Ballistic testing of historical weapons

Author(s): Thom Richardson

Year: 1998

Summary

J. Whittaker: Reports velocity tests on variety of weapons including atlatl, sling, bow, crossbow, early guns. Atlatl velocity: average 15.82 m/sec (35.47 mph) max 17.9 m/sec. Compared to spear 12.5 m/sec, slings and bows in 30-40s m/sec, arquebus bullet ca 400 m/sec. [But no info at all given on the atlatl, or the thrower, and these velocities seem really low, not enough better than hand thrown spear, see Whittaker + Kamp - our velocities 20-25 m/sec. So did they really know what they were doing with an atlatl?]

Cite this Record

Ballistic testing of historical weapons. Thom Richardson. Royal Armouries Yearbook. 3: 50-52. 1998 ( tDAR id: 415995)

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

Keywords

General
Atlatl • bow & arrow • crossbow • sling • Spear • Weapon

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): EXARC Experimental Archaeology Collection Manager

Record Identifiers

ExArc Id(s): 2249

Notes

Rights & Attribution: The information in this record was originally compiled by Dr. Roeland Paardekooper, EXARC Director.