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Michael D. Janich PALADIN PRESS BOULDER, COLORADO i 1 Introduction f Chapter 1 Also by Michael Jauich: H i 5 tory of th e Blowgun 3 Chapter 2 Coarse Kn it Fightings A Practie eiS Sdf-Defense Knives Advantages and Capabilities of the Blowgun 7 Street Steel: Choosing and Carrying Chapter 3 Modern Blowgun 5 13 Breath of Death CONTENTS ftiowguns: The by Michael D- Janich Chapter 4 Copyright© 1993 by Michael D, janich Making Your Own Blowgun 19 Chapter 5 ISBN {N87364-7OT-G Blowgun Projectiles 31 Printed in the United States of America Chapter 6 Published by Paladin Press, a division of Ma ki ng Yu u r Own Da rts 35 Paladin Enterprises, Inf-, P.O. Box 1307, Chapter 7 Boulder, Colorado #0306, USA, Special Blowgun Projectiles 47 (303) 443 7259 Chapter 9 1 and the "horse head’ design PALADIN, PALADIN PRESS, Biowgu n Da rt Po i sons 57 Enterprises and are trademarks belonging to Paladin Chapter 9 Trademark Office. registered in United Stares Patent and Shooting Your Blowgun 63 review, no Chapter 10 All rights reserved. Except for use in a in any form portion of this book may be reproduced Targets 67 written permission of the publisher. without the express Chapter 1 Customizing Your Blowgun 71 address. Chapter 12 Direct inquires and/Of orders to the above Blowgun Maintenance and Storage 75 Except for use in u review, no All rights reserved. Conclusion 77 form portion of this book may be reproduced in any Appendix 1 the publisher. without the express written permission of So u rce s 0 f Comm ercial Biowgtms 79 Neither the author nor the publisher assumes Appendix 2 any responsibility for the use or misuse of Suggestions for Further Reading 81 information contained in this book. he information presented in this book s if on cue. all heads turned as he is for historical and informational entered the room. It was difficult not to purposes only, The author, publisher, T Anotice my self-defense instructor's 265- and distributors of this book do not in any pound frame, but even more curious was Lhe way endorse or condone any potentially 5-foct-long cardboard mailing tube he had illegal or dangerous activity or act, Also. tucked under his arm and the ghoulish grin on war nin'*: : iNTRODUCTlON technical data presented here on the con- his face. The senior students exchanged struction and/or modification of a blowgun r knowing Jooks. Ifeacher had a new toy. and its accessories and ammunition reflect After a few minu Lcs of guessing a l the Lhe author’s individual beliefs and experi- contents of the tube, he finally gave in and ences with blowgunsand their components opened it, removing what appeared to be that Lhe reader cannot duplicate exactly. the largest pea shooter in the world and Therefore, the auLhor, publisher, and dis- several darts that looked like smalt hatpins, tributors of this book disclaim any liability I recognized his new toy as a blowgun and and assume no responsibility for the use or scoffed. I had seen adverLisemenLs for such misuse of the information herein. guns in the classified sections of outdoor magazines, but I never believed that they could be anything more than gimmicks or toys. Surely such a gun would not qualify as an elective weapon against anything larger than a field mouse. At least that's what l thought until that afternoon. Consistent with his usual practice of showing off a new purchase, my instructor launched in to a lengthy discourse explain- ing the history of the blowgun and extolling Its use as a weapon and hunting arm. Consistent with our usual practice* we heckled him and remained highly skepLieal of his claims about the gun. It soon became obvious that the only way to put the matter to rest was with a demonstration. , BLOWGUWS: The Breath of Death With great flourish, he placed a 4-inch spring sLeel dart in the he blowgun. sometimes also called a breech end of the gun, took aim at our school sign at the far end of blowpipe or blowtube. has a long but the room, and, with a puff, let the dart fly. The dart left the muzzle T not necessarily welt-documented with considerably greater velocity than any of us had expected history. The discovery that a missile, per- and stuck in the wooden sign with a rather ominous twang. He haps a bean or a pebble, could be pro- repeated the process several times and soon produced a tightly CHAPTER 1 pelled out of a reed by the power of one’s grouped duster of darts in his target. Though I was admittedly impressed by the demonstration, I was determined not to allow him the satisfaction of winning, and 1 