Weapons

Weapons are found in every Hunger Games and used to inflict harm on something or someone. They can also be found in the districts, most often being used by Peacekeepers in the form of firearms, such as handguns and machine guns. In addition, firebombs are used by the Capitol when they destroy District 12, para-bombs are used by District 13 in the Capitol, both District 13 and the Capitol possess nuclear weapons, and standard bombs are dropped by hovercrafts. In Mockingjay, Katniss and Gale are given bows and arrows specially designed to take down the Capitol's forces.

Blowgun
The blowgun is a handheld weapon that, when blown into, shoots out darts.

During the 50th Hunger Games, Maysilee Donner dipped darts in poisonous substances to make them deadly. She then used a blowgun to shoot two Careers and they fell to the ground, both dead instantly.

Bow and arrow


The bow is mostly a springy piece of wood, usually ash or yew, with the ends tightly connected by catgut or a linen string coated in beeswax. The arrows are straight pieces of wood tipped with sharp bits of metal or stone and fletched with goose feathers or plastic. A bow's power is expressed in pounds, being the strength with which the user has to pull to bring the bow to a certain extent.

The bow was favored by Katniss in the 74th and 75th Hunger Games. In Mockingjay, Katniss is given a special, military-grade bow for the rebellion in District 13. It is highly advanced, specifically crafted to fit Katniss, and uses explosive and incendiary arrows alongside regular ones.

Dagger
A dagger is a double-edged fighting knife with a central spine and full-length cutting edges. It differs from a regular knife in that it has a double-edged blade. A knife is a tool and a piece of silverware, and although it can be used as a weapon, this is not its primary function. A dagger's sharply pointed dual-edged blade allows it to be used either for slashing cuts or for thrusts to an opponent's body.

Knife
A knife is a sharp blade with a handle. It is used as a weapon, a piece of silverware, and a useful tool for cutting things. Although Katniss prefers her bow, she uses knives on more than one occasion, including when she drops a tracker jacker nest on the Career pack.

Peeta Mellark appears to favor this weapon in combat, as does Clove, the female District 2 tribute in the 74th Hunger Games. Peeta favors knife-figthing and Clove prefers knife-throwing.

Mace
A mace is a heavy wooden club with a spiked metal end. In one unidentified Games, maces were the only weapons in the Cornucopia. It is not said if there were any supplies or only maces. It is unknown if anyone in the 74th or 75th Hunger Games used them.

Net
A net is a bag or other contrivance of strong thread or cord worked into an open, meshed fabric, for catching fish, birds, or other animals.

Nets are mainly used by District 4 for fishing, but they were also utilized by Finnick Odair during the 65th Hunger Games. He wove a net from a kind of vine he had found in the arena. He would entangle his opponents with the net and then spear them with a trident. Another person who used a net to kill someone was Marvel, during 74th Hunger Games. He used the net to entangle Rue and killed her with a spear.

Slingshot
A slingshot is a projectile weapon that can be used to fling small objects, such as stones, short distances. Skilled slingshot users, such as Rue, are highly accurate and can hit a target with each shot.

Snare
A snare is a rope or wire that is tied to an object to trap prey and suffocate it. Gale Hawthorne is said to be an expert at making and using them when hunting.

Spear
A spear is a weapon that consists of a wooden shaft with a sharp metal "head" or tip. It is one of the few weapons that is virtually always used in the Hunger Games, found in the Cornucopia at the beginning of the Games. In the 74th Hunger Games, a spear was used by Marvel to kill Rue. The spear was then taken from the arena along with Rue's body. Cato also used a spear during the 74th Hunger Games, and presumably killed other tributes with it.

Sword
A sword is a long, edged piece of forged metal that can be used as a cutting, thrusting, or sometimes clubbing weapon. All swords consist of a blade and a hilt. The blade typically has one or two edges, which are used for cutting and striking, and comes to a point used for thrusting. Cato, a tribute in the 74th Hunger Games, was a known user of the sword.

Swords are often among the supplies proved in the Cornucopia during the Games.

Throwing knives
Throwing knives are one of the main weapons used during the Games. In the 74th Hunger Games, many tributes used them. To throw a knife, you mainly hold the blade and then throw it with a flick. It turns in the air, and if you do it right the blade will hit the target. When using throwing knifes, you must be able to kill in just a few throws, or else you are giving knifes to your opponent.

During the 74th Games, Clove, Katniss and others used throwing knives in all sorts of ways. For example, Clove killed the boy from District 9 with a throwing knife, and a number of different knives stored in her jacket. She also almost killed Katniss with one.

Trident
A trident is a three-pronged spear that can be used both as a weapon and for fishing. Although they are often used in fishing by the residents of District 4, they are deadly weapons and as such, tridents are often utilized during the Hunger Games by tributes from District 4. A silver trident that was given to Finnick Odair during the 65th Games is said to be "one of the most expensive gifts ever given in the Games."

Whip
A whip is a weapon, mostly used for punishment but also for combat. It is used by "cracking" the whip through the air, making it hit an opponent painfully. Whips also typically feature a hard butt that can be used as a bludgeon.

Some Peacekeepers hold public floggings, like Romulus Thread did to Gale Hawthorne, for crimes such as poaching. These both punish the offending party and scare the local community into submission.