Arrows

An archer's ammunition on a campaign usually ranged from 20 to 100 or 200 arrows. Scythians, Arabs or Mongols carried them all with them, archers of other nations more often kept arrows in the train, in this case the carried ammunition ranged from 10 to 40 arrows.

The tip was made of bone (among barbarian peoples and in Europe until the 11th-13th centuries), hard wood (in ancient Egypt), bronze or hard steel. Often it was flat and leaf-shaped, repeating the shape of flint tips, but the Scythians invented a more advanced faceted tip, which became the standard first in Asia and then in Europe. The arrow did not necessarily have fletching. In general, a good arrow, suitable for long-range and accurate shooting, was a fairly technologically advanced product; its manufacture required little material, but a lot of labor. Manual labor was not valued in the Middle Ages, but an archer could not make a good arrow on a campaign on his own.

To withstand the acceleration under the influence of a bowstring stretched with such force, the arrow had to have a certain flexibility. As modern research shows, when fired, an arrow placed on a bow bends slightly under the influence of the bowstring, and then, in the first seconds of flight, straightens out and makes oscillatory movements. Simply put, it trembles, deviating from the axial trajectory to the side of fire. The shooter must take this factor into account when aiming. The stability of the properties of the wood from which the arrow was made was a prerequisite for an accurate shot.

Crossbow arrows experienced much greater loads when fired. Thus, even ancient Greek crossbows, used since the 4th century. BC e. in the Greek army and called "gastraphetes" they shot arrows 40-60 cm long with faceted metal tips and had a string tension of up to 90 kg. They pulled the gastraphet, resting its butt against their stomach, which explains the name. A flexible bow arrow simply broke with such a blow, which forced crossbow arrows to be made thicker, stiffer and shorter.

To maintain arrow energy at ranges common to warfare of the time, exceeding at least 100 yards in combat, it was necessary to use heavy, slow-moving arrows. A heavy, slow-moving arrow loses less energy over a certain distance than a faster-moving arrow with the same initial kinetic energies. Remember the sports bow at the beginning of our article. Will a 20 gram arrow fired from it at a speed of 300 meters per second (that’s about 1000 km/h!!!) be able to penetrate armor? At point blank range, perhaps, but not at combat shot range. The force of air resistance to the movement of the arrow is proportional to the square of the speed. Of course, this aerodynamic law is not true for all speeds. But, starting from a speed of 10 meters per second and up to 100 meters per second, it is correct with very high accuracy.

It was discovered that at very small speeds, similar to the speed of movement of a clock pendulum, air resistance increases in proportion to the first power of speed. As the speed of movement increases, air resistance begins to increase in proportion to the higher degree of speed and at a body speed of 10 m/sec it reaches exactly the square of this speed. This ratio of air resistance and movement speed remains constant with very high accuracy up to a speed of 100 m/sec. Only after this does it begin to grow noticeably faster than the square of the speed, especially when approaching the speed of sound, equal to 333 m/sec. Slightly above it, namely at 425 m/sec, the deviation of the increase in air resistance from the point of the square of the speed reaches its greatest value.

