LogFAQs > #929477234

Kolibri X posted...

Its a myth that bows and arrows outraged muskets. This probably started because conscripts were poorly trained and bad shots. There really isn't any historical accounts were musketeers could not return fire because they were not in range. But in fact, there are accounts where arrows could not hit/reach musketeers. Also, longbows could not be used on horseback, so there's also that.

I think pop culture plays a big role. In films blackpowder firearms are often depicted as weapons for the untrained masses, they're super inaccurate, slow and they're only good at very close ranges. Meanwhile the bow has figures like Legolas who can throw out a million accurate arrows a minute.

But that's not only it. During the French War of Religion protestant infantry carried a great deal of firearms but despite this they were beaten by pikemen. During the American Civil War the combat ranges remained the same more or less, rifled muskets didn't change much in that regard. French officer Ardant du Picq tried to find out why breech loading rifles were inaccurate at longer ranges following the Franco-Prussian War.

But that's not because the weapons were inaccurate. You had men like Master Jean sniping officers with early firearms, the Spaniards used their arquebuses to snipe Mexica officers during the Aztec Conquest. Humphrey Barwick, English mercenary who fought at the lowlands, wrote that he felt confident he was a better shot than any longbowmen back in England with his arquebus in only months of usage. What caused accuracy to plummet at longer ranges during mass battle was the stress caused by battlefield conditions. Most men aren't going to be able to keep their cool when you hear people dying all around you, there's smoke everywhere and there's people trying to kill you. This is why armies tended to engage at shorter ranges.

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