Bows and arrows can be as hazardous as firearms. At least one doesn’t shoot oneself with a bow whilst cleaning it. When in 6th grade archery class, I witnessed someone loose an arrow at a near 90 degrees up. There was quite a bit of yelling and screaming of “Watch out!” The arrow fell, nicking the heel of a classmate. Your story of the woman pegging her laundry jogged that memory. I participated in college archery. My partner skipped one of his arrows over the top of the butt. It flew for another 50 yards. Stuck right in the side of a brand new Mustang. The Grover parked directly in front of a “No Parking” sign that warned of archery practice. Never saw that Mustang downrange again. Oh, for a camera! Thanks again for a great presentation. Cheers!
The more modern archery equipment is that much more dangerous. I literally almost died when a compound bow that was brand new exploded. Part of the limb lacerated my jugular and I nearly bled out. Luckily my neighbor was shooting with me and put his finger in the hole which literally kept me alive. After that I only shoot traditional equipment. Great video Kevin ❤ history squad.
@@thehistorysquad absolutely appreciate that Kev thanks for all the great content. But yes the newer bows have that much more power and stored up energy so that much more that can definitely go wrong. Today's compounds are propelling arrows 400 plus feet per second which is absolutely insane. I'll stick to my longbow 😂
Man that's crazy! Glad to hear you ended up being alright. I've shot modern compound bows since I was 12, at summer camp and with my family and nothing like that ever happened but it's a sobering feeling to realize that could have happened to me or any of my family. It's just a freak incident and could happen to anyone. Nowadays, I shoot guns instead of bows.
As a newly graduated history and museum studies in the US these videos are amazing and captivating. I aspire to be able to be a story teller like you one day.
Not quite an arrow, but in 1978, lawn darts were popular. Back then they had a sharpened point, not the blunted ends they have now. A bunch of us kids were playing with them when brothers started to argue about whose turn it was. It became very heated when one brother tried to run away with a couple of the darts. The other brother then threw a dart overhand very hard at the fleeing brother. It hit him in the back, in the left shoulder, driving it to the hilt. We thought he was going to die, it was very traumatic. He survived, but was in hospital for the whole summer.
That wasn't the worst thing they did to each other. A few years later there was a similar argument over a single shot 12 gauge shotgun. In that instance, the brother who had been impaled by a lawn dart shot his brother full of birdshot. It was also non lethal. The police were never involved in any of these episodes.
@@thehistorysquad A good friend and former roommate has a .22 short embedded in his sternum. As a kid,he and a friend were playing cowboys and Indians with live ammunition. He zigged when he should have zagged,and then said Ow that hurts. Anywhere but the sternum,the ending likely would have been different. Long summers days and unsupervised boys. Just about every kid I knew had lesser stories than that,but we survived our childhoods with more luck than prior planning. I still have a small burn scar from molten saltpetre ,left hand. Homemade gunpowder. Now you might ask,just what was I doing...... Well I survived my childhood.
Thanks Kevin. It hopefully will remind people that safety should always be foremost, when using anything that sends a projectile at high speed. Firearm safety, bow safety, slingshots, anything like that can kill. Cheers from Texas.
I have a connection with the shooting of king William Rufus. It was my ancestor, one Purkis, a local charcoal burner, who helped load the body of the king, onto his cart, and took the king into the town of Winchester.
The story about the lady and the laundry reminds me of a story about my father. He was a very kind but also very stern and serious father, so perhaps this is why I like to tell this story. I like to think of him as he was at this point in his life. He had gotten a pellet gun from somewhere, either he bought it or it was a gift. In any case, he had it in his room on the second floor of his parents house one day and started to use the neighbors laundry for target practice. Great fun and he could tell what he hit and where. However, when the neighbor came out to collect the bed sheets on the line and found them full of holes, there was a problem.
Those guns are so dangerous. I was strict with my boys they would go on at me to get them (pellet gun). But the area we live in is too built up. Thank God it was just laundry your dad shot at, and there wasn't an unseen child standing there.
My father did something similar when he was a kid, but with his stuffed animals! Apparently he would line them up and use them for target practice. He forgot all about this until years later, when I was little and found a pellet in one of his old toys while playing with it. 😂
My kids are starting to get into archery. I made very clear the rules about not going to the target when people are shooting and not shooting when there are people at the target. It’s no joke.
Shared your experience , not with an arrow, but with a dart. Hit my playmate right in the head. Nothing serious (thank god) but it haunts me now for more than 50 yrs.
Wow, that brings back a memory from my childhood in the 1960's. I do not remember who shot the arrow but my friends and I were using our bows in a friends backyard and one got shot almost straight up. What seemed like a long time, the arrow came down and through the roof of a neighbors swimming pool enclosure. When the arrow passed through the metal roof it made such a loud sound that we all went running out of sight. We never did that again and never asked for the arrow back and thank the Lord that no one was hurt. As always, I enjoyed how you presented this video 😀
@@spacewater7 Yeah, that was back at the age of ten, children do not generally take safety and consequences into consideration and we/my young group would never have asked our parents first as they would have spoiled the fun....Thankfully we and others survived those years ;-)
I was reading a few journal articles about Tudor longbow archery in a spare moment at my university's library, as I was the president of the archery club there and a fairly serious period longbow archer. In an article that also included the account of the man shot while sleeping, I found a (sadly very short) summary of a coroner's report about one Henry Pert, gentleman, who managed to accidentally shoot himself through the head with his own longbow. Apparently, he was shooting with under-length arrows (as dangerous now as it was then, by the way!) and overdrew the arrow before releasing it. He managed to, by some miracle, avoid shooting himself through the wrist, but the point of the arrow lodged in the grip of the longbow instead, with the bowstring still in the nock and the full weight of the bow behind it. This was apparently interesting enough to warrant a closer inspection, so he turned the bow around for a closer look, the arrow slipped out (or broke through) at just the correct moment, and he shot himself right through the head. Source: Gunn, Steven. “ARCHERY PRACTICE IN EARLY TUDOR ENGLAND.” Past & Present, no. 209 (2010): 53-81.
On a more darkly amusing note, Gunn also records the case of "Thomas Curteys of Bildeston, Suffolk" whose last words were recorded as "Nowe let me se howe thou canst shott at my hatt". You can guess what happened to him.
I'm an avid archer and oftentimes took friends out to shoot. Being from America, NONE of my friends truly took the bow seriously. Luckily no mistakes were ever made under my watch, but I've sure had to replace a lot of arrows over the years. Anyway, awesome video as always. I'm glad you still have both eyes after that little mistake you shared with us.
I read about an MI deer hunter who died of blood loss after arrow brakes upon release and rips through his arm. Thank You for another great video "yeah" !
I wouldn't call myself anything but an amateur when it comes to archery, but the little experience I have didn't leave me any surprises in this video... I'd like to emphasize the two things I found the most dangerous: 1) idiots on the range (be they running in front of the target, behind it, or shooting into random directions) 2) shrapnel (arrows hitting something, or someone using a short arrow on a long bow and getting the tip stuck at the bow because he overdrew) Also, I find it quite noteworthy that sandbags protect from some quite serious firearms, but crossbows, longbows, and spear guns just don't care... They go through water and sand and impale anything in their path... Also, Kevlar doesn't offer much protection on its own either!
