Jungle speargun
“There’s a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot” (Steven Wright)
An item you commonly see in PSKs (personal survival kits) is a single loop of snare wire. For the jungle at least this is not the most useful item you could take with you and some catapult bands may well serve you better.
This may seem counter to commonly accepted survival ‘wisdom’ but there are number of reasons for this:
1. One loop of wire = one snare (not enough)
2. Rattan can be used (and is used by the Orang Asal) to make snares so there’s no need for the wire as long as you know how to process rattan into strips.
3. Snaring requires a degree of knowledge about animal behaviour (if you put the snare in the wrong place, you won’t catch anything)
4. Snaring requires you to stay in one place, whereas opportunistic hunting allows you to hunt on the move.
5. The easiest place to hunt for protein in the jungle is in the rivers and streams.
Similarly setting a fish trap (night line or twig trap) may work if you are staying in one place but is not so good if you are on the move…. and don’t forget that a fish hook is only as good as the bait you put on it (and fish can be frustratingly picky about what they eat!)
Even in small streams in the jungle you usually find fish and, because the water isn’t too deep, it is relatively easy to catch them (either by hand or with a spear/arrow). The Orang Asal will walk up stream in a line towards a pool, frightening the fish in their path forward and then, once the fish are all in the same place, pick them off one by one.
However, to get close enough to the fish to spear them is a bit tricky and you need to stay very still. move very slowly and be patient….but it can be done and, as my Orang Asal friend Sammy explained to me, the best time to do this is between 8pm-midnight when the fish are, as he described it “bodoh” (Malay for ‘stupid’).
Making some sort of speargun is quite straightforward and, as long as you can find some bamboo, it’s easier than building a bow fishing kit. A speargun also has the advantage that it is less bulky, doesn’t require any movement to load (as it’s preloaded) and allows you to get closer to the fish – e.g. you can crouch in the stream and submerge the arrow tip under water (which is more difficult to do with a bow and arrow).
In a jungle survival situation streams and rivers are the obvious place to look for protein – fish, prawns, crabs, frogs are all there – and a couple of catapult bands will greatly increase your chances of being able to catch something for dinner. Also worth mentioning is another PSK item that can be very useful: a mozzi head-net which can double up as a small net to catch prawns.
There are other uses for these rubber bands – as waterproof fire starters, to make a head torch band and to fashion a compression bandage. Useful things indeed!
Hey Paul,
Ingenious methods of utilizing rubber bands for simple but very effective weapons to get food on the table. I love your trigger mechanism. I have a four foot piece of 1/4″ medical rubber tubing in my kit to use for replacement bands on my slingshot and of course for pressure bandages and/or tourniquet if needed. If you would like to try some of the tubing let me know I found a place where I can get a lot of it for cheap. They have all different sizes from small diameter to a lot bigger than 1/4″ too. Email me. This is one piece of kit I consider priceless for it’s limitless uses.
Have a good one,
John
Hi John,
Thanks for the comment and I agree with you that they are useful things to have with you. Saying that I didn’t carry them when I first started jungle trekking as I hadn’t seen the potential for them beyond the slingshot. Very kind offer on the tubing but, honestly, for the rivers here I don’t think you need that much power as the fish are so small and you can get quite close to them…but thanks.
Cheers!
Paul
Hi Paul,
Great video as usual. I really liked the design of the speargun. The trigger mechanism reminds me of some of the native crossbows from S.E. Asia. I think it is a great idea to carry the catapult bands. I do not usually carry them but as you say, prawns and small fish in streams are the easiest source of protein in the rainforest. I always make a habit of carrying a small trident style spear head in my PSK. If I need to get food, I can easily make it into a spear or fishing arrow. With this I can get prawns and fish, as well as frogs and even large lizards. The spearhead is sold as a “frog gig” and is only 4 1/2 inches long and very light. Keep the great videos coming!
