Pierce
and Cunningham darting-gun; a combined harpoon and lance Used
largely by Arctic whalemen. Fig. 2. Cunningham and Cogan gun
Length, 33 inches; weight, 27 pounds; used by Arctic whalers with
bomb lance Fig. 3. Brand muzzle-loading whaling-gun and bomb lance.
Various firearms were brought into play to try
and kill whales more efficiently and to avoid having to approach
an injured and dangerous whale too closely. These were used with
varying degrees of success, though none were as reliable as the
old-fashioned method of dispatching the whale using a heavy wooden
handled lance wielded by an experienced man.
It wasn't until 1864 when Swede Sven Foyn
invented the heavy explosive harpoon that could hit a whale 50yds
that the hand harpoon was finally replaced.
Image courtesy NOAA
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