Hi Kevin, I really enjoy your videos. I wanted to share a story that happened about a year ago, I was sitting outside on my back deck watching my neighbors kids with a bow and arrow. As I watched I saw the younger of the two recklessly shooting the bow and nearly striking his mother. So I decided then to go into the house and get my recurve bow and went outside. I asked the mother if I could show her son how to properly shoot a bow and arrow, which she appreciated that. I had set up a target about 15 yards and demonstrated to this young lad what an arrow can do and why he shouldn't be shooting the way he did. As a side note the mother loved the bow I have.
Hey Kev, great video! I thought I'd share an archery accident I've witnessed about 7 years ago. So, the school I was at was a part of a government summer camp program, and on one of the days there we had an archery practice. It was with those modern plastic bows and arrows (still sharp though). So, one of the girls in my class managed to shoot herself with an arrow. She hit a target's metal leg, the arrow arched, bounced back in almost a straight line, and managed to leave a fairly nasty cut on her shin. Luckily, she was ok, but after the incident, the instructor said that it was the first time he's ever heard of anyone shooting themselves with a bow. Hope it was an entertaining story, cheers!
I’ve just recently found your channel and I’m astonished how captivating and in depth all of your videos are, being from the US we hadn’t received much of any European history and now I can’t stop watching. I love all the outfits , props and funny jokes, I’m always looking forward to the next upload. keep up the amazing work
It may not mean much coming from a single random guy, but I really love your channel, I'm studying to someday be a teacher and I can only hope to be as cool as you when teaching lol
I wish you the best, my man, but you better start sitting in the freezer if you want to be as cool as Kevin Hicks. He's cooler than polar bear toenails.
Your comment means a lot, thank you & good luck in your career. Teaching is a tough one, but rewarding. I was lucky that I taught freelance, I was self employed and delivered history workshops in schools.......food for thought perhaps 👍🏻
As always, an excellent video, and gives a good view into the safety concerns when using bows. A story that was told to me a while ago by a colleague was that a neighbour of his was a recurve archer, who always used a 'clicker' (for those who don't know, that is a small length of metal which lies across your arrow, and when the point passes it, the metal comes off the point and strikes a plate behind, hence the 'click', which always ensures you are in the same place each time you release the arrow). Anyhow, this lady decided to try doing a bit of practice in her home, simply drawing the arrow to the same point and then lowering it again. However, it was a good day, and her window was open....and, being used to releasing when she heard the 'click', she drew the bow, the arrow came back, the clicker clicked...and she automatically loosed her arrow! The arrow shot through the open window, straight across the road and embedded itself in the front door directly across from her! Luckily there was no-one in the way, and she of course had some explaining to do, but someone could have been easily killed. Scary stuff indeed.
@@thehistorysquad Certainly was, Kevin, The lady in question was exceptionally lucky that no-one got injured or even killed. Sometimes I think it can also be a misconception as to the power of a bow, especially with regard to a longbow. When I was filmed using mine a few years ago for the Alnwick Castle advert, one of the production team wanted to kneel down in front of me with a camera to get an 'action' shot whilst I loosed an arrow. The team were surprised when I said 'no way' to that , and I had to explain that if the shot went wrong in any way (ie, arrow broke etc) the bloke might well be seriously injured. They opted for using a remotely operated camera instead, (which did indeed give an excellent shot) but I will never forget the 'ohhhh' sound of all the production crew as the arrow hit home in the target. Don't think they fully appreciated what a bow could do until that moment, and why I was so careful over it.
I was shot with an arrow when I was 12 years old - the trouble was I shot the arrow .I shot an arrow and it had tunnelled under the grass and I was looking for it - eventually I found it .While looking I must have trod on the arrow and it had a hairline crack - I never noticed - picked it up and shot the arrow again .Part went past my hand but part went straight into my hand - it left a piece of the shaft right up inside my hand - being 12 years old that scream must have woken the dead .I still have the scar now and that was 1962 .I still have a longbow - it's not the same one though .
People will often forget that just because its living history, doesn't mean that the weapons used aren't still weapons that can injure or kill someone. Some of the frontiersmen I have worked with use their long rifles to hunt later in the year. And they can take down a deer without too much trouble. Its also interesting how when a weapon is used in a sport people seem to forget that it's still dangerous. Even when they were the weapon of the day. Very nice video and did make me think of my own injuries when things haven't gone right with our muskets. (Flint can explode and it can cut, as does the touchhole flare and burn your cheek if you are too close.) Either way, good video and glad to see one with an undercurrent of a safety video.
Great video Kevin! That 20 minutes went by like it was two. Nearly every video you do regardless of length leaves me wanting more. You have an amazing gift as a story teller my brother.
Hi Kevin, Accident with archery... What a wonderful theme. We had one accident in our archery club... It was the day of the open door. There was a guy understanding nothing. Finaly the Instruktion says: Hey, you just hold it in this direction, and when i say now, you let it of. OK?....OK. He shouts NOW !!! ...AND HE LET IT OF... (But he let it of in front and got the bow into his face...)😂😂😂Aua.
@@thehistorysquad I do LARP which uses arrows with large foam heads and about 30lb pull bows. So normally quite safe. One event some must have had a cracked arrow. As they fired it the foam head fell off turning it into a real arrow.. Felt a slap on my neck and next thing I'm holding a bloody arrow and people around me were turning white. Luckily one of the guys taking part was an ex-battle field medic. The hospital staff all came to look at the wound.
@@davedunn3908 Wow, how incredibly lucky you were, and to have a medic on hand too 👍🏻 This video has revealed in the comments some real flukes, stuff you simply don't even imagine could happen.
Hi Kev, just watched this as I was away at the weekend to the annual Regimental Pilgrimage at NMA. Do you remember the old NI Training film It could be you, about ADs? The culprit was a red haired lad called Bradey. As it happened we had a red haired cook, so of course he was nicknamed Bradey. We was going to the rifle ranges to practise and he tagged along. Someone quipped to him, "Hey Bradey, you don't need to shoot anyone, just feed em!" He broke down in tears, so he got more stick. I grew up around small arms, joining the ACF at 13 and the regs at 17, but I've never fired a bow. Guess I never will now at the ripe old age of 69. Love to hear your stories, especially about Berlin because I served in BAOR at Hidesheim nd the closest I got to Berlin was Helmstedt.
@thehistorysquad I left in 77, so I was gone by then. The only time I had dealings with the RMP was when they came to see us acting as the enemy for a Regiment training for NI at our camp.
Never dreamed so much could go wrong. Ouch. There's a whole new meaning to the word Quiver when that crossbow bolt hits a bone! Very enlightening thehistorysquad.
Great video. Thanks Kevin. I can relate to nearly every mishap you mentioned with a bow and arrow including splitting another arrow stuck in a target. Hopefully your stories will avert someone from having a serious accident.
