Wow its really been 4 years since the medieval Legolas?

Can't go wrong with following up on Jörg's madness.

Last year, just for fun, I bought a replica Mongolian style recurve bow. It has been about 35 years since I've shot a bow regularly, and once I got that bow I was out in the yard 3 days a week. Shocking how much came back since, but also shocking how inconsistent I am, but its fun. I blame Tod's channel.

Jörg's laugh is great and deserves such prominent featuring

The Chinese "Cho Ko Nu" repeating crossbow *was* used in war...of a specific type. For URBAN or ambush work, a fast light repeater is perfect. In defence, assistants can hand you a loaded weapon quickly Hit & run raiders, fending off infiltrators, naval combat (where few wear heavy armour), generally enemies with little armour etc, such devices are valid :)

The biggest problem I see with the repeating bow mechanism on campaign would be durability. Since it is made mostly, if not entirely, out of wood, marching with it under different weather conditions with every part constantly expanding and contracting due to temperature and moisture variations would very quickly make it inoperable.

Tod has a great approach to looking at this serious side of ancient weapons. He is careful, and methodical in his research. But, some of his best videos are where he is just having fun!

A second person like a servant or squire could reload a second bow for you while you are loosing your 5 arrows, that would sort the issue out and give you a nearly continuous stream of arrows at that about 2-4x the rate of a bow without the magazine. The benefit of always having the same anchor point between all archers makes training archers to hit the same ranges much simpler, basically these could have been the gap-fill between bow and crossbow.

I could see some flash Italian noble springing for one or two of these for a bodyguard as a way of showing off to his mates.

Your videos, Jorg videos and a bunch of other brothers of the sword videos are what finally convinced me to try out archery myself. So I joined a local club and have been shooting regularly for about 2 years now and I freaking love it. I bet many did like I did. So thank you Tod, your always cheerful attitude and knowledgeable insights are rare and precious. Also the only channel on youtube I don't skip the promotional stuff because you manage to make them fun too lol. Cheers my man.

This looks very similar to an Eatern Roman device called the Solenarion, which shot large numbers of very small arrows, or darts (I think in the contemporary venacular they were called 'flies'), a very long distance. The key I believe was outpacing the enemy and forcing the enemy to advance or retreat from the field.

At some point I thought Tod might compare it to crossbows target than just bows. It looks like bad market in medieval England, but what about France and Italy who where much more reliant on slow firers and needed better anti-archer technology more than anti-armour when facing the English doctrine.

The medieval use I could see is ambush, hit and run. Have 5 men sneak up on an enemy, unload 5 arrows each in rapid succession before they can react, then high tail it out of there before they know what happened. Especially for skirmishes, I could see the use. Not for a full battlefield, but don't under estimate skirmish weapons.

I think the "reloading is slow" is a fallacy, because that could easily be solved with helpers. One or two dedicated young boys per shooter, depending on just how fast they can get with reloading. It took Tod 10 seconds to shoot 4 arrows and 22 seconds to reload. Assume the same speed for a dedicated reloader, and two reloaders can keep the archer fed for as long as the archer has stamina for it. Now the 8 shots are down to 20 seconds + swapping out the bow. Let's say 25 seconds. And in reality, there's a very good chance that reloading could be much faster. If that's all you're doing for several hours a day for a year, you're going to figure out how to load in 4 arrows at a time, even without a speedloader.

That composite of Joe firing remains one of my favourite videos on the internet, I think facing that at close range would be terrifying. I'm not sure about your conclusion regarding medieval war. I think the ability to fire 4 aimed shots in 10 seconds would be immensely effective in the right circumstance, potentially battle winning. If that's true then it would be worth the investment.

Todd finally got around to making a purchase from yourself am mega hyped about it thanks for all the hard work you have put in over the years.

They already exist in history including full draw length repeating bows such as the Korean repeating crossbow and chu repeater. None of these changed warfare because archers can already shoot similar speeds

Well, have an engineering challenge for you. Build it with replaceable magazines. That way, you can have two or three preloaded magazines at hand.

Jörg and Todd?! This is the most ambitious crossover since Avengers: End Game. Long time fan of the both of you for many many years!

