Can crossbows penetrate plate armor?

Even at extreme close-range with high-poundage war-bows, penetrating plate armor is almost impossible. Very powerful crossbows at very close range might do it, especially against low quality armor, but even then, the odds are in favor of the armored man.

Can a crossbow pierce a shield?

Fully penetrating a shield is quite difficult. A bodkin arrow or crossbow bolt may put a crack (not a hole, no material disappears and the wood has a grain so it’s a crack) in the shield which is as wide as the arrow shaft.

What came first bow or crossbow?

The earliest extant European crossbow remains to date were found at Lake Paladru and has been dated to the 11th century. The crossbow superseded hand bows in many European armies during the 12th century, except in England, where the longbow was more popular.

How far can a medieval crossbow shoot accurately?

According to this site about medieval crossbows: Earlier crossbows were thought to have a point blank range of 70 yards but were more often angled up 45 degrees to give them a range of 350 yards. Highest effective was 150 yards, but still able to kill at 300(5).”

Could a Gambeson stop an arrow?

These jacks were known to stop even heavy arrows and their design of multiple layers bears a striking resemblance to modern day body armor, which substituted at first silk, ballistic nylon and later Kevlar as fabric. Linothorax was a type of armor similar to gambeson used by ancient Greeks.

Can you put infinity on a crossbow?

The crossbow is specifically incompatible with Infinity and has less durability for the exact reason that it’s meant to be a sniper weapon! It was made to be slower, use less arrows, but do more damage.

Can Piercing go through armor?

Armor piercing: with a max level of 5, this new piercing enchant will make you able to pierce through yours enemy’s armor, every enchant level will give you a 5% of armor piercing, which ignores the armor of the enemy you shoot at, example: a full diamond player has a complete armor bar (10 chestplates over their …

How far can a crossbow shoot an arrow?

If you don’t care about hitting a target, a powerful modern crossbow can shoot as far as 500 yards. If you want to hunt, up to 80 yards is possible for a very skilled shooter, however you should stick to a maximum of 60 yards, and preferably much less than that (30-35) if you are a beginner.

Are there any crossbows that penetrated medieval armor?

The existing medieval crossbows we have are all in unshootable condition and are sequestered in museums. This is an attempt to recreate medieval crossbows and test their performance on different types of armor.

How are longbow archers effective against plate-armored?

They were very expensive and took special training of many years to use properly. In the right hands they were incredibly powerful and the arrows could penetrate armor. Also, crossbow bolts can penetrate armor. As you say, arrows were mostly ineffective against knights in the general case.

How are arrows used to test medieval armor?

This test uses a clay slab behind the armor to show how deeply the arrows would have penetrated human flesh. Only the needle point bodkin penetrated plate armor deeply enough to cause a potentially fatal wound. Testing reconstructed medieval crossbows, by Andreas Bichler.

What was range of longbow in medieval times?

Hence, the only data I can draw on for longbows is either from historical evidence or from reproductions of Medieval longbows. It is my belief that while the range of longbows changed very little from the 11th. century through Medieval times, the range of crossbows certainly did increase.