From: owner-gm7thsea@darkedge.com on behalf of John_Bacon@pbio.com Sent: Friday, September 03, 1999 12:28 PM Subject: Re: [7th Sea RPG GM] Long Bows >>Luikart, Todd wrote: >> A side note guys: I used to teach archery to kids (and adults) and still go >> hunting on occasion. 100 pound pull is absolutely staggering. I find it >> hard to believe the non-recurved bows had such a high pull across the board. >> I've a recurved bow with an eighty pound pull, and I've put cloth-yard >> shafts through two hay bales and a tree from 100 paces. If the English >> really did have 100 pound pulls on all their bows, I can see why they were >> so feared. Just a thought. >The Englishmen and their bows were certainly tough. My contention was that the >bow itself, while certainly an exceptional weapon, was not the most powerful bow >in existance. The Turkish bows were stronger and they were fired from >horseback! The English Longbowman was an infantryman. The Turks had better >range, better penetration, and were more mobile - distinctly superior in the >threats on the battlefield scale. >-Chris Actually the Turkish bows were much less powerful, but vastly more efficient. Up until 1910, the English longbow made of either orange or yew was considered the state of the art for distance shooting. The record was 347 meters set with a 157 lb pull orange & yew longbow. At the 1910 world championships, a 65 lb Turkish bow set the new record of 434 meters. There are two reasons for the better range (and combat effectiveness) of the Turkish bows. First - The composite design and arm style allowed for a much more efficient transfer of power to the arrow. Second, the Turks used a thumb lock draw as opposed to a three finger draw. The thumb lock is much easier to hold while moving, and give a much more efficient, crisper release. A third reason is that the release style combined with the bow style was much more forgiving of the spline of the arrow itself, making it more accurate. John Bacon - The Toymaker -- Contents Copyright (C) 1997,98,99 by ALDERAC ENTERTAINMENT GROUP, INC.