It’s amazing how fast you pull back , loose and hit from that distance. I modern bow hunt in Arkansas and you make it look easy. Thank you for this video. I’m also a lover of all military battles of history so I subscribed to your channel
Thanks Charles, your sub is appreciated. For me it's a seamless action. Some people complain I don't fully draw, but I don't need to at that range, only at long distance. I hope to do a more detailed instructional video when the snow clears, so stay tuned 👍🏻
A lot of people have never shot a bow and don’t understand what an arrow will do. I have an 85 pound draw weight modern bow and put 1 arrow through 2 deer so I’m sure that even not drawing all the way back, every time you shoot would be lethal to non-armored target. Keep it up and thank you for the lessons 👍🏻
Love the whistle noise they make. Remember the warning arrows in prince of thieves right before celts arrived. I always thought it was just a thrown in effect
i first seen kev on another history channel, he was describing the workings of a musket very enthiusiastically. l loved it ive watched that clip thousands of times. i tracked down as many videos of kev as i could from his days at warwick castle and at sherwood. thanks kev for all the amazing history lessons
I love my longbows and horse bows love taking them out and just loosing em just without going overboard. Best stress relief ever as its like meditating when your focusing your arrows down the range.
much respect kevin. i've shot enough to know your very skilled. about 24 per quiver is a lot of shooting in a short time. thank you for the demonstration. your fan gary
Thanks Gary. At my busiest at Warwick Castle during the summer season I used to do 4 performances a day, shooting 48 arrows each show, plus some for practice. If you do the math, 5 days a week that’s over 1000 arrows a week......of course I was much younger then but I still have the muscle memory.
Nice surprise to see you here Gary, your channel alongside Kevin's is a great source of information and tips on Archery, and I think Kevin should be recognised as a English national treasure with his font of Archery history.
There's an old video of Kevin where he's talking about and demonstrating the poleaxe, it used to be on youtube but was taken down. If it's in your archives somewhere I'd love to be able to watch it again.
Yes, we remember that one, but not sure if we have access to it as it was created for another film company. We'll see if we can find it and add it to our content ;-)
@@eplv3432 no, only photos I believe, camcorders weren't common in those days. There's a photo of my in Cyprus on my Union Jack video and one of me in Ireland on my Belfast, stories of the troubles vid.
Beautiful tree you have behind you! On the other hand, at Crecy, did many French common infantry come into play during combat? With so many eager cavalry moving in such a small space, no sane infantryman would get close to them.
Hi Allen, that tree is the 'Major Oak' at Sherwood Forest, England, reputed to be the tree that Robin Hood hid inside (just a legend of course). Crecy was mainly a cavalry action, the Genoese had their own professional infantry support, who of course left the battle when they were dismissed. 👍🏻
There's an old video of you 7 years ago, and you said you make your own arrows. I dont know if its true or not, but I'd like to see how you make them, if you dont mind sharing it of course. Lots of respect for you!
Hi Jessica, yes it's true, I do make my own arrows and I have a batch ready to do. As soon as I begin, I'll film it and put it on here. Thanks for asking 👍🏻
@@jessicafernanda11 Hi there, I just spotted this old comment and wondered if you'd seen my video yet on making arrows. ua-cam.com/video/r1WMcnA2940/v-deo.html All the best, Kevin
My grandpa and my father were phenomenal Bowman, when people would ask me what size a bow children wherever they can pull to start and the minimum is 40 pounds in the USA for hunting that would be a good start at least!
I've just discovered your channel and I like it. I think your arrows are porpoising a bit but it's close enough for poking holes in the leaders of high fashion at court. I don't mean to sound like a know it all but I keep a tight group at 70 paces. Well, I did but that was when the one stepping off the paces was my 18 month old. He's three years old and actually walks so I fired him.
@@thehistorysquad that’s amazing! Especially in the British isles! An island that’s seen so much building for so many hundreds of years. I wonder how much credit for the preservation of that tree should be given to the ancient belief of sacred oaks or sacred places etc? I live in Minnesota. For two centuries we’ve had a thriving timber industry . Most of our old growth forests have long since been stripped. But there’s still a few trees the lumberjacks just couldn’t take in reverence of there majestic size and age. Thanks for quelling my curiosity friend. I’m going to enjoy your arrow removal from King Henry’s head lol
All of those bowmen pressed together meant they learnt how to nock their arrows with the bow in an upright position passing the arrow through the upright 'D'.
