200lbs Assassin's Crossbow - LET'S TEST IT!
This film is about these tiny but powerful all steel crossbows - 200lbs/90kg draw weight, but fits in your hand. Properly known as a Balestrino, but more commonly known as 'Assassins crossbows"; but the big question is were they really for this? Let's test it!
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My reproduction was loosely based on the xi 286 in the Royal Armouries, Leeds. The information card of their bow reads.......
"The rarest form of crossbow - only about 18 survive from before the 18th century - is a miniature version, known as an 'assassin's' crossbow, or balestrino ('little crossbow'). The earliest known example dates from the late 15th or early 16th century. This all-steel crossbow has a possible draw weight of about 100kg and may have a range of some 300 metres, the same as a full-size crossbow.
Its small size allows it to be concealed within clothing, making it particularly suitable for assassination attempts. Balestrini were therefore controlled by authorities, like in Venice, which banned them in 1545. Later, in the 17th century, mere possession carried the death penalty.
Seemingly a balestrino was planned to be used against Queen Elizabeth I. Two conspirators, Richard Williams and Edmond Yorke, discussed '...how to kill her Majesty. Some spake of a little cross-bow of steel, that should carry a little arrow... a great way: and if the same did with a small arrow draw blood, being poisoned, she should not escape it'. In April 1594 the conspirators decided to attack the Queen with a small pistol and a poisoned rapier, but the attempt was foiled."
Man, the first few frames had me worried you were gonna assassinate a chicken
BACAW!?!!
I thought that as well. Had enough of pork and wanted a bit of chicken instead.
I nearly had a heart attack too...
de_inferno moment
how else would Tod get his dinner?
Rather than commenting on the effectiveness, can we just appreciate the craftsmanship of that balestrino? it's sculpted in steel so elegantly.
Incredibly
Just the cutting of those threads is impressive enough on it's own. Given the load on them, they'd have to be pretty precise.
To IpostSwords Thank you - that is very kind
To Phil, as Asdrubale implies, I source the screw from elsewhere - life is too short for that!
@@tods_workshop How much does one of those run?
Based on what you've said, it sound to me like it would've been a good weapon for an assassin to have within their arsenal. Here's why: 1. Wheel-lock pistols aren't discrete. The noise and the large cloud of smoke they discharge would result in an assassin immediately giving away their position. Although wheel-locks were more reliable than matchlocks, neither were as reliable as a crossbow. 2. Daggers-- everyone had them, and thus they would've been expected. If an assassin had been commissioned to kill an important person, then chances are they won't be able to catch them alone. The odds of both assassinating someone and successfully escaping would therefore be minimal. 3. The possible application of poison. Even without poison, you wouldn't need land a fatal blow. Mortal wounds were prominent throughout history. If the infection didn't take them, then the medical practices of the time very well could. It seems like the sort of weapon that would've ideally been used in a crowded space. A place that would be noisy enough to muffle the shot(s), and would give the assassin(s) a chance to escape. It doesn't surprise me that the Balestrini were feared by the influential.
This is along the lines of what I thought, the sound alone is quite an advantage
I agree that can be the god tool for the good job. One thing bother me. The model is a little bit to fancy for beeing a one job thing.
While I agree with most of what you're saying, paragraph 3 displays a very common but fundamental misunderstanding of the quality of medical care in the Middle Ages. It has always been much more advanced than what most people imagine today and the discrepancy becomes greater towards the 15th century onwards. At the time in which this thing would have been used, wounds from arrows and bolts have been a thing for hundreds of years. Without poisoning someone, it was no problem at all to take care of the resulting injury. Especially for people who are already somewhat wealthy and influential. Also, another thing is that back then just like today, sometimes people perceive things as more (or less!) dangerous than they realistically are. Venice banning those things may have simply based on rumors of vicious assassins roaming the streets at night. More often than not, that's all it takes for people to jump on the train and pass some not so sensible legislation. I don't know. Surely, some Italian speaking friends could look into the sources and do some further research.
Yes, agree, I also see it like that, imagine an meeting in the village where some landlords discuss on the stage and every one calpping and buf arrow shot underneath a cloak, no one saw no one heard… you cannot frisk the whole population of the town, until then the assasin might be gone already
I can imagine someone shooting this from a bushes in a garden or from a window, being 10-20 meters away from a target, unseen.
I love your historically accurate medieval hens. Seen them in books and manuals, but no one has recreated them like this. Neat.
It's historically inaccurate, medieval hens had white skin, brighter yellow feathers, he failed to replicate the DNA accurately.
@@lolasdm6959 They were also much smaller. Like, laughably small compared to our modern, test tube chickens
@@Salamandra40k It's not really test tube chickens, we just kept on only breeding the bigger ones so we get more meat.
@@lolasdm6959 Its called a hyperbole, a lot of youtube commenters need to learn what that is
@@Salamandra40k Selective breeding occured long before modern times, it's incorrect hyperbole to use the word test tube. Have you seen what pheasants looked like?
Is that a Balestrino in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me? *gets shot*
With a pistol to drive the message in
Whatever it is, it's certainly made of steel.
Said the lady in waiting to the archbishop.
the balestrino being banned is like ninja weapons being banned in the UK - a misinformed, impressionable lawmaker or other political actor saw them, thought they were scary AF and pushed to ban them.