Fascinating stuff! I imagine there have been thousands of arrow injuries--that didn't lead to a death--never having been reported. When you consider how long and widespread the use of bow and arrow have been, it's inevitable.
Good video Kevin! I’ve had a few myself over the years. You are the first who has spoken of having a fletching through the hand as I did as a boy with my first boy. That gets one’s attention!!
Great video, really enjoyed it. When I was a kid growing up in the 60's in the northeast, we had a Rag & Bone man come round with a horse and flat bed trailer. For a bundle of old clothes you could get a bow and arrow, which more often than not the lads used to get, the very often got a goldfish, just like at the fair we used to visit.
That was narrated nicely. It´s pleasant to listen to the stories. When replicating a shot to find an arrow I prefer the spotter to be at the line where I stand. Wind drift can be surprising. I was on competitions where I had to aim at the neighboring target to hit mine. My accident without the sharp end of the arrow cost me a junk of flesh. I forgot my arm guard and botched a release. The nock point of the string ripped a piece of the size of half a hazelnut out of my forearm. It did not even hurt and took a couple of seconds to start bleeding. I still have the scar.
Fantastic! I just started with the SCA about a year ago, and I am in the target archery. And yes, we have to be very careful-but I learned to shoot guns when I was eight, and passed the Illinois firearms test when I was 9, shot a 20 gauge shotgun when I was 10- at clay pigeons. All without accident. And I am a civil war re-enactor, carrying a 58 caliber musket, and 44 caliber pistol (I serve Navy, we're armed to the teeth) and I always am vigilant on the battlefield, double-checking my safety, do I have the right elevation, am I far enough away, it all matters. Twenty-six years of experience helps, but is no guarantee. Same with shooting arrows. Take the time for safety. It matters. And yes, people do stupid things on the field, I heard of one guy that went out in front of the cannon which were loaded and ready to fire on the re-enactment field. At the time of the war, General Ewell was having to explain to an excited teen-age girl with information for him that she considered crucial, that she needed to get away from where the enemy guns were going to fire. Finally he gave up, and said, "Women, if it weren't for spiders and snakes they would make teriffic soldiers," or something to that effect. Considering that Ewell could also turn the air blue with his cursing, he probably said a great deal more as well.
This one got me thinking about my daughter and I practicing Archery in my garage. 35LB and 45LB re-curve bows with field points, what could possibly go wrong. 8 meters/25 feet. Two arrows went right through the steel lined fireproof door to my cellar/furnace room. WOW! I think of this every time Todd and others do an arrows verse armor test.
@@thehistorysquadindeed. I've always thought it odd that in the UK we have such tight gun laws while you can go on line and with no checks buy incredibly powerful crossbows. Just as deadly at close range.
Your wish is my command. Here are two videos I did, and there are more if you take a look in the 'Archery' playlist 😊 ruclips.net/video/i62ym1j82TQ/видео.html ruclips.net/video/3DDSLRXTNK4/видео.html
Your first story reminds me of an incident when I was a teenager. My friend Eric was messing around with my bow and arrows as we were tenting in the woods near my hometown. My bow looked like a toy. A light blue fiber glass thing with a bright red plastic handle, but in fact it was a pretty strong recurve. And as you did in your backyard, Eric shot an arrow vertically into the sky. A little aside sat a French exchange pupil named Benoit on an air mattress. For some reason he stood up and a split second later with a loud “plopp”the down coming arrow pierced through the mattress in the exact spot where he sat just a moment before. This was a close one, but we all laughed till we fell (careless young idiots that we were). I laughed too until I realized that it was my mattress.
~ 7:12 for the injury, what an ironically fitting transport to hospital! Basically "Right boys, strap him to the cart and let's get on with it!" 🤣 I know Dr's do it often for the training/experience in these rare cases but we all know all the crew got called down for the reason of "come look at this! you'll probably never see it again!" (medieval dressed arrow casualty)
Excellent as always Kevin thanks. I'm surprised you didn't mention King Harold's last words at Hastings though, "watch that bugger with the bow and arrow or he'll have someone's eye out"
Hey Dave, I haven't shot since last year but after a long while I finally signed up at the local range today and plan to do some shooting there. And, if Julie'll let me, get myself a new bow 😃
Excellent video as always Kevin, i had an "incident" a good many years ago with a crossbow in a field which resulted in a very angry man striding across said field with bolt in hand, which i had just watched disappear from view, easily clearing 200m! Narrowly missed his wife lounging in the garden apparently. Valuable lesson learned that day but hey, at least i got my bolt back.
Makes me happy to practice alone on my block of 40 acres ... I've never been to a club and would be nervous with other archers around...oops.. sorry..😢😢 I'm doing traditional ,recurve. Loosed 90 arrows this morning. Love your stories.. we've got to be careful with our " toys" and this was a good reminder of that.Regards from Australia 🌏
I love archery and many a time I have been aiming and thought about the tension going through that bow and what would happen if it were to snap. It never even occurred to me that the arrow could explode, new fear unlocked. All that aside, I absolutely love your videos, you are a fantastic story teller. ❤
05:54 Kevin just mentions casually that the exploded bow limb gave him a concussion. Did you had to to go the hospital, what was the aftermath of it? So i imagine a bow snapping can permanently damage the archer or outright kill him.
Just a yank here. Thank you Kevin I could listen to you talk all day. Your just so knowledgeable about your craft . Thank you for the history insight and please keep making more videos
my first time with a real bow at an archery club I found that the bow was a bit light and that I could draw it further than the arrow length. That meant that the arrow could easily come unnocked at full draw and the field tip could hover right before my left hand. If I had been a little bit too eager to let go the arrow would have launched straight through my hand.
I had something similiar with a photo journalist in the late 80's at a reenactment event in Noerdlingen/Germany - 30 years War -, but with a cannon. That guy wanted to take a picture when the cannon fired, but from the front, we told him not to since it's extremely dangerous even without a ball in the barrel, so we moved the cannon a few times and that idiot moved with us. Eventually, fed up mightily with that idiot, I put the lintstock to the touch-hole. He got his "picture" and was thrown by the blast right into the mud along with a nice concussion. That taught him a lesson he didn't forget in a jiffy, and he bought us later some beers as an appology.
@@thehistorysquad - But just imagine what would be happening in this day and age? They would most likely sue you and the Government would ban all such events because of morons that are hell bend on a Darwin Award.
I love your videos. I love medieval history. I've pinned on my map the castles you've shown me so I can one day visit. What a wonderful teacher and educator. Thank you.
I enjoy these videos more than any show or movie, thank you good sir for sharing these with us all... each one is sooo interesting and you have a way with words
Greetings once again from nova Scotia, thanks Kevin, I really enjoyed this one. I love the history behind the stories, the reality of it all, top shelf. Please keep bringing awesome videos, and as always best regards, Arthur
I once tried archery, and scored a bullseye with my first shot. However, it was in my opponent’s target. In drawing back to shoot, I had inadvertently swung to one side, and failed to correct before releasing 😬
When I was in high school, I was on the track team.... I was a thrower... a javelin thrower... we didn't use rubber tipped javelins in Oregon... they were legit throwing spears... Well... one night at practice the sprinters finished their workout around the back side of the track ... just as we were doing full strength throws... one of the sprinters finished and not paying attention, casually started walking backwards right across the middle of the field.... this guy also happened to the be the star running back on our football team... Not seeing him... I loosed my javelin as he began across the field... a high arching throw of about 150 feet .. about half the length of the football field.. everyone saw it going right for him... everyone that is, except him... but everyone was silent. . He turned around just in time to see it fly right over his shoulder, inches from the side of his head.... Ya that was scary.
