I read further. So, odds are the very best archers were outlaws. For all intent purpose illegal hunters like Robin Hood. Now, what weights do most hunters hunt with? What range do most hunters drop their prey at ? About 50lbs and 20 yards. I suspect the same then.

So, would you take men that can actually use their weapon effectively and not use them in positions that would benefit their attributes and tactics of elusiveness? As I stated long ago. Shooting up in the air at a distance is shooting? Or is aimed archery shooting? Which requires the greater skill? Standing back and being strong lobbing arrows or getting in close to take your shots and doing your best to escape after you dropped your targets and coming back around next opportunity? Which over all would be more effective? At Agincourt do to the conditions of the field. Hanging back worked great.

Funny I read others that said the shortbowman was the lowest soldier on the field. I doubted then and now we read those standback foot archers were basically that, yet, most believe in the legend because they read longbow oh, Those things are 50thousand pounds of pull and those guys were serious. When more than likely these guys used more 20-40 pounds over what they could be capable of using for hunting but aside from amount of cash they had they probably were not very good archers. But we can get them to shoot slightly heavier bows and land arrows along that line. The better archers got much closer. These were hunter/killers. SKILLED Outlaws. With differing levels of skill amound the professional soldiers who were archers and farmers who likely became the heavy longbow men with bows not as heavy as the pros on the Rose. Those guys probably show up and taught these Farmers tactics and technique.

Anyway, unlike Bawang I believe the best archers used much lighter weights at closer range. Things got twisted and weights got thrown around and everyone wants to believe the strongest.

Longbow does not always mean- 150lbs. It is a type of bow with heights and weights that VARIED! But people see 6ft+ and 110+ inside their minds eye. All of England bowmen common and pro somehow were the strongest archers ever. Simply a fallacy. And Id take a weaker skilled I can hit my target archer over a strong I can get it close to the target archer. Almost always he is the more needed archer.