reconfirmed my doubts of the gun's power and effectiveness as a At that, he simply offered the chance to prove it HISTORY real weapon. me OF to myself by giving the gun a try, The only stipulation was that I breath probably occurred around the had lo retrieve the darts he shot. I agreed. same time In a number of areas of the ft was at that point that I knew I had erred. Grasping one of world. However, historians usually agree the darts firmly, 1 tried to pull it from the wooden sign. It didn’t that the blowgun was ftrsL invented in budge. Thinking that it might have struck a knot in the wood, I Malaysia. Historical records and paint- tried another dart, with the same result. My frustration grew into ings indicate that, by the fifteenth centu- embarrassment, until finally my instructor walked over tri- umphantly and handed my a pair of pliers. I soon discovered that 1 couldn't remove the darts because they had penetrated nearly half an inch into the 3/4-inch plywood sign. Admittedly. 1 was humbled, but more importantly, 1 had become a believer in the THEBLOWGUN blowgun s potential as a serious weapon, ry, blowguns were being employed by 1 spent the rest or that afternoon experimenting with that n a lives f o both hem i sp he res blowgun, shooting at different types of targets, and becoming The areas most noted for the use of more and more impressed with what I saw. Within a week, 1 had blowguns are, of course. Malaysia and one of my own, and in the 12 or so years since then, 1 have owned the Malay archipelago, other areas of and used a large number of others. In that time, 1 have come to Southeast Asia (particularly the Philip- learn a lot about what you can and cannot do with a blowgun. Tve pines). Japan, southern India and Sri also become convinced that, under many circumstances, the Lanka, Madagascar, South and Central blowgun can be the perfect weapon, providing the capability for America, southern and central Mexico, the accurate and silent delivery of a variety of projectiles in a and the southeastern United States, very inexpensive package. Although many people associate the blow- gun with the aboriginal Pygmies, the truth is that the blowgun is unknown on mainland Africa. 2 3 BLOWGUNS: The Breath of h HISTORY OF THE 6 LOW GUM Batah Indian ofthe Philippines, shown with a traditional bfawgun and qijhsef, Member ofthe Batch Indian nibe on Palawan Island Republic shooting a bamboo blowgun. The blowguns found in Borneo, called Sumpitan. are made by turn Ling arm for use the laborious Blowguns were originally devised as a and exacting process of drilling a hole through a solid shooting balls and pellets piece of hardwood against small animals and birds, day about 7 feet long, then finishing the outside of Later, the discovery the gun its with sufficient force to stun or kill the animal. to final form. These guns are typically found furnished against larger game by apply- with a spear of effective poisons allowed their use blade and hook lashed to the muzzle end. Some histo- that were shot through the rians indicate that the ing the poison to darts or small arrows hook was used as a front sight when shoot- blowguns in warfare- ing the gun. Curiously, most of the cultures that used gun, while the spear blade allowed the gun to be used as a against other backup frowned upon the use of these highly effective poisons weapon in warfare or to finish off wounded game. men and normally restricted their use to game only. In the area that is now the southeastern Unites States, blow- its highest form guns were The two areas where the blowgun reached used by native Americans for hunting and games of and among the Indians skill. The were in Borneo, in the Malay archipelago, reeds that grow naturally there provided an ideal South America, particularly source of raw of the Orinoco and Amazon basins in material for these guns, which they loaded with soft both of these darts the Jivaro Indians of Ecuador. By no coincidence, wood over a foot Jong with stoppers made of thistledown suitable for making regions have varieties of plants that are Among the Indian tribes known to use blowguns were the Cherokee, potent poisons. Choctaw. Iroquois, Muskhogeans, Attica pas, and splitting a sapling down its Chctimachas, South American guns are made by The latter three tribes were also known to have matching halves of the bore taken btowgun technology enLire length and carving out two a step further by binding a number of blowguns range from about reeds together to before gluing It back together.

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