up weapon, however, some paint ballers disagree, citing trouble getting the paint ball to burst
on their target.
The FSBA Currently regulates the French blow gunning. Although not wildly popular, its is gaining
speed and recognition due to the work of individuals engaged in the sport there.
It is wildly popular in Japan, where is is called “fukiya.” The blowguns were used by the samurai
class, and there are rituals that may be completed before use. They utilize a blowpipe with no
mouthpiece.
I have posted a very in-depth article (27 pages, small print) on my website at this link.
the history article link.
Click on
Chapter 3- Designing and Building a Blowgun
Just what kind of speed can a blowgun achieve? Janich will have you believe that a blowgun can go
about 500 feet per second (fps)- or more. (As will the tables presented below) I believe that the casual
user may be able to achieve that kind of speed, if only on a fluke. A normal speed is 100 fps. That's
still pretty doggone fast.
Blowguns NorthWest released this table, telling how fast a 40 caliber can travel in various lengths.
GUN LENGTH
24”
36”
ACCURACY RANGE
28 feet
50 feet
MAXIMUM RANGE
86 feet
150 feet
MUZZLE VELOCITY
210 feet/sec
280 feet/sec
48”
67 feet
205 feet
355 feet per second
Quote: “LENGTH ACCURACY AND VELOCITY DIFFERENCES: In posting the following
information, this was based on the .40 caliber. Use the references for the .50 caliber and .62 caliber as
well. However, the manufacturers claim that by using the .50 caliber and .62 caliber blowguns you can
achieve about 25% more velocity and distance.”
That means that in theory, a 50 calibers and 62 calibers will give you these kinds of velocities:
GUN LENGTH
Velocity for a 50 caliber
Velocity for a 62 caliber in FEET
PER SECOND
24”
263
329
36”
350
438
48”
444
555
Note that the bigger the caliber or the longer the gun, the faster the velocities are. Now please stick
with me here for just a second.
You put a dart in a blowgun, correct? You have just created a temporary (and fairly loose) seal. Now,
to get a dart going fast, you simply create an “explosion” of air by exhaling quickly into a pipe. At this
point, that burst of air accelerates a dart as fast as it can. The idea is to find the length that allows you
to get the dart to maximum acceleration before the air runs out and the dart starts to slow down in the
pipe- say a 5 foot pipe- because it allows you to get the biggest burst of air behind the pipe before the
seal ends and you can no longer put more pressure behind it.
From the table, you should get that a bigger, longer blowgun should go faster. Hold ON! There is a
blowgunning rule that limits how big your blowgun should be. Since this book is written towards
beginners primarily, just take a few things into account.
The 1/10th rule says that a blowgun should be one-tenth of your lung capacity. This is normally about
300 cubic inches. This means that your blowgun volume should only use up to 30 cubic inches. The
formula for cubic volume is:
The formula comes out to v=H(Pi*R^2). I just thought that looked nicer.
This means that to find the volume of a blowgun, take the the diameter of your blowgun, divide it by 2.
Square that, then multiply by Pi, or 3.14. Then take your blowgun length and find it in inches (12
inches to a foot). Multiply this number by the previous number.
An example:
I have a 3' 6” (or 42”) blowgun. It is a 62 caliber. So, .62 divided by 2 is .31. Square this, and it is
.0961. Multiply this by Pi, 3.14. 0.301754. Now, multiply this by 42”. It comes to 12.673668. Plenty
of breather room. According to the 1/10th rule, you're doing just fine.
Mouthpieces: A pipe has two diameters: I.D. and O.D. I.D. means inner diameter and O.D. means
outer diameter. You can make a mouthpiece from many things- a commercial modified to fit the O.D.
of your pipe, tubing that slides on with just enough resistance to make it stay on, or a PVC fitting with
a screw in it or tape wrapped around to make it stay on. Just wander around the PVC fittings for a little
bit, slipping them on and off the pipe to see which fits the best.
Some blowgunners prefer a mouthpiece with a “bell” that they can fit lips inside of, some prefer one
that they wrap their hands around and then seal by pressing their lips to their hands, while still other
don't even bother with a blowpipe (Fukiya style).
Quivers: You can purchase quivers for you blowgun or you can make them by taking pipe the same
I.D. as you pipe and folding tape into the inside so that it makes the pipe smaller. You can also use a
smaller I.D. piece of pipe to make quivers. Personally, I wouldn't use them on a hunting pipe, unless
the hunting broadheads are covered for safety.
Straps: Straplocks can be made by twisting so copper wire or using cable ties.
Light mounts: See Index D for an idea
Porting: This is done either to make the blowgun look tougher or to make the blowgun quieter by
removing the pop from the end- realize that this drops muzzle velocity because of the escaping air.
Sights: Bruce Bell of the ASBA has designed multiple sites for usage. See the ASBA home site for
plans.
Realize that the accessories for a blowgun are only limited by your ability to a. build it, or b. describe
it.
Design a blowgun with as many specifications as possible- this will help you to create an efficient
design for that purpose. Take note of any restrictions you may have- for instance:
● Transportation
○ Are you walking and carrying the pipe on your back
○ Riding a bike?
○ Driving a truck?
○ a car with no trunk space?
● Available materials:
○ conduit is heavier and has a bigger bore size
○ copper is lighter but is nicer when done right
○ PVC is usually available anywhere
● Monetary issues
○ Conduit is much cheaper than conduit
○ copper is expensive
○ PVC is about as cheap as conduit
● Beatings it may take
○ copper and conduit will both dent
○ PVC will take the blows, but may shatter
● Available tools:
○ Copper and conduit will require pipe cutters and deburring
○ PVC can be worked with a hacksaw and a knife.
● Mouthpieces
○ Conduit can use a ½” PVC female threaded fitting
○ PVC can use any proper sized fittings
○ Copper mouthpieces can be made out of tubing
● Consider uses:
○ Hunting blowguns should be no shorter than 5 feet, unless using a high powered blowgun,
such as Geezer's. According to his tests, this can shorten the length by up to a foot.
○ If competing, a blowgun can be no longer than 48”.
○ When paper blow darting, you need a good balance of accuracy, power, and
maneuverability. Consider if you are a sniper (who could use a longer pipe) or someone
who is up close and personal in your style (try 3' or smaller, depending on how close you
get).
