Third video in Tod Cutler’s fantastic Arrows Vs. Armor series. They are doing some amazing work answering the question “how well did armor work?”
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Is the answer anything other than “pretty damn well against the weapons it was worn against”?
TV and movies often depict armor as if it’s little better than clothing, as if it wasn’t abandoned as soon as practical counter was developed. (And then re-invented as a guard against shrapnel and very-small arms…l
It’s really a lot more in depth and interesting. In this one, they shot a lot of arrows against a target in brigandine, mail, and arming doublet with arm armor and gauntlets. Thanks to the volume of arrows shot, there were hits on basically every bit of it, including one hit to a eye slit in the salet.
I’d like to see how it does against modern compound hunting bows and crossbows (my guess is not so great).
Funny enough, they tested something similar. They got a modified compound bow to push the same archer and he shot a replica 15th century breast plate. He also used a 70 pound compound bow to shoot the breastplate several times.
Wow, 130 lbs is nuts! I’m really surprised that didn’t go through. Heavier arrows and different tips might’ve helped, but still, damn.
How did the crossbow do?
