Pretty fascinating. Includes some information that might be helpful in choosing how to treat arrow wounds. And shot placement. But really interesting facts about arrow wounds recorded by a frontier doctor over many years. 


https://youtu.be/egWRqmpSa48?si=aeBjljubn6S-SOza

I forget exactly which tribe it was that would smear feces (either human or animal) on their arrows as a sort of biological warfare. This way if the target survived the initial arrow shot, infection would set in later on and kill them a short period of time afterwards.

The TV series "1883", which is a prequel to the "Yellowstone" series, demonstrates that in one of the later episodes (like towards the end of the series I believe.)

Man, this video is wild! I never thought about the arrowhead detaching and causing further injury. Also, there's something pretty grim about that percentage of wounds to the arms; the projectile is slow enough to try and block, but fast enough to be lethal. 

Really interesting stuff. I'm going to check it out with my son again, because he's into archery. 

Quote from: echo83 on September 05, 2026, 08:55:07 AMMan, this video is wild! I never thought about the arrowhead detaching and causing further injury. Also, there's something pretty grim about that percentage of wounds to the arms; the projectile is slow enough to try and block, but fast enough to be lethal.

Really interesting stuff. I'm going to check it out with my son again, because he's into archery.

I shot a bow alot when I was kid. Even into my teen years I shot this little recurve that was 35lbs. Just for fun around the house outside. We lived in the middle of an orchard. No close neighbors. 

I don't know how I figured it out. But when you shoot a target arrow into a lionshead plant (sort of a cactusie compact, green leafed little plant that grows in super tight bunches) that the arrow would bounce off and pitch right back at you. 

I was a stupid kid. The first time it happened I just instinctively reacted and swatted the arrow away with my arm and the bow. And it deflected the arrow off to my side.

So you know where this is going right?! 🙄 I started doing it over and over. "Because it was sooo cool!". (DUMBASS!) 

But this reminds me of the high percentage of arrow hits to the arms. That's true. I can totally see swinging your arm up to deflect an incoming arrow. Because I was a stupid kid once, with to much time on his hands, and to much access to lethal weapons. 

(Shotgun fights with shells you simply removed the pellets from?! Ya. Kind of like a gun powder fueled wadding fight. That crap hurt pretty good when it slapped your neck or your back. My foster brother did this once. And even though I was fsr younger than him. I read him the riot act about gun safety. And he never did it again. He got.ke good a few times tho. Talk about dumbbass!) 

But ya. Arrows to the arms totally makes sense. And honestly I don't think those hand made bows were that high of poundage. So probably a slower arrow than what we would expect today. 

Crazy video tho right?! Really interesting. 

Quote from: Moab on September 05, 2026, 01:01:44 PM

Quote from: echo83 on September 05, 2026, 08:55:07 AMMan, this video is wild! I never thought about the arrowhead detaching and causing further injury. Also, there's something pretty grim about that percentage of wounds to the arms; the projectile is slow enough to try and block, but fast enough to be lethal.

Really interesting stuff. I'm going to check it out with my son again, because he's into archery.

I shot a bow alot when I was kid. Even into my teen years I shot this little recurve that was 35lbs. Just for fun around the house outside. We lived in the middle of an orchard. No close neighbors.

I don't know how I figured it out. But when you shoot a target arrow into a lionshead plant (sort of a cactusie compact, green leafed little plant that grows in super tight bunches) that the arrow would bounce off and pitch right back at you.

I was a stupid kid. The first time it happened I just instinctively reacted and swatted the arrow away with my arm and the bow. And it deflected the arrow off to my side.

So you know where this is going right?! 🙄 I started doing it over and over. "Because it was sooo cool!". (DUMBASS!)

But this reminds me of the high percentage of arrow hits to the arms. That's true. I can totally see swinging your arm up to deflect an incoming arrow. Because I was a stupid kid once, with to much time on his hands, and to much access to lethal weapons.

(Shotgun fights with shells you simply removed the pellets from?! Ya. Kind of like a gun powder fueled wadding fight. That crap hurt pretty good when it slapped your neck or your back. My foster brother did this once. And even though I was fsr younger than him. I read him the riot act about gun safety. And he never did it again. He got.ke good a few times tho. Talk about dumbbass!)

But ya. Arrows to the arms totally makes sense. And honestly I don't think those hand made bows were that high of poundage. So probably a slower arrow than what we would expect today.

Crazy video tho right?! Really interesting.

When my parents were out one summer evening, one of my 5 older brothers miraculously produced a bow and some arrows. (Most likely liberated from a camp. No idea where it came from.)