Write down what you want the blowgun to do, and then begin designing it according to those
specifications. Then begin testing to refine your design and to get it to where it is the most possibly
efficient at that use.
If hunting, consider using BlowgunHunter's pipe or Geezer's beginner's pipe or his high powered
design. For paper blow darting, consider utilizing the Charles Shapiro style or my general use version.
Remember that material is not necessarily as important as efficiency. Index B is devoted to blowgun
designs- use them if you don't know what to do. Also consider emailing an advisor for help if you're
just plain out confused.
Chapter 4- Designing and Building a Blow Dart
Index B contains many effective dart designs.
If you do not feel up to the task of designing a dart,
or want to ensure that your dart will make as clean a kill as possible,
you can use one of those dart designs until you are sure of your design.
Before we even get started: To insure yourself a continuous flow of cones, learn how to roll a paper
dart.
Dart Design Guidelines: <via the Caveman's site>
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Preferred weight of a cal .62 Dart is 3.2 grams (however darts 0.5 to 5 gram can be used)
Above darts perform best (waggle free) when fired by 2.2 Meter Blowgun, fired with a
strong blow -> muzzle speed about 48 meters/second
The dart must have the major part of the weight in the first half of length. The Point of
Balance also known as "Center of Gravity” (CoG) shall be located always less than 50%
of length (measured from tip). If CoG exceeds 40% then problems with waggling of dart
will increase.
Tapering the shaft ensures that most weight is located in the first half of the dart shaft.
Cone must be kept as light as possible ( less than 0.7 grams)
Above darts have a cone with a slope of about 3 : 1 ( Length : Diameter)
Initially, the cone is made with 9 fins that are too long (15 mm), later they are cut off to
optimum length.
Fins may have a parallel shape (as far as possible)
The end diameter of cone at the end of the fins shall be close to 95% (+-2.5%) of cal of
blow gun (exceeding 100% of cal. leads to overcompensation of the dart)
The average gap width between two fins shall be 1.1 mm (+-0.2 mm) -> for cal .62
Note on Fins: Flexible fins do auto adjust during flight (they bend under streaming air)
and can be used for a wider range of speed. Two layers of 0.1 mm Polyester (PET) Film is
best. A cone rolled with 3 or 4 layers of film will be extremely stiff. Extreme stiff (thick)
fins do not bend during flight. Their capability for waggle compensation is higher, but the
cone can only be used for a smaller speed range.
These are the Caveman's Dart design guidelines. If you've ever gone to his site, you know that he has
some of the best dart designs ever.
Darts mainly fall under two main categories: hunting/fishing and target darts. Hunting darts are
designed to be as deadly as possible, while target darts are designed to be accurate and enough to stick
in a target.
Realize that a humane hunter, though he kills, insures that the animal suffers as little as possible. Thus,
we use as deadly a dart as possible on prey that can be sanely killed with a dart. Prey includes: rabbits,
squirrels, fish, cockroaches (see BlowgunJoe's site), and mice.<someone help me fill this in, please!>
The purpose of a hunting dart is to cut as wide of a blood channel as possible, and to strike at vitals.
The lung shot kills 100% of the time. Aim for it. Most blowgunners limit their hunting range to about
20 yards (right?) to insure the quick death of the prey.
I'm not going to give information on how to hunt, because entire volumes can (and have been) filled on
the subject. Also, BlowgunHunter's site can teach you more then I could. Right now, I would suggest
that you either use his blow dart, or the hunting dart from Whisperss.
General Dart Design
The entire purpose of a target design is for the dart to be accurate. Geezer has stated that multiple
cones on the shaft drastically increase accuracy. Thunker's disk dart has created a “storm” because of
the accuracy that this creates.
I'm going to use my dart as a case study.
As you can see from the rendering,
there are 3 main parts of a dart, plus
one not shown:
1. The tail cone, made from
many things, such as the
Caveman's cones, my cones, a
Shapiro style paper cone, and
beads (if they brush right.)
2. The shaft. This is made from
bamboo skewers, 1/8” dowel,
3/16” dowel, aluminum rod.
3. And the point, with a slot or
hole in in for the tip (broad
head.)
4. The Broad head, or the tip.
The reason the Broad head isn't in the
dart is that I haven't got that far yet.
Hang on.
Now, I did cheat a little bit. Normally I would make the dart shaft 12” long. However, to make it look
“right” for this picture, I cheated. This dart shaft is actually only 3” long. In real life, dart
aerodynamics work differently. But let's not get to far ahead.
The tail cone. Everything starts and ends at that cone. The center of the end of the shaft should be
concentric with the end of the cone. Some people use disks to form the ends of their darts- like
Thunker, while others (like Janich) utilize a bead for the “tail cone” of their dart. There's nothing
wrong with these styles. I prefer to roll a paper cone via Charles Shapiro's instructions because they
are cheap and easy. A table for your consideration.
Tail “Cone”
Pros
Cons
Paper Cone
Cheap and easy to make
Gets wet, which ruins it.
Bead
Bought at store, cheaply
Must find the size which fits, must cull to make sure
that you get a tight enough fit- which leaves useless
leftovers
Disk
Make from cardboard, foam,
what-have-you
Requires an accurately trimmed disk to fit. Need 3
or more for most accuracy.
The Shaft The shaft balances the differences of the broad head's weight with the light tail cone. I
prefer a shaft 12” long, because I think that it's a good balance of the accuracy a longer shaft offers,
while the shaft isn't to long. Some like wire or aluminum rod or bamboo.
Shaft Material
Pros
Cons
Aluminum
Good sturdy shaft
Weight make the dart heavy. You may
have to buy it from a place such as
McMasterCarr. Getting expensive
Bamboo
Material that is vary sturdy. Available in Only available in a few sizes- what your
the cooking accessories part of the
grocer has. I'm sure you can order online
grocery store
though.
Pine dowel
Classic. What else is there to say?
Oak is tougher, but expensive. Comes in
either 3' or 4' sections from the store so if
your shafts are odd sized, you'll have
some leftover that you can't shoot out of
your pipe.
The Point-All shafts should be pointed for maximum penetration through an animal. Again, remember
that a blow gunner's goal is to make his prey's death as quick as possible. You can put in the point with
sandpaper. Start with 100 grit paper, then jump to 250 grit to finish it. Add a slot with either a hobby
saw, small hacksaw, or a scroll saw.
