# Poisoned Dart Blow-Gun: Effective (Real?) Weapon or Hollywood Invention? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 17, 2008, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-dart-blow-gun-effective-real-weapon-or-hollywood-invention/468426 "2008-10-17T19:07:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-dart-blow-gun-effective-real-weapon-or-hollywood-invention/468426/21 "2010-11-02T17:04:21Z")
When I was a kid, my brother and I made homemade blowguns out of copper pipe. The darts were made from nails with a paper cone duct-taped to the end. From across the house, we could easily put one of those nails completely through a solid wood door of a kitchen cabinet. My mother was unimpressed, to say the least. With a little bit of practice, those things were scary accurate from a pretty good distance. Not bad for something jury-rigged by a 12 year old. On edit, must have some of that voodoo zombie poison on the darts for this thread… ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-dart-blow-gun-effective-real-weapon-or-hollywood-invention/468426/22 "2010-11-02T17:24:37Z")
> [@](#): > > This question reminds me of that exchange between Ian Malcolm and that other guy in The Lost World (I think it was in both the book and the movie) Sorry – no blowguns or poison darts in Arthur Conan Doyle’s book. I’ve read it many times. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-dart-blow-gun-effective-real-weapon-or-hollywood-invention/468426/23 "2010-11-02T17:29:32Z")
Run away! Zombies got blowguns! ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-dart-blow-gun-effective-real-weapon-or-hollywood-invention/468426/24 "2010-11-02T18:00:48Z")
> [@Shadow.625](#): > > That same dart w/ as little as .5mg of a few select readily available poisons applied to it becomes one of a silent assasin’s most effective weapons. I’d be curious for so more information about these readily available poisons. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-dart-blow-gun-effective-real-weapon-or-hollywood-invention/468426/25 "2010-11-02T18:17:26Z")
> [@Toxylon](#): > > Blowgun hunter checking in. Blowguns are vastly more powerful than common sense implies. It bears mentioning that hunting blowguns are also much _larger_ than often depicted in movies. You won’t drive a dart through an animal using a pencil-sized tube and your own breath; typical hunting blowguns are four feet long or longer and are supported by both hands. The length of the gun allows a long continuous breath (not a short puff) to build up [impulse](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impulse_%28physics%29), imparting force and accuracy to the projectile. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-dart-blow-gun-effective-real-weapon-or-hollywood-invention/468426/26 "2010-11-02T18:56:14Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Sorry – no blowguns or poison darts in Arthur Conan Doyle’s book. I’ve read it many times. I think the line is from Jurassic Park II. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-dart-blow-gun-effective-real-weapon-or-hollywood-invention/468426/27 "2010-11-02T21:31:11Z")
> [@mozchron](#): > > When I was a kid, my brother and I made homemade blowguns out of copper pipe. The darts were made from nails with a paper cone duct-taped to the end. > > From across the house, we could easily put one of those nails completely through a solid wood door of a kitchen cabinet. My mother was unimpressed, to say the least. > > With a little bit of practice, those things were scary accurate from a pretty good distance. Not bad for something jury-rigged by a 12 year old. > > On edit, must have some of that voodoo zombie poison on the darts for this thread… Had very similar results as a 12 year old. We used big nails and stuck them through the caps from my sisters water color markers. Wrapped a little tape around the cap to get just the right seal. Could easily hit a pop can at 50’ or more. ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-dart-blow-gun-effective-real-weapon-or-hollywood-invention/468426/28 "2010-11-02T23:56:43Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > Had very similar results as a 12 year old. We used big nails and stuck them through the caps from my sisters water color markers. Wrapped a little tape around the cap to get just the right seal. Could easily hit a pop can at 50’ or more. Yah, they were fun. It all started because we bought blowguns (with the wire darts) from a sketchy “martial arts supply” shop. Blowguns are illegal in CA, but this place sold them to 12-year-olds 🙂 (as an aside, it was a great shop. It was just like the shop in the old Simpsons Halloween special where Homer buys the monkey paw and the “frogurt” - even had the old chinese shopkeeper with the long hair and mustache. He sold us butterfly knives too.) Those were cool, but we quickly tired of them and started messing around to see how we could increase the range and power. Probably would have been arrested if we were kids doing that today. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-dart-blow-gun-effective-real-weapon-or-hollywood-invention/468426/29 "2010-11-03T00:28:53Z")
I’m checking in to note that we drove nails through 3/4" plywood as kids. It was rotten and crappy wood, and we had to use 6’ of PVC pipe to get the necessary speeds, but if we could jury-rig that in an afternoon, I’m sure a professional grade blowgun could get some serious penetration, and that someone whose life or profession depended on it could make something very successful too. Our accuracy was surprisingly good, too; after an hour’s practice, I could blow a dart from the gun more accurately than I could throw a dart (the kind you’d throw in a bar, I mean). ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-dart-blow-gun-effective-real-weapon-or-hollywood-invention/468426/30 "2010-11-03T04:15:55Z")
