Hey guys, idk why I just NOW thought of this but I’m making this post before I forget
We’ve all seen awesome archer cosplayers with bows and arrows and such. It’s cool, much love. I’ve done my share. But lemme give you a safety tip-
Never, ever, fully draw the string of a real bow back with a nocked arrow.
As in, don’t pull the string all the way back when you’ve got an arrow on the bow. Don’t do it. You shouldn’t draw the string ANYWAY, arrow or no because you could slip and accidentally dry shoot which is bad for the bow but that won’t actually hurt anyone.
I’m saying this bc at C2E2 I witnessed a Hawkeye cosplayer fully draw-back with an arrow and point it point-blank at a photographer. DON’T DO THIS. Don’t pose with an arrow drawn pointed directly at another person’s head, either. (he did this too).
Like, this is in the same vein of gun safety of Never ever point a gun at someone, loaded or not. Well, don’t ever draw an arrow without the intention of shooting it.
Even if you don’t have a tip on the arrow, it can seriously injure someone, especially if you’re pointing it directly at a photographer. DON”T DO IT.
Sorry I have to say this but we talked to the Hawkeye guy at c2e2 and he just shrugged us off like we were crazy and then we told the other cosplayer to never let someone point an arrow at them again and they didn’t understand.
It actually really upset @huntressed and @midnightpupil when they saw, like a whole fucking lot so.
Jesus H DO NOT DO THIS. If you’re gonna pose with an arrow on the string of a real bow, don’t pull it back at ALL.
Look, the draw weight on my bow is 24 pounds. This is generally considered very low. I have buried an arrow a full inch into a hickory tree. When my target at home developed a thin spot, an arrow went clean through it, punched through the drywall behind it, and then hit the brick wall behind THAT hard enough to blunt the tip of the arrow, which is a hunk of solid brass – and I was standing THIRTY FEET AWAY.
If you hit a person at photo-op distance with an arrow from even a ‘light’ bow, it will punch through anything squishy until it hits enough bones to slow it down. It will make holes in smaller bones. It will glance off bigger bones like a rock skipping in a pond. There will be a terrific bloody mess, and Clint Barton will slide from the comic dimension to this one to smack your fool ass upside the head and ask what the fuck you think you’re doing. Better him than Kate, who would take the bow away, unstring it, pop one of the limbs off and then crack you straight across the head with it.
MAKE GOOD DECISIONS
DO NOT POINT A DRAWN BOW AT ANYTHING THAT YOU DON’T WANT TO ACCIDENTALLY DAMAGE INJURE OR KILL