Slot Cutter
Pros
Cons
Hobby Saw
Makes slots well enough
Blade may be slightly thicker then an xacto blade.
Mini Hacksaw
Makes slots well enough
The blade is thicker than an x-acto blade,
harder to line up through the center while
cutting
Scroll saw
Makes slot quickly and easily, the Expensive. You also have to think about
width is just about perfect
what kind of blades you're using as that
affects the slot width.
Splitting with a knife
Cheap, just get a knife and a
hammer (made from a block of
wood and a dowel). Place in the
middle and tap
If the grain is squirrelly and you give it to
much of a tap, its easy to shear off a piece
of the dowel. May weaken the shaft- fix
by wrapping with embroidery thread and
super glue.
The Broad head.
The broad head can really be made from quite a few different things. Here,
I've rendered two designs: a nail that is filed to a point at the end, and a
broad head to be ground from a steel. The broad head is put in the slot and
super glued in. The nail can be put in a split, a slot, or a hole, while also
being super glued in. The triangular broad head is designed to be deadly,
while the nail tip is designed primarily to stick into a board.
Broad head Design Starter Form Pros
Cons
Nail Tip
A nail
Easy to make, sticks
Takes a lot of time to build. Not for
well. Cheap as far as hunting
materials are concerned
X-Acto
X-acto blade
Easy to make, just snap Not as cheap- also you have to snap a
off the end
razor blade which is a fairly dangerous
process if done improperly
Utility Blade
Utility blade
Same as above, except Same as above. You will have parts of
that you get a wider
a wasted razor blade leftover.
blade and two from one
knife blade
Ground Broad head A block of
steel or what
ever
Just the shape you
wanted!
Expensive and more expensive because
you either have to find someone who
will tool them for you or a shop that
will, of course for a price.
To the Designing! Now, a target dart has to do several things:
1. Have repeatable results. This means that grouping (shoot 3 darts, draw lines to connect all
three, make a circle around the dart furthest away from the center, measure the diameter and
you have the group size) should be fairly consistent.
2. Enjoy the punishment of being shot in a board over and over with out having the tip affected
greatly or the repeatability being diminished.
3. Not shatter if the tip hits the backstop to hard (a problem with x-actos).
4. Preferably have a replaceable cone- in case it gets shot by another dart.
As with the blowgun, it is best to begin designing with as many specifications as possible. Sit down
and write out or develop a list in your head of exactly what you want the dart to do, then begin
designing it.
Again, study the designs in Index C. They will give you several designs that will serve you well until
you begin designing your own darts. Study the processes for making the darts- they will give you
many ideas for the ways you can make your own darts. Right now I only have a few designs, but with
each new edition, I hope to add more.
Chapter 5- Aiming
An Amusing Post about a Blowgunning Cyclops.
The picture above relates about blowgun ballistics and flight paths of a dart. All projectiles fly in a
parabolic shape. The red Flight Path illustrates this. Due to weight, the dart loses altitude, thus you
need to account for the dart dropping as it travels through the air. The gray Line of Sight path
illustrates this.
Parallax Aiming
There are many methods to the madness of aiming a blowgun. The one that most
“professional” blowgunners utilize is called parallax aiming. The picture beside
relates to parallax aiming. A parallax occurs because you are focusing on the
target, yet the end of your blowpipe is still within your field of vision. The trick
now becomes to utilize this parallax to aim. As the illustration shows, you take
and “split the difference” of the pipes. With the “center” you place this just over
the center of the target, then blow.
A Parallax
“Snap and Shoot” Style
This is the sort of shooting that you would benefit the most from in a paper dart war. It's not accurate
enough for the sort of shooting that you would need to do in competition shooting, but it is much
quicker then parallax aiming.
“Shotgun” Style
This uses the end of the pipe as a reference point for shooting.
Chapter 6- ASBA Regulations, Simplified
Since I'm in the United States, I'm under ASBA regs.
I encourage everyone to go to the home page for the blowgunning country that you are in,
and register to become a member of that group.
ASBA Regulation Target A
ASBA Regulation Target B
Target Rules:
Utilize one the two targets pictured above. The center should be 63” from floor height.
Dimensions of the rings are:
Dimension
Color
Value
6 cm. Circle
Yellow
7 points
12 cm.
Red
5 points
Outer 18 cm
Blue
3 points
The first thing you need to know about a ASBA competition is:
Blowgun Regulations:
● Blowgun with calibers larger then 625 are not permitted.
● Blowguns longer than 48” (4 feet) are also not permitted.
● Second, you must have the proper dart to compete. These rules are a little more complex:
● Wire darts only. The exceptions are:
○ Fukiya style cone darts
○ Bamboo shafted .625 caliber darts.
● You may also utilize plastic cone darts.
● Third, please observe these following miscellaneous rules:
○ Quoted: “No rear-mounted (mouthpiece-side) sights, no light-emitting sights, no barrel
handles or other supports are permitted.”
●
If you are physically unable, adjustments may be made to suit you and your disability.
Game Play
● Players will shoot 5 darts per round and 6 rounds per game, for a total of 30 darts.
○ You may shoot one practice round of 5 darts only before the competition commences.
● You are required to shoot your round in 5 minutes, with the total time being 25 minutes for a
game.
○ Left over darts are zero.
● Your blowgun and arms may go over the “foul line,” but your feet may not. Don't cross the
foul line with your feet.
○ Any darts shot with your feet over the line count as zero. If they can't decide which shot it
was, you lose your highest dart score!
○ It is the score keeper's job to alert you if you cross over the foul line.
● You may fire a new dart in place of a dart that rebounded. If you load two darts into your barrel
and fire, it counts as two darts.
●
●
●
If you drop a dart over the foul line, it counts as zero, unless you can retrieve the dart without
crossing the foul line with your feet.
Excess darts from the 5 dart limit are dealt with by subtracting the highest value dart and
working the way down.
Wait until all blowgunners have finished firing before checking your score.
Scoring your Shots
● Both you and your score keeper should approach the target when the firing has been completed.
● Announce your total number of 7's, 5's and 3's. Your scorekeeper will check it, and record.
○ If you break the dividing line, the dart gets the higher score.
● If you have an argument, the judge for the event will decide. His decision is final.
● Robin hooded darts count for the value that the pierced dart received.
● When scores are confirmed, darts may be removed.
● When all blowgunners have returned to the foul line, shooting may begin again.