This means that a light and fast modern sports arrow will very soon be stopped by air resistance and at the end of the trajectory will have a speed not much higher than the speed of a heavy arrow, since it will experience greater air resistance. But that's not all. The ability of a bow to transfer energy to an arrow, as we have already seen, depends on the weight of the arrow. A light arrow will break, almost without slowing down the contraction of the string and the body of the bow. Heavy, on the contrary, will take away more energy from the same bow. So, for a given bow strength, there is some optimal arrow weight and this weight should be quite high. We must consider another important point here - the trajectory of the arrow. To shoot a heavy arrow from a bow at the maximum distance, you need to shoot along a ballistic trajectory. The arrow will fly in a parabola with a significant climb. At the initial moment of time, the energy of an arrow fired at an angle can be represented as the sum of two components: vertical and horizontal. As the trajectory increases, the vertical component of the speed, due to the counteraction of the gravitational force of the earth and air resistance, falls and, at the top point of the flight, becomes zero. Then the arrow “pecks” down and moves further with a decrease - picking up speed! And the greater the weight of the arrow, the greater the speed it will gain due to gravity. A heavy arrow thrown from a height of several kilometers would gain some final speed due to the equalization of the force of gravity and the force of air resistance, as happens, for example, with a parachutist. This means that the technique of throwing an arrow depends significantly on its weight. A lightweight, modern sports arrow, fired from a bow with enormous initial speed, flies like a bullet at a slight angle to the horizon along a flat trajectory and is significantly slowed down by air resistance, which limits the shot range to approximately 100 - 150 meters. A heavy medieval arrow with a forged tip soars into the clouds and, turning, hits the target almost from above. Have you ever wondered why some medieval helmets look like sun hats? The effectiveness of a bow increases as the arrow becomes heavier and enhances the features mentioned above. Therefore, in the Middle Ages they did not particularly care about reducing the weight of the arrow, except for entertainment purposes. By modern standards, the tips were extremely massive and the shafts were often made of heavy wood. The weight of the shaft of the arrows that have come down to us is 30-80 grams. To them you need to add the weight of a spike - a forged sharp tip. A good arrow weighed more than 150 grams. As already mentioned, the creation of more powerful bows led to the use of heavier arrows, allowing the increased recoil energy of these bows to be fully exploited. This process started long before the Middle Ages. Archery equipment discovered in burial grounds helps archaeologists understand the requirements of the people who used it. For example, the Scythians made arrowheads from bronze; The 25-50 mm long arrowheads shown here (top row) were made in the 3rd century. BC e. With the advent of armor, there was a need for heavier and larger iron tips that could pierce it. Such tips appeared among the Huns (bottom row). To the right of each tip is its profile as viewed from the pointed end.

An arrow is not a bullet; it is significantly heavier. This means that the energy stored in it is higher. And if a bullet (weighing 9 grams) at the end of its ballistic trajectory sometimes cannot penetrate the padded jacket (it falls on your boots after flying two or three kilometers), then the arrow, with its steeper trajectory, even picks up speed on the descent with an ultra-long shot. Just throw a 9 gram bullet and a 200 gram sharp arrow from the balcony - the bullet won’t even stick into the ground, and the arrow will pierce someone’s head. What if there is no helmet? Or is the arm not covered by the shoulder pad? There were even such special steel arrows in the First World War for dropping whole heaps of them from an airplane at concentrations of infantry and, especially, cavalry.

Enemy warriors dressed in armor. Arrows with the "dry leaf" type, known since the Stone Age, were no longer effective against plate infantry and forged cavalry. As military armor improved, hunting arrows - “cuts”, with a wide and sharp flat tip, were replaced by more massive faceted, and then spike-shaped tips, designed to pierce metal armor. The drawings show arrowheads known to archaeologists, mined on the territory of the Russian state.

The difference between hunting arrows with a tip in the form of a leaf, often forked or a flat “blade”, from narrow, long, awl-shaped or faceted armor-piercing tips is clearly visible. The first were used against unprotected horses or against weakly armored warriors, the second could pierce the most serious armor from a short distance.