They are actually whistling arrowheads. They have a hole through them which when the wind catches in flight makes a noise. They’re much more effective for a really long shots, 250/300 yards, they sound great then.
I love your videos, I do have a question for you. Have you ever heard of or have any information on the TURCOPALES? I hope I spelt that right. I sometimes can't read my own writing....Arthritis. I believe they were mounted Archers of the Crusaders. If you know anything could you do a video about them? I never heard of them myself, but I try to find all I can about the Medieval period, the people, how they lived and fought. Thank you, and keep up the great work.
I have heard of the turcopoles but don't know too much about them I;'m afraid. But during the Crusades you could have all races and nationalities fighting with the crusaders, not all Arabs and Turks were Muslims. I need to dig into the subject a lot more before I can consider covering it but it's not outside the realms of possibility 👍🏻
Your speed with draw, aim, release always amazes me. I'm an archer myself but I use modern compound bows and use a mechanical release. Being Norse and learning about my heritage I am working on making my interpretation of a "Viking bow" as well as arrows. It's how I found your channel. Your videos are very helpful and extremely interesting!! Especially enjoying the historical ones. 👍👍 I just noticed the immense size of the tree!! Is there any history related to the tree?
Hi Riki, the tree (The Major Oak) is said to be 1200 years old, but there's no written history pertaining to it as far as I'm aware, just the legend of Robin Hood.
I want to try using a traditional English longbow at some point, I have hunted with a modern recurve for years but am unsure of how comparable the two bows would be.
Hi Colonel, they are different for sure but I'm obviously biased toward the longbow. In the past I have hunted small game with it successfully. Perhaps you could find one to borrow to try out rather than investing and not liking it 👍🏻
Very interesting to see the pitching motion of your arrows in this clip (thanks YT for the variable speed option). Being completely focussed at the time, I have seen this motion in some of the best darts that I have ever thrown. I've despaired at seeing it in the split second, only for the tip to land true. Was the 'whistle' just a bi product of the arrow's flight, or intentionally created for its terrifying effect, do you think. A victim would probably not hear the one that pinned them...
@@thehistorysquad welcome! Yeah you definitely have! I've been shooting a recurve myself I started on a longbow when I was a teenager but the 90 pound draw weight started ruining my shoulder. So I dropped down to a 65 pound recurve which I love but living where I do it's difficult to find places to practice. Love watching your videos!
@@mustluvkatina Yep, a good place to practice is often hard to find, especially if you're in a town or a city like me. I've only managed to find the one place here so far, and that's about a 30 min drive away.
Here yes. If you wanted to eliminate that it becomes a question of fine tuning like setting the nocking point on the string higher or lower, also the weight and the spine value of the arrow.
@@resnonverba137 Nowadays it's just for show, but back then in history we don't know for sure. I once did an experiment and shot long range over a group of people and they asked me to stop because the noise of the whistlers passing over their heads was terrible, so maybe there hangs a reason, to frighten 👍🏻
Yay, an English longbow!!! I shoot that myself although probably not with the same accuracy as you sound to have. Mine is wimpy, only 55# because I just don't have the upper body strength men have, but it's fun to shoot. My husband, naturally, is much better at it although he prefers recurves and his beloved Mongolian horse bow. But..... longbow!!!! No, this does not get me excited at all, nope, not a bit. 😁
I am pretty sure that a modern bow hunter could give them a run for their money. I have hunted deer and even wild hogs with a bow. The biggest difference is back then you were out in the open and with hunting you have to hide.
You’re a big tree in the back that’s bin There generations. Those were taken down or not for ships at first For staffs like Robin Hood carried especially Little John. They would take that beautiful tree I think cut it down cut the top off and proceed to make the walking staff that you fight with, the commoner use It’s on UA-cam. they probably only get one or two Staff’s out of that massive tree which is sad. Behind you or next to You
Wish I could see this in person...Kevin telling stories, shooting, lovely summer day, kids laughing...a good time imo
“And if you die, don’t worry! There’s always more kids to do it! 😃👍” best history guy on UA-cam, there is no changing my mind lmao
Haha, cheers buddy 👍🏻
Kevin, your clips are as brilliant as they are simple. There is so much information in them, they are worth history university lectures.
