150 pound draw weight!!!!!
 

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

RE: 150 pound draw weight!!!!!
 

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

RE: 150 pound draw weight!!!!!
 

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"

RE: 150 pound draw weight!!!!!
 

RE: 150 pound draw weight!!!!!
 

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

RE: 150 pound draw weight!!!!!
 

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

RE: 150 pound draw weight!!!!!
 

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 .

RE: 150 pound draw weight!!!!!
 

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

RE: 150 pound draw weight!!!!!
 

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 }}------>

RE: 150 pound draw weight!!!!!
 

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!

RE: 150 pound draw weight!!!!!
 

Isnt Fred Bear one of only 4 people to shoot and kill an elephant with a bow and arrow? I do believe he shot and killed a bull elephant with a 150# recurve.
If im wrong, pleez correct me.

&quot;A Country Boy Can Survive&quot; </IMG>

RE: 150 pound draw weight!!!!!
 

150? shoot my bow is a telephone pole i bent and put a string on. chopped it down with ole pau bunyans axe, me and him is purty good buddies
lol

&quot;She said if I hit that fishin hole today, she's be packin all her things and she'd, be gone by noon....I'm gonna miss her, when I get home.&quot;

[Deleted]
 

[Deleted by Admins]

RE: 150 pound draw weight!!!!!
 

And think with the new bows today they probably flew about the same speed.

RE: 150 pound draw weight!!!!!
 

The English longbow is a very specific type of bow, being slender, long, and deeply cored to the tune of 5 thick:8 wide, with a very rounded belly. The English probably chose this design for several reasons. First, many more bows can be made from a tree if they are narrow vs. wide. This is important when staves must be imported. Second, narrow, round bellied bows come to tiller more quickly than bows of more flat cross-section...also of importance when mass production for war is of concern. Next, deep cored, round bellied bows may be safer to shoot in heavier weights over flat bows, tending to take on some set instead of blowing apart if overstressed. Finally, thick limbs have an advantage of being less sensitive to different arrow weights compared to other designs. The tradeoff is that the English longbow design is generally not a very efficient one for arrow speed due to the long limbs. Though yew, from which most ELB's were made, is very lightweight compared to other woods and probably isn't affected as much in terms of speed by the design. Certainly, the design suited the Englishman's needs very well.

Yew bows recovered from the Mary Rose, which sunk in the English channel in the 16th century, were frequently 80+&quot; long and drew to weights of 180# based on dimensional interpolation. Attempts were made to string and draw several of these bows. Many broke, but a few were actually able to withstand the stresses...amazing for wood bows submerged in salt water for 450 years.

Arrows were typically constructed of ash, measuring around 30&quot; long by 1/2&quot; in diameter. Many were barrel tapered to improve recovery from paradox around the 1-1/8&quot; to 1-1/4&quot; wide grip. They ranged in weight quite a bit and were outfitted with various point types for different purposes. Imagine the effects of 1500 grain arrows showering down on enemy troops from archers poised over 200 yards away, or from 300 or 400 yards when lighter arrows were used!

The English were conditioned from a young age to shoot such heavy bows. Examination of archers' skeletons found on medival battlefields show assymetrical bone structures from their years of pulling such heavy bows. It's likely these heavy bows took a toll on the physical well being of those men in their later years.

Here are two interesting articles on war bows being studied by Pip Bickerstaffe, an authority on English longbows, in England. Pip also has a book published by the way, titled, &quot;Heritage of the Longbow&quot;. It's an excellent detail of what the English longbow is, as well as to how it is constructed. Absolute master craftsmanship is required to tiller these heavy bows properly so the archer isn't showered with splinters upon drawing wood that is so highly stressed.

http://www.primitivearcher.com/articles/warbow.html

http://www.primitivearcher.com/articles/warbow2.html

Here are some excellent examples of yew English longbows being made today.

http://www.selfbow.com/self.html

Here is a picture of one of my own English longbows under constrution...a measley 60#-er. <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

http://community.webshots.com/script...ecurity=snxQQF



Edited by - AK on 02/04/2003 20:43:55

RE: 150 pound draw weight!!!!!
 

No problem <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle> <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle> <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle> <img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle> <img src=icon_smile_clown.gif border=0 align=middle>

I also heard that had the Native Americans not given up the bow for the unreliable rifles of the times, they would have won.

<font color=blue>Good Luck and Good Shooting</font id=blue>

<font color=red>Rob</font id=red>

RE: 150 pound draw weight!!!!!
 

Deerhunter, Fred did kill an elephant with his recurve but it was with a 70# bow using fiberglass arrows with aluminum shafting inside for added weight.

RE: 150 pound draw weight!!!!!
 

longbowman,
Thanks. I had heard from my buddy that went to the musium(however you spell it) and said that he read it. I couldnt remember the specifics:)

&quot;A Country Boy Can Survive&quot; </IMG>