Chewbacca's bowcaster

Chewbacca's bowcaster was a traditionally hand-crafted bowcaster weapon belonging to the Wookiee Chewbacca. Chewbacca built the bowcaster sometime prior to using it during the Battle of Kashyyyk in the Clone Wars, in which the Wookiees of Kashyyyk and the Galactic Republic made a joint effort against the Separatist Alliance. After Chewbacca pledged a life debt to Han Solo and joined the smuggler, Chewbacca continued to use his bowcaster throughout the Galactic Civil War between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire, having crafted several bowcasters until then.

The bowcaster required the strength of a Wookiee to fire the weapon comfortably, as it fired destructive metal quarrels sheathed in plasma energy that would result in explosive impacts. Thirty years after the Battle of Endor, Chewbacca and Solo were engaged in a conflict on board their heavy freighter Eravana against the Guavian Death Gang and Kanjiklub. There, for the first time, Solo used Chewbacca's bowcaster after the Wookiee was injured in the skirmish and immediately took a liking to the weapon.

Chewbacca's bowcaster had a hand-woven strap made of kshyyy-vine, and he carried a bandolier that contained nineteen ammo cases of one to three bowcaster quarrels each. Chewbacca's carry pouch also contained tools to keep his bowcaster operational. Like all Wookiee gadgets, the bowcaster blended modern technology and traditional materials. Unlike Wookiee tradition, however, Chewbacca's bowcaster had an automatic cocking system for firing the weapon. In addition, Chewbacca's most recent handcrafted bowcaster made use of the power pack of an E-11 medium blaster rifle, a standard-issue weapon of the Imperial stormtroopers.

Text and facts from the “Chewbacca's bowcaster” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.