Like nunchucks Lol! I remember that and butterfly knives(balisong) in the US. I've never known or seen a gang member/criminal with either. Stupid fictional hysterics.
@@badlaamaurukehu The funny thing about the U.S. is that whilst nunchaku and balisong knives are banned in many states, 12 gauge shotguns and pistols of every calibre are perfectly legal in all 50 states. In most states, you don't even need a licence to own a pistol, and none of the states require licences to own a shotgun, either. Interesting that the government dictates that they'll allow you to own a shotgun, but not a set of two sticks connected by a short chain.
@@Schwarzvogel1 okay back off with the f****** English dystopia talk, 12-gauge shotguns, really? that's the first weapon you're taking a stand against?
@@Schwarzvogel1 also virtually all states require a license to own both of those things, except maybe like Alabama or Virginia or whatever. Most states require a specific pistol license that requires a class, shotguns just only require a background check and a note from your doctor saying you're not going to murder suicide. you get loose black powder guns without registering them if that's what you mean, still need a license.
@Maui Randall only three states require licenses to own firearms. Simple google search proves you wrong.
300 meters legit sounds like someone made a typo of 30 meters. And yeah, the ballistrino was totally just a parlor toy and Venice freaking out about them I imagine was a medieval version of modern derps banning nunchaku and shuriken.
I think it sort of illustrates how if a monarch caught wind of a thing that made them fraid, they would just ban it. Not surprising
Yeah. That's three football fields. Not a chance in Hell.
For sure, never mind it's accuracy but I doubt that a grown up version was capable of that kind of range. Not in any useful or reliable way.
@@weswelborne4582 Sounds like someone just pointed it up in the air and went "wow, look at that!"
They were not "parlor toys". If you got punctured by one of those darts (that could possibly even slip through chainmail) and they were even remotely poisoned, even just dipped in excrement, you probably had a 95% chance to die.
Imagine walking around back in the day and you hear a clicking sound from off in the distance, and then later on find one of those bolts hanging off the back of your shirt lol..
I'd bet money that happened, maybe a guard or soldier wearing cloth or leather armour, walking into a pub for a pint and one of his mates goes "what the hell is that sticking out of your back? You bloody hedgehog 😂"
@@BarneyGumbl3 Keep in mind this isn't some video game... If someone is going to try an murder someone they probably aren't going to get involved with guards at all. Also 'leather armor' no. 'Cloth armor' inaccurate, more like textiles made into gambeson. I could definitely see bolts getting stuck in someone's gambeson during some actual conflict, but not as part of some random 'assassination' attempt. People let games and movies poison their ideas of how things happened and were done too much lol. Anyone trying to shoot a guard with a weapon is ASKING for them to scream at the top of their lungs, alert literally everyone around, and then have the whole job of killing one specific person go up in flames, and that's if the guard doesn't see you where you'd clearly be hiding, and then go and kick your stupid ass themselves. There's a reason assassinations tended to happen in open public areas where the chaos of people freaking out and panicing, and the mob of people around making it easier to hide in complete plain sight was preferred, OR if you were someone who the person knows personally, and you were able to get to them in a completely private area alone, where you don't have to worry about guarded areas. Anyone plotting a serious crime like this isn't going to do it when there are guards and walls between you and the target, and just *expect* the person who got the shitty job of executing the job to get past all of that.
I feel like this is the kind of weapon you use point blank behind someone at the theater while the crowd applauds
Well, in that scenario, a knife to the back is more effective, more deadly, and makes no sound.
@@GuitarsRockForever but you also risk being covered in blood and getting caught because of it
@@archiebf4524 Not true, as long as you don't take the knife out, just stab and go away. Poison the knife if you want, getting the job done much better. With that thing, there are only few craftsman could make it, if you use it, they will trace it back and you are screwed.
@@archiebf4524 Wear a glove.
@@GuitarsRockForever stabbings are very messy affairs whether you take the blade out or not, I have witnessed 2 of them. Also we don't know how many of these there were, perhaps they were quite common and stolen for the job?
"Reusable!" *stabbing motion* 🤣
Im putting it in my edc for sure X D
*repeated stabbing motions
Fast reload time!
That could definitely kill someone. Good video.
#Sustainablefuture
One thing you're missing from an assassination point when comparing to a dagger is the amount of motion it takes to generate that same energy. Combined with even a few feet of extra distance from the target it still becomes a much more effective tool for covert assassination, particularly in public, but even surprised one on one (assuming poison finished the job). Shoot and leave. It's not a stabbing/piercing trauma weapon. It's a safer, more covert (from motion of the attacker standpoint) poison delivery system.
@TheProphetOfHate Which requires you to BLOW the dart from the lips, in direct sight of the target and everyone else but a small crossbow can be used to kill even when fired from the hip and hidden from the sight witnesses or over the shoulder of another person making THEM look guilty. An assassin weapon is NOT the most effective weapon to kill, it is the one most able to allow the assassin to walk away from the attempt, the most effective weapon to kill is a suicide attempt, almost a guaranteed success but no survival rate. Also if you believe that medieval guard would not consider pipes and darts to be a danger you are more stupid than you imagine them to be, they lived in a war based society, EVERYTHING was a threat and everyone was considered an enemy. This is why the pistol was rejected, it made a loud retort and a cloud of smoke which identified the shooter and even now is the bane of the military but a dropped crossbow leaves nothing to connect the attempt with the shooter, no powders, no smells, nothing.