> [@Shadow.625](#): > > That same dart w/ as little as .5mg of a few select readily available poisons applied to it becomes one of a silent assasin’s most effective weapons. Bit conspicuous, though 😉 I wonder, wouldn’t bagging a deer or similar using poison, especially blood-borne toxins or muscle relaxants, make its meat dangerous to eat as well ? ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-dart-blow-gun-effective-real-weapon-or-hollywood-invention/468426/31 "2010-11-03T07:44:08Z")
> [@mozchron](#): > > When I was a kid, my brother and I made homemade blowguns out of copper pipe. The darts were made from nails with a paper cone duct-taped to the end. > > From across the house, we could easily put one of those nails completely through a solid wood door of a kitchen cabinet. My mother was unimpressed, to say the least. > > With a little bit of practice, those things were scary accurate from a pretty good distance. Not bad for something jury-rigged by a 12 year old. > > On edit, must have some of that voodoo zombie poison on the darts for this thread… We did exactly the same thing. We used 4" finishing nails sharped to a needle point on the sharpening stone of an electric can opener, and long paper cones finely finished with scotch tape and trimmed for a perfect seal with six foot long hollow tubes. The darts were around 10" inches long. These things, as you describe, were no joke. At close range it would be no problem at all to put one through the palm of someone’s hand. Range was on the order of a city block. Not a toy. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-dart-blow-gun-effective-real-weapon-or-hollywood-invention/468426/32 "2010-11-03T08:21:07Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Bit conspicuous, though 😉 > > I wonder, wouldn’t bagging a deer or similar using poison, especially blood-borne toxins or muscle relaxants, make its meat dangerous to eat as well ? This was addressed earlier in the thread. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-dart-blow-gun-effective-real-weapon-or-hollywood-invention/468426/33 "2010-11-03T16:17:15Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > It bears mentioning that hunting blowguns are also much _larger_ than often depicted in movies. You won’t drive a dart through an animal using a pencil-sized tube and your own breath; typical hunting blowguns are four feet long or longer and are supported by both hands. The length of the gun allows a long continuous breath (not a short puff) to build up [impulse](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impulse_%28physics%29), imparting force and accuracy to the projectile. True. But hunting blowguns are either made to put a light poison dart into an animal sitting on a distant treetop or to kill animals at short distances using heavy darts and no poison. The movie shot is different, as it combines lightweight poison darts and very short distances (the assassin shooting into a room through an open window, hiding behind the curtains etc.) The tests I’ve run show that a short, movie-style blowgun won’t shoot a heavy hunting dart worth a crap, but when using lightweight, movie-style darts, a 20" blowgun will reach approximately the same velocity as a 60" one, ie. length improves only accuracy (the reason aboriginals shoot even lightweight poison darts from long blowguns). IANAPhysicist, but it’s clear that heavy darts need a longer tube to reach terminal velocity than light ones. Very light, movie-style darts have very low mass and little KE. Yet, due to their high sectional density and the very low friction they encounter upon entering flesh they have good penetrative abilities. Lightweight darts made from small-gauge piano wire shoot (tiny holes) through animals, tried and true. With poison, they turn deadly. Author and adventurer Dan Mannix used wire darts and a five-foot blowgun to bag a whitetail deer in Mexico in the '60’s. He obtained curare through a special permit and put it on steel darts using grease as an adhesive. He hit a buck twice with the darts, and the deer went a quarter of a mile before going down. Both darts had penetrated the deer body up to the cone, or about four inches. Given the distances that movie blowgun shots are typically made at, a two-foot or even a 16" gun and thin wire darts would be enough to make deep puncture wounds in a human. Properly poisoned, they would be deadly, if not in the “keel over dead” - style. ---
**Author:** ![Shadow.625](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@Shadow.625](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shadow.625)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-dart-blow-gun-effective-real-weapon-or-hollywood-invention/468426/34 "2010-11-04T17:30:17Z")
> [@Toxylon](#): > > True. But hunting blowguns are either made to put a light poison dart into an animal sitting on a distant treetop or to kill animals at short distances using heavy darts and no poison. The movie shot is different, as it combines lightweight poison darts and very short distances (the assassin shooting into a room through an open window, hiding behind the curtains etc.) > > The tests I’ve run show that a short, movie-style blowgun won’t shoot a heavy hunting dart worth a crap, but when using lightweight, movie-style darts, a 20" blowgun will reach approximately the same velocity as a 60" one, ie. length improves only accuracy (the reason aboriginals shoot even lightweight poison darts from long blowguns). IANAPhysicist, but it’s clear that heavy darts need a longer tube to