Thanks Luc
casually multitasking the sharing of knowledge and arrow shooting. truly impressive.
Good to see you again...I learn a bunch from you by watching your vids,Thanks....
Glad to hear it, thanks for watching. I haven't had access to upload content for a while, but there'll be more to follow now, so watch this space ;-)
What a long lasting impression you make Mr. Hicks!Salute!
It’s amazing how fast you pull back , loose and hit from that distance. I modern bow hunt in Arkansas and you make it look easy. Thank you for this video. I’m also a lover of all military battles of history so I subscribed to your channel
Thanks Charles, your sub is appreciated.
For me it's a seamless action. Some people complain I don't fully draw, but I don't need to at that range, only at long distance. I hope to do a more detailed instructional video when the snow clears, so stay tuned 👍🏻
A lot of people have never shot a bow and don’t understand what an arrow will do. I have an 85 pound draw weight modern bow and put 1 arrow through 2 deer so I’m sure that even not drawing all the way back, every time you shoot would be lethal to non-armored target. Keep it up and thank you for the lessons 👍🏻
Entertaining and informative. He is a master archer and teacher.
Love the whistle noise they make. Remember the warning arrows in prince of thieves right before celts arrived. I always thought it was just a thrown in effect
Just scrolled through and noticed the whistle has already been mentioned (and answered) a lot. Very interesting
God bless you Kevin I love your videos, I wish to be a good bowman like you.
Thanks Braden.
i first seen kev on another history channel, he was describing the workings of a musket very enthiusiastically. l loved it ive watched that clip thousands of times. i tracked down as many videos of kev as i could from his days at warwick castle and at sherwood. thanks kev for all the amazing history lessons
You’re welcome! Have you been through our medieval playlist? 😉
@@thehistorysquad id say 90 percent of your catalogue hahahah
@@giggsyla 😃
Great to see & hear, thanks Kevin.
Your awesome! The humorous way you talked about archery and warfare was a delight, even though somewhat grim. :D
I love my longbows and horse bows love taking them out and just loosing em just without going overboard. Best stress relief ever as its like meditating when your focusing your arrows down the range.
It's neat that some of those arrows seem to whistle when they fly to the target.
that's right, they'll be the ones with the whistling arrowheads 👍🏻
much respect kevin. i've shot enough to know your very skilled. about 24 per quiver is a lot of shooting in a short time. thank you for the demonstration. your fan gary
Thanks Gary. At my busiest at Warwick Castle during the summer season I used to do 4 performances a day, shooting 48 arrows each show, plus some for practice. If you do the math, 5 days a week that’s over 1000 arrows a week......of course I was much younger then but I still have the muscle memory.
@@thehistorysquad right on kevin. thank yew
Nice surprise to see you here Gary, your channel alongside Kevin's is a great source of information and tips on Archery, and I think Kevin should be recognised as a English national treasure with his font of Archery history.
Thanks Jim 👍🏻
There's an old video of Kevin where he's talking about and demonstrating the poleaxe, it used to be on youtube but was taken down. If it's in your archives somewhere I'd love to be able to watch it again.
Yes, we remember that one, but not sure if we have access to it as it was created for another film company. We'll see if we can find it and add it to our content ;-)
@@thehistorysquad well Gah Jam!
I just saw it right now it’s about the battle of towton
Impressive. I saw a video someone made of you, dated from the year 2000. Magnificent. Keep up the good work.
Cheers, I've been at it a while 👍🏻
@@thehistorysquad is there footage of you in the army/police?
@@eplv3432 no, only photos I believe, camcorders weren't common in those days. There's a photo of my in Cyprus on my Union Jack video and one of me in Ireland on my Belfast, stories of the troubles vid.
That tree is beautiful.
"You're terrible, aren't you?" 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Imagine 7000 arrows released making that sound 4:00. Better than any orchestra 😂.
😜
I know a marksman when i see one,this is the one! Nice jobb
Beautiful tree you have behind you!
On the other hand, at Crecy, did many French common infantry come into play during combat? With so many eager cavalry moving in such a small space, no sane infantryman would get close to them.
Hi Allen, that tree is the 'Major Oak' at Sherwood Forest, England, reputed to be the tree that Robin Hood hid inside (just a legend of course).
