could ancient bows out-kill modern handguns?

are guns more powerful than bows and arrows?


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Insomniac

~resident nutcase
well, no and yes. a modern handgun is reliant on bullets, which you cant make in the field. youre under siege in your barracks and training ground, basically, and youre dead when you run out of bullets. if 10 of youre number are using bows and arrows, however, you stand a much better chance of winning because when you run out of arrows, you can make some more

Mod edit: Watch the language.
MOI EDIT: sorry mod, wont happen again
 
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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.
 
I say depending on circumstances. As u said..it might be very true. But then also, the bow is kind of..big and bullky u know. Both have their prons and cons really...
 
I love these generalisations about weapons. :roll:

Which handgun and which bow, it makes a difference. A .22 short does not have a range exceeding that of a 150 lb draw compound bow. Unless of course you have a tail wind and fire it from the open cockpit of an F-15 just as it re-enters the earth's outer atmosphere and you aim it at the earth. :lol:
 
theres another thing..

If bows prove to be more powerfull and superior..then we would see soldiers still using them.. LOL, just imagine it :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
Time and place, each weapon has its place. Just ask any of the vets from Vietnam who worked with the Montagnard and their deadly little crossbows.
 
lol guns are superior..
even muskets that need reloading.......

during the japanese invasion of 7 year war in korea......

it was those long time reload muskets vs bows and arrows......

those muskets .. well pwnd the koreans..
 
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 2 said:
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)
 
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.
 
LeEnfield 2 said:
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.
:rock: :thumb:

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