@thehistorysquad ya no kidding! That could have been the end of metal tipped javelins in Oreon! Not to mention a lifetime of therapy for me after killing classmate and friend haha... it was just as much his fault as mine tho.. he should have known better than to walk right across the middle of the javelin field. As I recall he got the brunt of the scolding.... but there definitely was some scolding..
Thanks for sharing Kevin. I haven't had the misfortune of any serious accidents with archery. While shooting with smaller arrows than I should have I had a near accident. So I tossed them, they were cheap with plastic fletching so it was a completely acceptable loss especially in terms of safety. Luckily I wasn't hurt at all, and my bow was also undamaged.
Hi Kev, Dave here from Bristol. We were talking a while ago about Ravenbeak Yew bows. Something that is worth looking at are the range of pyramidal flatbows that Pip Bickerstaffe makes. I had Pip make me a 48# one a few years ago. It is Single growth ring Hickory backed Osage with an Osage core. Great to shoot and very much like a Longbow. They are fast and smooth to shoot and are quite forgiving. Just a thought mate! Still loving your videos and am so glad I became a Patrion member. Take care Sir, Dave.
Hi Dave, thanks buddy but I couldn't help myself, I just bought Olwen from Ravenbeak. She arrived on Friday and she's a beaut, laminated with snakeskin. I'm 68 now and needed something easy to shoot, she's about #40, I can't wait to try her out. I'll do a little video for Patreon to show her off 😃
@thehistorysquad Can't wait Kev!! Laminated with snake skin eh? Sounds posh!! I find 40# a lovely weight to shoot. Most of my bows are 48# and my Yew is 52#. I hope you have great fun with it. Best wishes, Dave.
Hi Kevin, thank you for the many videos about the middle ages and especially with the deep dives into the average foot soldier and archer. You and my father have inspired me to save up, research and hopefully join a re-enactment group in Conwy Castle with being an archer. You may get this question a lot but where is the best place to get your kit? It looks very high quality and quite realistic. Many thanks!
Hi there, thanks for your comment and question. Much of my clothing I now make myself, but a good place to start is 'Get Dressed for Battle' and TORM (the original re-enactors market) also I believe there's a re-enactors group or market group on Facebook you could look into. Then Wales Archery Specialists for your bow & archery equipment Good luck 👍🏻
![The Battle of Shrewsbury | Hundred Years War [Episode 12]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/GNeMenj3VHU/mqdefault.jpg)
![The Battle of Shrewsbury | Hundred Years War [Episode 12]](/img/tr.png)
Bows and arrows can be as hazardous as firearms. At least one doesn’t shoot oneself with a bow whilst cleaning it.
When in 6th grade archery class, I witnessed someone loose an arrow at a near 90 degrees up. There was quite a bit of yelling and screaming of “Watch out!” The arrow fell, nicking the heel of a classmate. Your story of the woman pegging her laundry jogged that memory.
I participated in college archery. My partner skipped one of his arrows over the top of the butt. It flew for another 50 yards. Stuck right in the side of a brand new Mustang. The Grover parked directly in front of a “No Parking” sign that warned of archery practice. Never saw that Mustang downrange again. Oh, for a camera!
Thanks again for a great presentation.
Cheers!
Haha, indeed 👍🏻
The more modern archery equipment is that much more dangerous. I literally almost died when a compound bow that was brand new exploded. Part of the limb lacerated my jugular and I nearly bled out. Luckily my neighbor was shooting with me and put his finger in the hole which literally kept me alive. After that I only shoot traditional equipment. Great video Kevin ❤ history squad.
WOW!! That's crazy, I'm glad you're okay and had a quick thinking neighbour 👍🏻
@@thehistorysquad absolutely appreciate that Kev thanks for all the great content. But yes the newer bows have that much more power and stored up energy so that much more that can definitely go wrong. Today's compounds are propelling arrows 400 plus feet per second which is absolutely insane. I'll stick to my longbow 😂
@@WolfSpiritOutdoors Absolutely, me too! I've just ordered a new one 😃
I'm stunned. Glad you weren't killed. I would never have thought that drawing a bow could lead to a fatal accident. 😮
Man that's crazy! Glad to hear you ended up being alright. I've shot modern compound bows since I was 12, at summer camp and with my family and nothing like that ever happened but it's a sobering feeling to realize that could have happened to me or any of my family. It's just a freak incident and could happen to anyone. Nowadays, I shoot guns instead of bows.
As a newly graduated history and museum studies in the US these videos are amazing and captivating. I aspire to be able to be a story teller like you one day.
That's very kind of you thank you & good luck 👍🏻
I think you have several decades to get there, but keep it up!
Lol enjoy your student loan payback. Everybody is a historian nowadays
Not quite an arrow, but in 1978, lawn darts were popular. Back then they had a sharpened point, not the blunted ends they have now. A bunch of us kids were playing with them when brothers started to argue about whose turn it was. It became very heated when one brother tried to run away with a couple of the darts. The other brother then threw a dart overhand very hard at the fleeing brother. It hit him in the back, in the left shoulder, driving it to the hilt. We thought he was going to die, it was very traumatic. He survived, but was in hospital for the whole summer.
That's an awful thing to happen.
Just awful :(
That wasn't the worst thing they did to each other. A few years later there was a similar argument over a single shot 12 gauge shotgun. In that instance, the brother who had been impaled by a lawn dart shot his brother full of birdshot. It was also non lethal. The police were never involved in any of these episodes.
Wow 😳
@@thehistorysquad A good friend and former roommate has a .22 short embedded in his sternum. As a kid,he and a friend were playing cowboys and Indians with live ammunition. He zigged when he should have zagged,and then said Ow that hurts. Anywhere but the sternum,the ending likely would have been different. Long summers days and unsupervised boys. Just about every kid I knew had lesser stories than that,but we survived our childhoods with more luck than prior planning. I still have a small burn scar from molten saltpetre ,left hand. Homemade gunpowder. Now you might ask,just what was I doing......
Well I survived my childhood.
Thanks Kevin. It hopefully will remind people that safety should always be foremost, when using anything that sends a projectile at high speed. Firearm safety, bow safety, slingshots, anything like that can kill. Cheers from Texas.
Absolutely, cheers & thanks as ever for your support 👍🏻
We are taught that we should NEVER point a weapon even in jest. The only exception being if it is at the enemy.
Yes, they will keel
@@jonpaul3868 Their prime objective is to kill.
@@jonpaul3868 🤣
I have a connection with the shooting of king William Rufus. It was my ancestor, one Purkis, a local charcoal burner, who helped load the body of the king, onto his cart, and took the king into the town of Winchester.
