[I understand that a lot of scripture revelations are metaphors. I also understand that it was the best way ancient prophets could explain modern warefare. However, some of the ancient and modern revelations leads me to believe that we may be fighting hand to hand.
It is reasonable to assume that during an invasion or a serious national disaster that manufactureing will stop. In long term fighting/anarchy we will run out of bullets. This makes your 9 pound rifle uselss. The only natural thing to do would be to step it down to midievil weapons and black powder rifles. Some will say that we will just take the enemy supplies. Assumeing we can get them. It still would not be enough to arm everyone or last very long.
Should we learn basic sword, dagger, spear, axe, and bow skills? It might sound funny now but you never know.]
I know this is an old thread but I have been digging through the old stuff and found something I would like to comment on.
I agree with you here, Robert, that if the War and Chaos of the Last Days lasts for years then the armies will use up their munitions quickly. It would be hard to continue manufacturing bullets and bombs during a time of war, famine, disease, and chaos but not impossible. So I think it is possible that muscle powered weapons may be used.
I have belonged to a medieval recreation group called The Society for Creative Anachronism for 18 years. I have learned quit a bit about hand-to-hand combat in large formations using medieval weapons similar to those that Isaiah, Daniel, and John may have seen in use in their day. I have fought in many “wars’ with over a thousand men and women on the field. It is exhilarating and fun. The best thing about it is after you “die” you can go and fight the next “battle”.
I have contemplated what I would use after my ammo goes dry and I run out of reloading components. Here are my views on the different weapons that may be used.
Swords;
Probably the best choice you can make. A good sword is light and fast and if good quality and with training will get you past most situations. If you do decide on a sword make sure you don’t get a “wall hanger”, one of those cheap things made in India peices of….well you know. Don’t waste your money on one of those fancy swords with brass dragons or skulls on it. Try and find a “live steel” blade that are actually used to fight with. The best are forged, tempered and made from spring steel. Stainless steel is great for knives/daggers but is too brittle for swords. I know, I have broken quit a few.
There are literally dozens of styles of swords you can choose from depending on how you intend to use it and how many hands on the hilt you want to use, one or two. For an unarmored target a good quality katana or cavalry saber is sufficient. For armored targets a heavier broad sword, bastard sword, or a nodachi (two handed katana) will do better to get past the protection of the target.
I myself am looking at getting the British 1796 Pattern Heavy Cavalry Troopers Sword that the fictional character Richard Sharpe uses during his exploits in the Napoleonic Wars. It is a little heavy but not too much so.
Remember, don’t take a knife to a sword fight.
Mass Weapons;
This would include axes, hammers, maces, flails, clubs, etc. These are cheap to make or find and will defeat almost any armor you will come up against. The drawback is the recovery time. These are slower than swords but will do the job.
Pole Weapons;
These are the Spears/pikes, halberds, pole axes, naginatas, etc. These type weapons are best used in formations of like or mixed weapons. Alone they may be defeated by a skilled swordsman. Together or used behind a shield wall they can be devastating.
Shields;
Again there are many types; kite, round, buckler, heater, scutum (Roman shield or “door” shield) just to name a few. If you have no armor, a shield is a must. It will keep you alive till you get a crippling blow on your opponent. Which type, is really up to you. I have seen them all used to good effect. Larger shields rein the battle field. These would be the Roman Scutum, Viking or Greek Round shields, and Norman Kites. The Buckler and other small shields like the heater are great for one-on-one but are not that effective on a battle field environment. Which to get, is up to you and the person who trains you on its use. I prefer a small round shield with a center boss (the handle is in the center of the shield) or a heater for one-on-one engagements. In larger battles I let the big young guys pave the way with their “door” shields while I kill from a distance with my 9’ spear/pike.
Training;
Watching samurai movies won’t get you too far against a skilled fighter. When I face a samurai wanna be I just wait till he’s done showing off then take him out of everyone’s misery.
A real samurai is skilled and not to be messed with. Neither is a medieval knight. Combat using swords, shields, pole arms, etc is a martial art and must be taught from an instructor to be learned. Kendo, and fencing (saber) will help but if you want to learn shield and how to fight in a formation then try your local SCA group. They are all over the world. There are other medieval groups around but the SCA is the oldest and largest.
Missile Weapons;
The French found out how devastating the English Longbow was. Very powerful and had a faster rate of fire than the cross bow. The thing was it took years of training for the long bow while the cross bow was easy to learn, point and shoot. I would either get a good compound bow or cross bow. I have a cross bow because I never have the time to practice with a bow and I have been trained on rifles since I was a kid.
Armor;
Knights and even Samurai wore armor in combat. Remember how the Nephites wore armor and the Lamanites didn’t? The Nephites won almost every time. As you can imagine armor varies wildly, too, by weight, cost and style. For the head you need a good strong helmet. This is the most important piece of armor you wear. Don’t buy the cheep display stuff. Make sure it is at least 12 gage mild steel or 14 gage stainless. I’ve never tried modern style helmets like; motorcycle, football, or riot head gear. They should work well. Protect the hands with a pair of gauntlets. You can’t hold a weapon with broken fingers. For the torso use either chain maile with welded or riveted rings, scale armor, or plate. All of these can be made with either mild or stainless steel, ABS/Kydex plastic, titanium, aluminum or hardened leather. There are tons of sights on the web where you can either buy this stuff or learn how to make it your self. I make my own because it is a lot cheaper. The material in armor is relatively cheap but making it is labor intensive. My wish list for armor in the Last Days would be; my stainless steel Norman style helm, Titanium welded chain maile ($1000 or more
), Stainless gauntlets, knees and elbows, with Kydex protecting the long bones in the arms and legs.
n8-r, the “contraption” you describe sounds like a ballista to me. They threw a 4’-6’ dart/spear up to 1000 feet or more. We have one in our fighting group. It uses twisted rope to supply the force and it fires three darts at the same time. You’ll need some type of crank devise like a come-along to cock your cross bow/ballista. Good luck.
I myself have looked into homemade firearms but they still need ammunition. Something to look at is the Girandoni air rifle and the Caselman Air-powered Machine gun. These are high powered air rifles and use technology that goes way back to Lewis and Clark Expedition who took an air rifle with them on their trip. Unfortunately you need machinist skill to make one.
They would be perfect because all you need is a lead bullet, which you can cast yourself, and compressed air from a pump.
If you want to do research on any of this, just google it using, SCA, then the subject of your search.
Enjoy,
Old Man