This is a drawing of what the firing lane should look like from the side.
Chapter 7- Poison.
Let me say this as emphatically as I can.- I do not believe in the use of poisons. In a blowgun, they
present as much danger to the hunter as to the prey. While Amazons have used blowguns for many
years- no doubt many died before the proper procedure was discovered. The possible exception is
capsaicin poison.
I do so making no claims about the safety, usability or effectiveness.
While Janich spends a large amount of his time extolling the backyard blow gunner about how to make
various kinds of darts intended to deliver poison, he doesn't really talk about how dangerous it is. He
doesn't really talk about safety, he just suggests using a paper cone to shield the mouthpiece from the
poison. I say that poison should be left to the professionals, such as veterinarians who can use it to
sedate and animal. That's what I intend to do.
The only poison information that I can/will (take your pick) offer is here
Capsaicin poison is made from hot chili peppers. The “poison” part is extracted using 190 proof
Everclear- something just short of being 100% alcohol (in actuality, it is 95% pure). You will have to
be over the age of 21- 27 or more depending on your home state and local laws to purchase it.
Poisoning an animal is just not worth it.
Two views from prominent blowgunners.
From Blowgun Hunter
“I stay far away from poison and have never tried hunting with it. A blowgun is only a small game
weapon. Since I can kill rabbits and squirrels without poison, I don't see the need to risk messing with
it. Going after anything large enough to require poison seems like using the wrong weapon for the job
to me. However, in the book 'A Sporting Chance' by Mannix, the author gets a permit to acquire some
kind of poison, then gets special one-time permission to use it hunting and is successful at killing a
small deer with a poisoned blowgun dart.”
(http://www.geocities.com/blowgunhunter/FAQ.html)
From the Caveman
“What we do NOT encourage in any form is the use of poisons on the darts, a practice historically used
to over-come the limited striking force of the darts by Amazon natives, and often utilized as a assassin's
tool in the movies. Poisons are simply too risky to have around any household and have no place in our
society. Nuff said.”
(http://www.polar-electric.com/Blowgun/Darts/Disclaimer.html)
Note: I copy/pasted these off of their sites. Thats why the links are their. If you don't believe me, you can find it there.
IF YOU FEEL YOU MUST HAVE POSION TO KILL YOUR TARGET, ITS TOO BIG OR YOU
ARE TOO POOR A SHOT TO BE HUNTING!
Again, I state: I do not believe in the use of poisons.
I am not responsible for anything that you do with this.
Index A- Blowgunning Home pages
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
Th e s e ar e the per s o n a l w e b pa g e s of blo w g u n n e r s on the n et
Blowgun Joe- http://12.152.111.66/info/blowgunjoe/index.html
○ Blowgun Joe hunts rats. He has pictures of kills posted on his site, but you won't
“accidentally” find them. He has information to make a travel blowgun out of commercial
parts, as well as a thorough section on aiming.
The Caveman’s Homepage- www.polar-electric.com/Blowgun/Darts/index.html
○ The caveman has very precise darts. He has thoroughly tested them and has very good
information on flight characteristics and adjustments of each. I also used things from his
site in my dart construction chapter.
Build a Better Blowgun with BlowGunHunter-www.geocities.com/blowgunhunter/
○ BlowGunHunter has on line instructions for making a complete hunting set, from blowpipe,
to darts, to aiming, to using you kill. The Using Your Kill section is very nice, because its
hard to find instructions on how to skin and cook your kill.
○ Has the blowgunning section out of A Sporting Chance available for download
The Paper Dart Site- www.tomshiro.org/pdart/index.html
○ How to roll paper cones! This is the easiest way to make a lot of cones for your darts.
They're cheap and easy.
Madd Dogg’s Page- www.geocities.com/maddd_doggg/blowgun/intro.htm
○ Madd Dogg has a very in depth section on making blowguns for a specific lung capacity, as
well as the hard core calculations behind it.
Oliver “Mr.Soup12” Krystal- www.geocites.com/mr.soup12/blowguns.html
○ This is my web page. I don't have a lot- though I do have a guide for building a flashlight
mount, a pdf of the five best sites (as far as I'm concerned) on the web, and a few other
things. Also check out the portable apps section to find out about the computer on a flash
drive.
Lawton First Blowgunners/ Neon Dog- www.blowgunners.com/
○ This is a blowgunning club in a church!
The Blowguns NorthWest Message Board Homepagehttp://groups.msn.com/BlowgunsNorthwestPlayersGroup/messages.msnw
○ This is the hottest blowgunning community I know of. This is were the a lot of
blowgunners can be found.
The Hybrid Blowguns Message Board
http://groups.msn.com/Hybrid Blowguns/messages.msnw
○ This is my group, hosted by MSN- this is the place to get the newest edition of this book.
○ If you emailed me about a typo, there may be a new, revised version. Also check the
message boards- I may add a new chapter and that's where you'll know.
Old Editions of this Book.
○ Old editions of the book are www.geocities.com/mr.soup12/book.html
Blowguns NorthWest Homepage- www.blowgunsnw.com/
○ Since Blowguns NorthWest sponsors the blowgunning board, I thought it only fitting that I
listed them. More blowguns for sale can be found on other places, but I'm (fairly) sure that
you'll get good service from them.
Eric's Muse- http://home.neb.rr.com/ericsmuse/blowgun.htm
○ A page about capsaicin poison and a few other things.
Blowgunning Associations
●
●
●
●
The American Sport Blowgun Association- http://home.att.net/~asba/index.htm
○ ASBA homepage- it has many targets for use, including a terrorist target
○ Standard Target here. This will open a .pdf file in your browser.
The French Sport Blowgun Association- http://www.fsba.fr/?page=home&hl=us
○ In French, utilize Google Translator to translate to English
Sport Fukiya Homepage (Japanese Blowguns)
○ http://www.echigo.ne.jp/~dhiguchi/index_e.html
○ This is the English version of the web page.
German Sport Blowgunning Homepage (Deutscher Blasrohr Sport Club)○
http://www.blasrohr-sport.de/
○ In German, utilize Google Translator to translate to English Blasrohr means blowgun. It's
not the best, but you'll get the general idea.
Th e on e thing that I ha v e n't liste d. At time of publishing, Geezer's Corner was still off-line.
