A little while back I did a review on pellet guns.
And I have to admit these were not the Red Rider pellet guns that I grew up with..
These things can take out a full grown hog with a single shot!
Recently I was wandering around at the local gun show (looking hopelessly for some decently priced ammo… and not having much luck), when I ran across something that I hadn’t seen in quite a few years.
The old standby of my backyard hunting days, a blowgun.
The blowgun is an effective weapon, it’s been used for thousands of years as the weapon of choice for many indigenous tribes across the globe, but we have come a long way from using hollowed out reeds and bamboo.
While the skill and knowledge to craft your own blowgun is invaluable to a survivalist, it never hurts to pick up a modern equivalent (and you don’t have to worry about whether or not it will shoot straight.
Modern day blowguns are made out of aluminum, plastic, and carbon fiber and many of them can be broken down into smaller sizes to be easily carried.
So lets take a look at blowguns shall we?
The Good:
Lightweight
Proven (thousands of years of testing leave little doubt that they are effective)
Portable (many varying lengths and the ability to break down allow for most of these to be carried in a standard backpack)
Cheap
Silent
Plentiful ammo (much cheaper and easier to access than my 9mm)
Legal almost everywhere. (Except the state of California, Massachusetts, the District of Columbia.)
There is currently no age requirement for using a blowgun.
The Bad
Not as powerful as a pellet gun (You won’t take down anything much larger than a rabbit with one of these, but I have taken out a few squirrels in my younger years)
Single shot (but it’s silent so you should be able to get out a couple shots before spooking the critter)
Durability can be questionable (if you don’t get a quality blowgun you run the risk of denting the piping and impeding the airflow)
Small game means small targets. You will need to practice a decent amount to become accurate enough to take out anything worth being a meal.
The bottom line:
Whether you want to relive your childhood like me, or you want to practice the ancient art of killing your prey using only the air in your lungs, a blowgun is a decent survival hunting weapon. And the best part is, you can stock up on it and practice right now! I loved hunting squirrels in my grandparents garden with my trusty blowgun as a kid, and I never would have dreamed just how easily it can be used in a survival situation to provide a meal.
What are your thoughts on blow guns for survival use?
P.S. Like I said above, a cheap blowgun will quickly become a useless blowgun if you make a single mistake…
Check out this heavy duty American Made blowgun that I found,
It’s one of the last all American made blowguns on the market.
It’s double tough and ready for action (and you can snag it at a fair price too)!
