Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="aramis erak" data-source="post: 7913430" data-attributes="member: 6779310">A novice won't be picking up a 250# crossbow, either, as the loading sequence for both is pretty hard. But the medieval bows all seem to have been well over the 70# common for hunting today. Whether that's survival selection (lesser bows got damaged easier), hard to say. But the peak human recurve bow was 200 lbs or so (Drawn to 180 before the curator said &quot;No further&quot;). There are several surviving examples of ones that dimension. About 150 would be the peak crossbow for novices, and about 70 lb for self bows.For footmen, the crossbow was NOT a more accurate nor easier weapon to learn. What it is is more likely to hurt the target, especially, as you note, 200 lb is an insanely hard draw. A 250 lb crossbow was about the limit for stirrup and lever; past that, cranquenins were essential for even the best.Across the board, crossbows allowed higher draws and higher power from the same user, but sacrificed accuracy and speed. The only factor which makes them worthy for infantry is the improved power.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="aramis erak, post: 7913430, member: 6779310"] A novice won't be picking up a 250# crossbow, either, as the loading sequence for both is pretty hard. But the medieval bows all seem to have been well over the 70# common for hunting today. Whether that's survival selection (lesser bows got damaged easier), hard to say. But the peak human recurve bow was 200 lbs or so (Drawn to 180 before the curator said "No further"). There are several surviving examples of ones that dimension. About 150 would be the peak crossbow for novices, and about 70 lb for self bows. For footmen, the crossbow was NOT a more accurate nor easier weapon to learn. What it is is more likely to hurt the target, especially, as you note, 200 lb is an insanely hard draw. A 250 lb crossbow was about the limit for stirrup and lever; past that, cranquenins were essential for even the best. Across the board, crossbows allowed higher draws and higher power from the same user, but sacrificed accuracy and speed. The only factor which makes them worthy for infantry is the improved power. [/QUOTE]

Verification