Archery | Can You Shoot A Bow Horizontally?

It might look as badass as the gangster pistol grip, but is it effective?
Handmade Traditional Short Bow donated by Mandarin Duck Outfitters:
www.mandarindu...
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/ nusensei

[@muichiroutokito9159]

...venti? jk no it’s a really interesting wayy ;D

[@butterflycheese8453]

FINALLY A GENSHIN PLAYER~~

[@S4ND55]

I came here because of Venti xD

[@miizuran2312]

Yeah venti style

[@rachelyang3264]

thats why i searched for this!! wow i wasnt the only one...

[@norbertavillanueva5064]

im seen this by the same reason Venti horizontal shooting

[@boek8328]

I can imaging shooting sideways was ambush tactics, since the bow wont stick up from where you hide and give you away. You can also crouch very low and shoot this way, sneaking up on enemy or prey.

[@ecMonify]

i guess that is why most hunter-gatherers nowadays hold the bow horizontally. at least from what i've seen.

[@simaoguedes_08]

Yeah it's mostly used for hunting

[@stupid2574]

skyrim

[@CrisperPoet]

so basically what he said in his summary statement, it could be done to compensate for outside factors, but is itself not inherently advantageous.

[@GallopingWalrus]

Uhm, most hunters shoot canted or vertical. Also, sporting a bow limb among bushes is surprisingly hard, so hiding them wasn't such a big deal back in medieval times.

[@disturbedindividual4186]

The Medieval-hood type of shooting

[@thecraftinfluffy149]

lool

[@bryanotero123]

Thanks for the quality laugh amigo

[@thetitanian5544]

Peasant archery

[@yitura76]

Robin... hood?

[@assaultspoon4925]

Thy brigands hath entered a most incorrext neighboorhood foo!

[@Shaunhub]

“It is completely safe. Nothing bad will happen with the bow the arrow or the shooter” * 30 seconds later * “Ow! Okay that can happen too”

[@carvedwood1953]

That happens shooting vertically, horizontally, canted, every single way. You cant shoot a bow without sometimes getting string whipped.

[@hustlemami8732]

@@carvedwood1953 how do you avoid hitting your arm when shooting horizontally?

[@youriricher1123]

@@hustlemami8732 Anchor point on chest ?

[@ignaciocatalan6592]

0:30 "yes, you can" [credits start rolling]

[@MarlowPreston]

Just a reminder for the Hanzo comments that he actually holds his bow vertically in his third person model, it's just that he holds it horizontally in first person view for gameplay reasons, IE, to let you see. There's other things like Zarya's melee in first person being a punch while in third person it's a big under swing with her cannon that would cover most of her left field of view if it was also that in first person.

[@norav.9796]

What's your profile picture

[@yekkub9425]

What's your profile picture

[@fairytailluna4524]

Sauce?

[@GaryTurbo]

Far cry does first person archery much better

[@coolestgamenerd]

Hip fire for a bow. Stats: -Less power -Arrow spread + Less draw time

[@ojojojom]

Venti Mains:Yes

[@Mtggg]

Another beautiful video. Consistent. Accurately explained. Not telling you, that you can't, and explaining the difference between him and those who do

[@ericappiah5235]

Had the bow set up at a pro shop. It performed just fine kzbin.infoUgkxQEKUoxLWwayEDZR0NKB-5limn4MBU-2L . And I would say this is a good starting now that I could pass down to my son when he is older.But the package was missing the release and a nock was missing from one arrow.Dealing with customer support was terrible. They suggested I buy a new release rather than correct their own quality control issue because it’s to expensive for the. to ship it out from China.Update: manufacturer got back to me and resolved the issue. I retract the above statement.

[@VentiVonOsterreich]

you're the skallagrim of archery

[@NUSensei]

What would be the pommel gag of archery?

[@Matamune87]

Choke your opponent with the bow string

[@NUSensei]

Oh wait, I've already got it. "Hit them with the bow".

[@HansPeter-qg2vc]

No! Thou shalt remove thine arrow's nock and throw it at thine enemy for this is the only way to end him rightly! Tbph, tough: I have no idea whether that's even possible with the arrows you use. I only use carbon arrows and know nothing about the other kinds. ;-)

[@cadethumann8605]

Girom Christian Calica Meh, I like Nusensei more. While I am more of a sword guy than an archer myself, I find nusensei to be more appealing as I find him to be a very nice person. Even when he is critiquing stuff, he is not snarky or mean-spirited about it (at worst, he may be alarmed of practices that endanger the user, the user's equipment, or other things that are really serious). With skallagrimm, I find him to be a pompous jerk as he is snarky and rude when it comes to things he finds wrong. It is especially grating when he acts as if inaccuracies would get people killed even though we don't go out with swords anymore. Bottom line, I wouldn't call nusensei the archery counterpart of skallagrimm. I'd rather equivalate him with blood and iron hema as both channels get straight to the point and are not rude about inaccuracies.