The most famous and well-documented battles in medieval Europe were those involving the massive participation of English archers. An English archer carried with him a bunch of 24-30 arrows (bundle). The rest were transported in a convoy. Unlike modern sporting and even hunting arrows, English war arrows of that time were much more utilitarian in nature. The shaft of the arrow was a fairly thick (up to 12 mm at the widest) part of a stick of variable cross-section, 75-90 cm long. (Can you imagine how much such an arrow weighs, even without a tip?) At one end of the arrow there was a slot for the bowstring, behind which feathering was in progress. The plumage consisted of 3 feathers. The length of the plumage reached 25 cm, which was necessary to stabilize the heavy tip. For the manufacture of plumage, mainly goose feathers were used. there was no shortage of them. A tip was attached to the other end of the arrow shaft. Although there were many types of tips, there were mainly two used in warfare: the wide one with a bent mustache (broadhead) and the narrow, needle-shaped one (bodkin). The Broadhead was used to shoot at unprotected infantrymen and horses. The Bodkin had a triangular needle-shaped point and was used to defeat heavily armed soldiers, including at long distances. Sometimes, to improve penetration, archers waxed arrow tips. By the way, the tips on combat arrows were of the socket type - i.e. the shaft was inserted into the tip. This was done for several reasons. Firstly, when the arrow hit the armor, the socketed tip protected the arrow shaft from splitting and the arrow could be reused. And the arrows, as we have already said, could not simply be cut off in the neighboring forest. The arrows required specially selected and seasoned wood. Archer and arrow maker were professions of comparable complexity. Secondly, the tip was not fixed rigidly and when the arrow was pulled out, it could remain in the wound. Thirdly, the removable tip greatly facilitated the transportation of bundles of arrows by archers. By the way, English archers never carried quivers with arrows on their backs. Arrows were carried either in special bags or in a belt. In battle, archers most often stuck arrows into the ground in front of them, which facilitated the shooting process and increased the rate of fire. An additional "effect" of such treatment of arrows was serious (often fatal) complications caused by the entry of earth into the wounds, which served as a reason for accusing the British of using poisoned arrows.

Arrow tests

We know of a number of tests carried out by modern authors in order to determine the combat characteristics of a medieval bow.

For example, a group of American researchers tested the penetration ability of arrows using modern bow designs. Sports arrows were also used, only the tips were replaced. When testing a 1 mm steel plate against a 60 Ft Lb arrow, the following results were obtained:

* the wide-faceted tip did not penetrate the plate, although the tip came out on the other side by approximately 0.25 inches,

* the short spiked point significantly weakened the energy, but the arrow fumbled at 6 inches (the ragged edges of the punched hole covered the arrow shaft),

* the middle spike-shaped tip would completely pierce the plate, and would pin its owner.

It turned out to be important to lubricate the tips with wax or oil because... this significantly improved penetration. (We remembered the waxed arrowheads of English archers.) The arrow used weighed 30 grams. (very light by medieval standards and common today for hunting) and fired from a bow at a speed of 255 ft/sec. from a distance of 14 yards. The arrow left the bow with 65 Ft Lbs of energy and the impact accounted for 59 Ft Lbs. (Initial velocity loss is somewhat greater due to arrow shake.) At 100 yards this energy would be reduced to 45 Ft Lbs and at 200 yards probably to 40 Ft Lbs. At such long distances, energy loss is determined mainly by the weight of the arrow and the type of fletching used. The arrowhead was made of steel with a small carbon content, but heated and then cooled. Although strong enough for mild steel, it was clearly inferior to the medieval point. Another tip with an end insert made of very strong steel was tested. This measure significantly improved performance, reducing the energy required to pierce the plate by perhaps 25%.

The results of these experiments are close to those published in the book Metallography and the Relative Effectiveness of Points and Armor in the Middle Ages by Peter N Jones. This study attempted to recreate medieval armor metalworking and used carefully crafted replica arrows and a 70 pound draw weight yew bow. It was discovered that the spike-shaped tips pierced 2 mm of raw iron when hit at a right angle; at an angle of 20 degrees, such tips could no longer pierce metal 2 mm thick, but they pierced it with a thickness of 1 mm. These arrows had energy equal to 34 Ft Lbs at impact, but weighed twice as much as modern arrows for a 60 lb bow. These replica medieval arrows had better points than those used for the first tests.

So, there was always a risk that an arrow could pierce plate armor. Depending on the distance and angle of impact, the defender could rely on the level of protection of the shell only to certain limits. Still, the spike-shaped tip is much less lethal than the broad-headed one, and the unfortunate knight had a higher chance of survival. Of course, the arrows did not fly one at a time, but simply being knocked off your horse and unable to fight proved fatal in the context of war. Moreover, small wounds could be fatal in the absence of antibiotics.

