What's the correct term? Loose? I'm sure I've heard that before.

I know nothing about arrows except to identify the pointy end.

It is very tiring to hold back the shot in a position like that. In real life you just wouldn’t do that. And in general your archers know their range and will/should start shooting as soon as they have a target in range without any orders.

The volley fire thing is from black powder musket/rifle days. Basically volleys were used so you can actually seen what you are shooting at (aim) and manuever (hard to move while reloading. Easier if everyone reloads at the same time). Most armies still had small groups sharpshooters/snipers running around the field and taking shots freely.

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alias_neo 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> It is very tiring to hold back the shot in a position like that. In real life you just wouldn’t do that

That makes a lot of sense, and is kind of obvious when you think about it. They'd just be wasting energy.

I suppose the way we see it portrayed in film (for some reason it's always LoTR that comes to mind), is for dramatic effect, with scores of arrows flying through the sky at once. But I was always mildly irritated (though without knowing why) by the fact that despite so many arrows flying, the vast majority would miss any target.

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kijin 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

If most archers start shooting as soon as targets enter the range, and if their individual ranges are clustered around the average, wouldn't that result in a relatively high density of shooting when the distance to a moving group of targets coincides with their average range?

Some movies actually provide a plausible-sounding explanation for the volley fire thing. A dude in charge commands everyone to wait until the unsuspecting enemy enters the kill zone. But even in that case, I guess the archers won't wait with their bows drawn.

	▲	doikor 5 hours ago \| parent [-]
		The opponent has usually seen bows before too and has a rough idea of their range.

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cenamus 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Shoot?

	▲	JKCalhoun 5 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Release?