# Is it possible to shoot an arrow 300 yards? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 22, 2005, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-shoot-an-arrow-300-yards/336733 "2005-12-22T03:05:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-shoot-an-arrow-300-yards/336733/1 "2005-12-22T03:05:37Z")
Convince me. 'Cuz I just got through watching “Biblical Battles” on The History Channel and some historian made that assertion about _non-crossbow_ arrows being fired that far by either the Philistines or maybe Gideon’s men. In any event, I remain deeply skeptical. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-shoot-an-arrow-300-yards/336733/2 "2005-12-22T03:38:38Z")
It appears that they can and could go much further than that even in ancient times (900+ yards). [http://www.student.utwente.nl/~sagi/artikel/turkish/](http://www.student.utwente.nl/~sagi/artikel/turkish/) ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-shoot-an-arrow-300-yards/336733/3 "2005-12-22T03:45:06Z")
And apparently the current world record for a pulled bow (i.e. non-crossbow) is 1,337 yards set by Don Brown in 1987. [Cite.](http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/flight.html) That’s over three quarters of a mile. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-shoot-an-arrow-300-yards/336733/4 "2005-12-22T03:56:02Z")
Heck, **I’ve** fired an arrow over 400 yards, and I’m a total amateur. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-shoot-an-arrow-300-yards/336733/5 "2005-12-22T04:03:35Z")
The rather famous Welsh Long Bowyers and their Bows of Yew could easily out shoot the crossbows of the day. The supposedly had 100# pulls. I personally could pull more than about 40# and with that I shot almost 200 yards. They practiced daily from a young age and were apparently far stronger than me. I can easily believe 300 yards with accuracy for them. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-shoot-an-arrow-300-yards/336733/6 "2005-12-22T04:52:40Z")
Crossbows were for shooting heavey bolts through armor, this kind of implies close range since extreme range means massive loss of velocity due to drag. you really cant compare the 2 since the bow was made for killing at range vrs no armor or light armor. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-shoot-an-arrow-300-yards/336733/7 "2005-12-22T04:52:50Z")
Thanks for all the replies. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-shoot-an-arrow-300-yards/336733/8 "2005-12-22T07:08:57Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > And apparently the current world record for a pulled bow (i.e. non-crossbow) is 1,337 yards set by Don Brown in 1987. [Cite.](http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/flight.html) That’s over three quarters of a mile. That’s for a purely hand-held bow. Harry Drake shot an arrow over 2,000 yards using a footbow back in the 1970s: [http://www.usarchery.org/files/04\_nat\_regular\_flight.pdf](http://www.usarchery.org/files/04_nat_regular_flight.pdf) FWIW, the long-distance archery rules for crossbows specify that they must be completely hand-drawn, no mechanical aid of any sort is allowed (so no cranks or claws). ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-shoot-an-arrow-300-yards/336733/9 "2005-12-22T07:27:54Z")
300 yards? [Not even 3 inches!](http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/3022/arrow.html) ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-shoot-an-arrow-300-yards/336733/10 "2005-12-22T07:30:26Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > 300 yards? > > [Not even 3 inches!](http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/3022/arrow.html) Is it just me or does that site have a completely incorrect interpetation and explanation of the Heisenberg uncertaintiy principle? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-shoot-an-arrow-300-yards/336733/11 "2005-12-22T08:57:25Z")
> [@treis](#): > > Is it just me or does that site have a completely incorrect interpetation and explanation of the Heisenberg uncertaintiy principle? Well, _when I looked at it_, it was sort of OK - that is to say that it is the layman’s explanation (you can’t measure the position of something without nudging it a bit), rather than the quantum explanation that is about the collapse of wave functions and superpositions and all that Schroedinger stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-shoot-an-arrow-300-yards/336733/12 "2005-12-22T13:49:57Z")
[QUOTE=Valgard] That’s for a purely hand-held bow. Harry Drake shot an arrow over 2,000 yards using a footbow back in the 1970s: [QUOTE] I have personally had the honor of studying, handling and reporting on this very bow (among others that are way cooler). It’s held at the University of Missouri-Columbia Anthropology museum. [http://anthromuseum.missouri.edu/grayson/mollyarticle.html](http://anthromuseum.missouri.edu/grayson/mollyarticle.html) Neato for me!!! ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-shoot-an-arrow-300-yards/336733/13 "2005-12-22T15:58:13Z")
Actually, the longest known hand-archery hot came from an odd coincidence in Scotland, where some tower guards were messing around in a storm and shot an arrow almost 2 miles. Of course, it was really the heavy storm which kept it going, so it doesn’t really count. It did kill a man, though. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-shoot-an-arrow-300-yards/336733/14 "2005-12-22T15:59:30Z")
> [@smiling bandit](#): > > Actually, the longest known hand-archery hot came from an odd coincidence in Scotland, where some tower guards were messing around in a storm and shot an arrow almost 2 miles. Of course, it was really the heavy storm which kept it going, so it doesn’t really count. > > It did kill a man, though. I am not challenging your post, but could you link to this story? It sound interesting. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-shoot-an-arrow-300-yards/336733/15 "2005-12-22T16:54:53Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > I have personally had the honor of studying, handling and reporting on this very bow (among others that are way cooler). It’s held at the University of Missouri-Columbia Anthropology museum. > > [http://anthromuseum.missouri.edu/grayson/mollyarticle.html](http://anthromuseum.missouri.edu/grayson/mollyarticle.html) > > Neato for me!!! Very cool. I came across that page while looking for a photo of said footbow (I remember seeing a picture of Drake drawing it in an old GBOR, back in the 1970s). ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-shoot-an-arrow-300-yards/336733/16 "2005-12-22T18:40:16Z")
I was going say that the Bible claims that some biblical men lived to 900+ years, so which pinch of BS would you prefer. Since it has been shown that firing an arrow that far is easily possible we are left with one pinch of BS. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-shoot-an-arrow-300-yards/336733/17 "2005-12-22T18:59:09Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > > [@Valgard](#): > > > > That’s for a purely hand-held bow. Harry Drake shot an arrow over 2,000 yards using a footbow back in the 1970s: > > I have personally had the honor of studying, handling and reporting on this very bow (among others that are way cooler). I found pictures of footbows, but not his “unlimited” footbow. What does it look like? ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-shoot-an-arrow-300-yards/336733/18 "2005-12-22T19:47:13Z")
> [@](#): > > I am not challenging your post, but could you link to this story? Actually, probably not. I have no idea where to find it in online, or if I could even find it in a book anymore. It was a _long_ time ago. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-shoot-an-arrow-300-yards/336733/19 "2005-12-22T20:19:56Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > I found pictures of footbows, but not his “unlimited” footbow. What does it look like? I’m pretty sure that “unlimited” refers to the draw weight. As in longest shot, foot bow, draw weight, 100 to 150 lbs. or longest shot, foot bow, draw weight, unlimited. ---
**Author:** ![Hombre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecb155/32.png) [@Hombre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hombre)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-shoot-an-arrow-300-yards/336733/20 "2005-12-22T20:29:43Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > Convince me. 'Cuz I just got through watching “Biblical Battles” on The History Channel and some historian made that assertion about _non-crossbow_ arrows being fired that far by either the Philistines or maybe Gideon’s men. > > In any event, I remain deeply skeptical. Depends on what you mean. Yes, you can hand fire an arrow that far. But aiming it? Not a chance. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-to-shoot-an-arrow-300-yards/336733.md?page=2)