Sparkie
Tiro
Offline
Slinging Rocks!
Posts: 10
New York
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Aiming is easy, keep both eyes open and blow with tube pointed at target. If close dead on, as targets get further out raise the barrel. It takes practice, but is like shooting a pea shooter. At very close range, say 25 feet as a kid, I would nail cicadas to my dad's tree, they would buzz and spin like a living sheesh-ka-bob! Watching a show on SA natives, when I was a kid, they showed a gent hunting with a 9 foot blowgun, straight up. They would pop dinner from trees, but up, the obvious issue is swallowing a poisoned dart. Toxins were placed on the outside of the dart, and there was a notch cut out so you one could smear neurotoxin on the spot, and while the flesh would wipe away a lot, what was in the notch stayed there, paralyzing the animal, fall to the ground usually finished it off, or a thorough neck snap, knife slash.
On a job site in Manhattan I was boared, I took 8 inch lenghts of #10 AWG solid copper wire and rolled them betwixt two random pieces of 3/4 inch plywood, (to straighten them). Piece of tape and fluff of chinese take out napkins (cheapest there are), were the darts, the blow pipe was 1/2 inch emt, (which is a soldered tube, you can see it inside). Target was a few pictures of my least favorite politicians up against a sheet of 3/4 plywood. I shot maybe 10 rounds when the GC came by and asked to see my handy work. He was amazed, most of the shots hit the heads and went through, (barely), the plywood. from muzzle tip to the plywood about 30 or so feet. It takes a lot of practice to hit accurately, but even more to develop lung capacity to do that. My steel darts were way way more deadly IF you could do a head shot, although in fairness if you were hit with a copper dart in the solar plexus, I guarantee you would NOT be a happy camper. If a toxin were applied, you die. Puncture an artery and you will have serious problem, possible death over time.
The pipe I had sat on a scaffold, my store bought one was a rigid hard aluminum pipe with a perfect inside surface, and theoretically polymer treated. You do not need to have a perfect interior surface, the fluff ball will not care and the shaft never touches it in motion.
A friend who bought one from me shot a pidgeon sitting next to an old lady on a park pench from the balcony of his moms house, (2nd floor). When she noticed the bird impaled to the bench she richeously went nuts and ran to get cops. My two pals ran out and plucked the dead bird and dart,(you need plyers to remove it), mangled the seat enough so the dart hole was not visible, and ran to his cohort's house. When the cops arrived they did a big walk around and rang door bells, but then they gave up. All the while the woman looked like she was going to blow out an artery in her neck.
Good thing he became a lawyer!
Ahhh, the simple joys of life in the city!
ciao
sparkie
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