Middle Earth Ranger Forum

So I've been doing a lot of research for the last little while on arrowheads and their uses, trying to come up with a useful mix of heads to put on some proper period arrows. I'm planning on having a good mix of broadheads, bodkins (armour piercing), and some specialty heads. Also carrying extras that can be interchanged depending on need.

Now the issue I'm running into is trying to decide what sort of armour piercing rounds should I invest in? The issue is that I can't for the life of me remember what sort of armour is mentioned for Orcs, Goblins, etc. So I thought I would turn to Ranger-kin to help me figure it out. WETA seems to show crude and less crude styles of plate armour, but it doesn't fully cover orc bodies. I also seem to remember something about chain mail, and given it's prevalence in other cultures in Middle Earth, not to mention the Anglo-Saxon influences on Tolkien's works, that seems reasonable. But whether we as Rangers will be fighting against foes primarily in plate or chain (or something else?) makes a big difference in the kinds of arrowheads we'll be carrying.

So what do you think?

I went through this process a couple years ago: I can't recall what the source material I found was, but my conclusion was that mostly generic points with a few bodkins was the sensible route:

http://middleearthrangers.org/forum/vie ... =15#p40361

Since that post I stopped bringing the swallowtail and went with a different make of bodkin:
http://middleearthrangers.org/forum/vie ... 061#p41089

I'm still quite partial to the roving / crescent head though!
Tod's comparison of them to modern judo points is right on the mark. If I'm out with trad arrows instead of modern 3 Rivers arrows, that's the one I have in hand.
(but then, I'm hunting stumps, not orc. )

Elleth wrote:I went through this process a couple years ago: I can't recall what the source material I found was, but my conclusion was that mostly generic points with a few bodkins was the sensible route:

http://middleearthrangers.org/forum/vie ... =15#p40361

Since that post I stopped bringing the swallowtail and went with a different make of bodkin:
http://middleearthrangers.org/forum/vie ... 061#p41089

I'm still quite partial to the roving / crescent head though!
Tod's comparison of them to modern judo points is right on the mark. If I'm out with trad arrows instead of modern 3 Rivers arrows, that's the one I have in hand.
(but then, I'm hunting stumps, not orc. )

I love that thread of yours Elleth! And it's good to know that the crescent head is such a good roving head, definitely going to get one of those!

I figured I would be doing a mix that included bodkins, but that's where the issue arises...

As Rangers, we are sworn to protect the good from the servants of the Dark Lord; Orcs, Goblins, Men, etc. But to be effective against these forces we really must begin to understand how they are outfitted. If we are fighting goblins who are weathering very little in the way of armour, then most any point will do the job. But if we are fighting Uruk-Hai, who's "armour is thick and their shields broad" then we would need to invest in bodkins that can pierce plate armour. Not all bodkins are created equally, some only work against chainmail and some only work against plate. So I feel that the armament and equipment of our enemies is something that we as Rangers have to consider.