CRAZY idea... War bow archers - turn away now

I want to test heavy English war bows against different armour types to find out what they can do; but I can't shoot one....

And the "Lockdown Longbow" was born. An arrow launcher that shoots real longbow arrows of the correct weight, at the correct speeds and I am going to shoot at flexible armours, steel, wood, shields and who knows what, in a series of films that will enlighten us all.

Fun, but proper education and exploration too.

[timothym]

Note for everyone here. Tod is an expert who knows what he's doing. Unless you're an expert like him do not shoot wooden arrows out of a modern crossbow. Tods arrow has a reinforced nock point and it undoubtedly very high quality. An arrow without the reinforced nock point runs the risk of splitting up the nock and sending broken arrow shards up your forearm. Not to mention his warbow arrow likely has much more mass than your average wooden target arrow to soak up some of that energy. Plenty of real life examples of people shooting wooden arrows out of modern compound bows and ending up in the emergency room (including my father). Please be careful before you replicate what he's doing here.

[boskone]

I would like to nominate "Faux Gibbs" as the name for the lockdown longbow.

[GoodRoads]

"I'm just going to shoot stuff, alright?" Yes. Yes that is very alright.

[ChrisChronos]

"I'm just not the man enough for it"
Me at my computer: same

[knutzzl]

Correct projectile + correct speed + repeatable =seince

[shadiversity]

Really looking forward to this. I would love to see what the crossover point is for the poundage of the bow to get through the different types of armor, like, minimum 100 pound bow to get through the gambeson? less? More?

[kdawg]

6:16 "I've decided that this is going to be fun."
I'm sure you weren't intending it, but this little sentence struck me as profound. Making the choice that your life is going to be experienced as fun. That IS a choice we can make: how we personally experience things. What lens we view them through. Even things that have yet to happen. Imagine waking up each day and immediately saying "I'm deciding that this day is going to be fun." Maybe I'm just in a contemplative mood, but that really stuck with me. I need to do it.

[terrythompson]

For shields: a construction replica of the Black Prince's shield at Canterbury or the like; a linen canvas covered-leather embossed-gessoed poplar-board shield would be nice to see shot at.

[SuperFunkmachine]

Tod it's a good testing tool, being repeatable every time.
And mark the arrows for depth reading.

[TheAussieGunBunny]

As someone who shoots longbows you have my seal of approval!

It shoots the right arrows at the right weight with the right amount of power, and can we add more consistantly?

We are not here to talk about the science of the bow, we are talking about the science of the arrow- the method of delivery is irrelevant.

[OperationDarkside]

"I've decided that this is going to be fun."
Hearing an Englishman say this, the french are getting concerned.

[RaptureZJ]

Todd is so excited at the end. LOL. "I'm gonna go shot some stuff!" So excited.

[MyBodyIsReggie]

"I'm not Joe Gibbs but I have the power"
I'm gonna put that on a shirt and wear it when shooting a crossbow

[josephl]

You had a choice between physics and shooting. You made the right choice.

[siegekeebs]

You just came to the same conclusion they did in medieval days - crossbows replace the need of having Joe Gibbs!

[BH-rxue]

I really hope that there are some high end academics out there who are actually using your videos for serious research. The level of effort you put into your testing deserves recognition

[mccheshire]

"Yeah let's shoot shields"
The smile that accompanied that statement made my day. Truly wholesome. Can't wait for this series!

[bologna]

You're gonna have to rename this to your "Mechanical Joe" lol

[num]

Tod's American spirit is coming out. "I just want to shoot stuff!"

Me too, Tod. Me too.

[malarkthemad]

I love how exited Todd is at the end, its great to watch someone who really enjoys finding out the historical stuff