@TheProphetOfHate I CAN visualize many different ways to get a thin pipe past security which means SO CAN THE GUARDS. However it is clear we both have different opinions on this matter so shall we agree to disagree and both just accept that the other person is wrong?
I imagine there were men MUCH better at shooting one of these weapons with posion tipped bolts much quieter and less comotion from a distance and with a bolt holder attached. Why eles would you have the death penalty????????
@TheProphetOfHate Lol who told you its illegal to carry numchukas or swords in the US?? LOL You must be either from a Blue state or ARE THINKING of a Blue state (IE: Democratic run / neo Communist State) in the free Red states 80% of the US you can carry anything you want. However who would carry a sword when you can CCW a nice Sig Saur P365???? Or Glock 19???
@TheProphetOfHate Idk but I been carring for 20 years and I own 3 swords and brass knuckles but I never walk around with any in the open, idk sound stupid
I have to thank you Tod for giving us all some history about the Balestrino. This channel is first class covering both parts of the story and build. Well done mate for sure. Peace too.
This strikes me as an older version of the parlor pistol. It's something you can enjoy in a smaller space with your buddies, like a medieval game of darts, and it sure is beautiful. :)
This definitely has the "Well, let me have a go..." vibe to it ;)
@@VeraTR909 Yes, or 'Gallery Guns'.
The japanese had a yumi (bow) version of that indoor fun too. It seems to me to be that aswell. "Cool, Awesome and Fun" aswell as "It looks good" are factors too often neglected in historical and archeological analyses ^^
Its not like there wasnt any medicine. Medieval and early modern medicine has a bad rep. And antibiotics were kind of a thing ^^ Quite recently there was a new antibiotic discovered in a medieval medicine book used to fight a modern multi resistant germ. Of course this was one case in one book. But still. The people didnt get why much stuff worked the way it does, but they knew it did.
Bad newsBH, I think you have it
You can shoot a servant, how funny is that. Lost it right there, hilarious!!
Me too. To Todd’s credit, he did follow up with “you aren’t going to kill anybody with it.”
You can see why Mrs. Tod never brings him a cup of tea to his shed.
Probably why they got banned people were fooling around with them too much.
Like lawn darts.
@@MrMonkeybat Yarts for the win! “How about a game where you throw a three foot long steel headed dart high in the air aiming for a Hulahoop. Nothing bad could possibly go wrong with that...”
Always entertaining and informative. Appreciation from the US!
Bloke, I get a kick out of you with all the crossbows you have made and tried. Keep up the great work Mate!
Thought the chicken was about to meet its maker for a minute.
It'd be "Oh, cluck!"
Where did you get that guts profile, it looks amazing
Only if he wasn't aiming at it
@@klaushoxha3245 kopfstoff.artstation.com/projects/Vnbk4 Kopfstoff on Artstation, he has some others too.
the eck ?
Problem with the wheellock pistol is the loud bang, the cloud of smoke and the obvious sign saying here I am. The dagger needs you to get within stabbing range and its easy enough in a crowd and more viable; unless your target is guarded and keeps an open space around them, then you expose yourself in the attack. A small crossbow like that, fired from 5 meters from within a crowd or from behind concealment aiming at center mass you don't need to kill the target just hit them deep enough that the poison kills them. With the noise of people speaking and doing things it could be hard to detect. But like you said its probably a fun toy for rich people to entertain themselves. 😉
That strikes me as plausible reason these little crossbows might have at least been used for assassination attempts at times. It doesn't seem very effective at all, but it is potentially more subtle than other methods.
I imagine it's like the Russian 'ballistic knife', if you were going to actually use it then you could be anywhere from just out of sword reach to in contact with their flank.
While it certainly is more quite, it still makes a lot of sound and I you could still locate from where didbyou hear that "click" or even see from roughly where the dart came, but most importantly jf you were in a crowd the people around you would definitely notice. What I think this would be more advantageous than flintlock is that if you had a really good poison, and skillful shooter (Todd didn't really test the grouping, just shown that it's difficult to shoot) the probability of surviving this attack could be smaller since being shot with a pistol doesn't have to be lethal. But if I was to kill someone, I would rather hire a second assassin with another flintlock pistol than rally on this :D
@@Matygos If I was the assassin I would hire a gang of street urchins to stage a loud fight to cover my shooting. Works for Hollywood, TV and bad story telling! 😁
Squad - yes I think it could and possibly that was the intention - well thought through, but bolt clip would be handy.....
It might work better if you used a iron bolt as due to the small size a wooden bolt with only a metal tip doesn't really have the weight necessary to carry enough energy to be lethal, if the whole bolt was metal though it will probably hit much much harder, go further and may even be more accurate as the bolts you were using seemed to almost angle upward slightly of where the bow was pointed.
Hey Tod, love your channel I always learn something new. I think technique may play an important role in using the Balestrino. If you lay your pointer finger along the side parallel to the bolt you may find the bolt will follow the trajectory of where you are pointing. Given enough practice using that technique you may increase your accuracy enough to make it more viable. All in all though fantastic video as always.
A pen can kill, can be poisoned, does not make it an assassins weapon ;) Great video as always, and a great way to readdress the issue. I believe this was likely banned because it became a "public menace" at some point. Whether it was a personal issue or a general public one, that is the answer that lies close to Occams razor in my mind.
