Archery & flavor text.

[Poolson]

In a game of knights and elves, I'm sure there's someone who likes to sperg about history and HEMA as much as I do. Archery has been a massive part of my life growing up and I'd love to share what I know of it for anyone who'd want to get artsy fartsy.

While this does not matter /in the slightest/ in the grand scheme of things, I thought I'd post this, just in case there was someone who was interested in adding descriptors to their weaponry, or their form, whatever.

If appreciated, I could start a small series for other doo-dads. I personally am familiar with the mace and the spear, so I could summarize those for light reading.  To a lesser extent I'm also familiar shortsword, though I'd have to do research on that part, given that I am woefully inadequate with the shortsword and learning that requires far more practice than either of the aforementioned weapons.
   
For even more mundane details, there's a channel called "Modern History" on youtube that covers a lot of the boring hum-drum of ye olde life, like cooking, dressing, et cetra, and if you've got time to kill, I strongly suggest you give it a watch. It's fun.  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMjlDOf0UO9wSijFqPE9wBw

I wrote this about several years ago, for a World of Warcraft guild, but I recently unearthed it and figured someone would appreciate it.


-----

So, since we're all Elves, chances are we're going to have a Legolas. Somewhere. Somehow. I don't know who and I don't know when. I suppose it'd still make sense even if Wardens're depicted solely as wielders of glaives and assorted daggers/fist weapons. Who'd give up the advantage of range? Not even cavemen orcs with nothing more than cowhide shields and stone maces, that's for sure. This is just a summary, for anyone who cares about ~immaculate~ detail when describing their character, the arsenal and whatnot. Some smaller, tiny details might be missing, this just focuses on the real meat and potatoes of archery.

I've been doing archery since I was 8 and I've been hunting since I was 14. I'm also very fond of history and like reading on its different subjects. That's the extent of my credentials, if you want to go 200% further beyond and take in the smaller things, like creating the bow or historic origins, wikipedia actually has a very in-depth coverage on each type of bow.

Feathers: Turkey feathers are about as good of a feather as one can get for a bow. They don't fall apart after firing them a few times and helps stabilize the arrow mid-flight. A lot of feathers are useful, except for the eagle's feather, because those have a tendency of falling apart after short use and didn't stabilize the arrow so well.

String: The string is normally made from sinew, coiled up very tightly to make a string. You can't snap it with your hands.

Hitting Power: Bows have a usual drawback weight to them, some higher, some lower. The minimum weight required to kill is 40 pounds. 15-25 is usually what you'd give to a child to practice. LARPers use this weight as it can carry their foam headed arrows without too much force behind the arrow. Most hunters and hobby shooters will use somewhere between 80 to 120 pounds. I personally have an 80 on my recurve and a 100 pound on my compound.

Bows can penetrate steel, but not what lies beneath. Full Plate's a good example, as the head'll go through the steel, but not very far and usually a linen undercoat or a coat of mail would be more than enough to stop an arrow already slowing in velocity. Your best bet to kill a sword-slashing-AGATHAAAA-screaming Knight in full body platemail (or anyone with a Breastplate) would be a shot to the helmet (provided the arrow doesn't ricochet from their rounded shapes) or elsewhere that isn't the chest.

Arrows: Arrow shafts can be made from a lot of different woods but cedar and yew are both preferable materials.

Arrowheads: Arrow heads are pretty simple and straight forward. The most primal form of them is a rock chipped away into a desirable shape (or, the arrow head, as it's called) and tied to the shaft with sinew. Later down the line we started inventing new ways to make them, and started making them with iron to give the arrowhead a longer lifespan, as well as slot them into the shaft itself.

Having an arrow tip is important, because otherwise the wind will rob your shot very, very frequently. The weight is essential. Here are common tips:

Field Tip: Your bog standard tip. A cap fit around the head and glued in with a sharp business end. Today we make them normally out of aluminum and are dirt cheap to replace. This is mostly used for target archery and hunting grouse. To kill something, the intention is to inflict as much of a wound as possible to make them bleed. One measly hole increases their chances of survival.

