WHAT IS A CROSSBOW?

A weapon for discharging quarrels and stones that consist chiefly of a short bow mounted crosswise near the end of a stock. An archery weapon consisting of a lath mounted to a rigid stock, having a mechanical means to hold and release the drawn bowstring.

HOW A CROSSBOW WORKS

A crossbow works just like the simple bow and arrow. In order to know how a crossbow work, we need to understand how a simple bow and arrow woks.

The bow or lath is made up of a strip of flexible material (as wood) with a cord connecting the two ends (string) and holding the strip bent when the bow is strung. When the string is pulled the bow bends further storing up motive energy. The energy is store as long as the string is still pulled. An arrow or bolt (slender shaft of wood) is set with one end on the pulled string. When the pulled string is released, the stored up motive energy is transformed into projectile energy which projects the arrow forward towards the target. This is mainly because of the elasticity of the material of the bow and its ability to store up energy.

The crossbow is a modified version of bow and arrow. It has various components. The crossbow is loaded by standing or putting a foot on the stirrup and pulling the string back by hand or with the help of various kinds of instruments (Wippe, Goats foot or Gaffle, Windlass or Cranequin system).When the string is set behind or locked by a latch, a bolt is set or put on the track (a groove or path on the stock made for it). After having set the bolt and removed the levers used to pull the string, you can take aim and press on the trigger (lever or pistol type) which releases the latch and the string which projects or shoots the bolt.