Medieval Weapons

For the polar bear i'd take a crossbow, one shot but its the easiest usable package for a quick kill, i dont have the fitness levels nor skill to weild swords etc to sufficient effect.

Not sure on the gorillas, two of them makes it harder, probably a shield and a flaming torch, hope to scare rather than kill.

Pack of wolves though methinks is a non starter, assuming any level of dedication on the part of the pack i doubt anything up to repeating firearms is going to do you much good.
 
Crossbow for bear and gorillas
Spear for wolves

Shields are stupid
Swords are a gamers daydream

Well, for large creatures they used crossbows which would be ideal for the modern man as they require no training and easily have the firepower to punch deep into a bear.

A medieval crossbow power depends on its draw weight, which depends on the method of drawing the bow and so will determine its speed.

A stirrup takes the longest to draw as it is drawn with your foot holding it down while you draw the bow towards you with two hands. It has the power to punch through even the thickest of plate armours if the blow was direct enough. Probably 5/6 seconds to draw but you can be sure that if you hit the bear in the chest its probably going to kill it... but unless your lucky not before it kills you.

Cranequin is the next one up with a hand crank to draw it. Easier to draw but probably takes just as long and has less power, though enough to punch through plate armour too.

Push/Pull lever ones are probably ideal for most of these situations as they have the stopping power but are far quicker to load. It might not go all the way through a bear skull but you can probably load it a few times quicker than the above.


For the wolves i would have to think a spear. They use to use spears to hunt as it kept animals at a distance and it takes next to no training to train someone at using a spear.

If you think using a shield will help you, then your doing it wrong :p. Shields were always used against other people not animals, they shouldn't get that close to you and if they did, then you have a cumbersome thing preventing you from using two hands for wielding a weapon quicker or just moving out the way with ease. The reason why small/medium swords are not useful is that a sword requires training and hitting a moving target with enough momentum, at the right angle to sever bone is difficult. Gorillas and bears are thick and chances are you will end up going in range only to a deliver non fatal blows against a big wall of flesh, muscle and bone, only to receive a vicious counter.

Edit:
Crossbow draw-weight from the medieval period is up to 740lb
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=m...me&ie=UTF-8#q=medieval+crossbow+draw+weight&*

Recomended Draw weight for Grizzley bears and mooses and such is 200lb +

http://www.streetdirectory.com/trav..._weight_do_i_need_for_crossbow_hunting63.html

Plenty to spare, just dont miss as unless you are a big guy, you will struggle to **** a high power crossbow unless you use a crank or a stirrup which are really slow.
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sHo0sH said:
What medieval weapon would you choose in a life or death situation?

2 Gorillas are attacking you
A polar bear is attacking you
A pack of wolves are attacking you

What would have been your weapon of choice?
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1. Bananas held like 2 handguns, i would pretend to shoot them
2. I would be dead at this point
3. I would be very dead at the point
 
I'll just take a small dagger sharp enough to push through my own neck, I don't very much fancy being ripped apart by 2 Gorillas and no Human being could fight 2 of them with anything less than a firearm. Same thing with a Polar Bear. These animals are incredibly strong, tough and large. You'd need a high caliber pistol like a .44 Magnum or powerful assault rifle, even then you'd better not miss and put it down quickly.

Wolves are actually the least threatening, they aren't particularly big and rarely attack Humans.
 
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Judgeneo said:
A trebuchet can launch a 90kg man over 300m using a counterweight.
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A trebuchet wouldn't be much use without a counterweight! :P

In all circumstances it would probably be a crossbow (assuming you were a good enough shot). All of those are likely to win a close quarters duel with any human.
 
something i can set on fire - without it i reckon nobody would last very long especially against the first two (unless you get a very lucky stab).
 
For some perspective a Polar Bear can be 10 foot tall and weigh 70 stone with what are essentially daggers for claws, a huge powerful jaw and thick fur and skin. They prey on Walrus which can weigh upto 2,200kg (315 stone)
 
Roar87 said:
I'll just take a small dagger sharp enough to push through my own neck, I don't very much fancy being ripped apart by 2 Gorillas and no Human being could fight 2 of them with anything less than a firearm. Same thing with a Polar Bear. These animals are incredibly strong, tough and large. You'd need a high caliber pistol like a .44 Magnum or powerful assault rifle, even then you'd better not miss and put it down quickly.

Wolves are actually the least threatening, they aren't particularly big and rarely attack Humans.
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Yup against a charging polar bear you are pretty much screwed - you could stand still and hope it decides you aren't a threat/its not hungry and goes away or make a lot of noise and hope it is actually more scared of you and backs off. There is a reason its recommended to use large bore cartridges i.e. magnum for protection against them I suspect that only a crossbow would likely provide much protection out of the medieval options. Assault rifle not really the best option against a charging bear you really want something with more stopping power per bullet. I'd rather deal with a pair of gorillas - though I think its pretty rare for bears to be aggressive to the point they are intent on ripping you to shreds when they charge compared to gorillas.
 
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Rroff said:
Yup against a charging polar bear you are pretty much screwed - you could stand still and hope it decides you aren't a threat and goes away or make a lot of noise and hope it is actually more scared of you and backs off. There is a reason its recommended to use large bore cartridges i.e. magnum for protection against them I suspect that only a crossbow would likely provide much protection out of the medieval options. Assault rifle not really the best option against a charging bear you really want something with more stopping power per bullet. I'd rather deal with a pair of gorillas - though I think its pretty rare for bears to be aggressive to the point they are intent on ripping you to shreds when they charge compared to gorillas.
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Gorillas are actually placid gentle creatures and most likely wouldn't even attack a Human unless you were acting threatening towards one of the females or young (you can actually go visit them in the wild). They are fully capable of killing an adult Leopard though, which would make short work of any Human.

Polar Bears are actually highly aggressive and the only Bear to actively prey on Humans. They aren't like Black Bears or Grizzly Bears where you can play dead or act threatening, Polar Bears will just kill you regardless.
 
Roar87 said:
Gorillas are actually placid gentle creatures and most likely wouldn't even attack a Human unless you were acting threatening towards one of the females or young (you can actually go visit them in the wild). They are fully capable of killing an adult Leopard though, which would make short work of any Human.

Polar Bears are actually highly aggressive and the only Bear to actively prey on Humans. They aren't like Black Bears or Grizzly Bears where you can play dead or act threatening, Polar Bears will just kill you regardless.
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I mean if one is charging you aggressively - with bears including polar it is usually at first to test your response* while with gorillas if it has got to that point then they've likely lost it and going for you regardless. But given the 2 options if it was charging fully intent on ripping me to shreds whatever I'd rather take the gorillas.


* To quote from wikipedia: "Although stereotyped as being voraciously aggressive, they are normally cautious in confrontations, and often choose to escape rather than fight.[69] Satiated polar bears rarely attack humans unless severely provoked.[70][71] However, due to their lack of prior human interaction, hungry polar bears are extremely unpredictable, fearless towards people and are known to kill and sometimes eat humans."
 
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