Bow effectiveness for Home Defence

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Historically, archers carried heavy mauls to pound 6' stakes into the ground in front of them to keep the enemy away. These stakes were sharpened with really big knives.

I'd suggest that you put away the bow and use the really big knife, or possibly the maul.
 
With a real samurai sword it would be simple to decapitate him with a single stroke (demonstrations in Japan have seen an ox decapitated in a single stroke).
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ExSoldier, please give me a reliable reference to this. The Japanese would never dishonor themselves or the sword (especially a quality sword) in this way. They have established centuries-old regulations to test the sharpness & cutting ability of their weapons, none of which include oxen.

Perhaps you have confused Japanese swords with a scene from "Apocalypse Now"?
 
If Diablo and Everquest have taught me anything, it's that you can shoot roughly 3 arrows per second, continuously, of lightning and fireball enhanced arrows, from your enchanted bow, even if face to face and toe to toe with your adversary, with them swinging a large ax or sword at you.




Seriously, it wouldn't be pretty.
 
Bad idea!

Ever shoot a deer with a razor-sharp broadhead arrow? Thought not!

All they do is flinch, maybe kick at the wound once, or jump from hearing the bow sting twang.

Then they run off 30 - 75 yards and pile up deader then Jimmy Hoffa.

A BG shot with a hunting arrow would have at least a while to finish killing you before your killing shot became even a minor inconvenience.

rcmodel
 
If you're gonna use a bow and arrow, you'd better work on your indian war cry first.

Practice slapping your hand over your mouth while making a steady "Aaaaahhhhhhhhh" sound and it should come out about right.
 
Home defense? With a bow? Not for most folks and I'd expect the experts to choose other options if given the chance.

Throwing knives? No, it's hard enough to hit a stationary target and get a sound stick. Add in a moving target and you've squared the difficulty.

Shruiken? More "No" than throwing knives or a bow. They're not even designed to kill. Their primary role is distraction.

BP? I'd happily take a SA BP revolver if no more modern weapons were available, as long as I had a handy sharp stick at hand as backup.
 
A bow is just going to be too impractical as you need to keep it drawn. No mean feat if you're trying to move around.

A decent crossbow with a broadhead quarrel wouldn't be too horrible though, backed up with some kind of contact weapon. I'd take a crossbow over a single-shot .22, anyway, if those were all I had.

Why close distance if you don't have to?
 
I am going to agree with everyone else. I suppose I can see an extremely narrow set of circumstances in which it might be OK, but those circumstance are so narrow as to be nearly without basis in reality. Besides, if you factor in the cost of the average bow, you can certainly find a used firearm that would be a couple of orders of magnitude more suitable.

Now, this isn't to say that bows suck. People obviously hunt with them regularly, and there is no doubt that they can be a deadly weapon. Plus, archery in general is pretty fun. It's simply to say that in this particular circumstance, they just aren't a good idea, kind of like trying to compete in a NASCAR race on a moped.
 
A bow would be fine for defense as long as the three following criteria are met:

1)You know the badguy is coming
2) You have an unobstructed shot from some distance away
3) You can hit a moving target

Bows are better offensive weapons as a general rule.

If I lived in a country that did not trust me with a personal firearm, I would certainly have a bow and learn how to use it. Before I spent time on a bow though, I would learn hand-to-hand weapons first.
 
One Spartan against the Odds

I read here a post about a deer struck with an arrow. And a post about whooping like an Indian! And the post about razor tipped broadheads.

Putting aside all the times in my life when I had sustained painful injuries and yes, gunshot wounds; should I ever have a blade tipped shaft sunk into my vitals, I'm going to admit to most likely I too will whoop like an Indian!
The prospect of haveing some wooden shaft sticking out of my gut would give me second thoughts on persuing the man who placed it there in the first place.

I'm not a deer, but a real Ranger, and I tell you, I would not run off when struck with an arrow, but I would strongly consider laying down, licking my wound, and desisting any further action until the medic arrives.

I know Bruce Willis would be ashamed of me for that, but if you are not defending youself against some home invasion bezerker, a pack of drug addicted fiends, one arrow might work better for you than most would think.

Please refer to the studies of Marshall & Sandow on one shot stops to the section where an unsharpened arrow is fired at low velocity and sticks dead in some ones sensitive parts. It must be the sticking barbed data where this perp has this shaft sticking out of his body and everywhere he moves that thing bumps into the walls, rolling along the ground, etc. -reminding him sharply that some where in his innards is a metal blade pressing his organs.
You may find that entry somewhere in the 90% category.

As to an accomplice perp who witnesses this harpooning of his friend first hand; he hears the squeal of the pig. He may, just may have second thoughts about continuing with the plan. Especially if the archer seeks cover behind a wall and quickly nocks another arrow. That accomplice may even fire off a few aggravation rounds at you archer, but stay covered, and knowing that you may have an arrow prepared for him, just as you sent into his friend may cause him to be somewhat more timid. I would think that looking down a broadhead shaft will effect the steadyness of his aim even. Keep you fighting mind set sir, and take the battle to the enemy.
And then too, there will be no close quarter muzzle blast from your firearm to contend with.
It may be that given such resolute resistance, those involved will decide the pickens in your castle are too difficult, and turn tail.