Wow, that's fabulous 👍🏻
The story about the lady and the laundry reminds me of a story about my father. He was a very kind but also very stern and serious father, so perhaps this is why I like to tell this story. I like to think of him as he was at this point in his life. He had gotten a pellet gun from somewhere, either he bought it or it was a gift. In any case, he had it in his room on the second floor of his parents house one day and started to use the neighbors laundry for target practice. Great fun and he could tell what he hit and where. However, when the neighbor came out to collect the bed sheets on the line and found them full of holes, there was a problem.
I know a guy who tested a K98K mauser in his garden. a recochet perforated the wife s panties on the clothes line.
Those guns are so dangerous. I was strict with my boys they would go on at me to get them (pellet gun). But the area we live in is too built up. Thank God it was just laundry your dad shot at, and there wasn't an unseen child standing there.
😂
My father did something similar when he was a kid, but with his stuffed animals! Apparently he would line them up and use them for target practice. He forgot all about this until years later, when I was little and found a pellet in one of his old toys while playing with it. 😂
My kids are starting to get into archery. I made very clear the rules about not going to the target when people are shooting and not shooting when there are people at the target. It’s no joke.
If you think it's age appropriate, they should watch the video too. Never shoot up 👍🏻
Shared your experience , not with an arrow, but with a dart. Hit my playmate right in the head. Nothing serious (thank god) but it haunts me now for more than 50 yrs.
😩 ouch
Wow, that brings back a memory from my childhood in the 1960's. I do not remember who shot the arrow but my friends and I were using our bows in a friends backyard and one got shot almost straight up. What seemed like a long time, the arrow came down and through the roof of a neighbors swimming pool enclosure. When the arrow passed through the metal roof it made such a loud sound that we all went running out of sight. We never did that again and never asked for the arrow back and thank the Lord that no one was hurt. As always, I enjoyed how you presented this video 😀
A close call indeed 👍🏻 thanks for watching Mark
Yeah never shoot unless you can see your target 🎯 Makes me think of Brandon Herrera's Darwin Award series.
@@spacewater7 Yeah, that was back at the age of ten, children do not generally take safety and consequences into consideration and we/my young group would never have asked our parents first as they would have spoiled the fun....Thankfully we and others survived those years ;-)
I was reading a few journal articles about Tudor longbow archery in a spare moment at my university's library, as I was the president of the archery club there and a fairly serious period longbow archer. In an article that also included the account of the man shot while sleeping, I found a (sadly very short) summary of a coroner's report about one Henry Pert, gentleman, who managed to accidentally shoot himself through the head with his own longbow. Apparently, he was shooting with under-length arrows (as dangerous now as it was then, by the way!) and overdrew the arrow before releasing it. He managed to, by some miracle, avoid shooting himself through the wrist, but the point of the arrow lodged in the grip of the longbow instead, with the bowstring still in the nock and the full weight of the bow behind it. This was apparently interesting enough to warrant a closer inspection, so he turned the bow around for a closer look, the arrow slipped out (or broke through) at just the correct moment, and he shot himself right through the head.
Source: Gunn, Steven. “ARCHERY PRACTICE IN EARLY TUDOR ENGLAND.” Past & Present, no. 209 (2010): 53-81.
Oh my goodness, I wish I'd have known about that one. An incredible story. Wow! 👍🏻
On a more darkly amusing note, Gunn also records the case of "Thomas Curteys of Bildeston, Suffolk" whose last words were recorded as "Nowe let me se howe thou canst shott at my hatt". You can guess what happened to him.
Historical equivalent of looking down the barrel when your gun jams!
I'm an avid archer and oftentimes took friends out to shoot. Being from America, NONE of my friends truly took the bow seriously. Luckily no mistakes were ever made under my watch, but I've sure had to replace a lot of arrows over the years.
Anyway, awesome video as always. I'm glad you still have both eyes after that little mistake you shared with us.
I read about an MI deer hunter who died of blood loss after arrow brakes upon release and rips through his arm.
Thank You for another great video "yeah" !
Oh yeah 👍
I wouldn't call myself anything but an amateur when it comes to archery, but the little experience I have didn't leave me any surprises in this video...
I'd like to emphasize the two things I found the most dangerous:
1) idiots on the range (be they running in front of the target, behind it, or shooting into random directions)
2) shrapnel (arrows hitting something, or someone using a short arrow on a long bow and getting the tip stuck at the bow because he overdrew)
Also, I find it quite noteworthy that sandbags protect from some quite serious firearms, but crossbows, longbows, and spear guns just don't care... They go through water and sand and impale anything in their path... Also, Kevlar doesn't offer much protection on its own either!
A great comment, thank you 👍🏻
Hi Kevin, I really enjoy your videos. I wanted to share a story that happened about a year ago, I was sitting outside on my back deck watching my neighbors kids with a bow and arrow. As I watched I saw the younger of the two recklessly shooting the bow and nearly striking his mother. So I decided then to go into the house and get my recurve bow and went outside. I asked the mother if I could show her son how to properly shoot a bow and arrow, which she appreciated that. I had set up a target about 15 yards and demonstrated to this young lad what an arrow can do and why he shouldn't be shooting the way he did. As a side note the mother loved the bow I have.
Ah, that's nice. I hope that lad took it all on board 👍🏻
As always Kevin your stories are so well said you feel like your are standing there watching it happen. Just amazing.
Cheers 👍🏻
Just found this channel and im hooked. Really good work here. Appreciate the content
That's great to hear, welcome!
Love your show!!😊
Fantastic video as always Kevin. You are such a brilliant story teller. Have ever thought about writing a book on your experiences, i would buy it.
As it so happens ......
Hey Kev, great video!
I thought I'd share an archery accident I've witnessed about 7 years ago.
So, the school I was at was a part of a government summer camp program, and on one of the days there we had an archery practice.
It was with those modern plastic bows and arrows (still sharp though).
So, one of the girls in my class managed to shoot herself with an arrow.
She hit a target's metal leg, the arrow arched, bounced back in almost a straight line, and managed to leave a fairly nasty cut on her shin.
Luckily, she was ok, but after the incident, the instructor said that it was the first time he's ever heard of anyone shooting themselves with a bow.
Hope it was an entertaining story, cheers!
Gosh, that's one accident I haven't heard of before. Crazy 👍🏻
I’ve just recently found your channel and I’m astonished how captivating and in depth all of your videos are, being from the US we hadn’t received much of any European history and now I can’t stop watching. I love all the outfits , props and funny jokes, I’m always looking forward to the next upload. keep up the amazing work
Wow, thank you! That's very kind 👍🏻
Loved your stories. Rough and scary but interesting!
It may not mean much coming from a single random guy, but I really love your channel, I'm studying to someday be a teacher and I can only hope to be as cool as you when teaching lol
I wish you the best, my man, but you better start sitting in the freezer if you want to be as cool as Kevin Hicks. He's cooler than polar bear toenails.
