Injuries by Long bows caused as much damage as a guns

[rayg]

Interesting findings!.....

Archaeologists examining medieval bones recovered from supermarket building site reveal longbow injuries are just as severe as modern gunshot wounds
The bones, recovered from a Dominican friary in Exeter, show arrows fired from longbows could penetrate right through the human skull, creating small entry and large exit wounds.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8294859/Medieval-longbow-victims-suffered-similar-injuries-gun-shots.html

[Vern Humphrey]

Interesting findings!.....

Archaeologists examining medieval bones recovered from supermarket building site reveal longbow injuries are just as severe as modern gunshot wounds
The bones, recovered from a Dominican friary in Exeter, show arrows fired from longbows could penetrate right through the human skull, creating small entry and large exit wounds.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8294859/Medieval-longbow-victims-suffered-similar-injuries-gun-shots.html

The English (actually Welsh) longbow had draw weights of from 100 to 150 lbs. The archers were professional soldiers and exercised constantly.

And by the way, it's "arrows SHOT from longbows" -- you can't fire a bow and arrow.

[rayg]

Just copied the article directly.....Not my words...

[kj47]

Very interesting article, fhanks for posting.

[Vern Humphrey]

The only authentic longbows ever found came from the Mary Rose, a Tudor warship that capsized and sank on launching. The longbows were round or D-shaped in cross section, and hence inefficient. Look at a modern bow and see how "flat" it is -- wide but not thick. This is because the power comes from the fibers on the back and belly of the bow -- those in the interior of the stave do little to increase the bow's power.

Arrow slits -- shooting ports in fortress walls -- are vertical, not horizontal as firing slits are in modern fortifications. That's because the arrow was really a high-angle projectile, shot high to fall on it's target. That's also why many knights wore "salat bowls" or "bascinets" -- wide, basin-shaped helmets with wide brims, to intercept falling arrows and protect the lower body.

[Art]

The only authentic longbows ever found came from the Mary Rose, a Tudor warship that capsized and sank on launching. The longbows were round or D-shaped in cross section, and hence inefficient. Look at a modern bow and see how "flat" it is -- wide but not thick. This is because the power comes from the fibers on the back and belly of the bow -- those in the interior of the stave do little to increase the bow's power.

Correct. Longbows got their power from very heavy draw weights and long draw length combined with long, heavy arrows. Re-curve and reflex composite bows used in the east got about the same power with a lower draw weight though their draw weight was usually over 70 pounds. They were much more difficult and time consuming to make though. while earlier longbows were straight the Mary Rose longbows had a bit of re-curve in them.

[togor]

And in the woodlands of the Northeast, in the early years of European settlement in North America, the bow and arrow was not an inferior weapon in comparison to the musket. Certainly had a higher rate of fire, and no smoke cloud to obscure one's view.

[Vern Humphrey]

Correct. Longbows got their power from very heavy draw weights and long draw length combined with long, heavy arrows. Re-curve and reflex composite bows used in the east got about the same power with a lower draw weight though their draw weight was usually over 70 pounds. They were much more difficult and time consuming to make though. while earlier longbows were straight the Mary Rose longbows had a bit of re-curve in them.

Right. They were cut from the outer layers of the yew tree, and the back of the bow was the surface of the tree, and simply had the bark stripped off.