Broadhead: Often described as a 'pyramid', or a triangle with only its corners, the intention of the broadhead is to dig into the flesh. It causes more injury going in, and causes more injury being pulled out, or when it's being wiggled from the target moving with it still embedded in them or trying to yank it out. It's ideal for hunting, as it's designed to kill as quickly as possible. The width of the arrowhead is wider than the arrow shaft and living targets are oily and lubricated on the inside, allowing the force of the shaft to drive it even further in and- if the target is thin enough- go right through.

Bodkin: A sharp, singular spike, ideal for penetrating hard surfaces. This is the bane of anyone marching to war that doesn't wear full plate or a breastplate with mail beneath.

Form: Most of it is based on practice, but there are two chief forms to using a bow (and none of them have official names but this is how I best describe the common uses of them); closed hand and suspension. Closed hand does not mean death grip, because then your body will begin to tense, the bow will shake and you'll have a poor shot. Closed hand does mean that you can ready yourself for another shot however, or merely keep it in your hand if you want to move.

Suspension is where you do not grip the bow at all but rather let it bury itself into the crux between your thumb and your index while pulling back to hold it upright. This is more ideal for accuracy shooting, where you want to hit something roughly the size of a bullseye. There's no tension from the arm that shakes the bow, allowing a cleaner shot. Once the arrow leaves the bow however, the bow will fly out of your hand unless you have a sling attached to the handle and tied around your thumb, in which case it will swing forward. Afterwords you have to bend to grab it again, pull it up, aim and all that messy business.

You'll see the phenomenon a lot in olympic archery shooting where the bow swings forward.

As to how to aim, without any doo-dads attached, often you use your point of reference as the top feather. For the longbow, this isn't possible because of the angle you have to hold it at, leaving much more to guess work.

Effective range: A bow strung at the drawback weight of 60 fires at roughly 400 feet per second. A bow strung at the drawback weight of 100 fires at somewhere about 500 to 600 feet per second. The speed of the arrow, while impressive, does not have enough momentum to carry on forever. To effectively and efficiently down your target, the optimal distance of 30 yards is best. It is entirely possible and within the realm of possibility to hit your mark at 60 to 70 yards, but your target, upon being hit, is unlikely to keel over upon immediate impact. It will instead, more likely, run until it bleeds out, causing you to invest a great deal of time to follow the tracks (hoof prints, blood trail, what have you) to collect the body.

Bows:

Longbow:
Traditional, long, usually made from yew because of its lack of weight and durable material, though oak and elm are acceptable substitutes. The longbow is very easy and the cheapest to make, as professional bowyers can actually assemble one in a matter of hours with all materials accounted for. Its shape and lack of bending allow the bow more longevity, however it does not have as much strength as other bows, like the recurve. Its also particularly straight and doesn't have a place to rest the arrow, meaning that you have to hold it at a slightly tilted angle as it doesn't have a notch for you to use. This makes it so the shot doesn't have much of a reference point and your accuracy will suffer for it. You don't have to hold it like a gangsta grip or anything, just enough so that the arrow doesn't go wild.

Also, wear a glove, or have very calloused hands, or you're going to rub your finger raw after a few shots. The best use for the Longbow (while it can also be used for killing with good efficiency) is for raining arrows down on enemies in a volley. You don't have to be accurate with it, the quantity and scare-the-shit-out-of-that-guy effect makes it ideal for volleys.

Shortbow: Mostly the same deal as the longbow, made from the same sort of wood (documents and historical references call them selfmade because they use one material), shortbows are ideal for horseback archers and generally mobile purposes. They too do not perform as well as the composite bow, but have much more in the way of longevity. They also do not often have places to rest the arrow, either.