The truth of the matter is.. An assassin's weapon is anything he is using. The same way a bolt action rifle with a scope isn't a sniper rifle. A sniper rifle is a rifle used by a sniper.
@@triela420 After all, an umbrella has been used by an assassin before (Georgi Markov, poisoned by ricin, believed to have been killed by the KGB) ...so even unwieldy weapons like that can be called an "assassin's weapon" if used by an assassin, or simply to assassinate.
Can imagine a bunch of kids taking daddy's balastrino and shooting the servants. When I was a kid some people thought stabbing others with hypodermic needles was just a prank.
Pfft logic... In this world. Blasphemy
@asdrubale bisanzio The Bulgarian Umbrella was not just sharpened and the poison put on it's surface. Georgi Markov was killed by a pellet that had the poison in a cavity. The pellet was embedded to deeply for it to have simply been jabbed into the target through clothing. It is believed that a pneumatic system was used to fire the pellet from the tip.
10:00 Forgotten Crossbows. I love it.
I usually wouldnt sit through a video on this for so long. But you are really enjoying youself and its a joy to watch. Amazing the difference between you and someone else making the same video.
What's wrong with your attention span, this is only ten minutes
Amazing craftsmanship sir.
This is why we need to stop focusing only on the draw weight when examining or discussing crossbows. The powerstroke (draw length minus brace height) and efficiency are just as important in determining a crossbow's power as power is determined by Draw Weight x Powerstroke x Efficiency.. This assassin's bow shows that a high draw weight combined with a very low powerstroke and presumably lower efficiencies results in a device that has very little power.
exactly
@@tods_workshop I would be really interested to see how it performs with full metal bolts. Maybe even worse, but it would be a cool video I think (maybe together with other crossbows).
The thing is we would have to create a algorithm for museum curators. Who would be willing to test draw waght, draw length and projectile waght but not willing or able fire an artifact or replica.
It should have a good efficiency at least compared to other steel crossbows because the arm is so short. The main issue here is the ridiculously short power-stroke.
@@esoel Yes, flechetes are the way to go, much less drag & narrower to penetrate deeper to deliver poison quickly.
I'm sure I read that the Doge's son used to use one of these to shoot at pedestrians in front of the palace, can't find the source though. The wheel lock ban in the HRE cites a case where a nobleman acidentally shot a "professional woman" in his quarters. Early modern rulers were all paranoid about being assassinated, probably due the the means they attained power.
Yeah I have some sort of memory of that
Well, the principle of making anti gun laws didn't changed at all since then.
"accidentally", sure.
@@catfish552 didn’t want to pay agreed price and/or the wife came home
Francesco de Carrara, Prince of Padua was the one who took potshots at pedestrians per "A Guide to the Crossbow by W.F. Patterson". Danny Grigg posted the excerpt in the MyArmoury thread.
I'd love to watch a video of you explaining how the construction of crossbows evolved over time
Nice going Tod. Heavy punch!
I think the laws banning these things might be similar to the laws banning "zombie knives" in Britain today. Out-of-touch old fuddy duddies hearing scary stories about something, and reflexively banning it.
Agreed. I think it's an "after dinner toy", like he mentioned.
Because when you rebrand a knife as a zombie knife or an iknife (with bluetooth), it should be legal
@@2adamast I don't know what you're trying to say.
@@ErwinPommel I suspect hoplophobia.
Nah, I suspect some drunken noble shot someone and the ban was a populist move to calm the people down.
"you couldn't hit a barn door with an aim like that"
I know, and I proved it!
With a poison tipped bolt from close range this thing was probably very effective at being concealed and brought into buildings where you could walk up to someone, pop, drop it and get away with no evidence or blood on you.
Thanks Todd, I saw a video a while ago that you did and it was one of the coolest things Id seen. I am so happy that you have swung back around to cover this again because I had always been intrigued as to this little guy's capabilities. I agree with you in your judgment that these were more or less fun little trinkets that a lord might have in his parlor. A piece to show off to people and play around with guests. People buy things like that today, be it paintball guns or ridiculous swords. I also believe it might even be a Portfolio Piece for an armorer or machinist of the time, "a sort of look what I can make, come on down and see what else I can do" sort of thing that would get the attention of the wealthy. I imagine is I got one of these into the hands of the Lord, got him interested and entertain him with a little trinket like this, it would lead to a LOT more work coming my way.
And which peasant would know that this thing will only hurt a bit? Place it on your table and let the peasant enter your bureau. And then watch his knees shaking 😈
Seeing the accuracy with that thing, I was a little concerned for your chickens at those long range shots. Suddenly you'll be making whole roasted chicken for the missus.
Bad news is eggs are off the menu. Good news is chicken's for dinner.
Early muskets: "we're inaccurate even at close range" Assassin's crossbow: "Hold my bolts"
This video gave me a good chuckle from all your frustrated reactions to your misses. I imagine it was quite a hassle to reload that thing over and over.
Tod: "I don't eat anything I haven't shot myself." "Oh, so you hunt then?" Tod: "No."
Underrated 🤣
He just shoots the food after buying it from the store.
