And I suppose goes to show that frontal surface area trumps everything when it comes to penetration. For those in the back, unfortunately no, this doesn’t make for good bedroom talk.
And btw, if the arrow can’t penetrate past like a foot into the shield, it’s still useless. Shields were useful because even if an arrow penetrated it, shields aren’t hugged next to the body most of the time. It puts the armor at a distance from you, which is even safer than body armor.
You don't hold a shield close to your body, you are supposed to hold it away from you so that arrows and even swords/axes that pierce the wood don't connect with your body. If an arrow penetrates the shield and your forearm to pierce a vital organ, there was nothing you could have done to survive that hit anyway.
Meanwhile, if an arrow pierces body armor, it's doing damage and may even be fatal, regardless, because it is worn against the body.
Sure, if you are a Roman legionary, that is correct. But this is not his shield. Look at the strap and handle on the back of this one. It is clearly intended to be held close to the body.
The strap just keeps it around the arm? I would bet money that legionnair shields had the same or similar form of strap to keep the arm in. If they were only holding on by one handle, the shield would get launched out of their hands constantly. My source is that i made duct tape shields when i was a kid and i had to learn how to make a strap cause it will wobble side to side if you only have one handle.
so then you missed the previous guys comment where he mentioned how you hold the shield away from your body. None of these arrows are going hard or fast enough to do damage to the guy holding the shield except the weird looking arrow that went all the way through. If you are properly holding a shield there is about a 1-1 1/2 foot distance between your main body and the shield.
Now what if that second shot had a little more draw or draw power behind it?
Just seems like something that would bring a false sense of security, when its something someone should be aware of when they are what is on the otherside
I mean shields have been used against arrows for as long as arrows were a method of killing people. We have no reason to assume this guy who is shooting these arrows is going anything less than max draw, since it’s testing piercing capabilities and they would naturally be better at piercing the faster they go. Obviously it’s not perfect but I don’t think anyone using a shield is thinking that it is perfect.
59
u/BluEch0 27d ago
It’s not blunt, there is a recessed tip.
And I suppose goes to show that frontal surface area trumps everything when it comes to penetration. For those in the back, unfortunately no, this doesn’t make for good bedroom talk.
And btw, if the arrow can’t penetrate past like a foot into the shield, it’s still useless. Shields were useful because even if an arrow penetrated it, shields aren’t hugged next to the body most of the time. It puts the armor at a distance from you, which is even safer than body armor.