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Originally Posted by Mr Frost
I'm inclined to call fraud on many of the claims in the video .
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Respectfully, I'm afraid you'll have to recalibrate your BS detector.
It's depressingly easy to drive a bodkin or target head arrow through unpadded riveted iron mail, whether or not it's mounted on a board or worn. That's one of the the reason that mail was padded, and it's also one of the reasons that mail was abandoned in favor of lamellar or plate. So, no surprise there.
Bodkin head arrows have been found on medieval battlefields, in some cases imbedded in dead bodies. There have also been sheaves of bodkin point arrows found aboard the Mary Rose (16th century English warship, sank in battle with archers aboard). So, that's pretty good evidence that they were either designed for, or could be used in, battle. I will grant that something like a bodkin head would be easier on a typical archery target, and more importantly, easier to remove.
As for the rest of it, Lars Andersen seems to have done a very good job of researching and recreating historical speed shooting techniques. World records are carefully verified, so the chance of fraud is minimal.
I agree that there are serious trade offs he makes to get his remarkable speed. As far as I can tell is that he's not using a fixed anchor point for his shots, so his long range accuracy will be poor. More importantly, he's typically not fully drawing the bow, so range and damage will be badly impacted.
But, it only takes 65 pounds of bow draw weight to take down a deer, and at relatively close ranges you can still inflict some serious damage even with a weak bow of 40-45 pounds. Select for a strong archer and a strong bow and even a partially drawn bow might have enough force on it to kill a man.
And, as an infamous dictator once said, "Quantity has a quality all its own." The ability to use a bow as a suppression fire weapon might be useful in slowing an enemy down or keeping him at bay.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Frost
He is using a very weak grip on the string/arrow and is pushing the bow forward using what would be a very weak jab in boxing .
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Primitive or "instinctive" archers often do this. It reduces hand shock and can counter the "twist" of the arrow as it flexes around the bow. It messes up accuracy though, unless you do it right.
Also, don't mistake a light grip on the string for a weak grip. I've seen trained shooters easily pull 120 pound longbows using just 3 fingers and you want your fingers to slip easily off the string to get good accuracy. You're seeing some serious bow skill there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Frost
Third , I would like to know where it is recorded when Saracen archers were tested and had to be able to shoot 3 arrows in 1.5 seconds.
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The Ottomans and Persians kept up their traditional archery skills well into the modern era. It could have been based on 18th or 19th century records.
Other than that, it could have been measured in relative terms, such as "He shot 6 arrows in the time it takes a fast horse to gallop 30 yards."
But, yeah, a bit of hyperbole on the part for the narrator.