@@Andy-413 hahaha I know anyone who knows UK laws knows that u can own and use a crossbow for targets only and even have to have permits for airguns that have higher Jules etc its shit
@@jasmine66666666 Weird that you can use a crap air pistol for rats, but not a deadly crossbow. I'm surprised they aren't illegal, frankly, given that they can be perfectly fatal. I believe broad head bolts are banned though.
Relying on these things is why the Drow are forced to live underground.
They use poison so they can capture new slaves...
That’s so cool, would love to display that little thing next to my other crossbows & stuff
Cool crossbow, and good terrain for testing👍
To answer the question, one only needs to answer another one: Has there ever anyone been assassinated with a Balestrino? If yes, it was definitely a weapon used by assassins. But we definitely would have heard of that in connection with those crossbows if it did actually happen. So they're just neat pistol crossbows for fantasy assassins.
Given that possession is a capital offense, the most efficient way is to pay a pickpocket to slip it into the target's pocket then sic the guards on them.
Not entirely. As great as it would be to live in a fantasy world where everything is well documented across all times, sadly a large portion of history is totally lost because people didnt bother to write it down. If it was used as a weapon, it very well could have been used for such a short time before it was banned and outlawed that it fell out of fashion almost as fast as it came into it. There are plenty of examples of this happening across all times, including in the post-modern era. I mean look at Michaelsoft Binbows. Everyone knows about the meme, but nearly no one knows of its origin, leading most people to believe it was just a photoshop.
My theory would be that Balestrinos started as fun toys for plinking with or showing off, but at some point a bright spark had the idea to use one to perform an assassination ( poisoned dart perhaps, or a point-blank shot in the eye maybe ), at which point they quickly became known as an assassins bow in folklaw, despite never being designed or intended as such.
It also might be that we only have the ones used as plinking toys, as those would tend to be owned by nobles and passed on or kept. Whereas the ones actually used for assassination did have utilitarian featured like bolt clips and given their use would either be broken down and scattered, or hidden away. Just supposition, but it would mirror firearms owners. Rich hobbyists getting all kinds of gubbins that don't really help the effectiveness, where as someone who uses a firearm professionally focusing on what works.
I think it is medieval equivalent of Derringer pistol, so you shoot form the range of 1 to 2 meters maximum.
Reminds me of the pocket pistols of the late 19th and early 20th century. They usually had dubious accuracy and ballistics, but were extremely portable and concealable like this. Usually they were marketed for protection against wild dogs though.
If you miss with the bolt, you could unscrew the end and throw it like a pommel - it would probably do as much damage.
End him rightly....?
His video about this weapon is the first vid that i saw from Tod's channel.
Same here...
Same
I greatly admire your handiwork. The quality of workmanship is unbelievable. Looking at you shooting it at point blank range made me think that could it possibly have been an attempt at making a type of "powered" push dagger? Rather than bolts a very heavy push dagger type blade may have been used to penetrate chain mail. Even at point blank range the user could have been out of sword range shooting it with arm extended. If that were the case the bow would never have been sighted at eye level and the position of the trigger and the way it was held would make it very usable for point blank torso shots. That sort of ties in with the description of your wonderful recreation of this weapon as an assassins crossbow.
Amazing video thanks sir
Great Video Tod! I just filmed proper video with Roman Plumbata today :)) I think i will share it in about 14 days .)) Cheers my friend, love this little crossbow
HI Adam, Thanks for letting me know and I will look out for it. Thanks for teh compliments
@@tods_workshop Thank you Tod,Great Progress on the Channel brother ,))
Dude ur accent is so thic i can read it...
@@darrellbeets7758 lol
Frustrating to see spam accounts so bold these days that youtube highligts their comments and puts a check next to it.
If there were a lot of these in circulation, and every time some merchants disagreed about something or got drunk they started lobbing darts around the room; I'd ban them too.
I don't think you can carry them arround loaded with any kind of safety, unlike a pistol, so you can't just quick-draw and fire them. So in case of disagreement, the other guy would have punched/thrown a chair at you long before getting it loaded. Or maybe people where getting hurt trying to carry loaded ballestrinos arround :) or maybe ballestrino duels took too long and too many bystanders where getting hurt
Meanwhile, the chickens are just thinking of this as another day at the workshop.
Tod, I am enjoying your videos, it reminds me of a time years ago when my friends and I became expert with blowpipes. We used 2 inch nails with cone shaped plastic film tails that fitted perfectly in a half inch pvc pipe about 500mm long. We could easily penetrate plywood targets up to about 8 metres with incredible accuracy. We were so accurate that we had to make the bullseye only about 50mm and we would consistently hit 3-4 out of 5 shots in the bullseye at about 6 metres. We know that the pygmies used poison darts but I think these modern ones were powerful enough to cause serious kinetic injury. It would be interesting to see some science done on this idea. If I was an assassin, I would use a short pipe, pygmy style and would be very confident of a hit at close range (with poison) and it would be extremely easy to conceal.
A well designed set of hand-thrown darts would be more effective and easier to conceal.
I hadn't thought of that, but yes, very much so
If we are talking about altatl darts then yeah, but a little dart like this?
I agree the darts would be easier to conceal while carrying them but maybe less so when deploying them. I imagine someone could fire a loaded balestrino with a posture that doesn't draw much attention while chucking a dart might stand out if there are witnesses around. Also, I think effectively using the darts would require more skill. A trained assassin might have that skill but a novice who was trying to kill someone sneakily probably wouldn't. I'm not saying I think the balestrino was actually an assassin's crossbow, just exploring scenarios for the sake of discussion.
