Warbow myth?

[Hrothgar]

Guys, this is an interesting topic, I just hit on it today. Don't have any experience with a 180# elb vs a four finger oak door, but I can relay a personal experience with a 60# osage flat bow and an arrow that went through the target, through a bale of hay, into a 5/8" of slighty weathered plywood and protruded out the back 8".  Could a wooden shaft survive hitting 3" of solid oak???

[bow-toxo]

It is a report. As we don't have the shooters, the bows, the arrows, or the door we have no way to prove or disprove the report. Dr. Pope once examined a very powerful Chinese bow that his brother had bought in China and that he had seen in use. Dr. Pope, who regularly used an eighty pound bow and had killed grizzlies with it, was unable to draw the Chinese bow to far less than th 30" arrow that accompanied the bow and stated that"no white man could draw it'. It seems to have been of the strength of today's warbows. You can't prove a negative.

[wanabehunter]

I doubt it was 4 inches.. 4 fingers may only measure out to be 3inches..small hands

[Andrea S]

Not even small hands...I'd like to see someone with inch wide fingers...I work in a jewelry store, and I've seen some guys with massive sausage fingers, but rarely if ever were they approaching 1" wide.

[Far East Archer]

Just from my experience, it is very well possible. I played around with arrow penetration on wood last year and my results, all though not very impressive, proved quite a bit.

With 70#@32" longbow and 90 gram war arrow, I was able to shoot through a heavy plywood shield of 17 mm thick made from hardwood comparable to birch. The point is 7.8 cm long and 7 cm stuck through other side.

I tried same set up with pine board of 2 cm thick and it split the board. All this from maybe 5-7 meters away, not sure how far the real shot was... I think with bow such as 180# this is definitely possible....but im guessing 6 cm of quarter sawn oak is more like it, my own fingers measure 6 cm if done at the tips.....

Alex

[bow-toxo]

All sorts of wonderful stories exist. Hard to know what is true. I'm sure most of them are, but some embellishment must be expected.

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Yes, it is hard to know what is true. It is hard to believe that an archer can consistently hit aspirins thrown in the air, but there are those that can. Not many years ago the Society of Archery Antiquaries experts didn't believe that mediaeval archers could shoot with 150 pound bows, but they clearly did. I prefer to reserve my judgement on these claims.

[deerhunter97370]

I doubt it was 4 inches.. 4 fingers may only measure out to be 3inches..small hands

The story is a palms width. not fingers. At the widest point my hand is 4". That is why I wont to use 4" in my test. But it will take time for me to make a bow that can acomplish this. Joel

[deerhunter97370]

Unless someone wants to make and donate a bow for me to use. Joel

[ThimoS]

It was this very tale that brought me to an interest in heavy medieval bows.

[deerhunter97370]

ThimoS whats size bow and thickness of wood you shot through? Those were cool pics. Joel

[stevesjem]

Nicely done Thimo

Steve

[ThimoS]

Thanks.

Well when I did the test  I used a 105# flatbow out of elm with knots on the back, because I was under the impression then that the Welsh had something of that sort. Now I believe it to be a shorter version of the yew warbow. Elm can take it.

[Cromm]

 

[ThimoS]

I gotz lotz of good stuff to show on warbow penetration. But is it really wanted here???

[YewArcher]

I say yes Thimo, Why not? I have seen lots of your tests on PP and think they are fantastic.

SJM