You can put a draw assist to shoot beyond your max poundage. It's modular. It's easy to use. You can hold fire. You can have a backup to double your output for the first minute. Or a squadmate in cover to reload. For a battleground with limited space, such as alleyways, windows, battlements, it doubles unit power density for as long as the shooter's stamina allows, and they can switch. Sounds ideal for tactical engagements. Maybe not medieval spetsnaz, but an ambush using those is going to be decisive. Perfect for an adventurer, or a party of. Rangers, scouts, hit and run, flanking formations. In a skirmish, there are times where you only have a small window of opportunity to fire shots before the melee ensues. No need to fumble for an arrow, you have a few shots ready even if you can't see, or if your quiver is unavailable. Is it an upgrade? Heck yeah. Is it useful for war? Heck yeah. Is it good in the scenarios and background limitations Tod putting it through? Nope. It feels like Tod tries to fit it in the idea of medieval brits, not thinking how it would change medieval brits. Besides, the stage is a lot bigger than that little rainy island. It's a weapon. It's effective. So the problem of manufacturing, supplying, and training... is not a problem. Last thing you know, it's a standard across the continent, with the new variations popping up here and there. Anywhere there are bows, there's no reason not to have the Instant Legolas, if at least as a supplementary unit. It definitely has it's use. Would it revolutionize combat? Change history? It's a bow. With a mag and aim assist, yes, but it's a bow. Bows or swords don't write history. Neither do guns or spaceships. The people who come up with it do. It, being bows, guns, and history itself. History is ever changing. Because it's just a story. It is no more, or it is not yet. It exists within the people's minds, and it changes as their view of it changes.

I could easily see the whipshot being used in some kind of steampunk or cyberpunk movie where gunpowder isn't readily available. Not because of any particular practicality. It just looks like something made for an action movie.

One potential use is that they shoot what are basically crossbow bolts, and do so significantly faster than a normal crossbow can shoot them. Crossbow bolts have shorter shafts and hence take less material, easier to produce en masse than war arrows and you may already have a large number on hand if your army makes use of crossbowmen already.

I love that Tod can be totally practical with his analysis and still admit... this thing is fun!

You forgot to add the tap at the fron that uses the index finger to hold the draw. Then, you don't need the muscles to hold the draw with the arm holding the string. You can even release the string hand because of that tap 😉. Joerg pointed out that that tap is important to make shootong a heavy longbow earlier.

The rapid fire aspect is indeed the fun part, but I think the actually game-changing part of the design is the slider/hold mechanism. It essentially replicates the consistent draw, release, and hold functionality of the crossbow, drastically reducing training requirements, without nerfing rate of fire as a crossbow would. I'd imagine that a single-shot version that just uses the slider/hold mechanism would have been the true history changer, in the same way that crossbows were in real life. Especially considering the practical limitations of stamina and logistics when it comes to repeating bows.

Just awesome to see Jorge's stuff in expert hands 😀 Wish more experts were enthusiasts like Tod 😀

The disadvantage of needing to reload it is overcome by how they used to use muskets in war; shoot, line falls back to reload, next line comes, shoots, repeat. Or they have dedicated reloaders. Of course the durability of such a mechanism is the more glaring issue, but on paper, it could have been used in war quite effectively.

I love it when Joe is part of the videos

I gotta get one of those.

These weapons are the medieval version of a light machine gun. Fixed on swivel mount , on the ramparts or in a tower , two men , operator, and loader

While you showed that one man firing the instant legolas including a reload is similar to the same man with a normal bow, this doesn't account for the possibility of ranks. If you had two ranks of men with magazine equipped bows, you could have the ranks swap to allow for reloads. This would allow for near constant firing at the higher rate allowed by the magazine. You'd need twice as many men, but could get more than twice the rate of fire.

12:25 This is a great video and I like your channel. For future shots like this, I'd recommend figuring out how to get enough contrast between arrows and background so that the wheeling-n-dealing half dozen shots on different targets becomes visible as something other than your slow spinning and a "thwack" on the target boards. Fluorescing shafts, phosphorus tracers, micro-LEDs, painting arrows blue or green and chroma-keying them to a solid line of the flightpath in a composite shot. There are probably more ways a film SFX / VFX pro has to contrast arrows than night shoots with flaming arrows 😆Thanks for the upload 🙏

17:20 I think when a king can command everyone train every Sunday, you'll get a lot of Joe Gibbs level accuracy, distance and draw weight. And that boe strength will be useful in war. Teaching people to use an auto loading crossbow makes more sense when labor is more valuable such as today.

