could ancient bows out-kill modern handguns?

About could ancient bows out-kill modern handguns? Page 2


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View Poll Results :are guns more powerful than bows and arrows?
yes 12 28.57%
no 6 14.29%
depending on circumstances, bows yes, guns yes 24 57.14%
Voters: 42. You may not vote on this poll

 
November 17th, 2005   #11
MightyMacbeth
 
 
beats me..

but yeah, during the sengouku jidai period, the muskets proved superior over bows..and I do agree


~when a man does his best, what else is there? Gen.George S.Patton

 
November 17th, 2005   #12
LeEnfield
 
 
It took years to train to a good bowman, but some one can be taught to shoot and handle a weapon in a day. this is the difference and this was the demise of the bow.


LeEnfield Rides again

 
November 18th, 2005   #13
MightyMacbeth
 
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by LeEnfield 2
It took years to train to a good bowman, but some one can be taught to shoot and handle a weapon in a day. this is the difference and this was the demise of the bow.
Exactly!! and thats why the japanese then prefered the musket.. 8)
 
December 15th, 2005   #14
doomshot
 
 
Some bows that used to be in use like the Turkish bows actually outperformed muskets. The major reason the bow decline was the rate of fire is low and it is easier and less expensive to train gun weilders. Also ammuniton for guns can be massed produced quickly and efficiantly unlike wooden arrows.


And when he gets to heaven,
To Saint Peter he will tell:
One more soldier reporting, sir--
I\'ve served my time in h**l.
-Marine Grave inscription on Guadalcanal, 1942
 
December 15th, 2005   #15
Darkmb101
 
Still guns are more practical on the field than bows and arrows.


on a permanent vacation....will visit every now and then. see arcade
hidden message!!! Life is short and pointless, be happy and live it.
 
December 19th, 2005   #16
Insomniac
 
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by LeEnfield 2
Of course when you go to make your arrows you will have a vast amount of trees around were you are to make the arrows, then you have to catch the birds to pull their feathers out to make the flights, then all you need is is the steel for the arrow tips, then you will need to melt and cast the arrow heads while your enemy sits quietly by why you do all this work.
you dont actually have to flioght or tip arrows, and i have found that with a simple square piece of wood and a staple, if you cut the staple off to make a nail-like pice of metal then you have a very effective tip. i have seen it go through 400mm polycarbonate.


sorry, i forgot to add that you can easily buy dowelling for your arrows previous to the beggining of the siege


An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile - hoping it will eat him last.
Sir Winston Churchill

Last edited by Duty Honor Country; December 19th, 2005 at 10:11.. Reason: do not double post, use the edit button to add to an existing post
 
December 19th, 2005   #17
Missileer
 
 
Here is the most interesting article on how bows and arrows, and many other things, were made in early America. It is about Ishi, the last person of the Yahi tribe in California. It is a fascinating read.

http://www.mohicanpress.com/mo08019.html

http://www.gilanet.com/amerabo/ishipage.htm





“War is an ugly thing but not the ugliest of things; the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feelings which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse.”
—John Stuart Mill

Last edited by Missileer; December 19th, 2005 at 22:07..
 
December 19th, 2005   #18
Welshwarrior
 
 
I think you might need to ask the native indian tribes of the USA that question.
 
December 20th, 2005   #19
Missileer
 
 
I watched a program on the History Channel where one man was using a flintlock and the other was using a bow. The number of arrows fired accurately was around 10, I don't remember the exact number, to one shot with the musket. They also demonstrated the effect if firing arrows in dense forest which muffled the bow string snap. I think the bow was probably the first "stealth" weapon. So, more powerful didnt matter as much as the circumstances of the conflict.
 
December 20th, 2005   #20
godofthunder9010
 
 
While some ancient bows were very impressive, they are most certainly not capable of doing what guns can do. The English Longbow and the Mongolian Recurve Bow and many others were terrifyingly deadly, but nothing to compare to a high powered rifle or a fully automatic weapon.


"It is well that war is so terrible, else we should grow too fond of it."
- General Robert E. Lee
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