You guys have got it backwards. Crossbows don't resemble rifles because they've been around nearly 2,000 years longer than firearms. Crossbows have been around since at least 350 BC. Around the 15th Century, some wise guy took a hand cannon and mounted it on a crossbow tiller and Bingo! The arquebus was invented. Saying a crossbow resembles a rifle is like saying a chariot resembles an Abrams tank.