Recurve: The recurve bends in a way comparable to a D. The curve is to its benefit, as when the string's pulled back, the bow bends, adding more power behind the shot when the arrow is released. Hunters prefer this as it is more likely to land a killing blow on their target, so that the animal (or in times of war, a person) doesn't suffer when shot by the arrow getting caught midway through some thick hide (or linen/chainmail if it's shooting a man). Because the bow bends so much, it does not have a lengthy lifespan before things have to be replaced, or a new bow has to be obtained. Strangers unfamiliar with the bow who're attempting to string up a bow that isn't theirs will often string it up on the wrong side, pull back and destroy it.

They're often built with what is commonly described as a 'pistol grip', for better stability, as well as including room to rest the arrow for shooting, no finger needed. They're ideal for hunting and precision shooting. It is the bow of choice for olympic contenders.

Composite: Normally built in the vision of shortbows and recurves, composite uses animal bones and glue across its surface for greater effect by storing energy on the draw. Much like the recurve, the composite bow delivers more power behind an arrow and is the most desirable to the mobile marksman, via horseback or some other manner. Because it's dependent on the glue that is used in its creation, it lasts a remarkably short lifespan due to the warmth of the sun wearing it out, as well as rain (which europe has a lot of). It also takes a long time to create (to a professional bowyer's standard, a week to create and a month to dry) and a monumental pain in the ass to fix if something goes wrong. It too follows the model of the recurve, offering a bar to rest the arrow on.

Compound: Compound bows have not yet been made in the middle ages. However, because gnomes and goblins exist, I'll put this up anyways. Compound bows are the most lethal bow in circulation, as it relies on pullies and axles, rather than the shape of the bow. Because of that, the force that goes into an arrow being shot from a compound bow far exceeds that of any other bow and is the most reliable for digging deep into a target. It also removes a lot of fore thought as to how much you have to compensate for gravity robbing your shot, as compounds will push that arrow as hard and as fast as possible before gravity pulls it to the ground.

They are an egregious bitch to fix if something goes wrong, but have a long lifespan due to the minimal amount of moving parts.


Doo-dads and bits and bobs. Crossbows, too.

The pole: The pole attached to the bow is for adding more weight. A light bow is not always ideal, as your arm can stray.

The line-thingy: The line thing mounted above the arrow is a clicker. This tells the shooter the ideal distance to pull back on the arrow each time for optimal use.

The different colored bars in a box: That is a range finder that you use for shooting at different distances.

The singular scope: It's for aiming.

The ring on the string: The notch, where you rest the arrow.

The ring at a higher elevation on the string: A peep hole, for aiming. There's a tiny little opening in the ring where you can look through and it helps your shot.

Little rope around the handle: A thumb sling. For people who draw with suspension, this catches the bow on the hand and allows the bow to just swing forward instead of fall to the ground.

Handle thing with a trigger: A release. You attach it to the string, pull back then press the trigger to fire. This takes a great amount of strain off of the pulling hand and doesn't make it tense up as much.

Fluffy things on the string: Those are to dampen the sound of the bow's string. For hunters, it's a small blessing, as sometimes deer can hear the tension of the string upon drawback and run.



Crossbows: Crossbows are entry level weapons that exceed some of the troubles of the bow. You can add an immense amount of drawback weight on it and fire with even more force than a bow. It takes far less training to be an adequate marksman with the crossbow, as this weapon takes away the trouble of the human arm tensing, and can even be mounted on something or be shot while prone.

Why use a bow when you can use a crossbow? The original designs of the crossbow were not as accurate as a skilled marksman with a recurve. The crossbow was also much slower to reload, as opposed to the bow where they could simply draw another arrow, knock it and fire. But for the common man who was just a farmer before being sent off to war, the crossbow was a desirable weapon.

As a fun fact, the crossbow was considered such a lethal weapon that the church had originally banned its use. A knight could train for sixteen years and a marksman could train for five minutes, the marksman would always kill the knight. That and coffee. They banned coffee for being the devil's drink.


