How do crossbows work?

Answer 1

A crossbow is a weapon that is constructed as a bow mounted on a stick with a mechanism that keeps the bowstring drawn. While there are many variations of the crossbow, most designs have trigger that releases the bow and propels the arrow with great force. Some crossbows require the bowstring to be pulled back into place manually, while others have a crank that draws the bowstring.

Answer 2

A crossbow works by having a small but rigid bow mounted on a wooden stock, shouldered and aimed like a modern-day firearm such as a shotgun, but without any sights, they are shot using a releasing trigger also similar to those used in guns.

The bolt or 'quarrel' of a crossbow is a projectile similar to an arrow in that it has a metal head or 'pile' at the tip, a wooden/fibreglass/aluminium shaft and stabilising 'fletchings' which look like feathers and traditionally are made using them, as well as a 'nock', the split in the back end of the projectile which allows it to be guided by the bowstring. The fletchings on a quarrel impart spin onto it in oder to stabilise the flight, much like modern day rifling in a gun barrel does.

Drawing a crossbow can differ from simple methods to complex mechanisms, for example the simplest emthod is bracing the crossbow against the torso and pulling the string back, there is also a method where there is a stirrup at the front of the crossbow meaning that you place it on the ground, put your foot in the stirrup and draw with both hands. The more complex methods usually involve cranks to draw back especially powerful crossbows.

Crossbows in their ability to be drawn in a way that requires much less strength than a bow of the same 'draw weight' (power) can allow for crossbows to be much more powerful than a bow, and using a crossbow requires much less training than a bow, but the process of loading and firing is noticably slower than bows, with shots per minute ranging from 1-3 whereas bows can loose 5-12 arrows in a minute.