Crecy was mainly a cavalry action, the Genoese had their own professional infantry support, who of course left the battle when they were dismissed. 👍🏻
There's an old video of you 7 years ago, and you said you make your own arrows. I dont know if its true or not, but I'd like to see how you make them, if you dont mind sharing it of course. Lots of respect for you!
Hi Jessica, yes it's true, I do make my own arrows and I have a batch ready to do. As soon as I begin, I'll film it and put it on here. Thanks for asking 👍🏻
Oh boy I'm excited! Thank you so much!!
@@jessicafernanda11 Hi there, I just spotted this old comment and wondered if you'd seen my video yet on making arrows. ua-cam.com/video/r1WMcnA2940/v-deo.html
All the best, Kevin
My grandpa and my father were phenomenal Bowman, when people would ask me what size a bow children wherever they can pull to start and the minimum is 40 pounds in the USA for hunting that would be a good start at least!
I've just discovered your channel and I like it. I think your arrows are porpoising a bit but it's close enough for poking holes in the leaders of high fashion at court. I don't mean to sound like a know it all but I keep a tight group at 70 paces. Well, I did but that was when the one stepping off the paces was my 18 month old. He's three years old and actually walks so I fired him.
🤣 that's funny, thanks for watching
What a ledgend
Great video!
Thanks for the visit
That tree in the background was probably around during the era when Robin Hood and his Merry men rampaged through that forest.
Yes, that tree is calculated to be around 1200 years old 👍🏻
@@thehistorysquad that’s amazing! Especially in the British isles! An island that’s seen so much building for so many hundreds of years. I wonder how much credit for the preservation of that tree should be given to the ancient belief of sacred oaks or sacred places etc? I live in Minnesota. For two centuries we’ve had a thriving timber industry . Most of our old growth forests have long since been stripped. But there’s still a few trees the lumberjacks just couldn’t take in reverence of there majestic size and age. Thanks for quelling my curiosity friend. I’m going to enjoy your arrow removal from King Henry’s head lol
Kevin ' Robin ' Hicks.... shooting arrows in Sherwood Forest.
All of those bowmen pressed together meant they learnt how to nock their arrows with the bow in an upright position passing the arrow through the upright 'D'.
Some good shooting there Kev quite a distance, what made the arrow whistle please ?
They are actually whistling arrowheads. They have a hole through them which when the wind catches in flight makes a noise. They’re much more effective for a really long shots, 250/300 yards, they sound great then.
@@thehistorysquad thanks.
I love your videos, I do have a question for you. Have you ever heard of or have any information on the TURCOPALES? I hope I spelt that right. I sometimes can't read my own writing....Arthritis. I believe they were mounted Archers of the Crusaders. If you know anything could you do a video about them? I never heard of them myself, but I try to find all I can about the Medieval period, the people, how they lived and fought. Thank you, and keep up the great work.
I have heard of the turcopoles but don't know too much about them I;'m afraid. But during the Crusades you could have all races and nationalities fighting with the crusaders, not all Arabs and Turks were Muslims. I need to dig into the subject a lot more before I can consider covering it but it's not outside the realms of possibility 👍🏻
Your speed with draw, aim, release always amazes me. I'm an archer myself but I use modern compound bows and use a mechanical release. Being Norse and learning about my heritage I am working on making my interpretation of a "Viking bow" as well as arrows. It's how I found your channel. Your videos are very helpful and extremely interesting!! Especially enjoying the historical ones. 👍👍
I just noticed the immense size of the tree!! Is there any history related to the tree?
Hi Riki, the tree (The Major Oak) is said to be 1200 years old, but there's no written history pertaining to it as far as I'm aware, just the legend of Robin Hood.
@@thehistorysquad Robin Hood, Sherriff Knothead, Richard the Lionheart. They're all who I was thinking of regarding the tree. LOL
@@thehistorysquad do you have videos of bow and arrow making? I remember you saying that you make arrows but I don't know if you make bows as well.
@@rikijett310 I made a bow once ages ago, but hope to do so again some day. I will be making arrows soon and will do a video about that 👍🏻
@@thehistorysquad I'm definitely looking forward to seeing the arrow creating. 👍👍
Come on Kev spill the beans - how do you get the few to whistle through the air!?! 🏹 😃
Aaah, they have a hole through the end of the points, they're called whistlers 👍🏻
Did I really just see a keebler elf living and working on his tasty snacks in that hollowed out tree 8n the background.