In 1918, the Englishman S.T.Pope (book "Archaelogy by experiment") studied the range and penetrating power of bows originating from various sources. Apache bows made from hickory, ash Cheen bows, African bows made from ironwood, composite Tatar and Turkish bows (horn, metal, wood, sinew) and English longbows made from yew were used. The range of the bow and the force of its tension, which was measured with weights (pulling the string 71 cm from the bow), were studied. Several hundred arrows with different tips were shot, using the English method (three fingers on the bowstring) and the Sioux hunters, when the bowstring is pulled with four fingers and the arrow is held between the thumb and forefinger. The bowstrings were different - made of linen and silk fibers, lamb intestines and cotton yarn. The strongest was an Irish bowstring with a diameter of 3 cm made of 60 twisted linen threads.

* A 1.04 m long hickory Apache bow, stretched 56 cm with a force of 12.7 kg, threw an arrow 110 m.

* Cheen ash bow 1.14 m, stretched 51 cm with a force of 30.5 kg - 150 m

* Tatar 1.88 m, bent 71 cm with a force of 13.7 kg - 91 m

* Polynesian hardwood 2 m, 71 cm 22 kg - 149 m

* Turkish 1.22 m, at 74 cm with a force of 38.5 kg - 229 m

* English yew 2 m, by 71 cm 24.7 kg - 169 m

* English yew 1.83 m by 91 cm 28.1 kg - 208 meters.

These are not all the tests carried out, because a Tatar bow 1.88 m long, with a rawhide string, which was pulled by two people, is also described. One, sitting, rested his feet on the bow, pulling the string with both hands no further than 30 cm, because he could no longer, and the other laid the arrow. It's funny that he only shot at 82 m, although they said that his first owner (the bow was about 100 years old) shot himself, sending the arrow at 400 m. The Turkish bow was made of ox horns, hickory wood, sheep intestines and leather. Among the arrows Pope used were California Indian bamboo arrows with birch heads and turkey fletchings. They were 63 and 64 cm long, and flew 10% further than English arrows. The average flight speed of the arrow was about 36 m/sec.

At short distances, the force of a bow shot exceeds the combat force of modern hunting weapons. Tests by other researchers showed that a steel-tipped pine arrow fired from a bow with a draw weight of 29.5 kg at a distance of 7 meters penetrated 140 paper targets, while a 14-gauge hunting shotgun penetrated only 35 targets with a round bullet. (I wonder how much it would penetrate with a sharp sub-caliber bullet.) To determine the quality of the tips, they used 22 cm thick pine boards and an imitation of an animal body - a box without side walls, filled with raw liver and covered with deerskin. Arrows with obsidian tips pierced the box, while arrows with metal ones pierced or pierced right through. The next experiment was carried out with a mannequin dressed in sixteen-century chain mail from Damascus. They shot from a distance of 75 m with a bow with a draw force of 34 kg and steel tips. The arrow tore the chain mail, causing a shower of sparks, and entered 20 cm deep into the mannequin, resting on the back of the chain mail. Then they tested the ability of arrows to kill. From 75 meters they killed a running deer - an arrow pierced its chest right through. Eight deer, three adult and two young bears were also killed. Two adult bears were killed by shots to the chest and heart from a distance of 60 and 40 meters. Five arrows were shot at the attacking bear, four of which stuck in the body, and the fifth pierced the stomach and flew another 10 meters. (What flayers are these American researchers J. Speaking seriously, I do not trust the origin of the “sixteen-century chain mail from Damascus.” Not a single museum worker or collector, being in his right mind, would agree to give up a rarity for testing in such a barbaric way Most likely, there was a late reconstruction in the image and likeness of ancient chain mail, inferior to it in characteristics.)

Of course, all these experiments were carried out by people who did not make it their goal to learn how to shoot and hit the enemy with a bow. They are as far from the real characteristics of a medieval warrior as the results of modern professional athletes are from the results of a team of street boys. At the same time, they clearly reveal the combat characteristics and features of the use of bows.

