Cossack

Bolts were originally used in crossbows primarily for war. The were (are) short metallic one-piece projectiles without feathers or vanes, about the size of a common dart, intended to penetrate the armor worn by the opposition. Arrows have feathers or vanes, separate tips, nocks as well as separate shafts. They are in fact arrows, just shorter than those used by most vertical bows. My primary reason for calling them arrows is because the ARE arrows and to defuse the anti's arguments that crossbows are somehow sinister and un-bowlike because they shoot projectiles ('like a bullet") rather than arrows. Call them what you want. I, however, don't feel like playing into their propaganda by needlessly calling mine 'bolts.'