Main Discussion Area > English Warbow
what lbs makes it a warbow insted of a longbow
ChrisD:
Good luck to you both - I've read it too but when I went to search for it, I could no longer find it!! I have a horrible feeling that if it does turn up, it'll turn out to be unattrributed but passed from one relatively recent writing to the next. Hope not, but we'll see.
C
TheWildCat:
I have found this a very interesting read, and it appears to inspire some passion about Warbows. Thats really great. I must admit I know little about them, but I doubt that it would be common for a 16 year old to be shootin 120 pounds of bow. Not sayin that its not possible. I know it is, but I doubt that its that common, even shooting every day. I can believe there were plenty of bows in the 120 pound category, but beyond that would seem to be an uncommon occurrence. I have seen the figure 160 pounds mentioned several times. Maybe in a bow that was shot from the feet, but I just can't fathom a army of archers, sportin 160 pound bows. I know from reading that archers generally made up the bulk of armies, due to economics.
My conception of a Warbow, based on weights would be 80 pounds and up, depending on what the individual archer could handle. I believe I read that the average archer didn't own his own bow, just the string and thus the reason for the bowyers knot. I do know that they shot very heavy poundage as archeologist have excavated and found skeletons with extensive bone damage in the shoulder areas due to this fact. If you are limiting the Warbow classification to the English style, then definitely a selfbow designed for shooting long distances.
Again I state that I know very little about the subject, so don't get offended at my opinion. I had a friend who shot a 110 pound bow. His arms reminded me of Popeye.
stevesjem:
Hi The Wildcat,
I do understand what you are saying and your reasoning, however there are a couple of things that must be taken into account, 1st of all the actual artifacts of the Mary Rose, these bows are all very substantial and I say again after making replicas from the correct wood and ring count, the minimum bow weight was 120lb.
2nd. during the medieval period archers were required to practice at the "Butts", these were mounds of earth and were shot at a range of 220yds, now we also know the arrow size, both shaft and fletchings etc, as there are over 2000 of them found on the MR, now when an arrow is made up as a replica of one of the MR arrows, Wood type Aspen, Bobtailed from 1/2" at the head to 3/8" at the nock with 7.5" Goose fletchings the arrow weight comes in at approx 70g, now just to shoot this arrow 220yds takes a bow weight of at least 120lb, now that is at a 45 deg angle, but to shoot it accurately at the target a flatter trajectory is needed, thus a heavier bow is needed to achieve this, then take into consideration this was general archer practice not top end military archers, this should then show you what the English military archers would be using with regards bow weights.
Cheers
Steve
nickf:
Wildcat, I'm shooting 115# aswell. I'm 16 :D :
no spinach arms here ;) I did quite some lifting for a year now, but I don't think I would have had to.
Thanks alot for your detailed info again, stevesjem. I highly appreciate true knowlede and facts here :D
You usually read 75 - 150pounds, but wow, if it's more like 120-190pounds, I'm really, really impressed.
And now I know I gotto do some more on my spinach arms :p
Nick
Loki:
I shot a MR replica arrow from my 75# Bow and it only travelled about 80yds ;D.
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