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The point being more if it's worth the annoyance to drag one around the bushes when hunting, or the battlefield when you may need to carry quite a bit of other war gear as well depending on the specific context. We're talking about something with the dimensions of a decent-sized spear after all, no ?Quote:
Originally Posted by Lignator
Well as far as hunting goes longbows were and are used pretty commonly, in certain parts of the world. I have been looking at pictures of Amazonian and Papau New Guinean archers and both appear to be using longbows. I don't think the size of longbows really presents a problem when hunting. When it comes to battle and having to carry around a spear or other weapon as well as a longbow the size could present a problem so you may have a point there. I don't really know anything about ancient warfare apart from what I've learned from EB though so I can't be sure.
Now the longbow design does have some advantages over short straight limbed bows which would make it worth lugging one around if it's as cumbersome as you suggest. They are more efficient (meaning they will shoot arrows at faster speeds per each pound of draw weight), have less handshock, and are more pleasant to draw. This is because longbows have a lower string angle when drawn (I was partly wrong when I said it was due to sting length). So basically the problem with short bows is that there is less wood available to do the same amount of work as a longbow with identical draw weight, which results in the limbs of the shorter bow being pulled further and put under more strain. The limbs of the longbow don't have to bend as far when it is being shot. However I am not saying that the longbow is the superior bow design. Short bows can be recurved or reflexed, which decreases string angle. Also bowmaking and archery are complex subjects and there are many more factors to consider when designing a bow. There simply cannot be a "best bow".
Last weekend forest training saw two guys with longbows, one on each side, sniping at the rest of us. They had no trouble moving through the woods. In fact they were more mobile than those of us lugging around armourd, big shields, etc. Personally I had only two-handed spear (3m) and sword + buckler for backup, and am outdoorsman, fit and old carpenter used to running in woods, so I had no trouble either. However, the snipers were more mobile than half or so of us, and from behind the line they did a fine job of taking out 1- 5 guys (mainly the two-handed weapons with no shield to hide behind or their counterpart on the opposite side), and with 20-ish on either side that could be decisive.
However that is Viking re-enactment and style, massed units... dunno whether they would loose their cohesion and thus ability to volley fire.