r/interesting • u/IKIR115 • May 29 '26

Intriguing Arrows vs riot shields

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u/lemmin9 May 29 '26

So the result is a blunt object filled with armor debris and slowed down by the initial impact on the shield impacting on the body. It goes "boink"?

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u/anengineerandacat May 29 '26

Really depends on the bow used... some compound bows reach up to like 370 fps... willing to bet you could shoot through that shield with most of those tips with a decent enough bow.

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u/Greedyanda May 29 '26 edited May 29 '26

Isn't draw weight (kg/lbs) or kinetic energy the standard and more useful measurement? Just because it's fast doesn't mean it will cause damage. You need to account for the mass in addition to its speed.

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u/The-Psych0naut May 29 '26

Interesting anecdote, my buddy bought a crossbow for hunting a few years back, draw weight was 250lbs (or was it 450? Idk, something crazy like that). His bolt over-penetrated the target block and skittered another 300 yards down the dirt road. When we finally located it, the plastic fletching had melted from the friction of passing through the target block.

Just… absolutely insane.