reach terminal velocity than light ones. > > Very light, movie-style darts have very low mass and little KE. Yet, due to their high sectional density and the very low friction they encounter upon entering flesh they have good penetrative abilities. Lightweight darts made from small-gauge piano wire shoot (tiny holes) through animals, tried and true. With poison, they turn deadly. > > Author and adventurer Dan Mannix used wire darts and a five-foot blowgun to bag a whitetail deer in Mexico in the '60’s. He obtained curare through a special permit and put it on steel darts using grease as an adhesive. He hit a buck twice with the darts, and the deer went a quarter of a mile before going down. Both darts had penetrated the deer body up to the cone, or about four inches. > > Given the distances that movie blowgun shots are typically made at, a two-foot or even a 16" gun and thin wire darts would be enough to make deep puncture wounds in a human. Properly poisoned, they would be deadly, if not in the “keel over dead” - style. Toxylon is THE man!!! Bro you need to write a freakiin’ book. The Breath of Death(Paladin Pess) is needs an update. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-dart-blow-gun-effective-real-weapon-or-hollywood-invention/468426/35 "2010-11-04T21:57:29Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Sorry – no blowguns or poison darts in Arthur Conan Doyle’s book. I’ve read it many times. Fie on Michael Crichton for giving the book I was referring to the same name as Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic… and I’m one of the few people who actually still thought **The Lost World** was a decent read (again, referring to the **Jurassic Park** sequel again, not Arthur Conan Doyle’s book, which was a super-duper-AWESOME read, and also gifted the world the TV series that gave us the luscious Jennifer O’Dell playing Veronica Layton). ---
**Author:** ![Shadow.625](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@Shadow.625](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shadow.625)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2010, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-dart-blow-gun-effective-real-weapon-or-hollywood-invention/468426/36 "2010-11-06T21:17:18Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > I’m checking in to note that we drove nails through 3/4" plywood as kids. It was rotten and crappy wood, and we had to use 6’ of PVC pipe to get the necessary speeds, but if we could jury-rig that in an afternoon, I’m sure a professional grade blowgun could get some serious penetration, and that someone whose life or profession depended on it could make something very successful too. Our accuracy was surprisingly good, too; after an hour’s practice, I could blow a dart from the gun more accurately than I could throw a dart (the kind you’d throw in a bar, I mean). Cider your story is IMO exactly what blowguns are all about. I’m not aware of any other weapon/sport where even kids can out of readily-available materials make the necessary equpment which technically could be used for hunting and/or serious target practice (comp target shooting). Even a state-of-the-art 5ft .625 magnum blowgun costs less than $30 AND you get a free quiver w/ 4 different kinds of 30+ darts for free. \< That NEVER happens in any other activity I’m aware of. The most basic compound bow outfit (bow, rest, quiver, arrows) normally costs more than $200 at the least, and the quality is nowhere near Cold Steel. In fact in the archery world that would require a Mathews bow and would probably end up costing more than $350, most likely much more. All the while not providing anywhere near the enjoyment of a blowgun or the challenge. ---
**Author:** ![Otara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Otara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otara)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-dart-blow-gun-effective-real-weapon-or-hollywood-invention/468426/37 "2010-11-07T11:35:39Z")
This sounds just a teensy bit like advertising? ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-dart-blow-gun-effective-real-weapon-or-hollywood-invention/468426/38 "2010-11-07T12:42:55Z")
No sounds like equipment fans geeking just like with computers or paintball gear. ---
**Author:** ![Laudenum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Laudenum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laudenum)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-dart-blow-gun-effective-real-weapon-or-hollywood-invention/468426/39 "2010-11-09T11:30:29Z")
People actually still use blowguns these days? Interesting. I’m amazed that there is enough demand that you don’t have to make your own. ---
**Author:** ![Shadow.625](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@Shadow.625](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shadow.625)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-dart-blow-gun-effective-real-weapon-or-hollywood-invention/468426/40 "2010-11-09T13:56:07Z")
I suspect the odds of the avg guy constructing a homemade blowgun which could remotely come close to Cold Steel’s is very, very slim. I got mine less than a week ago & I’m already getting 200 fps which amazes me. In a month I should be getting 220fps which for a blowgun is blinding fast, harness that w/ a razor tipped 5gr dart and you can kill just about anything under 45lbs w/out poison. Add poison and dropping a deer or possibly a man is w/in reach. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-dart-blow-gun-effective-real-weapon-or-hollywood-invention/468426.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-dart-blow-gun-effective-real-weapon-or-hollywood-invention/468426.md?page=3)