A medieval Instant legolass may have found it's place in urban combat, where you can pre-tension it to fire, whip out, shoot and duck back in... or take a fair few rapid shots then duck for cover... It would have had it's uses...There was not as much "urban" back then, but that just shows you where and who could be using it. 40 lb compound is mid range as it currently tops out at 70.

One flaw of the speed comparison is his shooting stile. If he would shoot the arrows from the outside he wouldn't waste time lowering the bow. On the other side the opening of the legolas is big enough, he could line up the arrows in his hand and load them all at one.

I'd consider it for very specific situations, like an ambush where you need as many arrows as quickly as possible before the enemy reacts... But even then, the additional bulk makes it harder to get into position. Alongside the loss of power, it's probably not worth it.

If it existed in history, I feel like it would have been a massive game changer. I think the problem is giving these to trained archers when it would be much betteror untrained people. Like you said, people back then would likely be weirded out by the magazine, but it does offer advantages. The English had archery ingrained in their culture, so it would be a waste of time to transition them to the instant legolas. It would be better to give these to other countries that don't culturally train archery. The time to train someone to use an instant legolas would be much less than a bow. Not only that, the instant legolas can be comfortably held at full draw (for adjusting aim). It also allows you to use bows that are normally too heavy to draw normally. As for the reload time, you can see how much faster this is compared to say, a crossbow. I tend to compare this more to a crossbow than a bow because of the mechanical complexities, and my points is based off of giving these to untrained people.

Field battle it's not great, but castle defence when you're fighting over arrow slits it's brilliant, plus the height evens out the power. Horseback archery too is where I see it's benefit, to get an extra shot in during the pass. I think you're seeing it as a bow alternative not the rapid crossbow that it is. All your arguments are MORE true for crossbows. Plus any tension mechanism makes it stronger than a regular bow.

Chinese actually used repeater crossbows with magazines for warfare and their power stroke was almost as long as on regular horse bow. They often used relatively low draw weights and poisoned arrows.

Don't forget home defence that's where it would shine in the modern day. Short range, doesn't over penetrate walls, but will go through kevlar. Won't deafen you when shot indoors. Legal in a lot of places where other firearms aren't.

Darn that thing does look like fun, though colour me old fashioned I do like the medieval style one more... Also "The guy in the street didn't have that" comments I'd argue is somewhat but only somewhat wrong - Crossbow, ballista etc did and have existed along with many other more mechanical intricacies many of them would have experienced in their day to day lives. So even back then without nearly as much (if any) real education many folks on the street probably would know enough to recognise and have some ideas on potential fixes for most of the problems even if the language to describe a 'magazine jam' wasn't common parlance. Similar problems would have been encountered before by most of them I'd suggest.

I always look forward to a vid from Tod.

Said this before, but it eems like a calvary archer weapon. The casing reduces the arrow bouncing while on a moving horse. Ride into range, dump your mag and run away. Low poundage means you are needing for fire at the flank.

Jörg and Tod... what a fantastic pair!

Two of my favorite youtubers collaborating is just awesome. German and English Madness combined ;-)

I generally agree with your conclusion. Perhaps the best use would be a few for quick defense against raiders or bandits, where a few able bodied people could injure or give pause to a disproportionate number of ruffians. But in standard warfare, I don't see how this system would outstrip the capabilities of well trained archers. But... Also, it would be awful fun.

I could see the multishot bow being used by archers on top of a castle wall. You step out from behind a crenelation take 4 to 6 shots, then duck back behind the crenelation to reload possibly before the first bolt hit the ground or an invader. This would maximize the capability of a small defensive force inside a prepared defensive structure. Lesser range would be offset partially by the added height of the wall. And you could have multiple bows prepared and ready behind different crenelations allowing for a higher rate of fire. You merely hand off the empty to an assistant, child, or whatever to reload while you move to the next firing point and bow to continue to lay down fire. 1 archer would seem as a small army using this tactic.

