Blowguns, an Ancient Weapon for Modern Times
Posted: Thursday, January 18, 2007
by Steven Rubin
http://www.nasecurityproducts.com
Ah the blowgun! Has there ever been a more simply designed weapon with such amazing power? Well maybe a stick, or a rock would be simpler, but for distance and accuracy, the blowgun, really “blows them both away".
A blowgun is not much more than a small tube that’s used for firing light pellets or darts. You simply blow into one end, forcing the projectile out the other. It doesn’t get much easier than that, but wow what a great weapon it is.
In the America's, blowguns have been used for several thousand years by Native Americans as survival weapons. They were also used as far back as the year 1500 by the Ninja in Japan for silent assassinations.
Blowguns are still used today by Amazonian Indians in South America and by Pygmies in Africa for hunting small game. Although to be effective against larger animals, blowgun darts require poison. Many tribesmen will rub the tips of their darts across the back of certain types of frogs. These fogs have a sticky substance on their skin, which is some of the most deadly poison on the planet. Perhaps you’ve even heard the term “poison dart frog", well it’s not just a catch phrase; it’s for real. But I’ll leave the frog articles up to the amphibian experts and continue on with the story of blowguns.
In the beginning blowguns were made from bamboo or other hollowed out sticks of wood. North American Cherokees were known for making blowguns out of river cane to hunt for rabbits and other small creatures. As crude as these primitive weapons were, they were also extremely accurate.
As a primitive weapon, there were no set dimensions for a blowgun's length and diameter. However today, most modern blowguns typically come in two sizes:
The .40 caliber blowgun measures 3/8" in diameter, and
The .50 caliber blowgun measures 1/2" in diameter,
These measurements are based on the "inside" diameter of the blowgun tube.
I’ve also tried a larger .62 caliber blowgun, but this size is used primarily as a paintball marker. As for the length, I’ve found modern blowguns ranging from 18" up to 72" but I’m sure you can find them even longer if you really go looking for them.
Today we have many uses for the blowgun. Hunters can use the blowgun to hunt small game, and blowguns are used all over the world to help maintain wildlife by delivering tranquilizer darts in complete silence. The animals can then be studied and released back into the wild. Also, many people are finding that blowguns can offer quite a challenging sport. With different darts to choose from such as soft-tip darts, stun darts, and even paintballs, the blowgun offers a wide variety of sporting activities.
There are several competition styles of blowgun practiced around the world. A standardization of competition is being pursued by the International Fukiyado Association and has high hopes of becoming an Olympic event. It is a 10-meter target shoot, using a standardized barrel caliber and length, and a standardized dart, as outlined by IFA.
Two other styles are also being pursued to make up the Olympic blowgun event. The Field Style competition is where the shooter runs from a starting line to a target lane, shoots, and retrieves the darts, and then continues to the next station. The course length varies from 1/4 mile to 1/2 mile (400 to 800 m) or longer, with a number of targets at various heights and shooting distances.
The final style is the Long Distance target shoot. The target is a circle that is 24 cm in diameter, and the firing line is 20 meters away. Each shooter fires three darts, and at least one dart must stick in the target. All successful shooters move to the next round, moving back 2 meters each time.
I personally don’t have any ambition to be the next Olympic gold medal blowgun champion, but out in my own backyard, I am still the target-shooting king. (Although, my 7 year old daughter is getting pretty good at it.)
SA Rubin is the owner of North American Security Products, LLC. A company dedicated to providing you with the means to protect and defend yourself against crime. For more information on Blowguns, visit www.naselfdefense.com where you'll find a complete line of self defense weapons and Security products
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