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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 6228582" data-attributes="member: 42582">I think the issue with the bows in LotR is that the elves have their bows drawn with the arrow tips very close to their targets. Therefore, if the bows were released the arrows could not in fact accelerate.A bow is not like a gun. The bullet from a gun accelerates near-instantaneously as a result of the explosion. By the time it comes out the barrel it is only going to slow down. But an arrow accelerates over a significant distance in space, as the string moves from taut to slack. The arrow will be projecting quite a way beyond the bowshaft by the time it has reached its maximum velocity.Hence, you have to hold the bow at least far enough away from the target to enable the arrow to accelerate as it moves forward as it is pushed by the string as the tension leaves the string. I'm not sure how many centimetres this would be, because I've only got a rough mental picture of the legnth of a longbow arrow and of the horizontal distance through which a taut bowstring has been pulled, but I'm guessing it's well into the double digits rather than the single digits.</blockquote>