# The furthest arrow **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 29, 2025, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-furthest-arrow/1023490 "2025-09-29T18:25:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2025, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-furthest-arrow/1023490/21 "2025-09-29T21:07:55Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > Well one protagonist and one antagonist. > Not sure if anyone else is trying for the distance record. > Brian A couple of weeks before the record was broken a book came out “ Harry Drake and flight archery” . Harry Drake was the record holder at that time. I see his legend as the antagonist. I see the story starting with Harry Drake and how he died out practicing, possibly to his ghost antagonizing Allen on his long and difficult journey to breaking his record. They spent a lot of time at the same places at remote dry lakebeds in the desert. It is a very lonely sport. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2025, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-furthest-arrow/1023490/22 "2025-09-29T21:09:12Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > > > Could a mod change the title to the furthest arrow? > > I flagged this, so the moderators can see it – if you didn’t actually flag it yourself, they might never see the post and your request. Moderating: And done, yes, this is a best practice if you want a mod to make an appropriate adjustment. Especially because for fixing a misspelled thread title (or other fix that _doesn’t_ change the meaning) any mod can _generally_ fix it rather than waiting for one for one for the forum. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2025, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-furthest-arrow/1023490/23 "2025-09-29T21:14:05Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > How far? 2043 yards. He exceeded the previous record by just less than 1% (14.2 meters) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2025, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-furthest-arrow/1023490/24 "2025-09-29T21:17:08Z")
I just read about it here. Very interesting. > **[Beaverton man breaks archery record with bare hands (and feet)](https://www.opb.org/article/2025/09/20/beaverton-alan-case-breaks-archery-record/)** > > After decades of persistence, Alan Case, an engineer by profession and archer by obsession, finally broke the world record he'd been aiming to beat for decades, shooting an arrow farther than anyone in history. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2025, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-furthest-arrow/1023490/25 "2025-09-29T21:21:26Z")
That is a crossbow bolt shot from a crossbow, not what I was envisioning at all. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2025, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-furthest-arrow/1023490/26 "2025-09-29T21:30:38Z")
The difference is that a crossbow has a latch and is fired by a trigger. This is fired by letting go. Brian ETA the difference is more subtle ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2025, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-furthest-arrow/1023490/27 "2025-09-29T22:07:41Z")
This thread’s original title has made me think of a _Get Smart_ episode where an Indian tribe threatens to attack Washington unless of all their lands are returned. When they unveil their secret weapon–a 100-foot missile in the form of an arrow–Max comments, “That’s the second\*\* biggest arrow I’ve ever seen”. \*\*Max often put that nonsensical modifier on statements of the obvious. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2025, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-furthest-arrow/1023490/28 "2025-09-29T22:34:57Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > I also read this as longest arrow, not the longest distance shot. As did I. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2025, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-furthest-arrow/1023490/29 "2025-09-29T22:40:14Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > A friend of mine recently broke the record for the longest arrow ever shot from a hand-drawn bow. He spent over 20 years chasing this record. I have been trying to imagine a movie covering his journey. There’s a pretty good 12-minute video embedded in the article in @Mahaloth’s [link](https://www.opb.org/article/2025/09/20/beaverton-alan-case-breaks-archery-record/) above. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2025, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-furthest-arrow/1023490/30 "2025-09-30T00:08:28Z")
Your movie can be whatever you want it to be. How far along the string hung between poles labelled ‘Documentary’ and ‘Compelling human drama / entertainment’ would you like to place your movie? Does he want to be played by himself, or a Hemsworth? Is there a good reason why a fictitious Caribbean sub-plot should not occupy the middle third and offer some sound-track beats and beautiful beach people footage? And has he ever told you explicitly he’s not a wacky space alien, and he’s simultaneously firing arrows in a parallel dimension as well as this one? Will ACME Accurate Arrows consider a placement deal? Accuracy is great, but outside of a documentary any ‘accurate’ movie is already taking multiple shortcuts, edits and rearrangements of the truth, so why not lean into it. ---
**Author:** ![papermache](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f08c70/32.png) [@papermache](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papermache)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2025, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-furthest-arrow/1023490/31 "2025-09-30T00:46:29Z")
Easy-peasy. Just get Anthony Hopkins to star in it. [The World’s Fastest Indian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World's_Fastest_Indian) _ **The World’s Fastest Indian** _ is a 2005 New Zealand [biographical](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biographical "Biographical") [sports](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_film "Sports film") [drama film](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drama_(film_and_television) "Drama (film and television)") based on the story of New Zealand speed bike racer [Burt Munro](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burt_Munro "Burt Munro") and his highly modified 1920 [Indian Scout](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Scout_(motorcycle) "Indian Scout (motorcycle)") motorcycle.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World%27s_Fastest_Indian#cite_note-1) Munro set numerous [land speed records](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_speed_record "Land speed record") for [motorcycles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorcycle "Motorcycle") with [engines](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_combustion_engine "Internal combustion engine") less than 1,000 [cc](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cubic_centimetre "Cubic centimetre") at the [Bonneville Salt Flats](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonneville_Salt_Flats "Bonneville Salt Flats") in [Utah](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah "Utah") in the late 1950s and into the 1960s. The film stars [Anthony Hopkins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Hopkins "Anthony Hopkins"), and was produced, written, and directed by [Roger Donaldson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Donaldson "Roger Donaldson"). ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2025, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-furthest-arrow/1023490/32 "2025-09-30T00:50:34Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > Accuracy is great, but outside of a documentary any ‘accurate’ movie is already taking multiple shortcuts, edits and rearrangements of the truth, so why not lean into it. I wouldn’t be the writer, hopefully I would be interviewed by the writer. > [@papermache](#): > > The World’s Fastest Indian This is exactly what I was thinkng about. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2025, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-furthest-arrow/1023490/33 "2025-09-30T00:55:15Z")
The good thing about Indie movies is they can just be a slice of a life instead of be a full coherent plot. Just choose a couple of weeks of activity, with an abrupt beginning and ending. Loads of them get away with that all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2025, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-furthest-arrow/1023490/34 "2025-09-30T01:03:26Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Just choose a couple of weeks of activity Quoting the OP > He didn’t chase women, or get into fights, He is just a hard-working nerd. So, a couple of weeks of hard-working nerd activity? Of a guy all alone trying to pull a string harder? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2025, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-furthest-arrow/1023490/35 "2025-09-30T01:34:13Z")
Maybe? Or a different couple of weeks, maybe the ones where he defies the doubters, or designs a tool, or gives up his old life to dedicate himself to a challenge. There are options. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2025, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-furthest-arrow/1023490/36 "2025-09-30T01:45:38Z")
What about something more like the field of dreams? Ninety percent of the dialogue was between him and Harry Drake his dead antagonist ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2025, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-furthest-arrow/1023490/37 "2025-09-30T01:54:40Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > So, a couple of weeks of hard-working nerd activity? Of a guy all alone trying to pull a string harder? Sounds like you need a Montage! > [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > I wouldn’t be the writer, hopefully I would be interviewed by the writer. And that could appear in the film as well - any thoughts as to who will play you? ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2025, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-furthest-arrow/1023490/38 "2025-09-30T05:41:23Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > (Extremely niche achievements in extremely niche hobbies aren’t great candidates for gripping cinema.) Well, there was that movie about some one who counted the most different birds in a certain time (a year?) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-furthest-arrow/1023490.md?page=1)