I want to try using a traditional English longbow at some point, I have hunted with a modern recurve for years but am unsure of how comparable the two bows would be.
Hi Colonel, they are different for sure but I'm obviously biased toward the longbow. In the past I have hunted small game with it successfully. Perhaps you could find one to borrow to try out rather than investing and not liking it 👍🏻
Check out Hinterland Outfitters Colonel. They carry October Mountain brand long bows and recurves that are very reasonably priced. Just a thought.
Very interesting to see the pitching motion of your arrows in this clip (thanks YT for the variable speed option). Being completely focussed at the time, I have seen this motion in some of the best darts that I have ever thrown. I've despaired at seeing it in the split second, only for the tip to land true. Was the 'whistle' just a bi product of the arrow's flight, or intentionally created for its terrifying effect, do you think. A victim would probably not hear the one that pinned them...
The whistle was intentional is caused by a small hole being drilled through the arrow tip 👍🏻 Thanks for watching.
Legend!
impressive
🏹
Great stuff very interesting and good shooting I shoot catapults so I appreciate your consistency 👍
Thanks, 👍🏻
I subscribed after watching a UA-cam video of ya your a dead on marksman with that longbow!
Thanks, I've had plenty of practice 👍🏻
@@thehistorysquad welcome! Yeah you definitely have! I've been shooting a recurve myself I started on a longbow when I was a teenager but the 90 pound draw weight started ruining my shoulder. So I dropped down to a 65 pound recurve which I love but living where I do it's difficult to find places to practice. Love watching your videos!
@@thehistorysquad I'd love to loose some arrows with you if I had the chance. Also thank you for your service
@@mustluvkatina Yep, a good place to practice is often hard to find, especially if you're in a town or a city like me. I've only managed to find the one place here so far, and that's about a 30 min drive away.
@@thehistorysquad yup that's very true the only place I can go to is an actual archery range
What pound pull bow do you like best?
I like between a 60-70lb these days for comfort 👍🏻
@@thehistorysquad thanks
Does the feathered end of the arrow kick up and the head down immediately upon release?
Here yes. If you wanted to eliminate that it becomes a question of fine tuning like setting the nocking point on the string higher or lower, also the weight and the spine value of the arrow.
Why do some arrows have 'whistlers'?
They're fitted with a whistling head which has a hole through it to catch the wind.
@@thehistorysquad Yes, thanks, but why?
@@resnonverba137 Nowadays it's just for show, but back then in history we don't know for sure. I once did an experiment and shot long range over a group of people and they asked me to stop because the noise of the whistlers passing over their heads was terrible, so maybe there hangs a reason, to frighten 👍🏻
@@thehistorysquad Interesting. Many thanks for your time.
❤❤❤
I notice that some of the arrows whistle, is that due to the type of arrow or the power of the draw?
Hi Jason, it's a result of the arrowhead, it has a hole bored through it that the air catches at speed. 👍🏻
love the jokes
👍🏼😊
Nice to see you catching up on some older stuff Charles 👍🏻. Thank you.
Wot a geeza
Can't hear a thing
Yay, an English longbow!!! I shoot that myself although probably not with the same accuracy as you sound to have. Mine is wimpy, only 55# because I just don't have the upper body strength men have, but it's fun to shoot. My husband, naturally, is much better at it although he prefers recurves and his beloved Mongolian horse bow. But..... longbow!!!! No, this does not get me excited at all, nope, not a bit. 😁
😂 That's not a wimpy bow, that's shooting to your ability and to have fun so good on you. I shoot the same nowadays 👍🏻
I am pretty sure that a modern bow hunter could give them a run for their money. I have hunted deer and even wild hogs with a bow. The biggest difference is back then you were out in the open and with hunting you have to hide.
You’re a big tree in the back that’s bin There generations.
Those were taken down or not for ships at first
For staffs like Robin Hood carried especially Little John.
They would take that beautiful tree I think cut it down cut the top off and proceed to make the walking staff that you fight with, the commoner use
It’s on UA-cam.
they probably only get one or two Staff’s out of that massive tree which is sad.
Behind you or next to You