That's so nice. Good luck!😊
@@michaelhowell2326 😂😂
@@van7242 thanks 😄
Your comment means a lot, thank you & good luck in your career. Teaching is a tough one, but rewarding. I was lucky that I taught freelance, I was self employed and delivered history workshops in schools.......food for thought perhaps 👍🏻
As always, an excellent video, and gives a good view into the safety concerns when using bows. A story that was told to me a while ago by a colleague was that a neighbour of his was a recurve archer, who always used a 'clicker' (for those who don't know, that is a small length of metal which lies across your arrow, and when the point passes it, the metal comes off the point and strikes a plate behind, hence the 'click', which always ensures you are in the same place each time you release the arrow). Anyhow, this lady decided to try doing a bit of practice in her home, simply drawing the arrow to the same point and then lowering it again. However, it was a good day, and her window was open....and, being used to releasing when she heard the 'click', she drew the bow, the arrow came back, the clicker clicked...and she automatically loosed her arrow! The arrow shot through the open window, straight across the road and embedded itself in the front door directly across from her! Luckily there was no-one in the way, and she of course had some explaining to do, but someone could have been easily killed. Scary stuff indeed.
Goodness me, that was an incredibly close call 😳
@@thehistorysquad Certainly was, Kevin, The lady in question was exceptionally lucky that no-one got injured or even killed. Sometimes I think it can also be a misconception as to the power of a bow, especially with regard to a longbow. When I was filmed using mine a few years ago for the Alnwick Castle advert, one of the production team wanted to kneel down in front of me with a camera to get an 'action' shot whilst I loosed an arrow. The team were surprised when I said 'no way' to that , and I had to explain that if the shot went wrong in any way (ie, arrow broke etc) the bloke might well be seriously injured. They opted for using a remotely operated camera instead, (which did indeed give an excellent shot) but I will never forget the 'ohhhh' sound of all the production crew as the arrow hit home in the target. Don't think they fully appreciated what a bow could do until that moment, and why I was so careful over it.
@@andrewrice2376 A good call on your part 👍🏻
@@thehistorysquad Too dangerous to take chances like that -safety first!
Kev has the greatest themes to cover.😊
I was shot with an arrow when I was 12 years old - the trouble was I shot the arrow .I shot an arrow and it had tunnelled under the grass and I was looking for it - eventually I found it .While looking I must have trod on the arrow and it had a hairline crack - I never noticed - picked it up and shot the arrow again .Part went past my hand but part went straight into my hand - it left a piece of the shaft right up inside my hand - being 12 years old that scream must have woken the dead .I still have the scar now and that was 1962 .I still have a longbow - it's not the same one though .
OUCH!! I'm forever losing arrows under the grass 👍🏻
People will often forget that just because its living history, doesn't mean that the weapons used aren't still weapons that can injure or kill someone. Some of the frontiersmen I have worked with use their long rifles to hunt later in the year. And they can take down a deer without too much trouble.
Its also interesting how when a weapon is used in a sport people seem to forget that it's still dangerous. Even when they were the weapon of the day. Very nice video and did make me think of my own injuries when things haven't gone right with our muskets. (Flint can explode and it can cut, as does the touchhole flare and burn your cheek if you are too close.) Either way, good video and glad to see one with an undercurrent of a safety video.
Absolutely. I used to be a musketeer in the English Civil War Society, a couple of interesting near misses (and hits) to tell about there 👍🏻
@@thehistorysquad Make a neat video.
Great video Kevin! That 20 minutes went by like it was two. Nearly every video you do regardless of length leaves me wanting more. You have an amazing gift as a story teller my brother.
Awesome, thank you Paul!
Hi Kevin,
Accident with archery...
What a wonderful theme.
We had one accident in our archery club...
It was the day of the open door.
There was a guy understanding nothing.
Finaly the Instruktion says: Hey, you just hold it in this direction, and when i say now, you let it of. OK?....OK.
He shouts NOW !!!
...AND HE LET IT OF...
(But he let it of in front and got the bow into his face...)😂😂😂Aua.
🤣 muppet 👍🏻
Great video as always!!! ❤ love the mention of 'courting couples' 😂
Great video. I can relate to this as I have a small scar on my neck where an arrow missed my carotid artery by a few mm.
Oh no! You were incredibly lucky, how did it happen?
@@thehistorysquad I do LARP which uses arrows with large foam heads and about 30lb pull bows. So normally quite safe. One event some must have had a cracked arrow. As they fired it the foam head fell off turning it into a real arrow..
Felt a slap on my neck and next thing I'm holding a bloody arrow and people around me were turning white.
Luckily one of the guys taking part was an ex-battle field medic.
The hospital staff all came to look at the wound.
@@davedunn3908 Wow, how incredibly lucky you were, and to have a medic on hand too 👍🏻
This video has revealed in the comments some real flukes, stuff you simply don't even imagine could happen.
Glad to see another archery video!
Hope you enjoy it!
Kevin, youre so good at telling stories
Hi Kev, just watched this as I was away at the weekend to the annual Regimental Pilgrimage at NMA.
Do you remember the old NI Training film It could be you, about ADs? The culprit was a red haired lad called Bradey. As it happened we had a red haired cook, so of course he was nicknamed Bradey. We was going to the rifle ranges to practise and he tagged along. Someone quipped to him, "Hey Bradey, you don't need to shoot anyone, just feed em!" He broke down in tears, so he got more stick.
I grew up around small arms, joining the ACF at 13 and the regs at 17, but I've never fired a bow. Guess I never will now at the ripe old age of 69.
Love to hear your stories, especially about Berlin because I served in BAOR at Hidesheim nd the closest I got to Berlin was Helmstedt.
Hey Colin, what regiment were you in, I'm sure you must have stories of your own? 😜 I do remember that training film
@thehistorysquad I was in 5 RA, joined them at Bulford then posted to Hildesheim with a few Government holidays looking after the bograts.
@@colinp2238 Ah, I served with 5 Heavy 79/80 Grand Central Hotel, I was Pointer. They were a brilliant bunch of lads, were you amongst them?
@thehistorysquad I left in 77, so I was gone by then. The only time I had dealings with the RMP was when they came to see us acting as the enemy for a Regiment training for NI at our camp.
@@colinp2238 Yeah, I've done that myself. Good to meet you mate 👍🏻
Never dreamed so much could go wrong. Ouch. There's a whole new meaning to the word Quiver when that crossbow bolt hits a bone! Very enlightening thehistorysquad.
Great video. Thanks Kevin. I can relate to nearly every mishap you mentioned with a bow and arrow including splitting another arrow stuck in a target. Hopefully your stories will avert someone from having a serious accident.
I certainly hope so. 👍🏻
Great stuff!!
KEVIN HICKS IS THE MAN!!!! WE LOVE YOU KEV!
Yay! Cheers Jules 👍🏻
I love your additions of accounts to your stories.....it certainly adds more realism to the stories
Cheers Janet 👍🏻
Great video and thank you for your first hand insight into the dangers of what most people think is, just a bow and arrow.
Fascinating stuff! I imagine there have been thousands of arrow injuries--that didn't lead to a death--never having been reported. When you consider how long and widespread the use of bow and arrow have been, it's inevitable.