The instant Legolas could make a difference from horse back, where you ride in and shoot your arrows and then out again. Could also be used from ramparts where you could shoot your magazine and then rotate out and let someone else shoots, just like they did with the first rifles .

Agreed about the fun factor. I can't keep the Ballestrino you made for me down for very long without needing to shoot it again into a target on the other side of my home office room.

Other people have said it already but having a line of archers using these and rotating their positions like you would with muskets could have had military application in defensive actions. Consider a space where only a handful of men can stand abreast. The front line fires, let's the next group step up and fire, starts reloading and by the time group three has unloaded, group one is back to the front to unload another volley.

One thing I think you missed with the instant legolas is a fixed weapon emplacement, like a machine gun nest. Joe Gibbs might not be able to use all his muscles with the instant legolas, but a crew-served instant legolas might easily do it all day. 300lb instant legolas warbow nest? Anyone?

Jason Kingsley said this might have been a good weapon in raiding and ambushes, where you're tryng to put down a lot of firepower quickly, then you run away.

When you compare the bow with the instant legolas it only looks like they're balanced in the total amount of shots because you didn't keep going. In your testing, you shoot 1 arrow every 5 seconds with the bow, including reloading time, while the instant legolas shoots 4 arrows in 10 seconds but takes another 20 to reload, which means on average it's shooting 1 arrow every 7,5 seconds, which is actually slower than the bow. In your test it looks like it's the same because you didn't reload after the second volley of the instant legolas. If you did, it would have taken another 20 seconds, which would mean the bow could shoot another 4 arrows. On the next 10 seconds after reloading, the instant legolas would match those 4, but meanwhile the bow could shoot another 2, keeping some advantage that would pile up over time. I'm not sure how much time would a medieval soldier be able to keep shooting, but I feel like it would be enough to, at least, have a certain advantage with the bow. I'm also assuming that even if a trained soldier could shoot faster than you, they would also be able to shoot faster with the instant legolas in the same proportion (like, if they shot twice as fast with the bow, I assume they may shoot twice as fast with the instant legolas). Just to be clear, I'm not trying to say you "cheated" or anything, as far as I know you're an honest guy, and it wouldn't make much sense to cheat in a test when you're actually saying this weapon wouldn't be useful. It just so happens that your test ended at the exact point where both amounts of arrows balance out, and I wanted to point that out.

I think as a specialty weapon for mounted archers might be useful. Probably wouldn't outweigh the negatives still but the idea of mounted archers with these riding in and unleashing a bunch of arrows quickly then riding away to reload and repeat.

3:18 nice Matt moment. Agreed that if it was invented back in those days, its use would have been mainly for the fun of people able to afford it. You could also make the magazine way bigger, and use a thin high quality steel blade for the feeding spring. Next, I suggest trying to see if they could have built a practical compound bow ;)

I think the best use for it might not be scaling it down, but rather scaling it up. I bet that would be really funny on some ballista if you could keep enough ammo on hand. It's already a crew served weapon, so adding a couple handholds for two guys to cycle it quickly is less of an issue. Still not sure how actually useful it would be, but I also haven't taken part in any sieges in a long time.

The only "prtactical use" for this bow, that i can think of, would be for a bodyguard type scenario. Much like the montante, it would probably allow one or two people to defend a target against multiple opponents. And if you're ambushed in an alley, you probably won't have time to reload anyway.

I always thought it'd be a neat idea for self defense of say your home in the modern age without a extremely loud bang or if your against owning guns. Yes guns work, and they work well. But an arrow also works. And it gives you a few shots quickly.

one thing i think this would work well is herass enemy from horseback as they marsh to the battlefeild, 10 horse archers or more riding around the line try to hurt in bursts the enemy line.

Tod makes it look even more fun than I already thought it looked 👍 great video . . . Thoughtful analysis and cool action too

One thing I could see them working for is small scale ambushes, maybe attacking supply carts and stuff like that. Essentially what you've got with these, is for your couple of shots that you've got in the magazine, you have a firepower of much bigger group of men. And for ambush you'd be limited for how many men you can reliably hide, so for these first few seconds you'd have much greater firepower. And after you're empty you don't bother with reloading, you either charge in and finish the stragglers in melee, or if you don't think you've done enough damage, you run away before the enemy regroups.

