Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting What draw weight to launch an arrow 200 yards.

European sources from thr late 16th century when the switch over from bows to matchlock muskets was being made, note the extreme short range of bows as compared to the muskets. One French source stated that he had long heard about the bravery of the English and that after seeing them in action with their bows realized that they had to be very brave indeed because they had to get so close for their bows to do any good.

Bows don’t really get that much more powerful in terms of velocity. A traditional bow is going to throw an arrow out there at somewhere around 150 fps to 200 fps or a little more. A light his will throw a light arrow that fast. A heavy bow will throw a heavy arrow that fast. The heavier arrow is slightly more damaging, of course, but the difference is not as dramatic as one would think. A light arrow with a sharp head will still go right through you. A heavy arrow will too. Neither will penetrate amor.