ANST - Drawing a Bow Whi

[James Crouchet]

[snip]
 
> >Next, our cheating friend must stash longer arrows somewhere on the 
> >field before the battle OR he must find someone willing to loan him 
> >arrows, knowing it is illegal.
> >
> No he just makes up two sets of arrows one for inspection and a
> second set that look the same are just longer. Has the short set
> inspected goes back to camp and trades arrows.

Ok, so how is that any different from swapping out bows? Or bow 
strings? If he is intent on cheating, he will cheat.

> >Next our little cheating archer must shoot those particular arrows
> >at close range, as that extra few pounds certainly won't make a
> >difference past 20 feet or so. He must hit his target (not
> >necessarily easy if he is drawing in a way he is not use to) in an
> >area which is not armored, BUT is fragile enough that that extra 5-10
> >lbs will make the difference between whether or not he is injured
> >(never mind that he is armored against rattan swords...).
> >
> Actually the gain is in longer range and impact at that longer range.

No sir, the statement I was arguing specifically said DANGER, not 
fair play. If this is about keeping someone that intent on cheating 
from getting a few extra yards I say it is wasted effort and an 
absolutely useless restriction. If he is willing to cheat to gain 
those extra yards, standardized draws will not stop him.

> >For all this to happen in the same battle seems wildly unlikely to 
> >me. 
> >
> >Ok, now let's look at the "slight" gain. As I pointed out earlier, we 
> >are talking about ** 1/3 to 1/2 ** of my range and power. Perhaps 
> >more for smaller folks. I am 5'7" and there are a lot of folks who 
> >are smaller than me. A 100% increase in range does not look "slight" 
> >or trivial to me.
> >
> Use a crossbow they are not that hard to make. Been their done that.
> Going to make a prettier one some day.

I was a bow hunter for many years before I joined the SCA. I have 
probably been shooting long bows since before most of you were born. 
I own a beautiful crossbow (well, actually it is my wife's) which I 
regard as an interesting toy. Give up longbows? Not likely.

> What do you recommend for the punishment for the fighter/archer
> caught over drawing. Drawing to the face of the blunt not the base
> of the cone. I have seen it done if we were to go to 30# at your
> draw length. I am not saying it would be intentional, you suddenly
> find a fighter rushing you and go draw shoot real fast never mind
> form.

1. Why is this any different with a 23" shaft than a 28" shaft? I 
don't see how this question relates to how bows are measured.

2. To answer your question, I recommend the same punishment we dole 
out to others who hit too hard. It happens with rattan, it happens 
with rapier. We already know how to deal with those who hit too hard.

3. We also know how to deal with those caught deliberately cheating.
If someone actually performs the premeditated act of smuggling
illegal equipment onto the field they should not be allowed to play
with us any more. Our game requires that we be able to trust one 
another. If someone proves that they cannot be trusted we must remove 
them for safety reasons.

M. Doré
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