[@Luigi88765]

Hanzo mains are raging

[@nicklava4480]

I'm a hanzo main, and i know that the bow only looks like this from first person view. in reality, the bow is more diagonally orientated.

[@Luigi88765]

I think is more to do with the gameplay, it would be really annoying if the bow was vertically, you wouldn't see half the screen

[@catac1ysm13]

Enrique Castro funny thing was back in season 1 you could switch between the 2 aiming style if you jumped you aimed it normal style

[@comment7723]

Enrique Castro like zarya, my gold gun probably covers 60 percent of my damn screen!

[@dragonm.mystic8260]

I'm hanzo main and archer. I shoot both ways. I'm not raging.

[@hakdog4882]

RYUUGA WAGA TEKIWO KURAU!!

[@fluffypinkpandas]

Yrael Hernandez im 100th like on this comment

[@unclestone8406]

*RYUJIN NO KEN WO **_KURAE!!_*

[@davidsalman8362]

Vat?! :| is that... an insult? :0 Gomu Gomu nooooooo... >:(

[@c17bykenshi67]

David Salman that’s an overwatch reference xD i don’t blame you for thinking otherwise tho xD

[@gyuhwool653]

Venti be like:

[@butterflycheese8453]

I see another Gendhin player..

[@S4ND55]

Ah, fellow genshin player

[@eiwhaz-tina6528]

Yes

[@TheTransforcer]

4:00 when he discovers he owns an infinite quiver! Also there is draw weight- having a decreased draw because your torso is in the way lessens the power of the shot.

[@Debilinside]

This was my first thought. Maybe it makes a bit easier rapid shooting because the arrow cant slip off. Maybe.

[@shiinaai2978]

I think the only reason why anyone would want to shoot arrows like this is when you're running, like how Legolas is famous for doing. The normal vertical draws will probably end up scratching the ground while running, if your bow is long enough to touch the ground or obstructions on the ground. I can see longbows suffering this problem, but normal recurve bows that we use in amateur and professional archery is quite unlikely to have this problem.

[@TheTransforcer]

Shiina Ai especially fantasy bows, for they seem rather stout, drawing draw poundage from rigid limbs mostly. Even a normal recurve would clear most ground obstacles. I'd think long bows would be those most affected.

[@brcoutme]

I was thinking about the rapid shooting thing too, if you don't care (too much) about accuracy like when firing in a volley. The most obvious situation (to me) for using this style of firing a bow is while lying down; I can't imagine traditional up and down would be easy while prone. Since firearms are fired while prone so often, it is reasonable to imagine firing a bow in such a position might have been useful historically.

[@TheTransforcer]

Brian Cotuinho one key note between bows and firearms though: their profile and area of operation is far less than that of a bow. When shooting a gun, you only need some square inches worth of space to have your hands the body of the gun and the barrel which already sticks out the front, very compact and not much can get in the way of it. A bow however not only has 4-5' limb span that you'd need just as much clearance horizontally as you would vertically if standing normally, but you need a lot of space on both sides and the behind the bow for clear pathways for the drawn back limbs. Not mentioning that you would have to put a lot of energy straining to keep the bow off the ground while firing it so it that it DOESNT scrape against the ground, AND your draw arm would be in a very bad position for drawing the bow back. Now, sitting down and using the bow sideways, that's a much more plausible scenario. I can see that being used for hunting and you are either hiding under something or want to minimize your profile.

[@rurushu8094]

Despite being a firearms and airsoft enthusiast, these archery videos are very interesting to me!

[@Abdalmaus]

ちんちん？

[@RicardoMenson]

I was literally just walking trough youtube with zero interest in actual IRL shooting with anything, and videos on this channes are still interesting to me.

[@thecraftinfluffy149]

basically anything that shoots lool, bows = Second Amendment fallout plan

[@Hyper88]

Chin Chin The Dark Lord Bring back franku you fiend!

[@UsenameTakenWasTaken]

I like to think of myself as a projectile enthusiast.

[@randykenyon2221]

I make replica Native American bows. I learned from some elders that the short bow was used by horse riders and side ways shooting was easier that didn't hit the horse's shoulder or neck. Great videos! Thank you.

