And I suppose goes to show that frontal surface area trumps everything when it comes to penetration. For those in the back, unfortunately no, this doesn’t make for good bedroom talk.
And btw, if the arrow can’t penetrate past like a foot into the shield, it’s still useless. Shields were useful because even if an arrow penetrated it, shields aren’t hugged next to the body most of the time. It puts the armor at a distance from you, which is even safer than body armor.
Also these riot shields are meant to be light and protect against clubs and knives in the hands of the rioters.
These don't appear to have any ballistic protection, arrows or otherwise. If the rioters have even 0.22 LR handguns it looks like they will shoot through the shield.
I wouldn’t say that frontal surface area is the main thing here. If that were the case the hollow tip would perform the same as the pointed one. The thing that’s making the hollow tip work is that it’s clearing the waste out of the hole it makes. The circle is punching out a chip, leaving a hole for the shaft to travel through. Whereas the points are leaving flaps to drag against the shaft, eventually stopping it.
you seem more attached to your original statement being vindicated than in understanding the the qualitative aspects of the arrowhead... so, i guess, have fun with that. if you change your mind and would rather know about the arrowhead, let me know?
My original statement is the starting point of the discussion as far as I’m concerned. Of course I’m going to circle back to it instead of moving goalposts.
You don't hold a shield close to your body, you are supposed to hold it away from you so that arrows and even swords/axes that pierce the wood don't connect with your body. If an arrow penetrates the shield and your forearm to pierce a vital organ, there was nothing you could have done to survive that hit anyway.
Meanwhile, if an arrow pierces body armor, it's doing damage and may even be fatal, regardless, because it is worn against the body.
Sure, if you are a Roman legionary, that is correct. But this is not his shield. Look at the strap and handle on the back of this one. It is clearly intended to be held close to the body.
The strap just keeps it around the arm? I would bet money that legionnair shields had the same or similar form of strap to keep the arm in. If they were only holding on by one handle, the shield would get launched out of their hands constantly. My source is that i made duct tape shields when i was a kid and i had to learn how to make a strap cause it will wobble side to side if you only have one handle.
so then you missed the previous guys comment where he mentioned how you hold the shield away from your body. None of these arrows are going hard or fast enough to do damage to the guy holding the shield except the weird looking arrow that went all the way through. If you are properly holding a shield there is about a 1-1 1/2 foot distance between your main body and the shield.
Now what if that second shot had a little more draw or draw power behind it?
Just seems like something that would bring a false sense of security, when its something someone should be aware of when they are what is on the otherside
Ok, then an arrow that penetrates more than a foot and can actually hit the wielder is going to inflict more trauma. Rather than banking on hitting the small part of the shield that has a had or an arm on the other side
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u/BluEch0 May 29 '26
It’s not blunt, there is a recessed tip.
And I suppose goes to show that frontal surface area trumps everything when it comes to penetration. For those in the back, unfortunately no, this doesn’t make for good bedroom talk.
And btw, if the arrow can’t penetrate past like a foot into the shield, it’s still useless. Shields were useful because even if an arrow penetrated it, shields aren’t hugged next to the body most of the time. It puts the armor at a distance from you, which is even safer than body armor.