Returning from conjecture and fantasy; your will to fight will make a greater difference than most weapons you bear.
 
I know Bruce Willis would be ashamed of me for that, but if you are not defending youself against some home invasion bezerker, a pack of drug addicted fiends, one arrow might work better for you than most would think.
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Isn't this what most of us are worried about? If not that, what should we prepare for?

I submit that anyone who tried to use a bow against a moving target that was armed would have a gross disadvantage...let alone more than one moving target, or--God forbid--more than one moving armed target.

Then there's the whole problem of having to position the body just so to fire a bow, and the very slow aim and follow-up speed...for all the hassle of bow logistics, just go get a good used revolver or shotgun for HD.
 
Die Hards

Yes sir, Conwickt, I'm concerned about those most grim of happenings.

It would be somewhat of a disadvantage with the bow to be sure.
Remember that with the semi auto that haveing your ejection port too close to a wall or object may cause malfunction to eject.
Hitting a moving target with a handgun can also approach "gross disadvantage." Even with the capacity of repeated shots.

This man would be at less of a disadvantage with most firearms -yes.

But he would have a "fight'n chance" even with a bow.

Have you ever had a large wooden splinter in your finger sir?

What we are talking about is a subject of many variations with multitudes of solutions.
 
You can forget about the BG standing there contemplating the arrow sticking out of his mid-section.

A modern compound hunting bow will put a broadhead arrow completely through a deer from an oblique angle, and stick it several inches in the ground on the other side.

rcmodel
 
IMHO throwing knives or razorsharp shuriken
would be quite good for home defense.
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Not really. Byron and I have lots of experience throwing bo and senban shuriken and throwing knives. Byron, in fact, is the only person I know aside from high-ranking Bujinkan dan holder Bud Malstrom who is fairly reliably dangerous with a thrown knife.

Byron uses a Remington 870, AR-15, or registered FA Uzi for home defense. If those somehow aren't within reach, he'll be holding a 1911. Personally, I wouldn't feel totally helpless with a baseball, ball bearing, or billiard ball inside my apartment, but I wouldn't choose those things if I could get my hands on any firearm other than a single-shot .22 rifle.

Mr. Thomas, I understand and appreciate your point about will to fight, but the short version is "use a firearm if you have access to one".

Regards,

John
 
Shortly after this thread began, I researched the longbow as a military weapon. Much to my surprise, I read an unusual account of a longbow used by a British officer, who was an archery enthusiast, during the Battle of France in 1940. This offficer killed a German soldier with his bow. Now, all bows are not the equal of longbows. Neither would I prefer a bow or crossbow to a 12 gauge shotgun. Still, James Thomas makes a good point that a powerful bow or crossbow might not prove as absurd as some might think. At least, this is something to think about.


Timthinker
 
A bow is a ranged weapon that's not much count as a CQ tool - usually tall (wide with crossbows), kinda slow to deploy. It could do the job, but it's cumbersome.
Get a boarding pike. :cool:
 
Addendum

Mr. Shirley -thanks for your courteous reply. As usual, I find it difficult in my posts to be fully clear on what I am stating.
I suppose I should have come right out and declared the use a firearm first concept, but I thought that was a given.

Rcmodel -I tried in my posts to qualify that the bow could be one that was say in the fourty pound force draw weight for example, (my own hunting bow is rated at 41. I find it adequate for deer), thought the more powerful ones will propel an arrow completely through a deer or human, as you said.
Rcm; I was thinking that this poster might not have one of the more modern powerful bows; he doesn't state.
And so my post about an arrow sticking out from the body.

Sir, it was my thought that perhaps one impaled in the body would be more of a "stopper" by way of the mental aspect of the shaft interfering with the free movement of this perp, than one that had passed clean through and now he must deal with a nasty but unfettered puncture wound.
Sort of like when you get a fish hook snagged in your thumb. It grabs your attention more so than say a similar size knife laceration does.
Like Moby Dick with a harpoon in him.
 
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I'm just "John", if you please. :)

I absolutely believe attitude is the single most important thing, so I agree with you, there. I also believe there are a few (if rare) cases where a bow might be more effective than more conventional weapons.

John
 
A longbow would be rather unwieldy in all but the largest of houses but I imagine you could probably get a reasonably compact compound bow. A cross bow would be a maybe but it has the advantage of staying cocked once readied unlike a regular bow which must be held so. Broad heads would be a must with either as field points really are not made for causing injury but easy removal from a target. The only advantage I can see a bow having over a pistol is against a target wearing soft body armor, in which case you probably have bigger problems to deal with.

Personally I would go with a heavy tower shield and short sword or spear, but that maybe due to playing too much D&D lately.
 
Personally, worse comes to worse and I had access to no other weapon? I'd rather grab a standard, old, police nightstick! Rodney King style.

Or an asp or a blackjack. You can't go wrong unless your attacker is armed.
 
can we agree on:

Instead of having just bare hands,
It´s good to have a bow for a first ranged response
to the intruder and then grab the good old nail-club
for whacking the guy?


basically it´s about shocking/distracting the attacker
with anything, arrow, shuriken, thrown bottle, pepperspray
before you hit him over the head with the mace.....

shock. Then go in for the kill.

(..that´s the martial arts practice i know)
 
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