(TFT) Re: Dodging arrows

[Mark Tapley <mtapley@swri.edu>]

At 16:27 -0600 8/27/13, Neil wrote (accidentally off-list):
> SCA standard is 30lbs @ 28 inches for bows.

Thanks! Pretty sure I'd read that somewhere, but a while ago.

Interesting, I'd missed the draw length before. <munchkin> Do they 
let really tall guys that can draw 32 inches use the same bow, and 
draw it up to 36 lbs or so?

> Crossbows vary somewhat. The arrows are slower mostly from the 
> poundage, not the ammunition. There isn't that much padding. I'll 
> occasionally get a bruise, nut nothing big.

Ouch! Oh, misprint, good.

:-)

> Those English cloth yard shafts were not light. Check out the Merry 
> Rose stuff for more info.

	Yeah, 150 lbs by some estimates. I've read some of the 
research, and I understand the claims, but I still don't completely 
buy them.

	I'm truly no expert, but if those weights were really 
practical I can't help thinking there'd be an Olympic class with a 
draw weight up there. Every other Olympic sport is producing physical 
freaks that do nothing but train for that sport, and every other 
Olympic sport is producing records well in excess of what was ever 
documented in antiquity (or recorded history, for that matter). *All 
else being equal*, I think a heavier bow is more accurate because the 
archer has to compensate less for wind, gravity, etc. etc. and 
therefore, the Olympic guys would be at least experimenting with 
them. I never hear of any modern longbows above about 60 pounds, so 
I'm claiming that's close to the upper limit for a bow which produces 
repeatable long-range accuracy.

	I can think of one exception to my reasoning, though. I will 
grant that for some phases of combat, the archer can wait until the 
opponent is close enough that he won't miss even with a really heavy 
bow, and then shoot. I think it's quite possible each archer had 
*two* bows; one about 60 pounds for long-range fusillades where 
accuracy counted, and one 100 or 150 pounds for a desperation last 
shot that really needed to stop the target. That would account for 
the existence of the monster bows, but relegate them to very rare use 
(and might also account for the fact that they still exist, in 
preference to the lighter general-use bows - those bows got worn out 
with practice, while the monster bows were left carefully preserved 
on the shelf).
...

> Neil Gilmore
> Raito@raito.com

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						- Mark     210-379-4635
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