Throwing a weapon, however, is a big motion. Even at short ranges it's obvious you're the thrower. Using a crossbow like this from under a cloak, can be almost imperceptible. I imagine the optimal range to shoot for this is about 5 feet. You walk up in a crowd, make no obvious gesture with your weapon concealed in your cloak and fire nearly silently. Sounds pretty assassin like to me. =\
@@beansnrice321 No, watch the video again, that crossbow is louder than a PCP air rifle with no suppressor. The nut is so loud it echoes. The idea that a cloak could save you from the gallows is comical.
About ten seconds before you brought out the dagger, when you were discussing concealability, all I could think was "Yeah but knives are also concealable."
And quieter.
@@badlaamaurukehu I am not sure about that. People tend to scream a lot when you stab them, and anyone else who sees also tends to scream.
I think that its about time that Todd made some crafting videos to show us all how its done in the traditional crafting methods of the period.
"The conspirators decided to attack the Queen with a small pistol and a poisoned rapier, but the attempt was foiled." Puns that are actual historical quotes are the best puns.
Here in Spain nunchakus, shurikens and other bullshido shit as well as "perfected" slingshots and blowpipes are phorbiden as "instruments especially dangerous to the physical integrity of people". They probably banned the thing based on the popular perception that it was a sneaky dangerous weapon and perhaps it's use on stories rather than it actually being particularly dangerous or having been used for such purposes.
same in Germany. Butterfly knives are one of those mall ninja things that get banned as well
The reason for those small crossbows getting band was most likely as logical as the UK banning any type of weapon associated with ninjas.
For real its laughable that weapons like nun chucks are banned since less then 1 percent of people could even use them remotely effectively and even then there are better weapons that do the same concept but better
Queen Victoria was nearly assassinated by ninjas three times. Are you surprised the UK takes them seriously?
Todd when practicing with these items try attaching a laser to the device (not historicaly accurate i know) but it will give an idea of how to aim it/holdover.
I think the "assassin's gadget" idea is about being hard to trace. You can shoot it without calling that much attention, without revealing your position to all guards, etc, unlike a dagger or pistol
the hard to trace bit can be counterd by the fact that making these was probably very hard and not easy to come by. thus, making a list of people that want to kill you and have the power to get their hands on it should make it, at least little, traceable.
Seeing how long Tod takes to reload one of this, "Ending Him Rightly" with a pommel doesn't seem too bad all of a sudden.
Knight takes his pommel off at the same time the assassin reloads for his second shot Who would win?
@@ChaosBW Venice
If you were an assassin during that time period, and getting caught meant being tortured to death publicly, using whatever possible technology was available to minimize your chances of being caught is money well spent. Also it doesn't really matter it was inaccurate, it was the best you could do at the time. Just trying to get that bolt anywhere on target to administer poison at range and then running for your life to hide is a much better idea then approaching in daggers reach to be grabbed or tackled by a bodyguard, and then drawn and quartered to the cheers of a crowd. This seems like a Hollywood or fantasy novel trope, but how realistic is using poison bolts for that crossbow? Did sufficiently dangerous poisons exist during that period of time that could be practically applied to a bolt? If there was a sufficiently dangerous and practical poison available I could see that being a viable use, it's much more quiet than a firearm it has range that a dagger does not, you only need to hit a human size target in the back and then slip away to kill your target. It has the power to penetrate clothing and administer a poison fairly quietly at range, and that's all you need.
Knew I couldn't be the only one who thought of this.
@@CowCommando I find it kind of bizarre that this comment was buried and nobody else is really suggesting this. It seems kind like common sense to me and I can't think of a different weapon I would want to use if I was an Assassin during that period in Italy. I mean, I am all ears if someone has a counter point I would love to hear it. If ,and I will acknowledge this is a big IF a sufficiently deadly and available poison existed at that time that could be reasonably applied to a crossbow bolt, but if that did exist, then yeah it's not only a viable Assassins weapon, it's a desirable one compared to the alternatives of the time. Even is a poison only had a chance at working it seems like a chance you would take over risking getting yourself killed. You could get your target with a knife or pistol at that time, but It would also be desirable to you know, live afterwards, and not die a painful slow death.
@@-Zevin- plus we need to consider that the examples we have available to us are likely the plinking toys of nobles. Who would be less concerned with utility. An actual assassin would likely breakdown their weapon and conceal it between jobs, making it less likely to survive. Those weapons would be more likely to have more utilitarian features like the bolt clip mentioned in the video. A modern equivalent would be the way some people use firearms. You have the plinking hobbyists who have flashy features that don't really add anything. Then you have people who work with firearms and only bother with practical features. The former often get displayed (see gold plated AK-47's) whereas the latter is a tool, used, maintained and disposed of when no longer useful).
Poison on arrows was widely known back to the days of ancient Greece - extract of aconite was smeared on arrows use to hunt wolves, leading to aconite gaining the common nickname of wolfsbane. On the other hand, if an assassin was hired to kill some high muckety-muck and had access to poison, a much more effective and safe way to deliver it would be to disguise themself as either a court flunky of high enough rank to have access to the target but low enough rank not to draw notice or as a servant, and dump the poison into the target's cup of wine, beer etc. It would give more time for the assassin to escape once delivered, and they wouldn't have to angle for a shot or even carry a weapon.
