Different Kinds of Ranged Weapons
![Picture](/uploads/2/4/3/9/24397289/5747570.jpg)
Longbow
A longbow is a type of bow that is more than 5 feet tall. This allows the bow to be drawn to the jaw by a trained user. A longbow is not significantly curved, not more than a D-shape. Traditional longbows are made from a single piece of wood. They have been used for thousands of years, for hunting and warfare. The average modern draw weight is 50 pounds which is suitable for most hunting applications. The most powerful longbows, used for warfare, had a draw weight of 150-200 pounds! Men in medieval England trained daily from an early age to be able to shoot these bows.
A longbow is a type of bow that is more than 5 feet tall. This allows the bow to be drawn to the jaw by a trained user. A longbow is not significantly curved, not more than a D-shape. Traditional longbows are made from a single piece of wood. They have been used for thousands of years, for hunting and warfare. The average modern draw weight is 50 pounds which is suitable for most hunting applications. The most powerful longbows, used for warfare, had a draw weight of 150-200 pounds! Men in medieval England trained daily from an early age to be able to shoot these bows.
![Picture](/uploads/2/4/3/9/24397289/240375.jpg)
Crossbow
A crossbow is a bow mounted on a stock with a mechanism that keeps the drawn bow taut. The crossbow was very easy to use, with a few weeks of training max to be able to use proficiently. Triggers were used from the 1400s onwards, which made it possible to keep a crossbow cocked and ready for some time, allowing crossbowmen to aim better.
A crossbow is a bow mounted on a stock with a mechanism that keeps the drawn bow taut. The crossbow was very easy to use, with a few weeks of training max to be able to use proficiently. Triggers were used from the 1400s onwards, which made it possible to keep a crossbow cocked and ready for some time, allowing crossbowmen to aim better.
![Picture](/uploads/2/4/3/9/24397289/7502112.jpg)
Javelin
The javelin is a light spear intended primarily for throwing. In medieval times, the javelin was always thrown by hand, although the Aztecs used an atlatl to cast it. This was the main weapon of the Vikings, although paintings and stories cast them as using axes and swords, archaeological evidence finds that javelins and other spears were the most common Viking weapons. The Welsh and the Anglo-Saxon also used the javelin as one of their main weapons.
The javelin is a light spear intended primarily for throwing. In medieval times, the javelin was always thrown by hand, although the Aztecs used an atlatl to cast it. This was the main weapon of the Vikings, although paintings and stories cast them as using axes and swords, archaeological evidence finds that javelins and other spears were the most common Viking weapons. The Welsh and the Anglo-Saxon also used the javelin as one of their main weapons.
Legendary Weapons: How The Longbow Was Made
The best material for making a longbow was yew wood, but ash, elm, and other woods were also used. The traditional construction of a longbow consisted of drying the yew for 1-2 years, then slowly working the wood into a D-shape, with the entire process taking about 4 years. Bowstrings were, and still are made of hemp, flax, or silk, and attached to the wood using horn "nocks" on the ends of the bow. The arrows were made from straight branches, and were fletched with feathers by a specialist, called a "fletcher", and the heads were made of wrought iron, much like spearheads.