A few minutes later, I was in the yard with my 4 other brothers, holding trash can lids like shields. As the youngest and smallest brother, I got the worst and smallest lid, which was made of plastic instead of metal. 

My brother fired an arrow straight up into the air, and the rest of us ran out in the yard and sheltered under our shields, looking at eachother and waiting for the arrow to come back down. I was holding my lid with my arm fully extended, straight above my head. 

The arrow came down at a high enough velocity to punch through my shield, missing my fist and running parallel to my arm, then stopping just before the fletching snagged on the lid. If I hadn't had my arm fully extended, and if the arrow was about 6 inches further over, it probably would have gone directly into the top of my head. 

My brother promptly unstrung the bow, cut the bow string in half, buried the bow in the yard, and we never told my parents. We still never have. 

Our guardian angels were the hardest-working of the bunch. 

Quote from: echo83 on September 05, 2026, 04:02:37 PM

Quote from: Moab on September 05, 2026, 01:01:44 PM

Quote from: echo83 on September 05, 2026, 08:55:07 AMMan, this video is wild! I never thought about the arrowhead detaching and causing further injury. Also, there's something pretty grim about that percentage of wounds to the arms; the projectile is slow enough to try and block, but fast enough to be lethal.

Really interesting stuff. I'm going to check it out with my son again, because he's into archery.

I shot a bow alot when I was kid. Even into my teen years I shot this little recurve that was 35lbs. Just for fun around the house outside. We lived in the middle of an orchard. No close neighbors.

I don't know how I figured it out. But when you shoot a target arrow into a lionshead plant (sort of a cactusie compact, green leafed little plant that grows in super tight bunches) that the arrow would bounce off and pitch right back at you.

I was a stupid kid. The first time it happened I just instinctively reacted and swatted the arrow away with my arm and the bow. And it deflected the arrow off to my side.

So you know where this is going right?! 🙄 I started doing it over and over. "Because it was sooo cool!". (DUMBASS!)

But this reminds me of the high percentage of arrow hits to the arms. That's true. I can totally see swinging your arm up to deflect an incoming arrow. Because I was a stupid kid once, with to much time on his hands, and to much access to lethal weapons.

(Shotgun fights with shells you simply removed the pellets from?! Ya. Kind of like a gun powder fueled wadding fight. That crap hurt pretty good when it slapped your neck or your back. My foster brother did this once. And even though I was fsr younger than him. I read him the riot act about gun safety. And he never did it again. He got.ke good a few times tho. Talk about dumbbass!)

But ya. Arrows to the arms totally makes sense. And honestly I don't think those hand made bows were that high of poundage. So probably a slower arrow than what we would expect today.

Crazy video tho right?! Really interesting.

When my parents were out one summer evening, one of my 5 older brothers miraculously produced a bow and some arrows. (Most likely liberated from a camp. No idea where it came from.)

A few minutes later, I was in the yard with my 4 other brothers, holding trash can lids like shields. As the youngest and smallest brother, I got the worst and smallest lid, which was made of plastic instead of metal.

My brother fired an arrow straight up into the air, and the rest of us ran out in the yard and sheltered under our shields, looking at eachother and waiting for the arrow to come back down. I was holding my lid with my arm fully extended, straight above my head.

The arrow came down at a high enough velocity to punch through my shield, missing my fist and running parallel to my arm, then stopping just before the fletching snagged on the lid. If I hadn't had my arm fully extended, and if the arrow was about 6 inches further over, it probably would have gone directly into the top of my head.

My brother promptly unstrung the bow, cut the bow string in half, buried the bow in the yard, and we never told my parents. We still never have.

Our guardian angels were the hardest-working of the bunch.

I felt the same way when my foster brother shot me with the "emptied" shotgun shell. One tiny pellet left in there behind the wadding or wherever. And I could have died. I got mad because I couldn't believe how stupid he was. He was like 15 and I was like 10. I was like - what are you thinking?!

This also reminds me of bb gun fights. Another stupid practice. My friends and I in junior high would dress up I'm thick winter clothes and ski google. And have bb gun fights. I had short front tooth until my 40s. That got the top knocked off it. My dentist didn't fix it. He just ground the tooth in the other side to the same length. Lol. 

Could have easily lost an eye. 

I guess 80s kids really were feral. I think of all the crap I did without parental supervision at all. And then I think about my own son. What a different generation. I remember begging him to break a rule. He was such a rule follower. I would be like "where's the rebellion?! Where's the wild adventure?!". I think kids these days lose a lot of the sense of taking chances. 

Not that I would want them in the dangerous feral situations we ended up in. But there has to be a happy medium somewhere.