Hi Gabriel,
Great to hear from you and thanks, as always, for the comment. I think for the little streams in the jungle the speargun is great as it’s so quick to set up (as long as there’s bamboo!) and I like the idea of a little trident tip/frog gig! With bamboo you can achieve the same thing (although difficult to do the barbs) by splitting the end into four bits and spreading them out by wrapping some cordage around the base of the splits.
Cheers!
Paul
Hello Paul,
Great video, this is really big stuff.
I like Sami’s mini harpoon. I will try it next week.
A slingshot was the one hunting/ fishing item I thought about for jungle, but still they are either too heavy, or bulky (I’m a gram counter).
At around 12′, you show a speargun you made, although it appears to me far more like a bow, this shape is really interesting as you just need a small piece of bamboo, rubber, and innertube (to lash the rubber)
Did you try to fire arrows with a slingshot? it works quite well.
I am currently making a headband from innertube, to save some weight from the common headbands. The simpler the better!
Maybe you should have two lamps, I wouldn’t trust myself not to lose that torch on this belt pouch :d
For example I’m going this way:
– one for multiple uses (to lash it on poles, leaving it at camp for marking)
– one for headband
The first one can be really cheap and must be light and compact.
Your dogs seem happy 😀
Bye, many thanks
Hi Wawa,
Many thanks for the comment and really glad you liked the video…I have tried firing arrows with the speargun and it works quite well at close range but not as much power as you get with a bow (at least with the bands I’m using).
I know exactly what you mean about taking a second torch and it’s always hard to know where to draw the line with PSK items…I have also though about taking in spare batteries. Maybe, as you say, one of those tiny flashlights they make now would be a worthy addition as they don’t take up much space at all and not having lighting in the jungle is a big setback.
Anyway, thanks again and glad my dogs look happy!
Cheers!
Paul
Hi Paul,
Actually, I was thinking on having two lights, especially if you lash one to your speargun.
I usually have two lights, but here’s my set up:
– my Eo1 on a headband, always on me.
– my phone (same as yours) has a light on it (which turns on by itself, discharging the battery), it can be in my pack
I almost never use these two:
– a photon in a pocket of my pack (so it’s my spare)
– a medium size light if I need more power (open areas)
On the subject of spearguns, I use a slingbow, that’s is just a slingshot with a diy ring on it that fires arrows.
Really fun to use.
Orang Asal do use slingshot to hunt?
Thanks
Hi Wawa,
Thanks for the reply and, now you mention it, I too have two lights as there is one on my phone as well…thanks for the reminder as I often forget it’s there!
I’ve seen the sling bows and made up one from bamboo and they seem pretty good but not quite as powerful as I’d like. The Orang Asal do use catapults and I was in the jungle once with one of them who was using it to hunt birds. He was extremely accurate with it (much more so than me) and hit a tiny bird at about 20 paces.
Cheers!
Paul
Hi Paul,
I agree that a serviceable multiprong tip can be easily made from bamboo and I often made and used them when I was a kid. The reason I carry the small metal gig point is that the stream bottoms here are 100% rock and coarse gravel and any time one misses a shot at a fish or prawn, the bamboo point gets so banged up you have to stop and resharpen all the points. Nonetheless you are correct, with a bit of care, a bamboo point will provide plenty of sustenance.
Hi Gabriel,
Thanks for the reply and that makes total sense and even if the bamboo prongs don’t snap they are going to quickly get a dulled point because of the stones. Same problem here.
I think I might try and make one up as well as I can see the advantage.
Cheers!
Paul
Hi Paul
This is a fine body of work! Big respect although I doubt I will make great use of your accumulated wisdom! However, much appreciate the Steven wright quote – one of my favourites.
Cheers
Ian
Ps D pointed me to this 😉
Hi Ian,
Good to hear from you – been a long time! I’ve pretty much opted out of all social media/email communication theses days so this is a good place to find me!
Anyway, hope all well with you and, who knows, maybe one day you’ll find yourself in the jungle!
Cheers!
Paul