Can A Human Dodge An Arrow?

Yes, a human can dodge an arrow.

Whether a human can successfully dodge an arrow will depend on various factors and the situation itself, including the distance between the human and where the arrow was shot from, the traveling speed of the arrow, wind conditions, and also whether the person being shot at is aware that they’re being targeted.

If you look online, humans have put their reaction times to the test by seeing how many arrows they can catch in their hands when someone is shooting at them with a bow with speeds over 100km per hour, which is actually quite slow for an arrow shot from a longbow.

Modern-day bows can shoot at nearly 200 km per hour, which would make it near impossible for a human to dodge the arrow, let alone catch it, especially from a short-range distance.

As you increase the quality and power of your bow, the velocity of the arrow will also increase, making it a lot harder for a human to dodge the arrow as the average human’s reaction time for a visual stimulus is around 0.25 seconds.

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Can A Human Dodge An Arrow?

However, this small chance of a human being able to dodge this arrow is based on the factors that they are aware that they are being shot at with an arrow, there is good lighting around them and there is also low to no wind conditions at all.

Someone would have to train for a few years to practice dodging out the way from an arrow to their body, so the chance of an average person being able to dodge an arrow to the body shot from an experienced shooter is very low.

The situation would be completely different if you were in dim or dark conditions and there were high winds as it’ll affect the route of the arrow and you will not be able to see it as it flies towards you, so there’ll be an even lower chance of someone being able to dodge an arrow.

If you’re not aware that someone is shooting at you with an arrow, then it’ll be near impossible to be able to dodge the arrow purposely, it would just come down to potluck.

Arrows will lose speed as it travels through the air, so the weight of the bow and arrow will depend on how fast you can hit someone. If a heavier bow and arrow is used, it’ll take longer to lose velocity, but lighter arrows will lose velocity a lot quicker. Each 10lbs you drop from your bow and arrow weight, you will lose 15-20 feet per second of speed.

So a human being shot at with a lightweight bow and arrow has a higher chance of being able to dodge an arrow, as they’ll have long to react to the arrow coming towards them whilst the arrow slows down in the area.

The distance that the arrow is being shot at will play a massive part in if a human can dodge an arrow. At a medium to long range, the human has more time to maneuver and dodge out of the way from the arrow, especially if the arrow is lightweight as it will struggle to maintain the starting speed that it was shot at.

At short range, there is less probability that the human will be able to dodge the arrow, especially if a heavy-duty bow and arrow are being used.

If you want to test this theory, then you should not use real bow and arrows, as it could result in serious injuries and even death. Some professionals train for years to learn how to dodge arrows, bullets, and other firearms, so the average person should not even attempt to use real weapons to try it out.

So to conclude, yes a human can dodge an arrow, but the probability of dodging one highest when the human is aware they are being shot at, the arrow is being shot from further away, the bow and arrow are lightweight and the environment they are in has optimum lighting.