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Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling? (Read 11555 times)
AncientCraftwork
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Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling?
Apr 19th, 2020 at 4:05pm
 
Mine is the blowgun. I've always liked how simple and effective a blowgun is.
I consider it the ideal small game primitive weapon. Sharpened broadhead darts can also take larger game if aimed correctly. Like all primitive weapons, it requires skill, but not nearly as much as the sling.
Also, it shines where the sling does not, in forest and bush. A good blowgun can also function as your walking cane. It is the ideal second carry for a slinger.

Of course, the blowgun is a primitive weapon but the material mine is made out of isn't.  But not so relevant to me personally.

What is your favorite primitive weapon after the sling ? (Or your favorite if the sling is second )



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walter
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Re: Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling?
Reply #1 - Apr 19th, 2020 at 4:26pm
 
self bows 35 - 45lbs no riser. Fun to make and shoot Smiley
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Mersa
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Re: Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling?
Reply #2 - Apr 19th, 2020 at 4:45pm
 
Gotta be a bow. Nothing like a good stalk with a bow.

What are you hunting with a blow gun?
Poisonous darts?
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Re: Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling?
Reply #3 - Apr 19th, 2020 at 4:49pm
 
Also a bow. D/R longbow or just regular D bow both are good. Laminated birch arrows
or shoots if I’m going more primitive.
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Re: Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling?
Reply #4 - Apr 19th, 2020 at 5:19pm
 
Mersa wrote on Apr 19th, 2020 at 4:45pm:
Gotta be a bow. Nothing like a good stalk with a bow.

What are you hunting with a blow gun?
Poisonous darts?


I am not allowed to say that I hunt or what I hunt as it is illegal to hunt here with primitive weapons.

But I can say that blowguns in general are very effective for all kinds of bird, fowl, squirrels, frogs etc. No poison needed, broad heads will make short work.

Blowguns can also be used for big game even without poison if the shot placement is right (lungs/heart) research Tim Wells. He killed all kinds of large game (black bear, hogs) with a blowgun and broadhead darts.  It's on YouTube

The reason I did not pick a bow is because it's overkill for the game that is accessible here, except for the rare opportunity to hit a deer. That's it.
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Re: Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling?
Reply #5 - Apr 19th, 2020 at 7:20pm
 
I must say that although it might be effective enough on large game i would never take a shot with a blow gun on critters like a hog or bear(not that we have bears in Australia).
Hogs in Australia seem like a different animal and I honestly can’t see a big boar even being phased buy a blow gun, many people say that traditional bows are even underpowered.
A sharp broadhead makes up for a lot but what type of speed , KE and momentum are blowguns capable of????

I know of Tim but personally I think he’s pretty rough when it comes to hunting. Lots of his kills are not very quick and pretty messy. I’m all in for leveling the playing field and using primitive weaponry but I like to think that we can be a little bit ethical. I’ve also heard Rumours that some of his hunts are staged and the animals are drugged.

I take it you have the cold steel blowgun?

For squirrels, birds etc I think it could be a good weapon but I’d want a rather large quiver of darts can’t see recovery of darts in thick scrub.

Hunting is interesting enough that even the same species can vary in their difficulty just due to the environment and whether or not they’re hunted.

Kangaroos on the property I hunt on will let you get within 20m most of the time unphased until the pro shooter comes and starts fireing bullets then your lucky to get within 200m for the next 2 months .

Rabbits are tough as as well. seen paralysed rabbit shot with a .22 get away with only its front legs, you’d want clean heart shots with a blow gun.

EDIT:
A quick look at blowgun information online seems pretty interesting. Speeds in excess of 150fps mussel velocity with light projectiles and projectile weights up to around 50 grains for “hunting” darts.
Best attribute is the ability to be almost still and silent. Definitely a good hunting tool but I still wouldn’t use it on medium or large game personally (unless in an absolute survival situation). But you have got me intrigued. Definitely turns into a super scary deadly weapon with the addition of poison.
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Re: Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling?
Reply #6 - Apr 19th, 2020 at 8:12pm
 
The only time I tried to hunt rabbits with a blow gun it did not go well. I have seen people hunt rabbits after dipping the darts in rattlesnake venom and that dispatched them super quick. I wonder if the meat was still edible after its cooked? I bet with a healthy dose of poison and a legit survival setting a blowgun would be an effective weapon for deer and what not. Even if it just knocked them down you could finish them pretty quick.
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Re: Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling?
Reply #7 - Apr 20th, 2020 at 2:42am
 
Staff sling...


