Here's a very interesting passage from Sir Richard Hawkins' account of his 1594 expedition. Hawkins' ship was attacked by a larger Spanish vessel, and his only hope for escape was to shoot through its mast and sails. Hawkins lists the many weapons his ship carried for this purpose: [To] shoote downe his contraries Masts or … Continue reading The naval weapons of Sir Richard Hawkins: musket arrows, slurbowes, fire arrows
Crossbows
Shooting a 15th century crossbow
Today an archer at my local archery club gave me the opportunity to try his reconstruction of a 15th century crossbow. He reported that the weapon was 95#, and was loaded using a hip draw. I shot at a foxed-shaped target 22-25 yards away. The first shot struck the body of the fox exactly where … Continue reading Shooting a 15th century crossbow