Do you need deadly poison, maybe as a threat or intimidation hitting a noble with a bolt with a position like hemlock poision ivy or sumach making them sick for a few days or in pain would be a sufficient scare to alter laws or gain compliance.
A very elegant and simple design.
Hey Tod, this is really cool.
I can't see any advantage to these as assassin's weapons- although Venice banning the things gave me pause for thought. But it's worth remembering Modern day weapons bans are often the result of moral panics, rather than the inherent danger of the weapons themselves- e.g. the UK's bans on 'Ninja Weapons' and 'Zombie Knives'. It could easily have been something similar hundreds of years ago.
Another fantastic historical piece from Tod ! I’m pretty sure that it could be quite lethal without poison , but it would require a shot right in the neck/throat at point blank range with a really sharp point . But of course, a razor sharp dagger would be much better for that gruesome business.
Great video (as usual)! Perhaps there are so few surviving because they weren't many made, since they seem more toys than serious weapons?
Assassin- "Don't move for a couple of minutes while I take a load of shots and spend 20 seconds reloading each time."
You know its gonna be a fun video when it starts with: "Ouhh, just got my roof" lol. Love the videos, the weapons, the history. Cheers from Estonia
Thank you
There's some main advantages for using this kind of crossbow. First - it is not as loud as a gun, so it can be used in streets without unnecessary attention. Second - you dont need much more firepower to disable a person. In muzzle-loader time main argument in fight is still a sword or a rapier. If you manage to hit an opponent with bolt - he's gonna be a less threatening target for sure, even without poisonous bolts.
That's assuming that you can even hit your target with it, though. Moreover, it would also depend on where you hit him... and hopefully he is not wearing armour. Because against a determined opponent, a non-incapacitating hit with something like this would just piss him off and make him an even _more_ threatening target. Also, knives attract even less unnecessary attention in the streets. Perhaps even more so back then than today, when it was common for people to walk around with swords and daggers on their belts.
I would love to see a comparison video between this and the cheap pistol crossbows you can buy online. How far has the technology come? Are the new ones better, or just a novelty?
It is an assassin's weapon. It was used for short range shots - beyond dagger reach - with a poisoned tip. It didn't need to be powerful nor very accurate, just enough to enter a few cm into the body to effectively deliver the payload (poison). Furthermore, it was easily concealed and easily carried (compact and lightweight) and easily used covertly. During the cold war, the Russians/Bulgarians famously assassinated someone on a busy bridge in central London by using a small poisoned pellet that was shit out of the tip of an umbrella with the target walking a few feet in front You don't hold the weapon like a traditional firearm, but rather, you hold it close to the body and fire. So this crossbow could easily be fired by opening one's overcoat and using that as cover, quickly taking the shot and closing one's overcoat. Nobody, especially nobody more than a few feet away, would notice and as you were never within arms length of the victim and were quick, no-one would instantly assume that you were the attacker. It would be quite obvious to people if you walked up to someone and stabbed them. The idea is to get close enough to do a discrete hit without being so close that you become the obvious assailant. You may be a medieval weapons expert, but please leave the assassin's work to the professionals. You could have the crossbow hidden in a wicker basket and fire through that into the target. I'd certainly use one even in 2024 to kill somebody discretely with a poisoned tip.
I wonder if sound might've played a role in it's description as an 'assassin's crossbow.' You could get close, take the (poisoned) show, and walk away without everyone and their mom necessarily knowing you just shot this big-ass wheel-lock. Definitely a cool gadget regardless!
"Today we're going to field strip a Balestrino."
GunJesus crossover with Tod!
Hey Tod, Just wondering about the assassin part of this bow. In the video it sounds relatively loud, but compared to a gunshot it might be relatively silent. The sound might also not be as easily recognizable as a weapon firing from a distance. What are your thoughts on this?
Quite quiet really, but your whole movements are very telegraphic and where a gun stands a good chance of hitting and hitting effectively, this does not
@@tods_workshop but imagine walking through a crowd, you could fire this thing underhand when passing by and def. be way more silent than a pistol. Hardly anybody in the crowd could see it. And the crowd itself is very loud, so the DWANG from it would most prob. drown in the noise the crowd makes. And you could hide it in a big bag or sack.
Plus a pistol would put out a large amount of smoke which would indicate where the shot came from.
@@Seelenschmiede I imagine in a crowd, a dagger would still be easier and quieter to use. You don't need to aim a dagger the same way either.
@@ptonpc with personal guards at the target, you don't come close enough to use a dagger. And then u use this thing.
I have an idea for a coil spring type "crossbow". Using die mold springs in a tube with a pulley and cables. That winding mechanism helps a lot! The big difference is you don't have a cross bow to conceal, but a tube.
So much power in such little thing.
"Against all the odds, I may have hit the pork again" With innuendo like this, you're gonna give Mr Easton a run for his money 😉
Not that I have any experience in the profession but, the hard part of assassination seems to be the retreat not the kill. BECAUSE every one as a dagger and can stop you easily, doing a "ravaillac" isn't that easy to pull ; so any distance you can put between you had the target count. Samely any "smoking gun" might be out of question.
I always get giddy when a tod video comes up
Only 18 in existence? I'm about to turn that into 20 in my garage. One for me, one for that special someone.
