Repeating Crossbow

[Rick]

I was having lunch earlier. A bit of smoked red caviar on Slyvochniye while sitting on the veranda. Okay, it was really two day old pizza in front of the tube.

Anyway, the History Channel had a story about ancient weapons and they mentioned a repeating cross bow the Chinese used 1600 years ago. This weapon was really pretty spectacular. It had a top loading "magazine" and it could fire one 20 inch bolt ever second. They said several thousand peasant farmers would be armed with these things and they would just rack the bolts with almost no training and keep thousands of bolts flying at the enemy. I would dang sure hate to be on the receiving end of something like that. One a second. I thought it was pretty amazing. The "modern" world wouldn't come up with something like that until WWI!!!

Here's an article on them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repeating_crossbow

[bulrush]

I have seen that also, Rick. Once in print and once on TV. However, a light crossbow takes several seconds to cock, even by an experienced crossbowman with the muscle to do it. I think one second is an exaggeration. 3 seconds is more like it.

For untrained peasants to cock a crossbow would mean the string is not real tight, and range of the bolt would be limited. This was probably a light crossbow with limited range and probably not much armor penetration power. Compare it to the heavy crossbow in the middle ages, that could penetrate full plate armor (of course, gunpowder was used for guns right about the same time).

I think many TV shows exaggerate stats sometimes just for ratings. A conversation between a TV producer and scientists would go something like this:

Producer: Do you think it is possible that this repeating crossbow could be fired once every second?
Scientist: Welll...possible yes. Probable, no.
Producer: But you did say possible, right?
Scientist: Welll...yes.
Producer: Thanks! *click*

EDIT:
I just saw the picture on your link. That's certainly a light crossbow, and the lever would make it easier and faster to cock, so perhaps 1 second turn around time is legit.

[Rick]

Actually, the guy had one and was cranking them out about that fast. They apparently didn't care about aiming. They held the trigger closed while they cranked it and the crossbow fired as soon as the bolt was in place. Sort of like a pump shotgun. They just wanted those thousands of peasants to put more thousands of bolts in the air. I guess if I were tromping across the fields after those peasants and ten thousand bolts starting landing all around me I probably wouldn't be stopping to figure out whether they could penetrate armor (assuming this peasant had any). I'd probably be high steppin' it in the about face direction.

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"The Chinese are at the gates and they have repeating crossbows!"
"Great. Just great! You hold them off and I'll tell Augustus."
"Okay, Wait! What?!"

[canid]

sounds like an eddie izzard routine.

[Rick]

I think if any guy shows up on the battlefield wearing high healed boots, leather and makeup they'd bother probably aim.

[Assassin Pilot]

Ah, the ancient Chinese Chu-ko-nu.

It can indeed fire as fast as you want it to (once per second seems possible), but the range would be really bad (within probably throwing distance). This would be probably only for close range combat, such as inside a castle or village. In a situation like that, these weapons would excel. Basically, imagine those pump BB guns you all used to play with when you were kids. Except now they shot metal bolts instead of BBs.

A while ago, I saw plans on the internet on how to build one, so one of you guys could look it up and give it a try.

[trax]

I think both those dudes in that pic need more fiber in their diets. Hey, it's late, it's just a thought.