Joerg Sprave is an absolute legend! KZfaq royalty as far as I'm concerned

I feel like there would be an opportunity to scale this contraption up to say a Scorpion och even ballista size. Sure you get into the questions of how practical those weapons were in the first place but I feel like those who found them practical would appreciate a magazine feature like this.

A military use would only exist for the "hidden archer" case where when he breaks cover, he needs to loose a bunch of arrows and then gt the heck out of there. In that sort of case do 4 quickly and then running away makes sense.

I know it's not European and used a different bow and style, but Lars Anderson is known to use a thumb draw and hold the arrows in the draw hand in a way that makes knocking and drawing was a fluid motion. I'm not saying the longbow should've been done like that, but I am saying it's possible to send arrows down range fast without needing a bulky device that's uses a bunch of moving parts

There's 3 potential "practical" uses for this type of bow that Tod maybe overlooked a little: 1) VIP protection in the Medieval and even early Renaissance period. 2) Hunting/exterminating predators and other dangerous/aggressive game (thing things like mountain lions, wolves, bears and even wild boars) in either earlier periods or in the modern period... Also, potentially useful for hunting small groups of animals (think geese or other medium-sized birds that group together...). 3) This isn't a "real world" application, but: Medieval style fantasy, as a "hero weapon". I really think the the VIP protection is where these types of bows would be the most practical. As a VIP, you wouldn't want that many guards... But, you're also not expecting a large number of attackers. There's no doubt that a repeating bow increases the close and medium range firepower and accuracy of the bow. Cost isn't as much of a concern, because you are arming a small number of guards and you're a VIP... So you have the money. I could see the repeating bow working exceptionally well from on top of castle defenses. I could see it working well to cover the retreat of a noble or prince or king. The "burst fire" is more desirable when you're outnumbered... Which might be the case in VIP protection. For hunting particularly dangerous and aggressive game: It's funny, because I'm specifically thinking of the wild boar in the US. There are HUGE herds of boar (50 to even 100). They're about the same size as humans... And they're highly aggressive and dangerous. You shoot at the herd of boar, and the rest of the herd is just going to charge you and your hunting party. In that situation, having a burst of fire, to kill as many as possible as quickly as possible, even if the sustained fire rate is about the same, is highly valuable. Also, in that kind of situation, you might not be as worried about "hunting" (as in gathering the meat) as you are in just killing the boar to make a nearby town safer. I'd imagine the same might be true for packs of wolves. The point is: for hunting, the higher rate of fire is more useful when the animal is aggressive, rather then skittish, and when it's large groups of animals, rather then a single animal. For fantasy: If the having the hero be the only person (or one of the only people) with this "advanced" repeating weapon can explain why that hero has an advantage in combat. You could have something like a medieval version of Batman... Where having the best equipment possible for the time period is a defining aspect of the hero.

I feel, that fun is a often overlooked reason in shooting. Especially when it comes to shooting clubs here. Its all (or 90%) about sport and performance.

One possible martial use would be to allow those who don't shoot often, such as women, to participate in siege defense. Several dozen women firing arrows rapid fire from instant legolas would probably have a large enough suppressive effect to help other soldiers start a breakout. Admittedly a very limited use that may rely on changes in doctrine and social norms from medieval custom.

For fun, but I could also see it being an interesting weapon for like a bodyguard or something. If you need to lay down the law quickly with some shock and awe, it could put assailants on the run instantly.

Joerg will love this.

in terms of usefulness, I think a last consideration of many of Jeorg's videos is achieving a formidable home defense weapon in the face of German gun laws.

It would have been perfect for mounted archers. Get within range, fire off your magazine, retreat and reload.

If you had a medieval SWAT team, forest ambush or Red Wedding situation, there might be a very situational use case where a smaller force would want to get off many shots before a larger defending force can get their weapons out or close the distance to you. I'd put this up there with breaching shotguns, flamethrowers and very situational specialist tools like that Reivers bow you made a video about. No army today equips everyone with flamethrowers even if they do look very cool.

