PENNSIC WAR 37: Combat Archery

AUTHORIZATIONS

MARSHALS

SCHEDULE

INSPECTIONS

PENNSIC CA REGULATIONS

ARROW CONSTRUCTION

BOW REQUIREMENTS

PAVISES

TARGETING OPPONENTS

SCA MISSILE COMBAT RULES -
PDF | HTML
incl. equipment requirements, arrow/bolt construction

COMBAT-ARCHERY.COM
arrow and bolt composition, details on Anti-Penetration Devices, etc.

COMBAT ARMOR REQUIREMENTS

Combat Archery at Pennsic 37

Greetings from and Lord Uilleam mac Lenna'n,
Pennsic 37 Combat Archery Marshal in Charge and East Kingdom Combat Archery Marshal

To all who bring bow and crossbow to the field, welcome. I encourage you to to help us make this a safe and fun Pennsic for everyone who takes the field, and also to come and join the activities of "Missile Day" on Tuesday, August 5th, for both Combat Archery and Siege.

Official CA activity at Pennsic 37 will be limited to the main battlefield, and to SCA combat archery and siege criteria, unless otherwise defined herein. In case of disputes, the Pennsic 37 MiC will make the final call.

If you have any questions regarding the information contained within, please contact me and I will be happy to provide assistance.

Yours in Service,
– Liam
combat-archery@eastkingdom.org

Authorizations

Participation in CA battlefield activities requires SCA minimum armor and previous authorization.

Marshals

We need your help and participation to ensure all Siege and CA activities go safely and smoothly. Please volunteer some of your time at Inspection Point or in the battles so we can ensure everyone can participate and have fun.

All Combat Archery marshals will wear a standard black marshal tabard and staff, as well as appropriate personal and eye protection (goggles or a helmet). It is strongly recommended that you wear at least minimum armor on the field.

All meetings for CA marshals will be posted at Inspection Point.

Combat Archery Schedule

Combat Archery will take place during the following battles and times:

Sunday, Aug 3: TBD: Friendship Castle Battle
Monday, Aug 4: 10:00 am: Battle of Rome
Tuesday, Aug 5: 11:00 am: 2nd Woods battle (1/2 hour after end of first); 2:00 – 7:00 pm: "Missile Day" at the Fort (CA/Siege competitions and themed shoots)
Wednesday, Aug 6: 10:00 am: Town Battle; 2:00 pm: Mountain Pass Battle (Note: This battle is allows only face targeting for CA)
Thursday, Aug 7: 10:00 am: Bridge Battle (3rd battle)
Friday, Aug 8: 10:00 am: Field Battles (4th and 5th battles)

Note: Please check posted times in case schedule changes occur after publication.

Inspections

All armor inspections will occur at Inspection Point.

Combat archery weapon and ammunition inspections will occur at Inspection Point. In addition a limited number of individuals, representing multiple Kingdoms and camping locations, will also be specially authorized to perform in-camp inspections. The list of authorized in-camp inspection contacts will be posted at Inspection Point.

All arrows or bolts must be inspected for that day's use, and be marked with the color of the day.

All arrows or bolts must be labeled with the owner's name, group and kingdom in English on the shaft. If a group owns arrows, then you may use the group's name and Kingdom.

After each battle that uses combat archery, the arrows will be re-inspected for the next battle and re-marked if needed. All CA participants are expected to help glean arrows off the field and bring them for inspection – particularly on Friday’s battle every able body will be needed to ensure we get the field cleaned up and arrows re-inspected between the two Field battles. Be sure you do not remove your arrows from the field until they have been inspected after the battle, as it is vitally important that we ensure the safety of all ammunition.

It is strongly encouraged to get your arrows inspected the day/night before a battle since showing up prior to the day's activities may result in insufficient time to have equipment inspected. Inspections will officially cease 1/2 hour prior to the posted start time of any battle so that the marshals have time to get ready for the battle. Please be aware that there are plenty of times to get ammunition inspected, but 5 minutes before the battle is not one of them.

Combat Archery Regulations for Pennsic 37

Society Combat Archery rules will be used for governing CA activities and key aspects are summarized below.

Note: As of this writing, the newest Society CA rules have not received final approval and as a result are not planned to be applied at Pennsic.