[@MegamikazeMoriko]

that's how like gangsters shoot their guns sideways

[@armynurseboy]

sideways hold is more instinctive and natural due to the way the ulna and radius bones sit in the forearm. Notice when you extend your arm forward (like in a punch), your fist naturally tends to rotate thumbs in. The issue with sideways shooting is what NuSensei said: it's hard to aim. Holding a gun sideways takes the sights out of the alignment with the eye. However, while it is generally true that using the sights is preferable, there are situations where instinctive "point shooting" is actually beneficial (extreme close quarters; when speed is preferable over pinpoint accuracy; etc).

[@houselightkell]

Ancient gangster ancestors: X- Pride

[@novelyst]

why is there a space

[@reaperking7748]

Your videos got me back into archery after 13 years

[@PooMonkeyMan]

Finally, a wide angle video! It's a good change to all the tight videos you use to record. And great topic!

[@cadethumann8605]

EnterTheFatrix Funnily enough, the wide angle is fitting considering the topic of the video revolves around holding the bow horizontally. Lol

[@edmcgugan2079]

Nice video. Thanks for being willing to take on such questions. A shoulder injury has changed my archery form after decades of shooting. Won gold at the Ontario para winter games earlier this year using the revised form. When shooting in the back yard with a light "fun" bow however, I shoot exactly as you are showing here. And yes, it is very instinctive but remarkably accurate. Just like throwing a ball eh! Good videos. Keep up the good work!

[@levitatingoctahedron922]

Sorry for the long post but this is a specific topic I have an unusual amount of knowledge on. You mention that some pre-modern cultures use their bows horizontally. These are usually people that are using relatively small bows that they are using on small game or with poison-tipped arrows on larger game. There are actually a few reasons that they do this, it's by no means random. 1: Fletching protection. These people rely on their arrows for their lifestyle and when an arrow is resting against a hand or in a cornered surface that's more surface area that the fletching is wearing itself down on. These aren't factory-made modern tech arrows. They are binding split feathers to stone-scraped shafts with cordage or sinews and natural adhesives. Usually nock orientation is involved in this fletching protection as well, to keep friction as much off of the bindings as possible. 2: Hand protection. No reason for hand protection like that big fat glove you're wearing when firing horizontally. Arrows just rest flat on the bow away from your hand. 3: Aiming consistency. People that use bows like this are using ones that are small enough to pull full draw with them horizontal up at their face. With a small flat-sided bow design I would argue that it's superior to hold it horizontally as there are less variables involved in the arrow being fired, say the flights rubbing against your hands, and I wouldn't be surprised if this is what hunter-gatherers that use bows like this have in mind as well. These are usually bows that have a small enough poundage to be pulled back by simply pinching the nock, which also adds to the consistency of firing as opposed to having the string slip past your fingers, and removes even more need for finger protection. The stance is different than what you're using as well, which makes sense as the bow you're using is too big for a proper arched-arm grip(protects wrist from the string). It's not really a matter of looking cool or using a different style, it's just that when a bow is below a certain poundage that's the best way to fire them. This is at least what I learned through four years of prehistoric living studies at uni and building and using all kinds of bows myself. When making a small low-poundage bush bow I fire it horizontally, anything larger diagonally or vertically. It's actually very natural to use the small ones horizontally, much more so than vertically. Try it out with a flat-sided bow that's low-poundage enough to draw by pinching the nock of the arrow and you might see exactly what I'm talking about. Hope I answered some questions.

[@cadethumann8605]

In Skyrim, I notice that the player character (or dragonborn) switches from holding a drawn bow vertically to horizontally when he/she crouches/sneaks around. Do you think this is an easier position to use and/or hold when crouching while moving around than using a vertical position?

[@NUSensei]

Many bows are too large to be held upright when crouched, so this would be a necessity.

[@JimRFF]

Another factor too (for real-world plausibility) would be if you were hunting and crouched down in low brush or tall grass and didn't want to alert game that might see the upper half of a bow sticking up into the air... so a more horizontal angle could be considered "sneakier"

[@Ultrox007]

"In a video game where I can pick up a bucket I'm standing on in order to fly." Jokes aside it's probably because the bow is too long to be held vertically while crouched, so they'd have to turn it, lest it would clip through the ground.

[@thefracturedbutwhole5475]

@@JimRFF that is nonsense, why would an animal get spoiled by a "stick" poking out of a bush or whatever? If anything the movement of nocking an arrow or drawing the bow would alert an animal.

[@oscarhawkley]

As a longbower I tilt my bow if I shoot from kneeling, but only enough that it isn't going to scrape on the floor

[@sawysauce1256]

Wow the sound of the release, never get tired of it

[@reqq47]

I think shooting horizontally (or little tilted way) may come from cavalry archery: it's easier to keep the bow from hitting the horse while aiming if the bow is not exactly up right position even when using relatively short bow.

