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SECTION 6. - CONVENTIONS OF COMBAT AND EQUIPMENT STANDARDS FOR COMBAT ARCHERY AND OTHER MISCELLANEOUS PROJECTILES

CONVENTIONS OF COMBAT

Any Society event, in which Combat Archery, or any other miscellaneous projectile weapons, will be used shall be publicized as a Society event that will involve such Combat Activity. Combat Archery or the use of other projectile weapons shall not be allowed in any List that involves single combat bouts, but may be used in melee's and wars when specifically designated for such. The Marshal-In-Charge shall establish no-firing zones for spectators. Non-Contact Participants shall not be allowed upon the Field during any Combat Activity that involves the use of Combat Archery. All Participants shall be briefed by the Marshals about the use of Combat Archery prior to the start of the Combat Activities. Likewise, all spectators shall be warned about the possible dangers and shall be informed about the designated area(s) from which they may view the Combat Activities while reducing their risk of accidentally being exposed to missile fire.

I. GUIDELINES FOR ALL COMBATANTS DURING USE OF COMBAT ARCHERY AND OTHER MISCELLANEOUS PROJECTILES.

A. All Combat Archers shall adhere to the standard RULES OF THE LISTS. This shall especially apply when dealing with target selection. (i.e. No shooting or throwing projectiles at helpless opponents, no shooting/striking from behind, etc.)

B. All Combat Archers shall be armored according to regular armor standards for whichever type of combat they are engaging in (heavy or light).

C. Combat Archers shall be prepared to receive blows just as any other Combatant upon the Field and may carry, or have at hand, other weapons as secondary/backup weapons.

1. Combat Archers may avoid being struck if, in the face of a charge, they shall fall to the ground and loudly proclaim that they "YIELD." Other Combatants shall refrain from striking any Combat Archer who has so yielded. Such a Combat Archer shall be considered to have been slain and must leave the field.

D. Combat Archers shall not directly strike other Combatants with their bows or crossbows.

1. Other Combatants shall refrain from striking the bows or crossbows of the Combat Archers, should the Combat Archer choose not to Yield. Combat Archers should refrain from attempting to block, or parry, blows with their archery equipment should they not wish that equipment to be struck. Other Combatants who inadvertently strike a Combat Archer's bow or crossbow when such is being used to block or parry blows shall not be considered to be in violation of this rule.

E. Combat Archers shall not fire/throw their weapons at close range, Combat Archers shall not fire/throw their weapons in any case where a miss might cause the projectile(s) to strike any Marshal or spectator. The established no-firing zones shall be honored by all Combat Archers no matter how sure the shot might be.

1. Bows shall not be fired at opponents who are within 10 feet of the archer.

2. Crossbows shall not be fired at opponents who are within 15 feet of the archer.

3. Siege engine and hand thrown projectiles shall be assigned a minimum range based upon the nature of the weapon.

F. Only wooden shafted or golf tube quarrels are approved for Combat Archery use. Only one type of quarrel shall be allowed in any one Combat Activity.

1. Wooden shafted quarrels shall not be gleaned from the Field. Such quarrels must be inspected by the appropriate Marshal(s) before being used again and must be inspected after each and every firing. 2. Golf tube quarrels may be gleaned from the Field, but must be inspected by the appropriate Marshal(s) between each scenario.

G. Combat Archers may use Marshallate approved, hand thrown projectiles only when such are being allowed. All such users of hand thrown projectiles shall obey any and all instructions and/or restrictions pertaining to any particular hand thrown projectile weapon.

H. It shall be understood by all involved Participants that the criteria considered when judging the validity of blows, delivered by means of Combat Archery, will likely vary from the criteria normally considered when dealing with blows delivered by means of hand held weapons. Such criteria will be discussed during the briefing by the Marshals prior to the start of the Combat Activities.

EQUIPMENT STANDARDS FOR COMBAT ARCHERY AND OTHER MISCELLANEOUS PROJECTILES

II. BOW AND CROSSBOW STANDARDS.

A. Bows:

1. Only non-mechanized bows in the traditional Recurve or Longbow design shall be allowed. Bows that utilize pulleys will not be allowed.

2. The marshallate finds acceptable only recurves and longbows which are made of wood, aluminum or fiberglass and which:

a. have a maximum strength of thirty pounds with a full legal draw using legal wooden shafted quarrels.

b. have a maximum strength of forty pounds at full legal draw when using golf tube quarrels.

B. Crossbows:

1. Shall have a maximum strength of five hundred and fifty (550) inchpounds

III. QUARRELS AND OTHER MISCELLANEOUS PROJECTILES.

Only wooden shafted or golf tube quarrels may be used. No fiberglass or aluminum shaft materials will be allowed. All quarrels must be marked in some manner to identify the maker and/or owner.

A. Wooden Shafted Quarrels:

1. Shall have a minimum shaft diameter of 5/16 inch. Shaft material shall be of a good quality wood such as fir or cedar. Typical dowel material may not be used.

a. The maximum length of the shaft shall be 28 inches.

b. The shaft shall be completely taped in a linear fashion with at least one layer of reinforced fiber tape over its entire length. Additional layers may be applied in a spiral fashion if desired, but the outermost layer should be applied in the linear fashion.

2. All wooden shafted quarrels shall have vanes of plastic or feather material. Plastic vanes may be solid.

3. Combat Points: Wooden shafted quarrels shall have combat points as follows:

a. Points shall have a minimum diameter of 1 & 1/4 inches

b. Points shall not be designed to allow an entry of more than 1/2 inch

into any legal faceplate or visor.

c. Points shall have a minimum of 1 inch of closed cell foam or the equivalent on it's striking surface.

d. Points shall have a stop placed between the padding and the shaft material that will not allow the shaft material to punch through the padding. This stop must be a minimum of 1 & 1/4 inches in diameter.

Note: "Thistle Missile" tips may be used, so long as they meet the above standards. They must be taped to the wooden shaft securely using reinforced fiber tape. These tips are NOT to be used in Light Weapons scenarios.

B. Golf tube quarrels:

1. Shall have a tennis ball securely attached to the end. A minimum of reinforced fiber tape must be used to secure the tennis ball. Tennis balls that are overly firm may need to be punctured after mounting.

a. If the tennis ball is to have a hole cut into it's surface to allow the insertion of the golf tube, the ball must have a minimum of 1/2 of it's diameter, in front of the golf tube, filled with resilient foam to allow for progressive resistance. A suitable stop to prevent the god tube from punching through must be provided.

2. Quarrels with golf tube shafts over 28 inches in length must be clearly marked at the 28th inch of it's length and should not be drawn beyond that mark when fired.

3. Golf tube quarrels need not utilize vanes.

C. Hand Thrown Projectiles:

1. Hand thrown projectiles are those weapons such as javelins, throwing axes, hammers, boulders, rocks, etc..

a. All hand thrown projectiles shall be constructed entirely with approved materials.

b. Hand thrown weapons shall not be constructed so as to flail or entangle, nor shall they be so large or heavy as to be hazardous when used.

D. Siege Engines and Their Projectiles:

1. Siege engines must have the approval to be used in any Combat Activity. Approval is granted by the Marshal-In-Charge on a case-by-case basis only.

a. Such siege engines may have their use limited or otherwise restricted. Special conditions for the capturing and/or destruction of such siege engines may also be imposed. b. Projectiles launched by any siege engine shall not strike with excessive force nor be delivered in an unsafe manner.

2. All projectiles used by siege engines shall be made entirely of approved materials as listed above.