Good video Kevin! I’ve had a few myself over the years. You are the first who has spoken of having a fletching through the hand as I did as a boy with my first boy. That gets one’s attention!!
Yes it was actually the most painful of all of my injuries over the years. 👍🏻
@@osakarose5612 Yeah indeed, I'm not far behind you, but every day I can get up out of bed is a good day for sure.
Love listening to kevins stories
Great video, really enjoyed it. When I was a kid growing up in the 60's in the northeast, we had a Rag & Bone man come round with a horse and flat bed trailer. For a bundle of old clothes you could get a bow and arrow, which more often than not the lads used to get, the very often got a goldfish, just like at the fair we used to visit.
That was so entertaining and educational, KEVIN HICKS YOU ARE A LEGEND
That was narrated nicely. It´s pleasant to listen to the stories. When replicating a shot to find an arrow I prefer the spotter to be at the line where I stand. Wind drift can be surprising. I was on competitions where I had to aim at the neighboring target to hit mine. My accident without the sharp end of the arrow cost me a junk of flesh. I forgot my arm guard and botched a release. The nock point of the string ripped a piece of the size of half a hazelnut out of my forearm. It did not even hurt and took a couple of seconds to start bleeding. I still have the scar.
Fantastic! I just started with the SCA about a year ago, and I am in the target archery. And yes, we have to be very careful-but I learned to shoot guns when I was eight, and passed the Illinois firearms test when I was 9, shot a 20 gauge shotgun when I was 10- at clay pigeons. All without accident. And I am a civil war re-enactor, carrying a 58 caliber musket, and 44 caliber pistol (I serve Navy, we're armed to the teeth) and I always am vigilant on the battlefield, double-checking my safety, do I have the right elevation, am I far enough away, it all matters. Twenty-six years of experience helps, but is no guarantee. Same with shooting arrows. Take the time for safety. It matters. And yes, people do stupid things on the field, I heard of one guy that went out in front of the cannon which were loaded and ready to fire on the re-enactment field. At the time of the war, General Ewell was having to explain to an excited teen-age girl with information for him that she considered crucial, that she needed to get away from where the enemy guns were going to fire. Finally he gave up, and said, "Women, if it weren't for spiders and snakes they would make teriffic soldiers," or something to that effect. Considering that Ewell could also turn the air blue with his cursing, he probably said a great deal more as well.
This one got me thinking about my daughter and I practicing Archery in my garage. 35LB and 45LB re-curve bows with field points, what could possibly go wrong. 8 meters/25 feet. Two arrows went right through the steel lined fireproof door to my cellar/furnace room. WOW! I think of this every time Todd and others do an arrows verse armor test.
Oh my goodness, that's just it, people don't realize until a near miss or worse 👍🏻
@@thehistorysquadindeed. I've always thought it odd that in the UK we have such tight gun laws while you can go on line and with no checks buy incredibly powerful crossbows. Just as deadly at close range.
Thanks Kevin. Tales well told
The injuries described are perfect case studies of how effective arrows are. Imagine getting hit by the enemy with an arrow. So effective, so deadly.
Very interesting Kevin, you are an excellent storyteller thanks for sharing. Cheers
Thanks for listening
Accidents can happen anytime, and the results can be quite deadly.
I'd love to see video of you shooting the longbow. Love you ❤
Your wish is my command. Here are two videos I did, and there are more if you take a look in the 'Archery' playlist 😊
ruclips.net/video/i62ym1j82TQ/видео.html
ruclips.net/video/3DDSLRXTNK4/видео.html
Your first story reminds me of an incident when I was a teenager. My friend Eric was messing around with my bow and arrows as we were tenting in the woods near my hometown. My bow looked like a toy. A light blue fiber glass thing with a bright red plastic handle, but in fact it was a pretty strong recurve. And as you did in your backyard, Eric shot an arrow vertically into the sky. A little aside sat a French exchange pupil named Benoit on an air mattress. For some reason he stood up and a split second later with a loud “plopp”the down coming arrow pierced through the mattress in the exact spot where he sat just a moment before. This was a close one, but we all laughed till we fell (careless young idiots that we were). I laughed too until I realized that it was my mattress.
🤣 oh wow, that really was lucky for Benoit!
Love the archery videos, the information comes from a personal source and pov and isn’t just hearsay, it’s genuine experience from a professional
~ 7:12 for the injury, what an ironically fitting transport to hospital! Basically "Right boys, strap him to the cart and let's get on with it!" 🤣 I know Dr's do it often for the training/experience in these rare cases but we all know all the crew got called down for the reason of "come look at this! you'll probably never see it again!" (medieval dressed arrow casualty)
Excellent as always Kevin thanks. I'm surprised you didn't mention King Harold's last words at Hastings though, "watch that bugger with the bow and arrow or he'll have someone's eye out"
My fiancé and I plan to learn archery 🏹 Its an ancient, beautiful practice/sport. I cant wait! Thanks for another great video, Kevin!
Have fun!
I always enjoy your "little videos"!
You have so many great and amusing stories, I could be here all day hearing you tell them! : D
Thanks. Glad you like them!
Mr Hicks Im thankful for all the videos you made.
I absolutely love this channel. Thank you
Our pleasure!
That was very interesting and shows how careful you must be with how and arrows!
Another great video Kev!! And thanks for the mention. I hope to get some shooting in next week!! Take care mate.
Dave.
Hey Dave, I haven't shot since last year but after a long while I finally signed up at the local range today and plan to do some shooting there. And, if Julie'll let me, get myself a new bow 😃
@thehistorysquad That's great Kev!! You will have to do a video of the bow when you get it. Have a great shoot!
Dave.
I think every little boy who has been left unsupervised for just a minute has loosed an arrow straight up.
I know I did in a cow pasture, missed the cattle
Yea we are idiots
😂
I think mostly all little boys had an experience of some kind, a big whoops!
I always have enjoy your videos and keep your story coming thank you Kevin
Will do, thanks 👍🏻
Wow what an amazing bunch of stories!!!!
Excellent video as always Kevin, i had an "incident" a good many years ago with a crossbow in a field which resulted in a very angry man striding across said field with bolt in hand, which i had just watched disappear from view, easily clearing 200m! Narrowly missed his wife lounging in the garden apparently. Valuable lesson learned that day but hey, at least i got my bolt back.
Oh my goodness, lucky for both of you!!
Makes me happy to practice alone on my block of 40 acres ... I've never been to a club and would be nervous with other archers around...oops.. sorry..😢😢 I'm doing traditional ,recurve. Loosed 90 arrows this morning. Love your stories.. we've got to be careful with our " toys" and this was a good reminder of that.Regards from Australia 🌏
I love archery and many a time I have been aiming and thought about the tension going through that bow and what would happen if it were to snap. It never even occurred to me that the arrow could explode, new fear unlocked. All that aside, I absolutely love your videos, you are a fantastic story teller. ❤
Thanks so much.
Thank you Kevin once again for a superb video !!! I never want them to end 😊
Bless you, thanks!
Great stories! Thanks so much!
