Crossbows Work More Efficiently Than Ordinary Bows
Archers with a bow cannot force their hand muscles to pull the bowstring for a long time. Of course, the bow can be prepared while the archer is walking, while crossbowmen cannot move while refilling the bolt. Both crossbow and bow have their own lethal strength. But when the rain comes and makes the bowstring wet, that power cannot be delivered. The different characteristics of the two weapons have a role in this scenario. Carrying a spare bowstring under a helmet is common for archers. If the bowstring gets wet, they can replace the bowstring with a dry one. But for a crossbow, it is not possible. Do you still remember that the main strength of the crossbow came from the draw weight? Changing the bowstring of a crossbow in the middle of a battle is not possible. To replace a crossbow’s body, a soldier must come to the blacksmith’s workshop and use the right equipment. Fortunately, the use of the crossbow in the modern era is more convenient, due to it’s easy to find all parts of your best crossbow in the online store.
The advantage of using a crossbow will be seen in the castle siege scenario. Crossbowmen can refill their weapons behind a protective wall. The siege of the fortress also generally takes place over a very long period of time. Because of this, the issue of the speed of refill bullets being meaningless.
Note: the crossbow discussed in this article is a “heavy crossbow” which requires tools to refill bolts (identical to the final Medieval period). Crossbow has actually been found from the time of Rome or in ancient China. This crossbow has different characteristics but still runs on the same principle. Examples such as repeating crossbow (Chu-ko-nu) from ancient China. Chu-ko-nu has a mechanism to refill arrows easily. At the top of the crossbow, there are blocks containing a number of arrows. By pushing and pulling the lever located on the side of the crossbow, the crossbow bolt will slide and refill by itself. This mechanism can work efficiently because Cho-ko’s draw weight is relatively low. In the hands of trained soldiers, Cho-ko-nu can fire 10 bolts in 15 seconds. Of course, to achieve this firing speed, power is sacrificed.