BALLISTIC TORSO ENGLISH WARBOW EDITION
The Gun Guys go medieval, and put the actual performance of the dreaded English/Welsh longbow to the test with cutting edge scientific equipment used to test modern guns.
Fun fact about the longbows of old. The reason why medieval longbows had such high draw weights with some pieces at up to 150 pounds of draw, is because one piece stickbows, which longbows practically are, are not very efficient energy delivery mechanisms. In layman's terms, they do not have much in terms of "springiness". Most of the stored energy in the limbs of a yew or oak longbow is converted into heat and vibration AKA "hand shock" upon firing, and a small amount goes into the arrow. A circa 1340s English standard longbow is roughly 100 pounds of draw weight, slinging a 900 grain arrow at roughly 150-180 feet per second. Today's high tech carbon nanofiber, fiberglass laminated and foam cored ILF hunting and competition limbs like the Samick R3 and the Nika N2s can drive a 500-600 grain arrow at over 230 feet per second while being less than 45 pounds of draw. Even with an arrow twice as heavy, only a few FPS would be sacrificed due to the arrows being VERY efficient absorbers of energy. That is why modern shooters who use custom made heavy arrows claim that hand shock when using even the lightest alloy riser and limb combos are "less than the recoil of a nerf gun". The next time somebody asks: "Why are modern target and hunting bows not made in the 100-150 pounds draw weights anymore", the answer is "improved technology, more springy and energy efficient limbs, more FPS with less expenditure at the shooter's end". Nevertheless, the legendary English wood longbow was the standard infantry battle rifle of it's day and it has earned a truly fearsome reputation due to it's effectiveness in the most bloody epochs of the Middle Ages, using what was available at the time...
