Tazman

I was watching I think it was the History Channel yesterday and they said that the longbow archers in England during the middle ages were pulling 150 pounds draw weight!!!! Man can you imagine that even with a 65% let off!!!!!

The Tazman aka Martin Price
Proud father of a Devil Dog

comndr45

I was told by a history buff colleague that they found a cargo of English longbows that had a 200lb draw weight. No wonder they easily pierced armor and had unbelievable casts. Supposedly the archer would spend much of his life making his bow. What do you use for an arrow that would have the spine for such a bow? A whole sapling? A wagon axle?

The most important bloodtrail leads right to the foot of the cross

basserman

Hey Taz, I watched that one. WOW and they drew with the thumb and index finger. I'll stick with my let-off!

"Semper Fi"

Bees

http://www.stortford-archers.org.uk/medieval.htm

Tazman

During one time frame in England the King required every male from 13-60 to not only own a long bow with dimensions determined by the persons height, but also there was mandantory standars that had to be met.

Bees, neat link.

The Tazman aka Martin Price
Proud father of a Devil Dog

propmahn

150lb draw weight. i saw that as well on Conquest which is a neat show. serious power there. though i suppose if you trained from when you were a child and most of your life's work was labor then it wouldnt be so bad, but that still heavy.

propmahn
save the world, reload your brass

halcon

I used to shoot with a guy that used a 150# longbow . He shot wooden shaft arrows and did some of the best cresting I have ever seen . He pulled it like it was nothing so the dummy had to try it .I won't even go there it was sad .I have known quite a few guys that have shoot a 100 # bow ,but that was the only 150# I Have seen .

comndr45

Halcon, I had a friend that shot a 120lb compound. He was a monster, though. His biceps were as big as my thighs. It wasn't long before his shoulders became a problem. Thank God for newer designs that eliminate the need for bows like that to get some speed.

The most important bloodtrail leads right to the foot of the cross

Trushot_archer

That's just crazy. I tried pullin' a buddy's 100# back and had to use my feet! Almost shot myself likr the Wile E. Coyote after the Roadrunner!LOL. I'll stick to my little "toy" Mighty Mite!
Glad I'm shooting deer and not Castles@ 500 yards!

Trushot }}------>

longbowman

I've been a recurve/longbow guy since the 60's and the topic of bow weight seems to go through phases about every 10 years. When I started shooting there were no compounds and the average bow weight (for men) was about 45-50#. About 1980 there was a push towards bows running about 65# average. Now the average longbow/recurve guy shoots 50-55#. I guess it's what you've trained yourself to do. I was always a believer that you should shoot as much weight as you can handle accurately. I worked on my bow weights over the years and now I can't hold a bow under 65# still enough to shoot! While I've shot a few arrows out of bows pulling up to 115# I've found that my personal limit is a comfortable 80#. I can shoot this weight accurately after sitting in the cold all day or I can shoot it at a 3-d tournament. While I weigh in at about 155# myself my 24 yr. old son who weighs in at 135# actually shoots heavier bows than I do. So while in the old days they didn't have the bow materials we have today and they needed that much weight to hunt with, I find it fun to still shoot the big bows while I can. I realize that at 50 my time will come when I need to move down in weight but I'll face that when the time comes!