[@ryanpatterson8509]

Thank you chief, I am just starting out in archery and all of your videos are very informative and strangely calming.

[@2Imperius5]

Love this guy. Straight forward, no bullshit.

[@leonaldobrum]

You really have a credible answer to all our questions, don't you?... Outstanding.

[@airchompz]

I enjoyed this video and think this channel stands up with the greats such as Skallagrim, Scholagladatoria, Shadiversity and the Metatron. Can't forget the Slingshot Channel. Subscribed! Look forward to more great archery videos, tests and myth debunking! Cheers from Canada.

[@markchambers2812]

62 and shooting for May years , ty still learning 👍 I just started teaching at a local Archery shop / club , after 2 years in wheelchair and 3 in a nursing home , it’s all coming back . My goal is to share my passion 👍 mark south Louisiana

[@NUSensei]

Good on ya, Mark!

[@IrrelevantPlease]

SIMPLE GEOMETRY

[@ScienceDiscoverer]

TRIGONOMETRY*

[@chrissaliaras4843]

Simple geometry is now long gone

[@doggonemess1]

"Could you launch an ICBM horizontally?" "Sure, why would you want to?" :)

[@vargas4maggot]

Wow so much information in such a short amount of time, that is the content needed for KZbin. Thank you very much, I enjoyed it and will give it a shot ;)

[@justinvzu01]

As proven by Lara Croft in Tomb Raider 2013, it makes your vertical footprint smaller, making you able to conceal more easily behind objects.

[@MusikCassette]

I remember a reanactment situation, where we needed to shoot sideways. We were shooting out of the cover of a balustrade and we just did not have the place to hold the bows the normal way. I would emagine, that in the context of a historic battlefield this would be a quite common.

[@greyfells2829]

love how fast you get to the point in the vid, appreciate that

[@captlowrez5455]

Now Im no expert in archery whatsoever. In fact, Im still fairly new to it. But I can only think of one solution as to why someone would hold a bow horizontally. I can imagine archers from way back when had to be pretty creative, yet more versatile when having to deal with unique situations accordingly. Most of the time archers are shooting from a distance. So being able to get a full draw in or even just having the maximum range of draws to choose from would be essential/crucial. So holding the bow vertically was the most optimal. However, in a situation where archers had to defend a point of like a high wall of a castle (for example) and stop people from climbing up, (from my own experimenting) I found that holding the bow horizontally was more optimal and effective than holding the bow vertically. While holding the bow vertically, if I wanted to aim at a target beneath me, lets say at a 90 degree angle (straight down) I would have to lean out soo far and position my body in such a position that Im way off kilter. Its soo uncomfortable and my balance is not planted or firm. Aiming was especially difficult because of the position I was in. Aiming at anything more than 65 degrees downward was hard. Not to mention walking or side stepping while aiming downward, the bottom of the bow would get in your way. But holding the bow horizontally, I was able to not only shoot arrows straight down with ease, but I was comfortable, firm/planted and aiming was much easier. You still cant get a full draw but since you are aiming downward, gravity will take care of the rest. Also, I could even go past 90 degrees and aim my arrows accurately still. And then I found a new stance. (At least to me) I found myself with a wide stance, with both of my feet near the edge, and the bow in the center. I can side step and quick draw with ease in this position very easily. Like if I needed to avoid an on coming attack while still being able to aim and hit a target if I needed to. So for archers of way back when, (Imho) I can actually see a use for such a technique to address certain unique situations. But idk if they actually used it for what I just described. I would love to learn more about this if anyone has any insight.

[@aaronseet2738]

Does you castle have..... MACHICOLATIONS?!?

[@Dratina]

I'm a Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Master who is working on a concept for a specific breed of Tabaxi (cat people) who're to prideful to use the traditional style of shooting, and even though D&D takes place in a mythical world I wanted to base this breed's style of archery on factual information regarding sideways shooting. This video gave me the information I needed to make the basis for their reasoning behind using the sideways style of shooting (the idea is that they use this style because it takes more skill and therefore makes them superior archers for mastering it). Thank you very much!

[@ashleycharlesworth8358]

I'm just getting into Archery myself, these are pretty informative!