Apparently his web rental lapsed. We mourn the loss of his site, and hope that it will return. His web
link was- www.geezers-corner.com. I have scanned pages of his website here. You can also get plans
for his high powered blowguns there.
Oth e r no n- Intern e t re s o u r c e s .
Book that is available for free download:
A Sporting Chance (the blowgun section) from here.
Mirror Site.
This book. Just in case you forgot the link.
Books that are not available for free download:
A Sporting Chance by Danial Manixx- the entire book. Out of print so you'll probably spend a whole
lot on it.
Blowguns: The Breath of Death by Michael Janich. ($15) Spend your money on a blowgun, and
borrow this from a buddy.
Index B- Blowgun Designs
Note: It is strongly sugge sted that you read all instructions before building
a blowgun.
Charles Shapiro Style Blowgun
Okay, so you've looked at all this stuff and decided that you want to build a blowgun. Well, okay.
These are the instructions for a Charles Shapiro style blowgun.
You will need:
1. ½” copper pipe. Note that at printing this stuff was bloody expensive (about $15 for a ten-foot
length), even though the price came from a previous high of $25. Like I said, bloody expensive.
You may be able to have the store that you bought the pipe at (a small store like Do-It Best) cut
and deburr it for you.
2. A mouthpiece. This can be done 5/8 I.D. (inner diameter) thick wall tubing. Cut it about 2”
long.
3. A way to deburr the inside of the pipe. Choices include:
1. rattail file
2. deburring tool (sometimes available at the store that you bought your pipe)
3. dremel stone. Warning, this will really trash your stone after awhile
4. Pipe cutter, measuring tape, permanent marker.
Per Charles Shapiro instructions, cut it 3' long. Attach the mouthpiece. The most annoying part will be
deburring the pipe. Don't stop until the burr is completely gone. Now you have a completed blowgun.
Te c h ni c al Read- Out
Length
3' (cut for a Charle s Shapiro style)
Calib er
.57 5 (Downl o a d for sp e cific b or e size at my site)
Material
Copp er pipe- rust pro of
Co m m e n t s
Light w ei g ht, go o d all-roun d blo w pip e . My per s o n a l fav orite
Uses
Pap er darting or targ et sh o o tin g . (ASBAre gulatio n s stat e that a blo w g u n m a y b e any
len gt h up to an d includin g 4'). That's ab o ut all. Its far too sh ort an d low po w e r e d to
tak e huntin g
Oth er de si g n
Co m m e n t s
Non e
Cad Rendering of Shapiro style blowgun, utilizing a tubing
mouthpiece
My General Use Style
(For paper darting and general screw around fun.)
This blowpipe has a few accessories, thus its build time is longer,
as well as my instructions
You will need:
The same materials as above, except:
1. You will use conduit instead of copper (its much cheaper).
2. A 1/2” PVC Female to Female connector
3. 10-24 tap and corresponding drill
4. 10-24x 3/8” bolts
5. Copper wire and pliers, as well as something round, about ¾ of an inch.
6. A drill with a 1/8” inch drill bit.
7. Lots of electrician's tape
Porting
This is a rendering of what
the end should like when
finished. You will drill 3 sets
of 1/8” holes, 1/2”, 3/4”, and
1” away from the muzzle.
Make sure that you deburr the
inside and outside of the
holes.
Strap Locks
This is a drawing of the path the wire should take form your strap locks. The tail
ends should be about 2-3 times the width of your electrician's tape. Make two and
place one about 6” away from the muzzle, and the the other about 8” away from
the top. This is relational to your shooting grip, as well as the quivers. These strap locks must go one
first, but their position is relative to the quivers. Insure you have enough space to accommodate your
quivers and whatever way you grip your mouthpiece.
Mouthpiece
You can use a mouthpiece similar to the one modeled here, or you can use
one that has treads on both ends. These are called ½ PVC Female to Female
fittings. Drill and tap with a 10-32 tap, then screw in a 10-32x 3/8th . You
can get away with just using a single screw, or you can use two screws.
Quivers. Cut two pieces of conduit 3” long. Wrap these with electrician's tape, leaving about a width
of the tape hanging over one edge of the pipe. Cut into the tape vertically, then fold the tabs down into
the inside of the pipe. To install, hold like your going shoot it with the mouthpiece.
Building Notes
In my shooting style, I wrap my hand around the mouthpiece, then press my lips on top of my hand.
For my positioning, I would have the mouthpiece installed, then wrap it with my hand like I would grip
it. I would allow about 1 ½”- 2” of spacing from the top of the quivers so the top of the darts have
somewhere to go. I mark where their going with the marker, put on the strap locks in about the middle
of the marks, wrap the blowpipe in electrician's tape, then put on the quivers. Cut out or drill out the
porting holes, then again insure that there are no burrs on the inside of the pipe.
If you have some fairly thick string you can use that, as well as a gun strap, a carry case strap, a camera
bag strap. Anything that will fit on the strap locks can be used.
Te c h ni c al Read- Out
Length
3' 6”
Calib er
.62- Downl o a d Availabl e at My Site or Cav e m a n ' s Site.
Material
EMT Conduit- fairly rust pro of. Consid e r h o w w or n your tap e is. Electrician' s tap e is
fairly w at e rpr o of, but do n't pus h it.
Co m m e n t s
Fairly h e a v y- its galv a niz e d ste el after all. 3' 6” len gth is a c o m p r o m i s e b et w e e n a sh ort,
g o o d all-roun d 3' an d th e high e r po w e r e d an d m o r e ac c ur at e 4' blo w g u n .
Has strap lock s s o that you ca n atta c h a strap to carry with. Electrician' s tap e wrap
low e r s visibility at night.
Uses
Pap er darting or targ et sh o o tin g (ASBAreg ul atio n s stat e that a blo w g u n m a y b e any
len gth up to and includin g 4'). That's ab o ut all. Its far to sh ort and low po w e r e d to tak e
hunting
Oth er de si g n
Co m m e n t s
Porting on th e en d m a y redu c e the muzzl e vel o city, h o w e v e r , during a night pap e r dart
ga m e wh e r e silen c e ca n m a k e or br e a k your strat e g y, it m a y b e a w orth it.
Note that you could forgo the quivers and strap locks and
add them in later. Just a thought.
Geezer's Beginner Pipe
(For HUNTING!.)
Although Geezer's website is now currently off line,
I made print outs of parts of his blowgun design before the site was shut down.