  Grin
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Re: Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling?
Reply #8 - Apr 20th, 2020 at 5:32am
 
Atlatl. Surprised no one said it yet
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Re: Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling?
Reply #9 - Apr 20th, 2020 at 9:28am
 
Probably just a club... There's something about that simplicity.
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Re: Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling?
Reply #10 - Apr 20th, 2020 at 9:31am
 
vetryan15 wrote on Apr 20th, 2020 at 5:32am:
Atlatl. Surprised no one said it yet


The one thing that's held me back from getting into using an atlatl is making the darts. Long straight pieces of wood aren't so easy to find unless I just go buy some bamboo poles. I will eventually get around to them I think Cheesy

JudoP wrote on Apr 20th, 2020 at 9:28am:
Probably just a club... There's something about that simplicity.


This reminded me of the rabbit stick/throwing stick/kylie. I've been wanting to make my own and they really intrigue me.
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You are a great guy Kick but also slightly scary at times. - Morphy
"Nothing matters, but it’s perhaps more comfortable to keep calm and not interfere with other people." - H.P. Lovecraft, in a letter to Frank Belknap Long, 7 October, 1923
 
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Re: Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling?
Reply #11 - Apr 20th, 2020 at 10:01am
 
But you can always straighten pieces by hand, and other methods.

This site has a ton of information about the atlatl.

http://www.thudscave.com/npaa/index.htm
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Re: Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling?
Reply #12 - Apr 20th, 2020 at 10:47am
 
vetryan15 wrote on Apr 20th, 2020 at 10:01am:
But you can always straighten pieces by hand, and other methods.

This site has a ton of information about the atlatl.

http://www.thudscave.com/npaa/index.htm


True, but it's extra work and effort and a bit of trial and error. If it wasn't expensive and difficult to get to Finland, I would love to buy a set of darts.
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You are a great guy Kick but also slightly scary at times. - Morphy
"Nothing matters, but it’s perhaps more comfortable to keep calm and not interfere with other people." - H.P. Lovecraft, in a letter to Frank Belknap Long, 7 October, 1923
 
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vetryan15
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Re: Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling?
Reply #13 - Apr 20th, 2020 at 11:37am
 
Kick wrote on Apr 20th, 2020 at 10:47am:
vetryan15 wrote on Apr 20th, 2020 at 10:01am:
But you can always straighten pieces by hand, and other methods.

This site has a ton of information about the atlatl.

http://www.thudscave.com/npaa/index.htm


True, but it's extra work and effort and a bit of trial and error. If it wasn't expensive and difficult to get to Finland, I would love to buy a set of darts.

Thats the fun part, i picked up a book on how to make basket maker type atlatl, just because i love holding onto a physical book instead of looking online. I understand i have access to a ton of private land that i can collect from. One day i shall have some time to attempt it. But i do own an atlatl set with 3 darts.  From thunderatlatl i belive i picked it up from Amazon as well, a few years back
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AncientCraftwork
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Re: Your favorite primitive weapon after the sling?
Reply #14 - Apr 20th, 2020 at 3:38pm
 
I don't have one of the cold steel blowguns. I would like one but find it hard to justify the 70 euro's they cost here to buy one, when I can make one myself and mod it to my likings for free using scrap. My main blowgun is made out of PVC tubing, ducttaped to a broomstick to keep it straight. It's about 160 cm  / 5 feet something long.  PVC is great because it's really smooth.

I've also tried electrical conduit but the ones I had available head a welding seam in the inside which caused too much drag. A clean 1/2 inch copper wipe could work.

For simple target practice darts I use nails with paper/ducttape cones attached to them. I've also had good succes with cork cones, although they take more work to refine. For hunting purposes it's better to use metal skewers/rods or whatever you have accessible, preferably a bit soft so you can flatten the head and sharpen it into a broad head. 

Making darts for a blowgun is much easier than making arrows for a bow

I like it also because it trains my lungs and I have a very decent lung capacity.

You could make a primitive blowgun with bamboo. Split it perfectly through the middle, remove the pit and smoothen it out, lash and glue the two halves back together and add a mouthpiece.  But it won't be as good as a PVC or metal pipe one.
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