[@nori87]

How's it going, are you an archery master now

[@SOLIDShift_VI]

Here because I was just playing a game and noticed the character holds the bow horizontally and their holding a right handed bow in their right hand -- with the arrow essentially floating under the bow. And I just noticed it and stopped like - no I don't think so. I've shot a bow horizontal before just to be silly so I knew that it was possible. but uhhh the right hand in right hand and floating arrow thing made me do a big think. lol

[@yurex007]

I like that your sppech is remains clean and concentrated even if you shoot

[@DarkWatt22]

Idk why youtube recommended me this channel about bows and I dont even own a bow but I think i'm starting to like this channel

[@gearsfan6669]

The way I view horizontal shooting of a bow is that if the area is wide enough to accommodate holding it that way but not tall enough for standard drawing, it is the alternative, but if you can stand completely straight up and fire properly, do that but in some situations it is a necessary skill to have in medieval periods

[@Finnv893]

Sitting and pushing the bow with ones feet and drawing with two hands is one of the more practical methods, used by flightshooters or for bows too heavy to be drawn with one arm.....

[@bp4freak]

That's why crossbows were invented

[@cadethumann8605]

BOB I think Howard Hill, one one of the world's most famous archers, had done something like that as one of his trick shots.

[@Debilinside]

I did it when I was a kid :D

[@dextrodemon]

i saw that in a chinese movie once and i assume it's historical, otherwise it'd be a bad miscalculation if they were trying to make archery look cool

[@rivenoak]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/p2a2Y5aZbb-BitE the scene from "Hero" movie with the "foot hold" bows.

[@ArrowsInTheMoon]

I think the modern things that perpetuate this style of shooting are games like overwatch (hanzo shoots like this in first person for game practicality) and skyrim, wherein you shoot sideways in stealth as you are crouching, despite being able to have a bow mostly uprite while crouched. It is a neat trick to do and quite fun as well. Could you look into any historical evidence of drawing the bow with the drawing hand facing palm out? Dark link in some of the Zelda artwork and games shoots this way and im wondering if there's any precedent for it.

[@mortenjacobsen5673]

first of all if you sit or crouch with a bow does has long limbs they will probably hit the ground during the cast. as for palm out compound shooters use it all the time with a back tension or thumb release , some trad speed shotersuse it to hold the arrow and nock in one motion with fang nocks then tolet the string transisision into the fingers while nocking and drawing m however this means the string must force the fingers into the face rather than the natural out due tohow yoyr fingers bend, giving a rolling motion to the string and more paradox,

[@hakdog4882]

RYUUGA WAGA TEKIWO KURAU!!

[@Cythil]

In games you have to think about a lot when you decide on how someone will fight. In the case of a bow user in a FPS game you have to think of how it will work when the player jumps, crouches, runs and so on. You also want to have as little obstruction as possible in general. So having the bow sideways helps solve some of these problems. Now games cheat a lot to. Just because easier to do it one way in First Person view does not mean it easier to do it the full model animation. What games almost always do is that the First Person view has it own unique model of weapon and all that just to make sure it works well and looks good with not being obtrusive. While the model everyone else see may be more dynamic and take more in to account what is happing in the environment. So a character could have her bow angled a lot in first person view for better visibility but outside that view she might hold the bow straight. But of course it may be better to model it so it looks like there holding the bow in a similar way in both views. But do not be surprised if you notice some discrepancies between different views in games. ;)

[@TheTransforcer]

Hotbox the Hookah Fox the motion and muscles used in drawing a bow back normally with palm in vs palm out are drastically different. Drawing palm out puts much more strain on weaker muscles and even with practice is difficult. Drawing palm in is more fluid and is all around easier on the whole body.

[@OmniscientWarrior]

Games do that so that the bow isn't blocking the players view of the target. In Skyrim, it was done for stealth because the bow would be hitting/clipping the ground.

[@michrain5872]

I don't even have a bow and yet here I am watching archery videos lol I like this channel :3

[@Rade811]

Love the new quality nu! Keep it up.

[@vamprosful]

i find after trying this, that flipping your hand (so your palm is face down) makes it much more comfortable to draw

[@TurboSilke]

First video im watching with NUsensei, was thinking of searching for a youtube channel about bows, but didnt need to, thanks to him sponsoring another youtuber :D

[@dannykeevy]

I'd be interested in knowing if placing the archer on a horse would impact the angle at which the bow is held? I'm assuming the archer would use the stirrups or the hips to stay mounted, but it appears there is a higher rate of fire than a traditional position?

[@evelyn785]

a horizontal draw is a little more compact, and quicker, making it sometimes quite useful in combat archery, for instance, on horseback or in a crowded battle. not unlike "shooting from the hip" with a shotgun or rifle. but for target shooting i really can't see why someone would prefer it unless they're just really used to it.

