Missile Weapon Standards

General

1. All combatants bear final responsibility for the condition and safety of their own equipment.
2. Weapons must be licensed if required by mundane law.
3. No metal or unapproved rigid plastic may be used on any striking surface of a weapon.
4. No weapon may use the combustion of flammable materials as a means of propulsion.
5. With the exception of manually pumped compressed air used in cannon rounds, no weapon may use compressed gas as a means of propulsion.
6. All projectiles must have the owner’s name, kingdom, and group clearly and legibly printed on it in English characters for identification.
7. Missiles must not contain any material which could enter a combatant’s eyes if the missile breaks open e.g. beans, sand, etc.
8. No weapon may be thrown or discharged at targets within 5 metres.
9. It is forbidden to discharge any missile from a missile weapon other than those types of missiles which have been approved for use in that type of weapon. Doing so may be considered grounds for removing the combatant from the field. The combatant may be subject to further disciplinary action.

Bows

Note Edits to this section are required to meet 2018 Society minimum standards and current rules around crossbows

1. A combat archer may use any recurve or long bow that is in a safe and usable condition, so long as the bow does not exceed 30 pounds draw weight at 28 inches of draw.
2. The draw weight of the bow is to be determined at 711mm (28 inches) draw length, as measured from the centre of the bow riser.
3. Combat archers may use a crossbow provided that it is in a safe and usable condition and does not exceed 600 inch-pounds in power.
4. The possession and/or use of crossbows is illegal in some jurisdictions. It is the responsibility of the user to ensure that their weapons are legal - Footnote - In regards to crossbow legislation enacted 1st July 2004 in Victoria, the SCAA has obtained an exemption for SCA legal combat crossbows and combat blunts used by members of the SCA. Please note this does not include any bolts with field/target points. The exemption requires that someone with an SCA combat legal crossbow must be carrying proof of membership of the SCA. THIS FOOTNOTE IS NO LONGER VALID.
5. The power of a crossbow is determined by multiplying the length of the power stroke in inches by the draw weight in pounds at the locked position on the string. The draw weight is to be measured at the nut, ie. the string position when the crossbow is nocked. The power stroke is the distance from the string’s rest position to the locked position.
6. Compound bows and compound crossbows are not permitted.
7. Bows shall be inspected before use by a marshal who is knowledgeable regarding archery equipment and safety.
8. The use of bows and crossbows that have a period appearance is strongly encouraged.

Arrows and Bolts

Note There are edits required to include published rules since 2009

1. New designs for materials for blunts, shafts, etc. must first be tested at kingdom level for safety and durability in consultation with the Lochac Earl Marshal and the Society Marshal.
2. Shafts must have a diameter of 8 mm or 5/16 inch.
3. Shafts must be made from one of the following woods:
   1. Port Orford Cedar
   2. Ramen
   3. Silver Ash
   4. Tasmanian Oak
4. The maximum length for an arrow is 711mm (28 inches), measured from the bottom of the nock slot to where the blunt joins the shaft.
5. Arrows must be tipped with a mark II or III Riverhaven black rubber blunt affixed to the shaft.
6. The shaft of the arrow shall be spirally or longitudinally wrapped with fibreglass filament tape, totally covering the surface from the front of the fletching to the tip of the shaft. The taping must be in good condition without any sign of the fibres lifting from the shaft.
7. Metal points, if any, must be removed prior to mounting the blunts. The front end of the shaft must be flat, not pointed.
8. Blunts must be secured using a strip of good quality 13mm-wide electrical or fibre tape wound down around the sides of the blunt for at least 13mm, and then up onto the shaft of the arrow for 25mm as per figure 10.1. Blunts must be firmly secured to the shaft so that they cannot come off on impact or if the shaft is broken. To allow inspection of possible punch-through the face of the blunt must not be covered.
9. Arrows and bolts may only be used as missiles launched from a bow, crossbow or approved siege weapon. They may not be used as hand-held thrusting weapons. Such use will be considered grounds for removing a combatant from the field and may lead to further disciplinary action.
10. Arrows may be used only after inspection supervised by a marshal. Archers shall be responsible for re-checking the safety of their arrows at the time of use.
11. Arrows may not be picked up from the field and immediately re-used, they must be re-inspected off the field prior to re-use. In resurrection battles arrows should be collected by all “dead” combatants returning to the resurrection point.
12. If an archer falls on their quiver, or spills arrows, the arrows must be inspected off the field under the supervision of a marshal prior to use.
13. If a bow or non-rigid quiver containing arrows or bolts is struck by missile fire the bow or missiles must be inspected off the field before being used again. If a rigid quiver is struck the arrows or bolts may be used without re-inspection.

Other missile weapons

1. Hand-held mechanically launched missiles:
   1. Hand-held mechanically launched missile weapons include weapons such as hand-held staff slings and spear/dart throwers.
   2. Hand-held mechanically launched missiles must weigh no more than 500 grams.
   3. Tennis ball missiles shall not exceed 85 grams in weight. The balls may be perforated with a hole of no more than 6mm in diameter. To prevent them from collapsing when stepped on, tennis balls may not be slotted.
   4. The maximum range for 85 gram (3 ounce) tennis ball missiles launched from a hand-held weapon is 87 metres (90 yards), and for 56 gram (2 ounce) tennis ball missiles 91.44 metres (100 yards).
   5. The maximum range for javelins used with spear throwers is 87 metres (90 yards). The spear thrower must not be able to pass through the faceplate of a legal helm - Footnote - In scenarios where screening is required the spear thrower must not be able to pass through the screening.
2. Missile combatants may not have both inspected and un-inspected missiles stored or carried together. If un-inspected and inspected missiles become mixed then the entire group of missiles shall be re-inspected under the supervision of a marshal prior to use.
3. Darts, javelins and throwing axes may be picked up, field inspected, and immediately re-used.

Siege Munitions

1. Siege-class munitions are denoted by yellow tape and include ballista bolts and rocks (450g foam or 4-tennis ball clusters).
2. Small-arms munitions include single tennis balls and tube-shafted combat archery arrows and bolts.