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rebel
04-21-2008, 09:29 PM
I once made a blow gun from a tv antenna. The darts were finish nails with tape wrapped around to form a cone. The thing had alot of force and was accurate. Has anyone else done this? It could be an expedient tool for small game.

crashdive123
04-21-2008, 09:34 PM
I once made a blow gun from a tv antenna. The darts were finish nails with tape wrapped around to form a cone. The thing had alot of force and was accurate. Has anyone else done this? It could be an expedient tool for small game.

What? You go trekking and camping where there's alot of abandoned cars?:D

Alpine_Sapper
04-21-2008, 09:38 PM
I once made a blow gun from a tv antenna. The darts were finish nails with tape wrapped around to form a cone. The thing had alot of force and was accurate. Has anyone else done this? It could be an expedient tool for small game.

I have a .40 blowgun with a nice selection of different types of projectiles that was a gift. I carry it sometimes just to entertain myself if I'm bored. It's not much for small game since it's so light. There used to be a guy on the internet named "Blowgun Joe" that showed how to make homemade .62 caliber blowguns and darts from scalpels. Much better imho for hunting. I think his site is down, but there's someone on youtube that is showing basically the same method.

rebel
04-21-2008, 09:41 PM
Hollow car antenna?

Tubing. Could come from perhaps a hollow pack frame. Abandoned house tv antenna. water pipe. copper pipe. ???

Rick
04-21-2008, 09:43 PM
Rebel - Believe this or not, back in the day car antennas were hollow.

rebel
04-21-2008, 09:47 PM
Your right. Still would be too small.

Alpine_Sapper
04-21-2008, 09:48 PM
Here's a link to the site I referenced:

http://12.152.111.66/info/blowgunjoe/page002.html

Also, check out the rat hunting page:

http://12.152.111.66/info/blowgunjoe/page004.html

crashdive123
04-21-2008, 09:48 PM
Oops. Misread that and was thinking car antenna. But yeah, they were hollow.

canid
04-21-2008, 09:56 PM
i have used nails with a cone as well, though i used a wedge of 4 mil visqueen, because i always have a ton of it on hand and i play around with stuff when i'm bored. you can certainly nail a squirrel to a tree with one at a decent range.

i use larger than finishing nails.

rebel
04-21-2008, 10:00 PM
Here's a link to the site I referenced:

http://12.152.111.66/info/blowgunjoe/page002.html

Also, check out the rat hunting page:

http://12.152.111.66/info/blowgunjoe/page004.html

I wonder what the neighbors thought when they would find darts in their yard and embedded in their things?

crashdive123
04-21-2008, 10:06 PM
<Rebel's neighbors>

-Honey, Rebel's got a new blow gun
-How do you know dear?
-Bird house is covered in darts and the cat won't come down from the tree.

rebel
04-21-2008, 10:11 PM
Yea. Maybe the site is down because he is too. Rat conspiracy.

Aurelius95
04-21-2008, 10:37 PM
There was another thread about a guy who used pvc pipe and made his broadheads with small exacto blades (cut in the shape of a triangle). Cool film of him nailing a squirrel in his yard. ;)

Ole WV Coot
04-22-2008, 09:07 AM
Car antenna? Seems small. When I was a juvenile offender a car antenna was the barrel for a "zip" gun. I was given a store bought one but never got good with it. Seemed I always inhaled before I blew out the dart. They would be fun to play with if they had a one way valve built in.

bulrush
04-22-2008, 01:01 PM
Plastic cones should be easy to make. Take any plastic bottle, heat with a candle or blow torch so plastic is soft. Gently push in pencil to make a cone. When plastic cools, cut to correct shape.

Chicago Dan
04-25-2008, 03:25 PM
Good idea. Reasonable method but I just couldn’t pull it off.

I tried using pvc tubing many years ago but gave up the project for the following reasons(think what you will, they may not apply to you):

1. Blow gun worked but accuracy was a major issue over 15ft. and I didn’t think this was sufficient.
2. Tubing was unwieldy to carry around.
3. Peoples who use these today supplement the dart with poisons that I really did not want any part of.
4. I was more accurate and had greater distance by just throwing dart(I was a semi-pro darter, think cork board, back in the day).

So Today,
I do have a modified 24g. dart set in my car but some of the issues are still not to my satisfaction. I have used barbs, hooks, trailing line etc. to try and solve some of them but as a whole it would be a method of last resort for me. If anyone has any ideas regarding I would love to hear em.

Blood Groove
04-25-2008, 11:37 PM
I kind of had the same problem. I used a small pvc pipe, and what I used for darts were broken pieces of cloths hangers that were sharpened on one part (using a grinder) and the other part was wrapper with duck tape until it fit snugly into the pipe. Since I live in a completely wooden house, I only use it indoors. But I have a feeling that with the heavy darts it wouldn't go very far outside. It's fun to shoot indoors though.

flandersander
04-26-2008, 12:05 AM
Back but been gone for a while. Good to see some new faces around here. I had a thread on this a while back "blowgun fishing" Check this out. http://www.instructables.com/id/the-BEST-blowgun/

http://www.geocities.com/blowgunhunter/fish-pix.html


http://www.geocities.com/blowgunhunter/broadhead.html

bulrush
04-28-2008, 10:35 AM
If you are having accuracy issues, then the dart may not be well-balanced. For example, the cone (or whatever else seals the dart to the blowgun) may be off center. I think the best idea when making darts is for the head (front) to be a little heavier than the back. That way you don't get the back trying to tumble forward.

Blood Groove
04-28-2008, 05:38 PM
Yeah that makes sence. It's the same principle with a spear, you want the front heavier than the back so it doesn't flip over. I don't really shoot it for accuracy, just for fun.

countybob
05-15-2008, 03:30 PM
if anyone is interested i have a great method of making darts for a blowgun. i use pvc pipe for the blowgun itself, if accuracy is a problem make sure you smooth the ends where the pipe was cut real well, kind of like crowning a barrel. for fast and easy darts take a piece of small coat hanger of the desired length (i find 4 inches to work for me) grind a point on one end and form an open loop on the other. take 3 or 4 pieces of 550 cord about 3'' long and put them centered in the loop, squeeze the loop closed and wrap the cords below the loop with a few turns of thread and tie off and trim. shoot them a few times and the cord frays out nicely to make a good seal when used. county bob