Young Brunette Girl With A Crossbow Weapon

Comparison to conventional bows
With a crossbow, archers could release a draw force far in excess of what they could have handled with a bow. Moreover, crossbows could be kept cocked and ready to shoot for some time with little effort, allowing crossbowmen to aim better. The disadvantage is the greater weight and clumsiness compared to a bow, as well as the slower rate of fire and the lower efficiency of the acceleration system, but there would be reduced elastic hysteresis, making the crossbow a more accurate weapon.
Crossbows have a much smaller draw length than bows. This means that for the same energy to be imparted to the arrow (or bolt) the crossbow has to have a much higher draw weight. A direct comparison between a fast hand-drawn replica crossbow and a longbow show a 6:10 rate of fire. Or a 4:9 rate within 30 seconds and comparable weapons.