All combat archers:

Must have a Kingdom-appropriate qualification for Combat Archery participation
Must wear Society standard minimum heavy weapons armor
- There are no “light” archers
- Per Society addendum, all archers may have half gauntlets on both hands
Are full contact (heavy archers)
May use a Pavise (see below)

Archers may use an arm-strapped shield, but until the bow is discarded and the archer is equipped properly for hand engagements, any block of a hand weapon shot will be considered a killing blow by the archer. The archer will then react appropriately by "dying defensively". To enter hand to hand combat, the archer must meet all the minimal armor requirements of a heavy weapons fighter and have appropriately discarded their bow per Society standards and then recovered their weapon. NO BLOCKING WITH BOWS.

As with any weapons form, an archer may yield to an opponent, and archers should feel free to loudly express their "DEAD/YIELD" status. Courtesy TAPS delivered by a opponent SHOULD be accepted as the gift they are. Likewise an opposing fighter throwing excessive or repeated blows into a "SUBDUED/DEAD" opponent will face disciplinary action.

All bows, crossbows, bolts and arrows shall meet Society standards for construction.

Minimum range for a shot is "clears the bow".

There is no limit on the amount of arrows or bolts an archer may carry unless defined in a specific battle scenario.

ONLY Golf tube and Silo-flex arrows and bolts may be gleaned from the battlefield and reused. All other arrows, including Fellwalker bolts, must be inspected by CA marshals and approved prior to reuse.

Arrow Construction

Arrows may be constructed with a fiberglass or Golf tube/ Siloflex design.
Fiberglass shafted arrows and bolts must be equipped with anti-penetration devices (APDs).
Fiberglass shafted arrows/bolts must be wrapped in fiberglass filament or electrical tape.
Absolutely no wooden shafts are permitted.
The arrow must be constructed to meet Society CA standards in all aspects (Such as, but not limited to: Head and APD type, materials, and construction methods).
They are to be marked per Society standards in readable English.

Bow/Crossbow using fiberglass shafts

Hand bows using fiberglass arrows may only have a 30-lb. pull max.
Crossbows using fiberglass bolts may only have a 600 inch-pound maximum rating.
Note any bow that is allowed for fiberglass arrows may also use any tubular arrows allowed at the War.

Bow/Crossbow using Silo-flex/Golf tube arrows

Hand bows using golf tube or Silo-flex arrows have a 50-lb. max pull.
Crossbows using golf tube or Silo-flex have a up to a 1000 inch-pound maximum rating for the crossbow.
All hand bows over 30 lbs. or crossbows over 600 inch-pounds must be marked with a 4-inch-wide band of red tape. This tape must be on the upper limb of the bow, or the right hand side of the prod of a crossbow. ONLY golf tube or 100 psi Silo-flex arrows or bolts may be fired from these bows/crossbows. Anyone using a fiberglass shafted arrow in these bows or crossbows will be banned from all fighting activities for the rest of the event and is subject to other disciplinary action.

Pavises

Pavises shall follow the rules set forth in the upcoming CA rules revision, which are as follows:
Pavises are freestanding protection devices that are made to the same standards as armored combat shields with the exception that they may have windows cut into them. Window edges must be protected just like a shield edge.
The leg(s) used to keep the pavise standing must be at least 1.25 inches (3.2 cm) in diameter or 1.25 inches (3.2 cm) square and be well attached.
Pavises are destroyed by siege engine fire and a combatant directly behind the pavise at that time is killed.
A pavise may be carried to a new location, and still offers protection from arrows & thrown weapons while being carried; however, the person carrying it may not use their weapon until it is set down. If a pavise while being carried is struck by a hand weapon, the combatant carrying it is considered dead.

Targeting Opponents

All combat participants, including siege weapon crews may be targeted by missile fire. All combatants may be hit by missile fire no matter what their positional orientation to combat archers and siege engines. In other words, archers and siege engineers do not need "eye contact" with their opponents to shoot them. Legal target areas are the same as a thrust with a hand weapon, except as in the Mountain Pass battle which allows only the face as a legal target for CA.

As with all combat, it is on the person's honor to take a shot. Arrows and bolts do not always strike with the same force as hand weapon thrusts, due to limitations on the power of bows and crossbows for safety reasons. If a fighter notices a blow, but is not sure of the source, archers may politely indicate they were the source to aid the fighter in their evaluation of the blow. This is typically done with eye contact, a salute, or a wave, and should not be used for (or misinterpreted as) an archer calling the shot for the fighter.

Note that face shots have no force requirements, they are "notice" standard only.