Whoopsie Daisy! Oh well, I feel like chicken tonight anyway.
Point blank range at the back of the head that might well be fatal especialy when you do not have modern medical resource. Also it may well make it easier to kill in the same way that pulling the trigger on a gun is easier than pushing a knife into someone makes it less personal.
I couldn’t agree with you more but it’s pretty cool looking
That is so cool! I think you could find a solution to be able to crank it with a cordless drill:)
You could make those darts/bolts(?) barbed to cause their removal to cause even more damage and to better hold any poison they may be coated in.
It reminds me of a distraction weapon much like a shuriken, in that it could be used to allow the "assassin" to close into arms length of an opponent whilst they dodge the arrow or deal with an injury made from the projectile .
It reminds me of low powered repeating crossbows from China. They can barely pierce the skin, and have no chance against armor, but are lethal when paired with a strong poison.
A Balestrino like this falls into a very narrow niche of applications since, as noted in the video, a dagger to the gut (or even just a really sharp stick between the ribs) can more reliably kill a person that any single shot from one of these hand crossbows. DOESN'T MEAN IT'S USELESS THO, just means you'd probably also want to use a strong poison on the dart to ensure the likely non-vital hit CAN still create a casualty. Reminds me of the Weldrod pistol. A wholly substandard "weapon" for combat; tools like the balestrino & the Welrod exist as "solutions" to logistics challenges. I highly doubt the balestrino has ever served a role in any significant assasinations since serious plots wouldn't hinge their operation's success on such a slow, inaccurate, less-than-lethal (even if poison tipped) attack method unless it was their only option. GREAT VIDEO OVERALL! THANKS MAKING THIS! Neat bit of history, it is funny how consistent public policy is over the ages: things that get banned are either dangerous or annoying 😂Humans do love a good story, so its easy to see how restrictions on balestrinos would lead future societies to imagine all sorts of stories/theories for WHY they were banned.
This channel doesn't get tired of showing "COOL" weapons.
"...the servant comes in, you can shoot them too""... Brilliant!
They were the Doge’s family members, what were they gonna do?
Wow. Memo to me: Do not take a job at the Cutler estate. “Shoot the help. What fun!”
I'd love one of these.
not so long ago Joer Sprave had a video of a full-metal projectile (more weight) with a metal fletching that is sharpened to penetrate more flesh (and to reduce air resistance during the flight). This brings some sence to that little crossbow, i think
I must confess I hit the like button before I watch the video! I just know they are gonna be great!
Me too. There are some KZhead channels we do that for because we know it's going to be good before we watch it.
Same....
i think it's a 'toy' - be a laugh drinking and playing darts
Yes. It's an almost perfect analog of tiny bow-and-arrow sets from Japan.
200lbs draw that thing is lethal at less then 20 paces. If you can hit with it. But i imagine anyone who actually murdered for a living would be proficient with their tools..
Shooting sparrows at the barbecue party. If you miss, you take a shot. Let's get 🔨ed.
Every time you fire this at longer ranges with the chckens just *right there* I keep thinking 'CLEAR THE RANGE! What if those birdies get hurt?"
It's quiet, low to medium range and can be used in conjunction with poisons. Factor in hours of practice to be able to reliably hit your target, and I can't see a reason for it not to be every assassins wet dream. You've got to remember that firing a gun would compromise your position and a dagger requires you to be close enough to a potentially high profile target and escape would have been a major consideration. Anything you can use to put a few additional feet between you and your would be apprehenders, would have been a godsent.
I think this would work well in a crowd you'd walk up shoot and disappear again without being heard.
You'd still have to load a bolt into it as there's no bolt clip, so you'd have to walk up, keep in range with your target while loading a bolt lift it to aim then shoot. All the while hoping nobody in the crowd sees you doing this and yells "assassin!" Underhand throwing a poisoned dart would be easier.
@@daviddavidson2357 Humans aren't as small as his target here, walk up place bolt hold in general direction shoot and kill.
@@yarugatyger1603 Usually anyone you intend to assassinate will have a bodyguard, or in the case of Elizabeth, multiple bodyguards. Even if you were extremely quick chances are someone would see you. If you're in a dense crowd that makes things even more difficult as the bow limbs have to move forward and if they strike anything (or anyone) one limb will lose a lot of energy and send the bolt flying off in the direction of the slowed limb. Also, humans tend to move, pieces of pork don't. You're taking an awful lot of risk for very little reward here. If you can accomplish the same job with a dagger or a small weighted dart (think of a mini plumbata) with the dagger you would be carrying an everyday object and not arouse suspicion as you made your escape, if it was a single mini-plumbata it should already be in your target or at the least out of your hands so you can just walk away empty handed and if a bodyguard or town guard searches you you'll not be carrying anything suspicious. A tiny steel bow which shoots specific projectiles however, pretty sus.
It's more quiet than a firearm. But I doubt the one who's gonna get hit by it, is not.
You would actually be surprised by the plethora of poisons that can be used, even in that day of age. There are poisons that will send your body into immediate shock, which assassins would definitely have had access too during that time period, and you dont generally make more of a noise than a sharp gasp or maybe a grunt or perhaps a small yelp. People are still going to notice the writhing body on the ground though.
If you built a customized one, do you think it would be possible to put a crank on the screw handle that can lock to act as a grip for firing as well?
Man, the winding mechanism is great.