"poison" arrows

[Tree_Ninja]

   Certainly a polarizing topic. I heard there are a few states that allow poison tipped arrows still.

   I read an article in traditional archer (can't remember what month) that had a guy make a poison oak shaft.

  I felt like it was a really dumb idea.  Not to mention that poison ivy and oak doesn't affect deer at all.

 Anyone have any thoughts on the subject , or had read the article I'm referring to?

 

[Chief RID]

I did not know it until I started running with some old bowhunters but a lot of folks used pods back in the 60's here in SC. I was surprised but most said it was a hassel and they stopped. They did like the fact that they got their deer on marginal hits. I was checked by a game officer for pods once in the 80's and by then they were illegal here.

[JW_Halverson]

My friend, Cathy, at Reptile Gardens breeds the poison dart frogs they have on display.  Lemme tell you, as they transition from tadpoles to froggies they are the cutest little things.  You just wanna give 'em a kiss!   

Actually, you can even lick 'em.  Something about the diet they get in captivity stops them from dveloping much for the poison. 

If you can get me a whole whomping bunch of Amazonian insects, we might be able to work a deal, hehehe.

[jayman448]

would hunting with poison tips not make the meat around the wound inedible? always thought that

[son of massey]

As I seem to remember hearing, a lot (all?) of the natural poisons animals produce are specific in regards to their toxicity re:method of introduction. Toxins meant to be injected are broken down in the gut, so the meat is still edible-when injected (like a snakebite) the poison is introduced directly into the bloodstream. I would do some reading about specific toxins before trying this out, I do not know how general it is.

SOM

[dylanholderman]

it depends but most poison would break down when cooked.
and i think that there's a good chance that if it works in the blood stream then eating it might well be harmless, like people drinking snake venom and being fine as long as there is no cuts or sores in the mouth.

[Comancheria]

Back in my drinkimg days, over in Houston, I would buy a bourbon called "Bert Wheeler's Private Stock"--a rancid concoction that I am certain any aboriginal hunter could have tipped an arrow with and dropped a bull elephant in his tracks.  The stuff cost $4.35 a quart--not in 1932 but in 1983!  Looking back, I now realize that rotgut would have made a few shot glasses of rattlesnake poison taste like 50-year old Chevis.

Bear regards,

Russ

[Chief RID]

The toxin used in pods was a prescription that somehow did not poison the meat or in anyway able to be transferred.

[GlisGlis]

it would be unpleasant to get an accidental scratch from your broadhead 

[DC]

What are "pods"?

[scattershot]

Never seen one, but from reading about them I gather that they were a sort of hypodermic gizmo that dispensed poison upon impact.

[Newindian]

I think a pod is a capsul that's sits behind your broad head. The "poison" used is a muscle relaxer that is far more potent in hoved animals then humans and it must be injected into the blood stream to work it is unlikely to aid in the rcovery of gut shot animals but should kill an animal in a few minuets if it hits muscle tissue.

[PEARL DRUMS]

I can understand using poison when your life depended on the quarry, but now? That's just plain unethical in my opinion. We bark about the crap wheelie guys have to take out deer w marginal shots, like 4" broad heads with 5 blades on cam pivots. PRACTICE I say!

Cool topic all the same. 

[Parnell]

I'm interested in the anthropology side of this topic, how cultures made/make it, pass it on, etc.  The San bushmen in S Africa have those tiny bows that are ALL about the poison...wonder how much longer this age old tradition will be around?  The dart frogs from the Amazon and how they synthesize the poison from the fire ants they eat.  The report of the Calusa here in S Florida killing Ponce De Leon with a poison arrow.  If I relied on my arrows to feed me, you bet!
Very interesting topic.

[JW_Halverson]

To piggyback Parnell and PD, this is a very interesting subject, but I think it smacks of that attitude of replacing accuracy with a gimmick. 

Gimmicks for fun and entertainment are all fair game, after all, remember how we all got a great kick out of the guy that built the all wood cam-action wheelie bow???  Absolute sheer genius, a hale and hearty finger flown at both sides of the wheel bow debate!  Sadly, it didn't perform well at all.  If he had he tried to take it into the field to hunt deer, we would have all booed him with well deserved derision. 

Nonetheless, poison and arrows have a long history together.