05:54 Kevin just mentions casually that the exploded bow limb gave him a concussion. Did you had to to go the hospital, what was the aftermath of it? So i imagine a bow snapping can permanently damage the archer or outright kill him.
I was okay, no hospital visit required, fortunately I was wearing a helmet, but was still slightly concussed with the force. 👍🏻
Just a yank here. Thank you Kevin I could listen to you talk all day. Your just so knowledgeable about your craft . Thank you for the history insight and please keep making more videos
Awesome video as usual, thanks Kevin!
Great video Kevin, like always. I noticed that "Robin Hood" cap. It made me think. Are those hats historically accurate or just hollywood?
They are accurate as it happens, and interestingly the commoners often wore them back to front as well, just like kids do with baseball caps today. 👍🏻
Thanks for answering. That is very interesting with the backwards cap. I still find the backwards cap annoying though. Hahaha
@@ismaelhernandez6866 Me too 👍🏻
Great as always Kevin.
my first time with a real bow at an archery club I found that the bow was a bit light and that I could draw it further than the arrow length. That meant that the arrow could easily come unnocked at full draw and the field tip could hover right before my left hand. If I had been a little bit too eager to let go the arrow would have launched straight through my hand.
What a shot my ode, never mind the scratch lol.
More please 😊
Just came across a short. Subbed! Great videos! I always wondered about things like this. How people did things in old times.
Thanks again Kevin 👍great content!
I had something similiar with a photo journalist in the late 80's at a reenactment event in Noerdlingen/Germany - 30 years War -, but with a cannon.
That guy wanted to take a picture when the cannon fired, but from the front, we told him not to since it's extremely dangerous even without a ball in the barrel, so we moved the cannon a few times and that idiot moved with us.
Eventually, fed up mightily with that idiot, I put the lintstock to the touch-hole.
He got his "picture" and was thrown by the blast right into the mud along with a nice concussion.
That taught him a lesson he didn't forget in a jiffy, and he bought us later some beers as an appology.
Haha, a great story, thanks for sharing. Never ceases to amaze me the idiocy of some people 👍🏻
@@thehistorysquad - But just imagine what would be happening in this day and age?
They would most likely sue you and the Government would ban all such events because of morons that are hell bend on a Darwin Award.
I love your videos. I love medieval history. I've pinned on my map the castles you've shown me so I can one day visit. What a wonderful teacher and educator. Thank you.
That's so kind, thanks 👍🏻
This chap is great to watch.
Really like his content. Keep it up
Thanks, will do!
I enjoy these videos more than any show or movie, thank you good sir for sharing these with us all... each one is sooo interesting and you have a way with words
Glad you like them! Cheers 👍🏻
Yippee another good day when you post . Thanks Kevin and co 🙏
Our pleasure!
Thank yew Kevin. Thumbs up.
Very informative and very entertaining, I love your videos!
Thanks so much!
Greetings once again from nova Scotia, thanks Kevin, I really enjoyed this one. I love the history behind the stories, the reality of it all, top shelf. Please keep bringing awesome videos, and as always best regards, Arthur
Thanks Arthur, I enjoyed making this one too, and hopefully it'll serve as a lesson to 'newbies' to archery 👍🏻
Very interesting Kevin. Those bows could certainly do some damage.
I'm glad to see a new how-to video, Tim. That car came out with professional results! Maybe a new video of your Defender set running in the Future?
I only found your channels recently, you are very educational in your videos cant wait for the next one!
Thanks Kevin, good stories. 🙋♂️🐈🐈
I once tried archery, and scored a bullseye with my first shot. However, it was in my opponent’s target. In drawing back to shoot, I had inadvertently swung to one side, and failed to correct before releasing 😬
🤣 at least you were on target so to speak 👍🏻
@@thehistorysquad 😂
When I was in high school, I was on the track team.... I was a thrower... a javelin thrower... we didn't use rubber tipped javelins in Oregon... they were legit throwing spears...
Well... one night at practice the sprinters finished their workout around the back side of the track ... just as we were doing full strength throws... one of the sprinters finished and not paying attention, casually started walking backwards right across the middle of the field.... this guy also happened to the be the star running back on our football team...
Not seeing him... I loosed my javelin as he began across the field... a high arching throw of about 150 feet .. about half the length of the football field.. everyone saw it going right for him... everyone that is, except him... but everyone was silent. . He turned around just in time to see it fly right over his shoulder, inches from the side of his head....
Ya that was scary.
Yikes!
Oh my! What an incredible stroke of luck it missed.
@thehistorysquad ya no kidding! That could have been the end of metal tipped javelins in Oreon! Not to mention a lifetime of therapy for me after killing classmate and friend haha... it was just as much his fault as mine tho.. he should have known better than to walk right across the middle of the javelin field. As I recall he got the brunt of the scolding.... but there definitely was some scolding..
@@thehistorysquad ya for real!
Thanks for sharing Kevin.
I haven't had the misfortune of any serious accidents with archery.
While shooting with smaller arrows than I should have I had a near accident. So I tossed them, they were cheap with plastic fletching so it was a completely acceptable loss especially in terms of safety. Luckily I wasn't hurt at all, and my bow was also undamaged.
ABSOLUTELY ENTERTAINING!! Love the research you do and especially the way you present! Thanks 👍
Hi Kev,
Dave here from Bristol. We were talking a while ago about Ravenbeak Yew bows. Something that is worth looking at are the range of pyramidal flatbows that Pip Bickerstaffe makes. I had Pip make me a 48# one a few years ago. It is Single growth ring Hickory backed Osage with an Osage core. Great to shoot and very much like a Longbow. They are fast and smooth to shoot and are quite forgiving. Just a thought mate! Still loving your videos and am so glad I became a Patrion member. Take care Sir,
Dave.
Hi Dave, thanks buddy but I couldn't help myself, I just bought Olwen from Ravenbeak. She arrived on Friday and she's a beaut, laminated with snakeskin. I'm 68 now and needed something easy to shoot, she's about #40, I can't wait to try her out. I'll do a little video for Patreon to show her off 😃
@thehistorysquad Can't wait Kev!! Laminated with snake skin eh? Sounds posh!! I find 40# a lovely weight to shoot. Most of my bows are 48# and my Yew is 52#. I hope you have great fun with it.
Best wishes,
Dave.
Great video . Thank you .
This resonates so much - from one Bowman to another ✊🏴🇬🇧
That’s for sure 😜
Excellent video, thank you so much for the information and education…
Love your channel…
Hi Kevin, thank you for the many videos about the middle ages and especially with the deep dives into the average foot soldier and archer. You and my father have inspired me to save up, research and hopefully join a re-enactment group in Conwy Castle with being an archer. You may get this question a lot but where is the best place to get your kit? It looks very high quality and quite realistic. Many thanks!
Hi there, thanks for your comment and question. Much of my clothing I now make myself, but a good place to start is 'Get Dressed for Battle' and TORM (the original re-enactors market) also I believe there's a re-enactors group or market group on Facebook you could look into. Then Wales Archery Specialists for your bow & archery equipment
Good luck 👍🏻
@@thehistorysquad Thank you so much Kevin, you and your content are a big help and entertainment!