960lbs crossbow vs 150lbs crossbow - TESTED!

In medieval times crossbows with 1000lbs draw weights were pretty normal; but how powerful were they compared with modern crossbows?

Here I test a 960lbs medieval windlass crossbow and a 150lbs modern compound crossbow, side by side and compare the two and why they perform so differently.

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Medieval bow 67g bolt
Draw weight Bolt weight Speed Energy Momentum
435kg. 67g 56m/s. 104J 3.7 Kg.m/s

Medieval bow 90g bolt
Draw weight Bolt weight Speed Energy Momentum
435kg. 90g 51m/s. 117J 4.6 Kg.m/s

Modern bow 23g bolt
Draw weight Bolt weight Speed Energy Momentum
68kg. 23g 110m/s. 139J 2.5 Kg.m/s

TYPE SPEED MASS MOMENTUM ENERGY

7 54m/s 94g 5.1 kgm/s 137J
9 55 m/s 85g 4.7 kgm/s 129J
M2 59 m/s 73g 4.3 kgm/s 127J
16 63 m/s 68g 4.3 kgm/s 135J

Edited by Greg Bright

[nerine]

Man, Tod is really strong. Being able to lift 960 pounds is not a small feat.

[Slingshotchannel]

Momentum really defines the amount of damage, and so does the shape and material of the tip. A heavy arrow with a hardened steel tip has so much more penetration than a soft lead bullet, even at a fraction of the speed. It is the effective range that makes a difference. Muscle operated weapons never really exceed 150 m/s, in most cases they are at about half that. So the effective range for aimed shots is about 50 to 100 meters, anything beyond that requires so much hold over that it is more like random. Targets within that range are in mortal danger though. Guns can easily exceed 150 m/s, so they can be effective for distances.

[tartarsauce]

I'd like to see a medieval crossbow made out of modern materials like Polymers and carbon fiber, with lighter arrows.

[ericv]

The sound those heavy crossbows made must have made quite a psychological impact, especially when you had hundreds of those firing a volley!

[Skallagrim]

This is a great demonstration and comparison! You explained the difference in efficiency between medieval and modern crossbows in a clear and easy to understand way.

I definitely appreciate the relative lack of maintenance on modern crossbows compared to how much you have to keep up with a medieval one. Oddly enough I've found that modern crossbows with light carbon fiber bolts just annihilate a gambeson and riveted mail, where a medieval crossbow bolt (depending on the draw weight and shape of the point of course) may not penetrate as far or even bounce off.

Can't beat the old designs in style though. :)

[Qilue]

9:43 There is an old saying, to train a longbowman, begin with his grandfather. Longbows as a weapon of war were made obsolete by the ease of training men to use crossbows and muskets.

[VSO_Gun_Channel]

A lot of the gun report is expanding gas And the projectile breaking the sound barrier.

The bow is going to be the material expansion and interaction. Different kind of noise. One is an explosion one is someone playing the drums

[moonunit]

Asking why anyone would rather shoot a crossbow than a long bow is like asking why anyone would go buy a gun rather than spend forty years devoting their life to the study a martial art

[MonteKowalsky]

Tod always gives me such strong “if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life” vibes

[Menuki]

I’d be really curious to see 500lb draw on a modern compound bow system

[skippy]

What I learnt from this: I want a medieval 900lb crossbow with a compound mechanism

[АшатаН-иу]

Replace the medieval steel bow part with a high density carbon fibre made one, also in the 900 pounds range. That will make the inertia problem many times smaller and the arrow speeds will go up accordingly. Crossbow balance will benefit at the same time. I'd really like to see that experiment done! Thanks for your marvelous videos!

[RamadaArtist]

"You might walk away wondering why anyone would ever want to shoot a crossbow"
Because it takes two weeks to train someone to use a crossbow, instead of the 20 years you need to be a successful longbow archer.

[stonelaughter]

I would love to see that modern crossbow firing the medieval crossbow bolts; and see the numbers you get from it.

[thetestinggrounds]

My respect for that medieval crossbow is endless. Holy crap that's some hella penetration power there. Just about buried its bolt through the entirety of that target.

[SeanFication]

It would have been nice to see a comparison of the penetration abilities of these two bows, in terms of going through X inches of wood or metal. It looked like the older bow would have been the more deadly weapon on a medieval battle-field.

[jbitt]

Why does his jacket look 500 years older than the medieval crossbow

[keithwhisman]

English longbow caused painful joint and tendon injuries over time for the shooter so I can imagine a longbowmen medically retired from the longbow possibly had a career option as a crossbowman.

[patrickbartholomew]

I use a modern crossbow for deer hunting. The bow on mine is reversed from the one you used which makes it much more balanced as the weight of the bow is centered near the trigger. I use a crossbow rather than a compound bow as I am 63 and not able to draw a bow reliably where as I can draw the crossbow at the start of the hunt and not worry about it until i shoot it when hunting or use a decocking bolt if I don’t shoot at anything. Maintenance is essential to making sure it remains safe and reliable. It is very effective for the deer I hunt, i got two this year often shooting the bolt through the deer. Both deer are in our freezer as I only hunt what we eat. Thanks for the video, i love your approach to telling great stories and informing us.

[diverd]

Video Idea: What if you combined the two, could you use modern technology to build a 1000lb composite compound crossbow.