The Aboriginal Airgun - blowgunsnorthwest.com

The Aboriginal Airgun, copyright by Jock Elliott

The (ab)Original Airgun – Special to Blowguns Northwest

By Jock Elliott

It started innocently enough – with the National Geographic channel; a program called “The Snake Wrangler” and an episode entitled Mission to Malaysia. On the screen, a college professor and three of his students are trekking through the jungle, carrying these really long hiking sticks. (This perked my interest because I usually hike with a stick.)

Suddenly, one of them stops and says, “There’s one now.” He does something to the end of his hiking stick, puts the stick to his lips, and – phuuut! – knocks a lizard out of a tree.

While the four adventurers are rhapsodizing about the rarity of this particular reptile (which was hit with stun dart that leaves the lizard unharmed), I realize what I had just witnessed. “A blowgun,” I thought. “Cool! I’ve gotta look into this.” I jump on the Internet and make some phone calls.

Within a couple of weeks, a torrent of blowgun-related stuff had arrived at the house. Blowguns Northwest (425-377-1496) shipped four blowguns and a book called The Breath of Death. A buddy sent a copy of Eldon Wolff’s Air guns.

Blowguns, it turns out, have been around at least since the 15^th century, and some sources claim they’ve been around much longer, maybe for thousands of years. Eldon Wolff devotes an entire chapter in his book to blowguns, including a map that shows blowgun usage in North and South America, Asia, Africa, and Europe. Native American tribes known to have used blowguns include Cherokee, Choctaw, and Iroquois, among others.

In his excellent book Blowguns – The Breath of Death, Michael Janich points out that the guys with the “black belt” in blowguns were the natives of the Malay Archipelago (Borneo) and the Indians of the Orinoco and Amazon river basins. The South American blowguns range from 12 to 20 feet long, and there are those who claim the Jivaro Indians can hit a hummingbird at 50 yards with one. Blowguns are, or have been, used by Ninjas in Japan, various military units and by modern folks wishing to tranquilize wildlife.

At the heart of every blowgun is the same principle that powers every airgun you’ll see in Airgun Illustrated: place a moveable projectile in a tube, quickly pressurize the gas behind it, and – zing! – the projectile comes zipping out of the tube. The big difference, in the case of a blowgun, is that you are the power plant!

Just because there is no spring, CO2 cartridge, pump or scuba tank supplying the energy behind a blowgun, don’t make the mistake of thinking they are harmless toys. It’s true that you can knock a lizard out of a tree, de-squirrel the birdfeeder, or chase a stray dog out of the yard without doing harm if you use a blowgun and a stun dart. But even the wimpiest blowgun I tested could, at ten yards, stick a pointed target dart into a block of wood with enough energy that it always required pliers to pull it out.

Modern blowguns are generally made of aluminum tubing and come in various lengths and calibers. Forty caliber is the most common, and lots of different ammunition and accessories, including a repeater setup, are available. A wide variety of projectiles – target darts, spear darts, spike darts, stuns darts, and so on – are available. The widest ranges of darts are available in .40 and .50 cal. All velocity tests, except where noted, were conducted with the target dart of the appropriate caliber furnished by the supplier.

When messing around with blowguns, select your targets with care. A Daisy Target Cube works well at stopping darts, but is a bit small at long range. An “Eternity” archery target is an excellent choice. A pizza box is the right size but must be backed by something more substantial. I found that sometimes the cone of the target dart would be stopped by the cardboard, but the sharp head of the dart would keep going, right through both sides of the pizza box and burying itself in the archery target behind. It’s a mistake to underestimate the power of a blowgun.

I chronographed the three-foot, .40 cal blowgun from Blowguns Northwest and found – when huffing and puffing normally -- the highest velocity for target darts was 106 fps; the lowest, 87, and the average, about 95. Technique, however, does matter. A couple of days after those initial tests, I found that if I pursed my lips in the mouthpiece, put my tongue behind them, pressurized my lungs and mouth, and then suddenly removed my tongue – so that the air was expelled explosively (PWAH!) – velocities increased considerably. With the same three-foot .40 caliber gun, speeds jumped to an average of 130 fps.

The next size up is .50 caliber. Testing the 3-footer from Blowguns Northwest with target darts, I found average velocities of 133 fps. With the 4-foot .50 caliber, I got 158 fps average, and with the two-piece 6-foot .50 caliber, speeds averaged 166 fps. (The 6-footer consists of a 4-ft section, a 2-ft extension, and a connector. If you also own the 3-ft gun, you can use the bit and pieces to assemble a 5-ft gun.)

Blowguns Northwest also sent a .62 caliber, 4-foot blowgun. With it and target darts, I averaged 130 fps. The darts are obviously much heavier, so for me, the bigger gun delivers more power. One blowgun enthusiast reports shooting marbles out of his .62 caliber blowgun with enough force to kill small rodents. This blowgun has a rubber tip so it can be used as a walking stick.

Janich reports that the average person, with a bit of practice and a 4-6 foot blowgun, could probably hit a grapefruit at 40 feet. That pretty well squares with my experience. In fact, with practice I’ve found I can hit a dime-sized bullseye at 10 yards surprisingly often (but certainly not all the time). On occasion I have “Robin Hooded” darts – stuck one into the back of another.

So what’s the best blowgun? A lot depends on you and your lung power. Some people don’t have enough lung capacity to make a 4-foot .62 caliber worthwhile for them. Others will simply like the feel of a .50 caliber or a .40. Some will prefer long and powerful over short and handy. Since I now have a small collection of blowguns of various calibers and lengths, I can honestly say that I enjoy them all. And it appeals to my Scottish “thrift” genes that the ammunition is reusable.

Fortunately, it’s relatively inexpensive to experiment with blowguns. You can purchase a .50 caliber 3-foot basic model with a handful of darts or a deluxe .40 cal. 3-foot model for less than $20, plus shipping. Or purchase Janich’s book from Blowguns Northwest (ask nice, and they’ll send you an autographed copy) and learn how to make your own.

There is also a wealth of information about blowguns on the Internet. “Blowgun Joe” was of invaluable help in providing information for this article. Be sure to check out his website: http://www.adventuresportsla.com/info/blowgunjoe/. There is even a website that proclaims the health benefits of shooting blowguns: http://www.fukiya.net/english/english.htm. Blowgunning is certainly good for your lungs, your diaphragm, and your abdominal muscles, but apparently it’s also a stress reliever and it stimulates your medulla oblongata. Who knew?

Ultimately, I discovered that there is a whole lot to like about blowguns. They’re fun, accurate, quiet, and even good for your health. Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s this lizard I need to knock out of a tree.

photo captions

Photo 1 – In the jungles of darkest New York State, the author shoots the Blowguns Northwest 4-ft. .62 caliber blowgun.

Photo 2 – With just a puff of breath, a .50 caliber dart penetrated this deep into a board.

photo 3 – This is where you become the powerplant

Photo 4 - A group of 5 .40 cal darts stuck in a Daisy Target Cube from 10 yards.

Photo 5 – The Blowguns Northwest deluxe 3-ft .40 cal includes a variety of darts, quivers, and a carry strap.

Posted; 02/23/2004 | E-mail | Home