This was/is his easy beginner's pipe.
Te c h ni c al Read- Out
Length
5'
Calib er
.62- Downl o a d Availabl e at My Site or Cav e m a n ' s Site.
Material
PVC pipe, alu min u m ch a n n e l tap e- Rust pro of, thou g h pro b a b ly not th e m o s t wat er
pro of
Co m m e n t s
Nev er havin g m a d e or us e d on e , I ca n't say mu c h . How e v e r , th e ab u n d a n t us e of tap e
m a y det er us e.
Uses
Pap er darting, targ et sh o o tin g (cut sh ort to 4' to m e e t ASBAre gulatio n s), and hunting.
Oth er de si g n
Co m m e n t s
Non e
Index C- Dart Designs
The Oliver Krystal Dart Design
This is the dart I designed. I designed to be several things.
1. Easy- I wanted to be able to build it in about 15 minutes, with proper tools.
2. Accurate- at least enough that it would hit my target more often then not.
3. Medium weight- Speaks for it self. Light weights fly far, but don’t penetrate as well, heavy weights penetrate,
but don’t fly far.
4. Tail cone had to be interchangeable. That was easy- make it out of a paper cone then tape it on with
electrician’s tape. Note the electrician’s tape- it sticks really well.
5. Reproducible with cheap materials I could get really easy- no x-acto’s at all.
6. It had to stick into a board! I wanted that really bad.
With that in mind- I came up with this design:
Actually , I built a test first, then rendered it in AutoCad 2002- drafting software.
Two different shots. The first one (Previous page, left hand side) is of the darts. Notice that the shaft
is split, the nail inserted, and then super glued. The next one (right side) is of a “robin hood” that I shot
without support. Its not a true robin hood because it went threw the side of the flight. The next one has
a nickel in between the two darts. The last is another “robin hood” again, not a true because it came
out the side of the flight.
How to build:
Tools that you need:
1.A mill file, bastard cut- don’t laugh
2.A mallet- I made mine.
3.Utility knife
4.Super glue
5.Embroidery thread
6.4d finish nail, 1 ½ long
7.3/16 inch dowel, 12” long
8.Electrician’s tape
9.320 grit sandpaper
10.A pair of vise grips
First, begin by cutting the head off the nail. Then, lock that side into the vise grips. Begin filing it
down, so that the taper starts about half way down the nail, running to the point. File it until it is fairly
pointy and round. Put the file away and begin sanding it until it is round (mostly) and sharp. Release
the nail from the pliers.
Grip the dowel shaft with the pliers (lightly, don’t break it). Grip the dowel in such a way that you can
tap on the utility blade so that it splits about an inch down the shaft. Pull out the knife, then set it about
1/32 of an inch to the side, then tap the blade in at an angle. Why the angle? It will provide you a little
extra space for the nail. Do the same on the other side of split.
Coat the split with super glue, then insert the nail. Then tie the bottom of the split with the embroidery
thread, as well as the top of the shaft. Trim off the ends, leave about 1/8 of an inch, then coat around
the thread with super glue.
Do not get super glue on your fingers. It bonds instantly and permanently. Then only way to get it off
is to take a x-acto blade and cut of the layer skin.
Make a flight from whatever you prefer. However, I like to make a short, stiff paper cone per Charles
Shapiro instructions, trim the pointy end to fit the shaft, trim the other end to fit my pipe, then attach
with electrician’s tape. It will hold securely- lots of shots, the paper wore out before the tape.
Note that you can also use my cone downloads, or the Caveman's downloads.
Dave “Whisperss” Design
Whi s p e r s s s e n t m e the follo win g s et of instru cti o n s via e m a il.
Man y than k s .
My not e s ar e in Bold
The first set of instructions for my favorite broad head.
You need the following materials:
1. 12" bamboo skewers
2. 2lbs test fishing line (heavier will work up to about 10lbs test, just use less of it)
3. #2 X-ACTO blades (#11's will work too)
4. magazine paper (full pages)
5. Scissors
6. nail clippers
7. pliers (two pair or a clamp of some sort and a single pair of pliers, preferably needle-nose)
8. super glue
9. pony beads (actual name) Should be about 1/4” big, with a 1/8” hole for the shaft
10. utility knife
Optional Materials:Thin walled aluminum tubing slightly larger than the diameter of the skewer
(should almost fit by friction alone) is an option. If you use the tubing, you'll need something to cut it
with. I use a small tubing cutter. If using tubing, you may omit the fishing line. Also remember to
remove the lip formed by the pipe cutter.
1. Glue a pony bead to the unsharpened end of the skewer about 1/4" from the end.
2. While that dries, cut a page from the magazine into quarters of equal size. Take one quarter and
roll it into a cone, Charles Shapiro style. A person may find it easier to use a half sheet instead
of a quarter, but with practice, a quarter will work and be that much lighter. Glue the cone onto
the shaft. Note that you can use tape ( I prefer electrician's tape) to secure the cone for
practice darts, a good idea because as accuracy improves, so does the number of robin hooded
darts, an excellent way to ruin a paper cone.
Note that you can also use these downloads:
my cone downloads, or the Caveman's downloads.
3. Using an unused scrap of pipe from your BG, drop the now dried cone into one end and mark
where the cone and pipe meet. Trim to fit your BG based on that mark. The cone should be
slightly tight but still be able to be blown out of the pipe under normal blowing pressure.
4. Now, trim the tip to barely fit over the skewer. Slide the cone onto the shaft, using the pony
bead to center the cone onto the shaft and glue into place. Re-check the cone for fit as the
installation process can sometimes change the end diameter of the cone.
5. Carefully take the X-ACTO blades one at a time and break the base off at an angle leaving as
much blade as you can so that the sharpened end looks as close to a perfect triangle as you can
manage. Either use the two pliers, or place the base end into a clamp or vise and use the pliers
to snap it off at the correct angle.
6. Stop! If you intend to use the tubing, you will need to slid it onto the skewer BEFORE
completing this step. Take the breakaway utility knife and gently trim a small part of the
sharpened end of the skewer so that it is flat. Eyeball the center of the flat spot and use the knife
to split the tip of the skewer to a depth of about 1/4" or so, leaving the knife's tip still embedded
in the skewer. Leaving the knife in there helps insert the X-ACTO blade by holding the split
open.
