Main Discussion Area > Arrows
Toggle type harpoon head(???)
Pat B:
I e-mailed Curtis Keller from Texas. He has "hunted" these monsters in the past and I wanted his input. He pretty much discouraged me about attempting this with a primitive head. He has shot(at) the big ones(over 100#) and has had an aluminum covered fiberglass arrow with steel "gar fishing" head and a 75# bow and had the arrow bounce off of its back. :o
I will still play with the head to see what I come up with. I will send it to Curt to test...if he thinks it will be worthwhile.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained!
stickbender:
They are tough critters, and the armor plating that their scales provide is pretty amazing. something else. I doubt that the native americans, speared, or harpooned them. If so, they must have had one hell of an arm, and point. ;D You don't have to go paleo, you know, you could go, oh, pre 1700's, with an iron point...... ;)
Wayne
Pat B:
Wayne, I'm sure I could make a modern point or a post industrial age point that would work on one of these guys. My hopes were that I could do it primitive. I have been studying the Eskimos harpoon heads and they are quite impressive and they are dealing with animals that weigh in at a ton or more in some cases. The difference being their quarry are all soft bodied mammals.
Like I said, I'll keep playing with the idea and see where it takes me.
stickbender:
I would think the Indians, probably netted the gars, but I could be wrong. By all means, do keep at it. I am sure there must be a way, to do this. Maybe it is the angle of attack? I would like to hear of your progress. I know what you mean, by trying to do it all primitive. It would be cool to try to solve a problem with only the natural resources at hand. Modern people seem to have this notion that prehistoric man was a nit wit. When in fact they were quite ingenious, and skillful. If not, we would not be here. Look at what they had to go through to survive. A little more modern, but nonetheless a point to be made, is that the Egyptians, could make a gold leaf so thin, that you could actually see through it enough to read a newspaper. We can't do that today, with all of our technology, and " Superior " intelligence ! I by no means, meant to stop trying to get a large gar by strictly primitive means. How about the toggle idea, with a small medium thickness, point, so it would have a chance of going in between the scales, and or sliding in under a scale, and into the body of the fish? Or a small triangular point, like the Danish used to Peirce armor. Claude Van Order made some, that were pretty neat. In fact I think Eddie (Mullet) used one on a hog, and it went right through the skull, one shot, one kill ;)........sort of a stone bodkin......but, by all means, keep at it. We can all benefit from what you come up with, both failures, and successes. ;) Carry on sir. :)
Wayne
hedgeapple:
I can't wait to here how this turns out. I think it's a worthy endeavor.
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