[@opridilol]

Hi! Thanks for the material. Obviously, shooting horizontally is not the case for any sport archery. BUT historically, such drawing was common for troops that were shooting on a horseback, often using small (sometimes recurve) bows - that creates a case when such drawing makes much more sense. :)

[@elbee2324]

There is another advantage to shooting upright which you forgot to mention. You take up less space in a shooting line when you do so, with less chance of hitting or obstructing archers next to you. In crowded competitions you could have 2 people within 2-3m, and so you have to have people shoot upright and not do sideways movements to avoid obstructions or suggestions of tampering with your competitors.

[@Irishatheist24]

Ive never shot a bow or even thought about it honestly but in 2019 im binge watching an archery channel.

[@TwistedApex]

He made me buy a bow lol

[@Sraye]

"you practice enough, you can shoot things" gonna remember that one.

[@woody40000]

When it comes to instinctive shooting couldn't a horizontal bow make tracking a moving target easier?

[@srcguy24]

*Laughs as I learned to aim without my eyes*

[@enricoamadori2800]

It is used in horse archery to shoot without hitting the horse with the bow. the arrow goes under the bow and it’s kept in place by the Thumb (thumb technique)

[@Hordil]

I remember a Larp Situation where we placed some archers lying on the ground behind a hill, and when some enemies came over the hill the fire got opened. Everyone fired from that position and the surprise was great. They didn't expect to get shot that early, when the main line was further away. ( Bad scouting :D ) you can hide yourself much better when keeping the bow horizontally.

[@bernardolorenzini9213]

Nice video! It would be awesome if you make a video about traditional bows and teach the techniques for it :)

[@johnkeck1025]

Ishi loosed arrows in a similar manner but the way he gripped his bow and arrows were very different and made the arrows sort of "hop up" in flight.

[@thanotos2004]

I'm not an archer but read somewhere that this style would be good for close to mid-range, rapid reacting and firing, and easily obstructed (either body, bow or arrows) situation. The most fitting situation would be hunting in a wood. It is somewhat like the bow version of hip fire. You don't rely on eye but your master of your body and your spatial sense for targetting.

[@Nixonitus]

Seems like a good idea for horseback archery. You're bouncing around a lot, so accuracy is unlikely anyway, but at the same time, you've got a bit more stable of a position.

[@krotenschemel8558]

Back in my LARP days, I used to shot the bow sideways. A few factors here, we're talking about a short recurve bow for larp, so it's not huge and has something 15lbs-30lbs drawweight. I think mine was 22 or so, but it's been 10 years. The arrows were padded to be save to shot at people with and the targets were obviously moving, but rather close and the arrows were inaccurate. Now I didn't even nock the arrow properly. My string had an area that was thickened to be able to nock it on secure, and the rest of the string would just very loosely hold it. This gave me maximum control over how much force I would use to shoot the arrow as I wanted to just barely hit the target, but not make much of an impact, just gently tap the target. If found the sideways technique to be perfect for that, I had much more control over the force than with regular shooting.

[@tnuc748]

that's because firing vertically actually prompts you to fully draw the bow because it's natural that you want to aim using the shaft of the arrow. So in turn almost forcing you to make it a more powerful shot just for that need to aim in the vertical position. horizontally though aiming is a different story!

[@Hannahdabeast]

This is such a cool channel I had NO idea I was interested in this until I started watching these. Thanks, KZbin??

[@memoryman15]

Bows are often held this way in games, at least the ones I have played, it's normally to keep the bow somewhere visible but not obstructive, or a visual indication of a different stance. Like in Skyrim, the bow is held upright normally but in this horizontal way when crouching (in stealth mode). Hanzo in Overwatch also holds his Bow like this all the time so the bow is visible but not covering the player's field of vision, important in a competitive shooter. I also noticed that in a first-person game, holding the bow like this means you can put the arrow pointing up to the middle of the screen, a little more useful for aiming in close quarters than if it were pointing in from the side.

[@bobray1010]

I found it interesting indeed. I appreciate your perspective.

[@rokka7188]

The sideway shooting was actually used to hunt waterfowl in Finno-Ugric tribes with special type of arrow that can bounce on arrow when shot in this way, that way it could shoot more targets/more chances to do so. There might be other uses, but usually it's normally shot from the right side (arrow rests in your finger) for quicker/reactionary shot, though obviously left hand shooting is more accurate if you are doing pin-point accuracy target shooting.

[@HendarsChannel]

Honestly while probably not effective or the most comfortable way in real life. I feel holding it sideways in games makes it easier to aim because the way they depict bows in games is so incredibly stiff. They always feel so unnatural to hold in games for some reason, I don't know why I guess maybe how it covers the screen? Either way like barely anyone gets it feeling good in games, out of like 10 games maybe 2-3 get it to feel passable.