7. Using the pliers, take your now broken X-ACTO blade and insert it into the split end right
above the embedded utility knife and push it into the split until the tips of the skewer almost
meet the sharpened part of the blade. If the split is not deep enough, use the utility knife to
deepen it.
8. Remove the utility knife and center the X-ACTO blade onto the shaft, then super glue into
place.
9. While that dries, cut a length of fishing line (length varies as to how much you want on the
shaft) around 6-8 inches long. Lay a small strip of glue right up near the base of the blade (give
it about a 1/4" or so) and wrap fishing line up from the bottom end of the glue towards the
blade. You will make 2-3 layers before you are done but make sure you leave a tag end long
enough to hold onto.
10. Apply glue liberally to the wraps and allow to dry while holding the fishing line tightly in place
against the shaft by the tag end.
11. Once dry, trim the tag ends with a nail clipper as close as possible. The trick to this wrapping
part is that you want to put enough line and glue on the shaft to make a good hold, but not so
thick that it hinders penetration...a purely personal judgment based on experience. The
wrapping serves two purposes. First, it secures the shaft and prevents it from ever splitting
further after the blade is in place. Secondly, it adds some weight forward.
Using Tubing instructions:
Another method is to take the aluminum tubing, and cut it into 1/2" sections. Before splitting
the shaft in preparation for blade installation, slide a section of tubing up the shaft and out of the way.
Insert and glue the blade as instructed.
Now, instead of wrapping the shaft with fishing line, slide the tubing up as close to the blade as
you can and gently crimp both ends so that the tubing will not move. Apply glue to the ends of the
tubing for added security.
Both will work but I have found the fishing line to be much cheaper and since I fish anyway, I have a
steady supply of it 8-) Any preferred cone will work instead of the one I offered.
-Dave Whisperss
Illustration 1: Materials Needed
Illustration 2: Pony Bead Placement
Illustration 3: Attaching Broadhead
Illustration 4: Attached Broadhead
Illustration 5: Wrapping Tip
Illustration 6: Finished Dart
STUN DART
S o m e tim e s yo u m a y wa nt a si m pl e , e a s y to m a k e dart to s c a r e s o m e t h i n g aw a y, or giv e it a
little m o r e pun c h. Thi s is stu n dart that ca n b e u s e d for that purp o s e .
This dart uses my dart downloads. You could also use a Charles Shapiro Style cone, as well as the
Caveman's cones.
Note that the shaft of this dart is 1/8” Aluminum 6061. While you could use a bamboo shaft or dowel,
the heavier weight of the aluminum gives it more power. This aluminum rod is fairly cheap- probably
no more than $5 from McMaster Carr.
Enjoy
Illustration 7: Tubing
Illustration 8: CoG Comparison
Gather:
1. Aluminum 6061 1/8” rod or comparable.
2. Pipe cutter. Although primarily a pipe cutter, it is very effective for this use.
3. A cone
4. Electrician's tape
5. A hot glue gun with hot glue.
Do:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Cut out the cone.
Cut a section of the rod down to 2” long.
Slip into the cone cutout and secure with electrician's tape.
Put a ball of hot glue onto the other end of the rod so that it forms a neat little head that will fit
into your barrel.
Your done. See, it's simple.
Index D- Blowgun Accessories
Paper Dart Quivers
To make a quiver, you can purchase a commercial quiver (if you utilize commercial quivers) or make
your own by doing the following:
Take a piece of pipe, preferably the same size as your blowgun. Wrap with electrician's tape from one
edge to the end. Continue wrapping about a half width of tape past the edge. Cut slits in the end thats
hanging off the end. Fold this inside of the pipe, than attach to your pipe (with more tape). Store darts
in it this way:
Place a dart threw the rear of the quiver towards the front. Then place the other dart in. It is acceptable
for the end of the other dart to poke threw.
Broadhead Dart Quivers
Strap locks
Carry Case
Many blowgunners have discovered that a fly rod case works very well for this application. Alternate,
you can hand stitch a case from jean material. Just make it long enough for you to have the top close
somehow- I have used velcro and elastic.
Mouthpieces
I have used ¾ female to ¾ female pvc connectors, drilled and tapped on one end for my conduit
blowpipes. I like these, although others have a bigger flare where the mouth goes.
Sizing Tubes
Targets
Dart cases
Porting
Muzzle brakes
how to make
how to insure straightness
Bi pods?
Any other ideas?
A Wooden Mallet
Mallets are available from a variety of sources. However, they are costly to purchase. This wooden
mallet can be made in about 10 minutes with the proper tools.
You will need:
Drill
Another hammer (don't ask me how the first hammer was made) and
(2) 4d finish nails (scam them from your darts) or
glue (which will take longer)
1/2” drill bit.
Cut the hardwood block to dimensions about the same as those listed in the rendering. Drill the ½”
hole through the center of the block. Insert the dowel and hammer in the nails to keep it in or glue it.
You now have a lightweight yet effective hammer to split shafts with.
When splitting the shafts with a razor blade, give a sharp tap the back of the blade to drive it into the
shaft slightly.
Index E- Product Reviews
Just a general note: If you can afford the commercial guns, the smoothness of the bore makes it worth
it. Otherwise, copper pipe is a good substitute.
36” 40 Caliber Terminator Blowgun
Where to get it:
This is the basic blowgun that just about every blowgun company has for sale. Cabela's has it, so does
Blowguns NorthWest
What it can do:
The 40 caliber is what I'd classify as a “toy” because of the wide variety of factory accessories such as
cap darts; wire darts; helicopter darts; blowmatics, which function as a drum for your blowgun; and
paintballs. It is still dangerous, able to sink a wire dart 3/8s of an inch into a sheet of plywood, from
about 15 feet away- you'll still need a pair of pliers to get them out.
The “Low-Down”:
My personal feelings on the 40 calibers is that they are fun as a toy, but nothing else. They have a low
range of effectiveness, and are unable to fire a paper dart, because of the small bore size. If you intend
to make your own darts, insure that you order cones for the blowgun. Cone download appear to be
worthless for such a small caliber (fat fingers).
48” 62 Caliber Blowgun Kit from Blowguns NorthWest
Where to get it:
Online, order from BlowGuns NorthWest. $26, plus shipping and handling. I've found BlowGuns
NorthWest to be a good company. S&H is fair, and prices are decent.
