Archery:Inexpensive fun and competition;also.....

[blackhawknj]

I read that during the 100 Years War when the English realized how effective their longbow men were they made archery practice MANDATORY , it was done on Sunday's after church. The English revised their tactics so the Knights protected the bowmen.
Having tried, I can say it's a lot harder than it looks.

[Vern Humphrey]

I read that during the 100 Years War when the English realized how effective their longbow men were they made archery practice MANDATORY , it was done on Sunday's after church. The English revised their tactics so the Knights protected the bowmen.
Having tried, I can say it's a lot harder than it looks.

That's basically Henry VIII -- and is based on a myth that the long bow was the "yeoman's weapon." The longbow was actually Welsh, and most of the bowmen in an English Army were Welshmen (Celts) and not English (Anglo-Saxons.) They were also professional soldiers -- the typical longbow had a draw weight of 100 to 150 lbs, far too much for a man who only practiced once a week.

Skeletons have been found of men killed by these bows -- the arrow would penetrate the entire skull, front to back. It was truly powerful.

The "bodkin" (sharp) point was for penetrating chain mail -- the point could go into a link, spread it, and continue on. For plate armor, a flatter point was needed. If you find an arrow with a broadhead, if the broadhead is parallel to the cock feather, that's a war arrow -- designed to go between human ribs, which are more or less horizontal. If the broadhead is perpendicular to the cock feather, that's a hunting arro, intended to go between the ribs of a deer, which are more or less vertical.