[@dannydeko331]

I can see how this can be useful in a crouching position or when you are low enough for the bow to not be able to stand upright.

[@mikedebell2242]

Have you seen the Ishi pictures? He shot sideways but with the bow held with the right side up. He appeared to have something like a Mongolian grip though he was a California Native.

[@Dark__Thoughts]

There probably was a point to it in earlier times where bows where used more commonly, especially while sneaking around when hunting or being in a hostile area especially with a bow that might be a bit too big to draw vertically when crouched or your environment (especially above you) would be blocking your bow in some way.

[@talzhemirmrr1602]

I used it in hunting, from a covered position close to the ground. If you don't have a blind set up, if you don't need range, it works. I had no loss of accuracy because my style is "instinctive". (I can shoot behind me, too.) Sometimes, it's just needed when you're hunting.

[@HondoTrailside]

The real issue about archer's paradox is that if you only pull the bow partly back, you will essentially be stiffening the arrow, and it will not bend around the bow. This is why those who do this style with a bow that is setup to come all the way back to the face, always shoot the full draw back to the face, as you did at one point, but then said it wasn't comfortable. If you bend at the waist and the neck it is fine, and everything works a lot better than what you are demonstrating. This style is very effective in the woods, where you don't know what situation you will find and may need to bend low to shoot under something, at which point you need to clear the lower limb. An odd thing is that it seems to work exceptionally well when shooting at nearish target from a treestand. Not really sure about why that is, but shots that a lot of people miss, due to poor form and not dealing with the issues of straight line distance vs the distance along the ground which is what affects the arrow drop, these seem to net out to an extent when you place the bow horizontally. The really interesting thing is you can shoot a bow horizontally backhanded. One would think the arrow would fall off the rest. But what actually happens if you set up for it correctly, is that with normal close fitting, but not tight, nocks, particularly with a trad nock, (plastic, but no snap on, you can roll the string and it holds the arrow on the bow. You can also shoot backhand off the wrong side of the bow, If you have a back quiver, and are shooting with a glove, you should learn to nock handle arrows, it is a lot more efficient.

[@ashleyneku5432]

"walking...walking backwards..." I'd watch a whole video of this guy just walking in different positions and directions shooting his bow like he's bored out of his mind.

[@ciri151]

I have seen an African tribe guy hunt like that. And he was pretty damn good at it.

[@catocall7323]

Same in the amazon. It definitely is a legit way to do it.

[@susnetsoda]

venti be like

[@thetruthalwaysscary]

I shoot bows hunting when i was a kid most of the time sideways, especially when I was shooting fish. I never been formally taught how to shoot, but was able to shoot pheasants in the air with easy.

[@penny1210wl]

Shooting from a prone position is tricky, but it might be the only option when hunting on the flats without a blind. A horse bow with a thumb release and the ability to shoot both right and left handed would provide the best shot coverage. The range club might frown on that, but there’s always the back yard.

[@sachinsoni1599]

The reason why it was done is because warrior use to shoot on horse back and the bow would hit horse if held vertically... so it was held in a horizontal position when on a horseback or in crouched position, later the bow was shortened by the moghuls and made much more powerful in its pull strength, so that they used it on horseback or crouched position without actually losing any power of the arrow..

[@shorgoth]

Another problem of that horizontal draw is also the limited strength you can extract from the bow as your torso gets in the way of your complete draw.

[@DragonofDarkness13]

From what I understand a sideways bow was normally used with smaller bows and use as a more mobile, short range hunting and riding technique.

[@garyreed2206]

Horizontal shooting can be useful for making trick shots. Check out Lars Anderson's videos of him shooting around objects and corners. He holds the sideways and misaligns the arrow to make it fly crooked and curve while in flight.

[@bigginsmcsauce]

Archery's answer to "firing from the hip"

[@TheZandaz]

The only practical reason I could think of for this is if you were ambushing a group from a concealed position such as a hedge (where length of bow prevents vertical use) . No longer applies today but might have made sense historically

[@Cythil]

If I remember it right this was the way the Goblins shot there bows in Battle for Middle Earth 2. It fit well with there movement animation as they had this crouched gait to them.

[@NUSensei]

+Cythil The Dwarves in The Hobbit films were also taught to shoot similarly, instinctively from the hip instead of like the elves. The behind the scenes clips show their weapons training.