Important Note: Remember that your arrow range will depend primarily on the weight of the arrow/tip, as well as the specifications of your crossbow. For a detailed understanding of how this will affect how far your crossbow can shoot, see another article: Drop in Arrow Speed ​​with Distance. In it, you will find out what speed the arrow loses when flying from zero to 50 meters, depending on the initial speed of the arrow's departure

So...how far?

The answer will depend on four factors:

• How good is your stuff (selection of crossbow, arrow and tip)?
• Are you hunting or shooting at a fixed target?
• What is the initial speed of your crossbow's arrow?
• How good is your scope?

If achieving the maximum indicator is the main thing, then take for example popular models: crossbow Interloper Styx or crossbow Man Kung XB 52, with boom radius from 105 m/s. If an arrow is released at an angle of 45 degrees, the arrow will fly more than 400 meters. But you and I must understand that it will never be possible to hit accurately from such a distance, but in principle you should not have the task of hitting from such a wild distance.

Effective range for hunting with a crossbow arrow.

When using any crossbow with an initial arrow speed of 100 m/s and above, the average effective range of hitting the target is 45 to 60 meters. You can, of course, try to make a shot at 80 or even 100 meters, but remember that with each meter the speed of the arrow drops and if, for example, you are hunting, then the power of the shot at long distances may not be enough to hit the game. The real question here is whether it is possible to hit an animal with perfect precision and penetrate the vital organ(s); most people never come to a definitive answer. That is why most hunters with crossbows prefer to shoot from a maximum distance of 30 meters. Not because the arrow will not hit the animal at a great distance, but because they want to be sure that the arrow will hit exactly where it should, otherwise the hunter would only wound the animal and it would suffer. Hunters are 99% humane people.

Effective range for training crossbow shooting.

Training shooting usually takes place with ordinary sports tips on isolon shields. Training shooting can take place at any distance convenient for you, but it is worth knowing that if you are going into the forest to hunt, then it is advisable to shoot your crossbow at the intended hunting distance. Also remember that your hunting tip must be the same weight as your sporting one, so the arrows must be identical when sighted during the hunt itself. If you wish, you can hit at 80 or 100 meters, but it will require a lot of time and patience from you to aim the crossbow at such a distance, but for hunting this will no longer be an effective range.

Do not forget that an arrow fired even from the most powerful and fast crossbow will begin to descend literally after 15 meters.

Take a closer look: a 400 grain arrow fired from a crossbow with an initial arrow speed of 107 m/s. (350 fps), will decrease vertically as follows:

1.5 cm at 18 meters

9.67 cm at 27 meters

27.45 cm at 36 meters

53.67 cm at 45 meters

similar materials:

16.09.18 Drop in arrow speed depending on distance

In ancient times, our ancestors broke a branch, pulled the sinew of some animal onto it and obtained a weapon that was effective in skillful hands. But these days, to achieve success in such a popular art as archery or crossbow shooting, a hook and a rope will no longer be enough! You will need a high-tech weapon made from reliable materials, and the best example for achieving excellent results is, of course, a recurve or compound crossbow!

Since ancient times, crossbows have been haunted by the glory of a formidable, deadly weapon, but nowadays, crossbows are used for sports entertainment and hunting. And if you really want to learn how to deftly shoot from this weapon, which is popular in Russia, especially in recent years, we advise you to forget about the common misconceptions regarding its exceptional tactical and combat qualities, as if the firing range and destructive power of a crossbow are identical to firearms. This is not true, and despite the fact that the technique of shooting from a crossbow is similar to shooting from a carbine or gun: you also apply it to the shoulder, aim and press the trigger, this is where all the similarities between these weapons end.

Of course, cutting-edge technologies and materials used in the aerospace and aviation industries have contributed to significant improvements in crossbow designs, however, they are still very primitive small arms. The most powerful modern crossbow produces a total of +180 J of kinetic energy, while the average hunting rifle has a kinetic energy of over 1600 J. Therefore, if you think that the range of a crossbow arrow and its killing power are similar to a bullet fired from guns, and you decide to hunt big game with a crossbow, then you will be somewhat disappointed. A crossbow is a unique weapon, and crossbow hunting is a real skill, a lot of pleasure and amazing impressions!