I can see it having niche applications in war or civilian self-defence, a bit like the Chinese repeating crossbow. It could be given to skirmishers for hit and run attacks, or a version of the gunpowder-era 'Caracole' tactic where cavalry would advance to fire and retreat to reload in a continuous circle. Also, in point defence situations, where a limited number of shooting positions were available (e.g. arrow loops on castles), a small number of defenders could lay down a heavy barrage to deter an attack and could be assisted by a loader with a spare weapon.

I think it would still be used in war, just not as a full-on replacement for the regular longbow. It would be for a very specific purpose. For example, I could imagine archers on a defensive wall with 2 or 3 bows that have magazines, to be used in the event of a full-scale assault to quickly throw a lot of arrows at a group of charging attackers. And then they'd have to switch to something else, because there's no way you can rapid fire for hours on end anyways.

As always fantastic video. My DnD brain though likes to work overtime on these contraptions. It Might not be for warfare, but it might just work for bodyguards protecting VIPs if you can craft them compact enough to navigate indoors and confined areas to protect from multiple attackers. But a small repeating xbow might be even better 😊. Stopping power in that capacity changes bc it would not be needed to penetrate and significant armour and sharp broadheads will easily defeat even gambeson with pretty light poundage’s.

To be fair, I can imagine using those suppressing fire shots at short range. In this setup, if it were to work the way I'm picturing, it would not replace the longbow. It would be an additional strategy, an additional unit to add, no different from a crossbowman. Picture this setup: Longbowmen in the back, letting loose a cloud of arrows to fall on the enemy from on high, as artillery. Quickbowmen behind the front lines, waiting for the enemy to begin their charge into the wall you've made, of shields and pikes and swords and maces and axes. As they get close, the quickbowmen pull, aim, fire, push, and again thrice more; it slows enemy momentum, perhaps downs a few, causes stumbles in the charge. They reach your wall weakened, and the quickbowmen fall back, find a spot to hide, reload their bow-box, and run a quick check of the slides. Then, pull, aim, fire, push again, thrice more, from another angle. Tell me that wouldn't cause _some_ revolution to the battlefield - at least until they took it to the next logical step and made the actual crossbow!

Awesome video Tod, interesting and funny throughout.👏

I still really, really want to see a seige version of this. A larger magazine, heavier weight bolts and draw, maybe drawn back by a lever mechanism or windlass device. With one loader recharging magazines and one gunner firing, I wonder how effective it could be at putting seriously unpleasant things down range?

Valid points, but the Instant Legolas is for exactly what Legolas did it for: close-order combat with a ranged weapon. That's where it matters, and that's where it works. It's a kick-squad weapon, where a sudden flurry is enough to tip the balance.

I'm inclined to believe that had the instant legolas been invented back then, archers and the way bows were used in warfare would have adapted to suit it. Imagine each archer using one bow whilst another archer reloaded a second one, ready to swap bows at a moments notice. For suppressive fire, that would have been formidable. Even better, when the first archer gets tired, he and the loader can swap places. Fewer archers shooting at any one time, but actually launching more arrows per minute, and for twice as long.

Been excited to see this one after the teaser on FB

that last montage showed a perfectly good usage for this kind of weapon in a fight though.. and looked cool!

I think people keep misunderstanding how bows were used in warfare - probably due to all the hagiography around the longbow. A bow was not a battle winning weapon, it was a battlefield shaping weapon. Ranged weapons didn't become able to stop or scatter formations of men by themselves until the invention of the cartridge. So, on a battlefield, the extra firepower provided by the magazine still isn't going to allow you to knock over formations. Instead, you'd be better served by carrying an equivalent weight of extra arrows - more arrows means more ability to harry and disrupt the enemy before they make contact with your lines.

The Whipshot would be awesome if you had an obstacle course set up with dynamic targets.

i think in niche applications, bodyguards, border reivers, highwaymen, police etc, they would have loved them, there are a great many weapons that are useless for war, for hunting and for target shooting, imagine a blunderbuss in any of those applications? a nobleman travelling quickly with a light retinue might have favoured such a device, obviously not the large warbow, but the sort range 45lb for multiple assailants would be invaluable. i agree that the instant legolas wouldnt have changed warfare dramatically, but i absolutely think it would be a known and feared weapon.