Guns: As fate would have it, the age of the archer will one day come to its twilight years and with its replacement will come the marksmen who will engage their targets from 300 yards and above with rifles, hitting their target in rapid succession. While the middle ages and the upcoming renaissance reign, however, the archer still remains a competitive combatant. Muskets, Blunderbusts and Bombards could eliminate a soft target with brutal efficiency, they were the least accurate weapon to carry into battle. The shape of the ball would allow it to ping-pong through the barrel once the gunpowder was ignited. The shot would fly off in a random direction.

They also could not efficiently penetrate armor, as even by the later years of the renaissance when guns were beginning to be perfected with threaded barrels to help keep the bullet on course and eventually changing the shape of the bullet, breastplates were still bullet resistant. One in five breastplates were almost entirely bullet proof without the wearer having to rely upon the mail they wore beneath.

Though, even as the renaissance ended and the use of firearms became ever more prevalent, the bow did not go unused. During the World Wars and Vietnam, bows were still used by specific soldiers as the bow was a more quiet man killer than the gun. It has no muzzle flash, the noise it made from tensing the string was quiet and its release just as quiet. It was the difference between one hut hearing it over the sound of the jungle as opposed to the entire camp hearing it.

Just the same, the arrow was better at piercing harder targets. The Military in the 60s did a demonstration with a 80 pound recurve versus a .45 and a 5.56. The target in question was boxes full of dirt and partitions. The arrow would go right through, whereas the .45 and the 5.56 would reach the second partisan at best. There's a specific science that explains why the arrow could achieve what a faster projectile could not. The following I'm about to quote is from a gentleman with the charming name of 'Bulsh1t'.

"Most bullets are made from lead. The moment these lead bullets hit anything with any resistance, they start to deform. Even jacketed rounds are not immune from this effect and the further it tries to force through the layers of packed dirt, the flatter and wider the front of the bullet becomes, adding even more resistance and impeding penetration. The initial drastic transition from air to a denser medium at such high velocities also creates impact shocks that greatly compromises the integrity of the bullet, sometimes shattering it outright.

The same thing happens when bullets are fired into water. The arrow on the other hand is tipped with a hardened steel point. Because the steel is harder and much less likely to deform, its remains intact all the way through the packed dirt. The sharply pointed shape further aids in promoting and easing penetration. The arrow is also 3 to 5 times heavier than the bullet, so it carries more inertia with it.

Hence, an arrow goes further through than the softer lighter bullet would. Ironically, bullets would actually penetrate soft materials better if you fire them from farther away. By giving them enough time to slow down, you lessen the initial impact shock. If you look at the data charts on this site:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/3-06-11/ch7.htm -

You'll notice that while standard 7.62 mm round can only penetrate 5 inches of loose sand at 25 metres, at 200 metres it can penetrate 7 inches, 40% more at 8 times the distance! This same bullet would go through 2 inches of solid concrete at either ranges, which I doubt any arrow can do. If anything, bullets are better at penetrating hard material. The standard 5.56 ball from an M16 as well is optimized for penetration at 200 metres, but at 25 yards you can probably stop it with an ammo can filled with sand."

So it comes to the same question again; why use a gun over the bow? The bow requires more training but can be used in succession much faster in the time it takes the gun or bombard to fire, reload, remount and fire again. In the modern instance of the gun, the bow fills a niche of silence and penetrating power, yet fails to perform in the same way a gun would. The modern gun is also easier to use, the user can be proficient with it much sooner and can be mass produced with machine precision.

All good things come to an end.

[Hound]

As the resident history sperg, I approve this message.

note: ash wood is also appropriate for warbow construction, there's been finds of ash longbows and hunting bows in England where ash is quite common

[Richørd]

yeah but what about gnome-engineered combound shortbows?

[SunrypeSlim]

It's hard to express how much I appreciate this, considering my history of hyperbole and memes. I wish we had a post like this for every relevant subject of medieval fantasy life.

[Fuzz]

Also in war time, particularly when defending castle walls, archers would hold multiple arrows in their draw hand using their thumb and palm so they could fire them really, really rapidly with successive shots.