When shooting from a crossbow, you should keep in mind that a crossbow bolt is not a rifle bullet! The maximum initial speed of the arrow is 125 m/s, and the mass is<25 грамм . Experiments show that the arrow reaches its maximum speed at 20 meters flight, upon crossing this line, the speed and altitude of the flight decrease with each centimeter of the distance traveled.

The arrow range of a good crossbow is more than 300 meters , but there is no point in talking about accurately hitting a target at such a distance. However, even at its end, an arrow that accidentally hits the target can inflict a mortal wound on an animal, which is impossible with a similar hit from a gun. The fact is that an arrow causes more serious damage to an animal than a bullet, and while the animal can move with a bullet in its body, the arrow causes unbearable pain, causes significant blood loss and damage to internal organs. The animal quickly loses mobility and dies, while the bullet only causes a painful shock. Thus, we see that in skillful hands there is a hunting crossbow, an extremely effective lethal weapon! According to experienced crossbowmen, there are no wounded animals in crossbow hunting.

To become an experienced and successful hunter, you need to thoroughly study such a concept as: “effective striking distance.” Of course, you can try shooting arrow after arrow into the sky in hopes of hitting the Frog Princess, but such tactics will not make you a real earner. The main rule of a crossbowman is that the arrow should fly where you want it to, and not to luck, or wherever it wants. That is why the effective flight distance of an arrow has little to do with its flight range.

When choosing a hunting crossbow, you should consider what animal you are going to hunt. To determine the effective striking distance, that is, the maximum distance at which an arrow fired from a crossbow would hit the game without causing suffering. It should be especially noted that this physical discipline is purely individual not only for each crossbow, but also for the hunter, with his skills as a shooter, as well as the climatic and natural conditions of the upcoming hunt.

Sometimes, insufficiently knowledgeable sellers tell all sorts of tales about the crossbow, supposedly with such a superweapon you can hunt elephants and rhinoceroses. That such renowned manufacturers as Bear Archery, Excalibur and Interloper produce long-range crossbows that can hit a target many hundreds of meters away. On the one hand, they are certainly right: a modern crossbow with a draw force of up to 200 lbs , fires an arrow at a distance of up to 500 meters , however, it is not its target range.

The fact that a recurve or compound crossbow does not have a long range and high arrow speed is not its disadvantage! If you are concerned about this circumstance, then crossbow hunting is not for you - buy a gun and wander through the forest with half-drunk men. A crossbow is a weapon of aristocrats, which requires respect and serious preparatory skills. The speed of a crossbow arrow, with a weight of 27 grams, exceeds 120 m/s, therefore, the crossbow copes with the task assigned to it!

In addition to the striking force and range of an arrow fired from a crossbow, there are also your ethical requirements: a fatal shot can be fired from a distance of 15 or 100 meters, and how close you want to get to the prey is up to you. Of course, experienced hunters try to get as close as possible to hit the animal for sure, and not chase it throughout the forest or climb into a swamp after a wounded animal. For a beginner, the most effective shooting distance from a crossbow is considered to be 10 or 12 meters. In this case, you don’t have to think about the arrow’s flight path, the direction and strength of the wind in order to get to the most vulnerable place. But in any case, the choice is yours!

similar materials:

19.09.16 Lethal crossbow firing range

16.09.16 Drop in arrow speed depending on distance

In this material I would like to tell you a little more about the ancient archers, who they were and what they were like. Issues such as ancient arrows, what they were made of and how they were used are considered. Another question that torments readers is what is the flight speed of a fired arrow, and we will tell you about this using the example of bows from different countries. The secret of how an arrow behaves after it is released by an archer has also been revealed. Read and you will learn a lot of new things!

About old arrows and bows

Arrows are an integral part of the bow and archer. Previously, during the campaigns of armies of different countries, archers of different nations carried with them different numbers of arrows, usually the set was 20-100 arrows.

