[Bryn-gwlad] Crossbow vs Longbow

[Pug Bainter]

A couple clarification points:

Crossbows are measured with voodoo physics. There have been a lot of
comparisons of the factors with regards to how effective each of them is and
the answer is "it depends".

First, all shafted bows in theory are measured to 600 inch pounds (IP), be
they long bow or crossbow. This is based on the fact that a "standard" bow
has a brace height of 8". This means 20" at 30 lbs is 600 IP. Crossbows are
measured from the actual draw length with a maximum of 600IP as well as 75
lb draw.

So now you throw in a bunch of variables, the most important is the
efficiency of the prod or limb. If someone bought a $30 crossbow it would
probably work worse than the standard $30 fiberglass little Indian bow. As
well, I've seen people bring horsebows onto the field and they are probably
as effective in trained hands as a crossbow.

As someone has mentioned, a crossbow bolt hits with more speed. This is the
startle factor and what will generally get someone to call a shot. A longbow
hits with more force from slower moving larger mass, but since it is moving
slowly the shot isn't noticed as a crisp clean shot eventhough someone can
be moved backwards from it. Think of it as a spear. If you hit quickly, the
person calls it, but if you apply a lot more force slowly it will move the
person but because it wasn't a sharp strike they keep on fighting.

Regarding rate of fire, yes the good longbow people will get off more arrows
than a good crossbow person, but only by a factor of 1/3. When I've actually
been shooting regularly I shoot a bolt every 4-5 seconds in target archery
and am no even double that speed in combat. The fast archers are the ones
who train and practice. Without training and practice, you will be slow no
matter what you shoot.

Ciao,
Pug