[@Cythil]

Neat. I have to watch those films one day. It is a technique that makes sense for certain situation like you point out so well in you video. ^_^

[@LunaProtege]

The only reason I can imagine someone doing a sideways bow thing, is if they're low to the ground trying to sneak up on something, and don't want their bow poking up above the bush they're hiding behind... But then again, at that point you may as well get a shorter bow.

[@kothic9925]

The main problem I noticed with you trying to shoot horizontally was the position of the right/arrow hand. You were pulling the string same way like you would while shooting vertically. I think if you turned your hand so you have your both left and right hand's knuckles "facing up" you could pull the bow more conviniently (and even pull it to the cheek).

[@Bondubras]

In the video game Monster Hunter Generations, there's a surprisingly fun style of hunting that uses what I can only describe as warbows, or even siege bows. Most of them are semi collapsible, but a few are solid pieces. In addition, there are two bows that use a sideways shooting configuration, although they have a slightly different method of rotating the bow. Instead of the Hunter rotating their hand, and thus the bow itself, the bows use a rotating handle that then attaches to the bow. I understand that it's a fantasy game, but it's still something to think of. The arrows themselves, though, are completely absurd. They're closer to throwing spears than arrows. The arrows have a 3 foot long, inch-thick shaft and a 2 foot long, 6 inch wide arrow head.

[@geraldtheoctopus1594]

I clicked on this video because I planned on making a D&D archer character, I was thinking she would hold a bow in this position, and now I see there are 0 cons of her holding a bow that way because she was born blind, for anyone wondering she is a Wood Elf, Druid because she is an elf she would have had a lot of practice with using a bow, because of their extended lifespan, and because of their "Keen Senses" trait which gives them proficiency with perception I think it wouldn't be that hard for her to listen for the footsteps of her enemies and, possibly even their breathing. I use 5th edition by the way

[@gabrielnunez3371]

Keep in mind that she would still incur a penalty due to not being able to see her target (disadvantage) unless she gets Blindsense (I think Rogue gets it at some point)

[@houselightkell]

Did this with a long bow. Helped with accuracy

[@ovni2295]

You could probably make a sight for a horizontal bow, but then you've basically just turned yourself into a ballista.

[@matthewburn8166]

I'm not a historian and I don't know if this is true at all but I can imagine being able to hold the bow horizontally would be useful on horseback

[@Crisis7]

Its also probably more useful when you stuck at closer range since holding a bow vertically or canted obstructs your view, which is bad since someone might sneak up through your side.

[@VietyV]

I've tried it when I started and it's actually surprising accurate if you get onto one knee. It essentially becomes just a matter of tilting up and down like a ballista if you are on a bow with a cutout or rest. The main problem for me is a perfectly horizontal position becomes harder to maintain with more drawstrength since you are keeping the bow in position using much more muscle strength than a vertical bow (your elbow is bent so there isn't much skeletal support). It would make sense for shortbow cultures to use though since it feels like a fairly accurate way of shooting without much aim at all.

[@cz6774]

I've seen many pictures with Native Americans hunting buffalo using the horizontal bow drawn to the chest whilst hunting on horseback. They got up so close it was more injecting the arrow than shooting it. I also think it may have given the rider a more stable platform to keep to the center of balance on the horse.

[@wongcheu]

In Braveheart (it's just a movie though...), William Wallace tilts the bow horizontally for a human target (horizontal rib cage). While hunting with the same bow/arrow holds the bow vertically for a stag (vertical rib cage). The arrow was probably a 2 blade broadhead.

[@NUSensei]

He also throws a claymore.

[@Anonym-mh7sz]

It may be useful with a large bow when shooting from a crouching position. But even then a tilt should be enough. Depends on the length of the bow.

[@berserkersam9118]

Something I noticed when I tried to shoot a bow this way is that while technically possible, that angle of shooting is much harder than if holding the bow upright or slightly tilted. I'm no expert not by a longshot but my thoughts on the matter are that this is only possible with a bow that is lighter than what one would normally use.

[@Gw2Zoke]

The point would be when riding a horse if your bow is slightly too large you can't fire forward while riding because the bow will hit the horse, so you would fire with a sideways grip when firing that direction. Do to this being mostly a war time style of shooting, exact accuracy is not as important as power, range, and volume of fire. So the draw backs are minimized by having lots of riders around you also firing.

[@eleeyah4757]

I suppose the horizontal draw could be good for people who can't lift their elbow above their shoulder. All the vertical or near vertical forms lift the elbow to the height of your chin, roughly, while the horizontal draw actually keeps the elbow lower than your shoulder.

[@adamyahan9263]

Your eye knows where it wants the arrow to go. Trust your eye. - Anguy