What it can do:
Well, my conduit blowgun in the 62 caliber can sink the nail darts about 1/2” to 5/8” of inch into a
piece of 1x8.
The “Low-Down”:
This is the biggest blowgun commercially available. It uses the BoarHog pipe, the same as the
BigBore used by Cold Steel, or so says BlowGuns NorthWest. I've had trouble in getting the foam
hand grip on, but otherwise, I'm very happy with the blowgun.
40 Caliber Cap Darts
Where to get it:
Come from the makers of the Terminator Blowgun. BlowGuns NorthWest has them
What it can do:
Make a very loud poping noise that will blow your socks off
The “Low-Down”:
Good fun, but basically worthless. You could probably modify the darts to fit other calibers by cutting
up cones and glueing them in.
Epilogue
An old man sits in his cabin, relaxing in his favorite chair. His long hair is tied back and falls down to the center
of his back. Its color is a mixture of silver and jet. He is dressed in a calico shirt, with woolen breeches, and soft
moccasins. He absently puffs on a corncob pipe. Without thinking, he waves the curling smoke back over his
face and hair in an ancient gesture from a time when pipe smoking was a sacrament. These days, he smokes
from force of habit.
His plump pleasant wife brings his supper, prepared in a cast iron skillet. The skillet is her most prized
possession. She is dressed in a floor-length calico dress and moccasins decorated with colored glass beads.
Her hair is twisted up in a bun atop her head. It too shows streaks of silver. A tiny gold cross hangs from a
delicate chain around her neck. She pats his hand as she turns back toward the fireplace.
A bright eyed boy perhaps six years of age bursts in, all energy, excitement, and motion. In his hands are a
short blowgun and two darts. His uncle has made the Tugawesti and Gitsi for him, boring the cane joint sections
out with a long steel drill to form a uniform tube. The process took perhaps half an hour, much less tedious than
the old way.
The boy begs the old man to show him how to shoot the Tugawesti, and tell him the stories of long ago. Young
as he is, he has heard them all a hundred times. They tell of how his grandpa was once the greatest blowgun
master of all time. Everyone in the village knows them by heart.
Slowly the old man rises, and limps out into the yard. His wife follows, and watches from the doorway. A small
squash about the size of an apple is hanging by a string from a tree limb a few yards away. The old man squints
to see it clearly. Slowly he loads a dart into the blowgun. Immediately his aged body goes into the quieting ritual
which is the secret of mastering the Tugawesti. He takes a deep painful breath, and the dart flies with surprising
speed from the short slender blowgun. It strikes the squash just below the center, causing it to spin and sway on
its string. For an instant, the old man is propelled back in time. He is in the woods near a clearing by a stream,
and the squash becomes a flitting bird. He sends the second dart toward the swaying target, timing it perfectly. It
strikes the squash less than half an inch away from the first. The old man is overcome by a fit of coughing. He
hands the short Tugawesti back to his grandson, and waves him away. The boy races off to get a closer look at
the skewered squash. He squeals in delight at the sheer improbability of the shot. When the old man recovers
his breath, he looks toward the cabin, and sees his wife smiling at him from the doorway. It is the same smile
she wore the day he brought the birds to her mother.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Credits
Epilogue and Prologue: The Two Tugawesti Stories- Strange Fatman- Originally Appearing
here and here.
o Many thanks- they are the preface and end Story, after all
The two blowguns for the cover- pictures “courtesy” Blowguns North West
o 62 Caliber BIG BORE Broad head Darts- the orange ones
o 40 Caliber Deluxe Blowgun
o 40 Caliber Spearhead Darts
o 50 Caliber Deluxe Blowgun
o Click on them! They link to the page you'll find them on!
Chapter 1- History
o en.wikipedia.org/wiki/blowgun
o www.cherokeeheritage.org/default.aspx?tabid=426
o www.coldsteel.com/blowguns.html
 Although I have these sites hyper linked, I do not guarantee that they will work,
nor that they contain appropriate material. At time of viewing they did contain
appropriate material, nor did they attack my computer with a virus. I do not
guarantee this to be true when you visit them.
Chapter 3- Designing and Building a Blowgun
o Made by writing the Formula in Open Office Math, then converting to PDF format,
taking a “picture” of it, then pasting it in.
o Lung Volume from email correspondence with _______.
 Also on this message posting on the Caveman's forums.
o Not to offend anyone, but I wanted to make sure people knew 12” to 1'. I've met
someone didn't get that .5 inches meant 1/2”. Sad, but true.
Chapter 4- Designing and Building a Blowdart
o Caveman's dart design guidelines- I edited them a little to give them more of a standard
English version. Here.
o Rendering by Me, in cad.
o Original dart speed tables come from here. I did the rest of the work.
Chapter 5- Aiming
Chapter 6- ASBA Regulations Simplified. These simplifications have not been reviewed or
accepted by ABSA. Check to make sure that you and your blowgun will be allowed to compete.
o Original and full length regulations here.
o Translations by me.
o Drawing at the end by me. Paint- it's that simple.
Chapter 7- Poisons
o http://home.neb.rr.com/ericsmuse/capsaicin.htm
o http://www.polar-electric.com/Blowgun/Darts/Disclaimer.html
o http://www.geocities.com/blowgunhunter/FAQ.html
Index A- Google searches, BGNW Message board, other websites.
Index B: Dart Designs
o Its my dart design. You can get more pictures from here. Again, all renderings are mine
o Dave Whisperss Dart designs from email correspondence. Those are his pictures.
Thanks!
•
•
Index C- Blowgun Designs
o Charles Shapiro is, of course from his web site.
o My design is my design and it's currently not on line.
o Geezer's design from his offline webpage. Scans here
o Again, renderings by me in Cad
Index D- Blowgun Accessories
o Renderings by me.
This book was produced primarily on Open Office 2.0 Write Portable- a GNU solution to Microsoft Office Word,
which I was using, until I got this. I also utilized Open Office Math. Screenshots from the Ultima Online ScreenShot
Utility and FastStone Capture Portable. Three-D drawing produced in CAD. Painting in MS Paint.
This book was produced as a non-for-profit text to help others begin blowgunning. Although I intended the primary
method of transmission to be digital (.pdf format), it was also created with copying and printing in mind. That is why
some of my fonts and such are messed with- so the text fits on a certain number of pages.
Think you found a typo? Email corrections to [email protected]
I can be emailed at [email protected]