For example, the Scythian and Arabs carried all their ammunition with them, while the vast majority of archers from other countries had a much smaller amount with them, leaving and storing the bulk of their ammunition in the convoys, carrying 20-50 arrows.

Arrowheads were made from different materials. They were made of bone (among the barbarians of the 11th-13th centuries), of hardwood (ancient Egypt), and later of hard steel or bronze. Most often it had the shape of a tree leaf, flat.

Feathering was not always present on arrows of that time. Making a good arrow required little material, but a lot of labor; gunsmiths often did this; medieval archers did not often make arrows with their own hands, regardless of whether they were on a hike or at home.

Speed ​​of an arrow fired from a bow

During the shot, the arrow experiences a large load, and in order to withstand the acceleration, the arrow had to have very good flexibility. After the archer, having pulled the bowstring, releases it, the arrow bends and immediately, in a few seconds of flight, takes its original shape while making oscillatory movements; this factor is taken into account for accurate shooting.

All this applied to bow arrows, while crossbow arrows experienced much greater loads when fired. So ancient Greek crossbows of the 9th century. BC they shot arrows 40-60 cm long with a metal tip with a string tension of 90 kg.

When a flexible arrow was fired from such a crossbow, it simply broke, so they began to make them short, stiffer and thicker - these are the main differences between crossbow arrows and bow arrows.

To preserve the energy of the arrow at distances of about 100 meters during real battles, heavy, slow-flying arrows were used. An arrow of such characteristics loses much less energy, and upon hitting the target it causes the expected damage.

For example, the weight of a sports weapon is 20 grams, the initial speed of a bow arrow is about 100 meters per second, that’s 360 km/h, and after the arrow has flown the required distance, it must still pierce the armor - clearly, an arrow weighing 20 grams. (and the weight of a medieval war arrow is more than 150 grams) will not cope with such a task.

A modern fast and light arrow will be stopped very quickly by air resistance and at the end of its trajectory it will have the same speed as a heavy one.

Currently, there are more accurate data on the flight speeds of arrows fired from various types of bows and crossbows.

Here's some sample data:

English, Chinese, Indian bows 50-65 m/sec.

Block from 60-90 m/sec.

Crossbows with tension from 80kg 60-90 m/sec.

Modern sports non-compound bows 40-60 m/sec.

Turkish 70-100 m/sec.

Arrow flight path

There is another very important point that is worth mentioning, this is the trajectory of the arrow. In order to shoot a heavy arrow at the maximum possible distance, it is necessary to shoot along a ballistic trajectory, in which case the arrow will fly with a climb, along a parabola.

The point is this:

the arrow, having reached the maximum possible height, under the influence of the gravity of the earth and air resistance, loses its flight speed to 0 km/h, then, under the weight of the tip, the arrow tilts, begins to peck, and decreases as it gains speed.

Due to the gravity of the earth, the greater the weight of the arrow, the greater the speed it will gain. So this is the explanation why military archers used heavy arrows.

At the present time, a sports arrow is fired at a small angle to the horizon, along a flat trajectory (similar to the flight of a bullet), while having a huge initial flight speed. But it is limited to a range of 100-150 meters.

Ancient archers

Particular attention should be paid to English archers. They carried with them a bunch of 25-30 arrows, the rest of the supply was in the convoys. The shaft of their arrows had a thickness of up to 12 mm and a length of up to 90 cm.

At one end of the arrow there was a slot, after which there was fletching. The plumage most often consisted of 3 goose feathers, since there were no flaws in the goose feathers, the length of the plumage was about 25 cm to stabilize the weighty tip.

On the other side of the shaft there was a tip, which was attached to the shaft using the bushing method, that is, the shaft was inserted into the tip.

This was due to the following reasons:

Firstly, the socketed tip protected the arrow from breaking, often splitting, when it hit the target, so the arrow could be reused, and this was very important, since it is not so easy to find or make arrows on campaigns, since this required special wood.

Secondly, if the enemy took the arrow out of the wound, then the tip most often remained in the wound.

Thirdly, this made it much easier to transport arrows.