Riiiiiight.

[famulu]

Paolini mentioned that supposedly, some Native American tribe would use ram horns to make bows for bow and arrow, so he applied that to his dwarves. I don't know about you, but in all the time I've looked up info on Native Americans, I've never heard that before...why do I have a feeling he pulled it out of his ass?

Comments

[odclay]

Are those the rams with extremely curvy horns in tight circles? Those would make interesting bows.

Native American #1: My bow pwns yours!
Native American #2: O RLY?
Native American #1: Hells yeah! *Twang* My foot! MOTHERFUCKER!

[guardian_hawk]

I know that somewhere, people make highly efficient horn bows. Whether or not it's the Native Americans is another story... I believe I may remember CP saying in an interview once that apparently the record for a distance archery shot is held by a composite wood and horn bow that was most likely set by some random farmer somewhere in Turkey.

That last sentence was not at all vague or ambiguous.

[famulu]

I see...a "Composite" but not fully horn.

[jenil]

Indeed, I think it'd be impossible to make a bow fully out of horn... which would be nigh on impossible to shoot from.

Yeah, I dabble in archery, but to be honest, I haven't actually shot anything for a year. Come third year at Uni, I *will* go to archery sessions and I *will* shoot, dammit!

[guardian_hawk]

i was browsing, and i can't help but comment on this...

i believe the record is held by a composite chinese footbow. the way those things are shot is by bracing it with one's feet while lying down (they are enormous) and pulling the string back with both hands while straightening the knees. the arrows themselves are hugely long. units of footbow archers were deployed in land wars against invaders such as the huns, the jurchens, and the mongols.

speaking of which, i believe the mongols did use horn bows. they were smaller and meant to be used on horseback. they were efficient, proportionally, though they were not as good as larger bows with more draw weight when not on horseback. the horns are naturally slightly recurved, but they are soaked in water till they become a bit more pliable, and then they are bent to final form.

however, paolini's descriptions of his horn bows are very implausible.

[hackslayer]

I'm actually having trouble swallowing the fact that his Urgal horn bows are made with skin from the roof of a trout's mouth...

I dunno, I'm really not that familiar with skin from the roof of a trout's mouth, but it seems to me that it would be difficult to use it...

I dunno. It kinda sounds like something he pulled from his ass, but, at the same time....

*shrugs*

--Hackslayer

[famulu]

Zohar dabbles in archery on the side. He has a left handed recurve bow of wood with a 28lbs draw. Powerful as crap.

[swordpen]

Aw man, recurve bows kick ASS. A bow is already in tension from being curved, and then you just curve it all the way around again, which makes it as you said, very powerful.

I find it hard to research weapons. I read so many conflicting bits of information.

[hackslayer]

Ask Paolini.

--Hackslayer