Over the years I have never touched or shot a bow – not really. However, I have managed to gather detailed information about bows, arrows, and the damage they do from a variety of first and second hand sources, and I thought that it would be a good idea to give you all a condensed (but still, I have a sneaking feeling, quite long) run down of my information on the subject.
Also, I (and everyone else, too, I expect) would be very grateful for anyone else to give their knowledge on the subject. Maybe even someone who has actually shot a bow could post!
I am definitely not going to be able to write everything I know into a post today, even if I condense it, so I shall just let it suffice it to write down a few interesting facts and post more later.
An arrow (or a bullet, for that matter) to the shoulder is not actually a 'safe' wound, although many stories portray it like that. In reality, the shoulder is a complicated mesh of bones, tendons, and arteries, and much of it cannot be fixed completely by a doctor after being broken or smashed. It is also easy to die from a wound to the shoulder or arm if a large enough artery is cut.
A shot to the head is not necessarily fatal, because the arrow almost never actually penetrates the skull unless it goes through the eyes (in which case it is usually fatal). If a doctor can remove the arrow and, sometimes, relieve pressure through trephining, the injury can in some cases actually turn out to be fairly harmless. One man had the arrow removed by a surgeon, sneezed, got up, and was perfectly fine except for having to be treated for a headache.
There are special arrows specifically for the purpose of cutting ropes. The arrow head has a sickle-moon shape, with the the two points curving out from the end of the arrow like a cow's horns. (If you can't visualize that, I can try to elaborate.) The arrow is shot at a rope, the sharpened blade of the arrow head catches the arrow in its curve, and, hopefully, cuts it. I would imagine it would require a fairly skilled bowman to shoot accurately enough to actually cut a rope, however...
The Hun warriors (I don't remember how many of them, or when, or where) wore silk blouses while in battle because when they were shot with an arrow, the arrow would find it difficult to penetrate the silk, and it would be shoved unbroken into the body along with arrow, making it easier to remove the arrow.
So what do y'all know about arrows, bows, and arrow wounds? Has anyone shot a bow? Has anyone studied them?