I love it when Tod has fun.

I'm a traditionalist as well, I love my "horsebows" but the idea of a "home defense rapid fire bow" is just so juicy I may give in and buy this monstrosity

That part with several Joes rapid firing made me laugh

I am Sioux and we were known along with other plains tribes to shoot fast along with the steppe tribes. Even i can shoot an arrow every 3 seconds which is what we were known to do. U dont need a big contraption to shoot fast if u know what youre doing. U can hold 3 arrows in your drawhand and sinply drop the arrows down. There are videos of men doing it with 80+ pound bows.

If I were the head of a medieval mercenary company, I'd have a small group of guys, maybe a dozen or so, whose specialization would be to use these. Perfect to protect a VIP or valuable cargo on the road, or in any defensive capacity. It'd be like a modern machine gun user in modern militaries. That's his whole thing, that weapon system.

Thanks for showing us all those features

Awesome stuff :) What about a heavy, emplaced variety to make up for the poundage loss? Mount the bow horizontally, magazine up, on a tripod or directly to a wall. Can row back with both arms while a second person reloads. Using a rowing motion, maybe using your legs too, seems like you could basically have a rapid fire ballista.

Imagine if Jorg got a sponsorship deal to feature his bow in Green Arrow movie or something. XD Cuz it does look amazingly cool for action sequences.

Brilliant video, loved it. Thanks

i think these still have a use in (medieval) hunting or self defense. in hunting, they let you quickly get a second shot off if you missed the first one, which gives you a second chance. in self defense, range isn't important, and you only need enough power to subdue the home invader, and extra arrows in case you miss due to it being a sudden, stressful situation, is very useful.

Love your collaborations. ❤

The multi shot bot is just a touch faster when reloading is factored in. However, having 4 arrows ready for rapid fire would have really worked for medium range, lightly armoured foes. Then treat them like the later musketeers. 1st row fires four arrows then retreats to the back and reloads. While they reload, the new front row (previously 2nd row) fires 4 then retreats to the back row and reloads, etc etc. Hypothetically if this was a thing, it would be purely a battlefield weapon, used in certain circumstances. Possibly suppressing fire? Or just a better way to get a higher number of arrows out per minute with 2-3 rows of archers. Though I think the cost and time to make them would make it not worth it. But for sustained fire over a longer time, assuming you have enough arrows, this could work as you would only have to fire 4 arrows before retreating back a row to reload. Giving yourself a little rest from shooting while reloading. Honestly though I think a multi shot crossbow would have made more sense. Not really possible but hypothetically if possible would have helped a lot with self defense. Approximately 4 shots to hit your attacker instead of just one. This would be just like what the revolver did in the 1800's. Sure it's way longer to reload but when you need it the most, you have the few extra shots. Keeping yourself alive and then you can reload when the heat is off you. A note about repeating crossbows. A fully semi automatic crossbow is what I'm talking about here, so like a repeating crossbow 2.0. Way smaller, concealable and great for point defense where you need to deal with a threat close to you but miss the first shot.

Since i cant see mentioned in other comments, i will. We know from documents the great trouble english kings went through to equip their "regular" archers with not just bows, but quality ARROWS. It was hard even for a KING to supply his archers with just a dozen shots. Can you imagine trying to get at least TEN dozens for your archers, in addition to all the fangled mechanical devices that are prone to jamming and, with being manufactured in large quantities, prone to breaking? And for what effect? So that a huge volley of arrows impacts on a bunch of knights in a shorter amount of time, with way less efficiency per arrow? At best, it would only have a similar effect as regular bows at a huge cost increase (think about it, sure, it might be scary to face a hundred times the arrows, but then you look around and see that hardly anyone is injured or dead and you'd just continue advancing). No, it probably would have been invented had it been able to be useful (like the famous cho-ku-nu) but given medieval european circumstances, it would have been a whole lot of effort for no benefit.

I bet it would be a good mechanism for stationary ballista kinda things where it could be loaded with a lot more arrows And/or a wealthy estate could have teams with several of these and people to keep loading more of them Or just as a shock tactic to pump out a bunch then switch to a normal bow for sustained engagements They would have found a way to use it if they had it