Crossbows: Evolution from Medevil Times

The crossbow is one of the most popular weapons developed by humanity. Essentially it was made with the idea of improving accuracy and precision over a regular compound bow. And because of how effective these weapons were, they enjoyed widespread use. It can even be said the armies of developed countries and kingdoms in olden times made use of hunting crossbows, Either as a means of mounting an offensive on their enemies or as a weapon to use in defending their castles during a siege. The weapon was extremely useful and practical that, as a weapon, even up until today it is still being used by enthusiasts, hunters, and even the military. But why do people continue to use these weapons when modern technology produced rifles, handguns and other fire arms that are much more accurate and a much more powerful? There are a slew of reasons why a lot of people are still fascinated with this particular weapon and why a lot are still using it for hunting game as well as for military purposes. Among those reasons is the fact that this particular weapon, even though it isn’t as powerful as modern day fire arms, is equally as dangerous a weapon as any gun ever made. If used for hunting game, this particular weapon would afford the hunter stealth. Unlike guns, this kind of weapon will never make very loud noise once it fires a bolt at the crossbow target. Because of this, the prey would never suspect anything up until the last second when it gets hit all of a sudden by the arrow in full force. In the right hands this weapon will ensure a great kill because it will not give away the presence of the hunter. [caption id="attachment_2916" align="aligncenter" width="504"] Ancient Crossbow[/caption] Additionally, pop culture and Hollywood has romanticized the use of this weapon as well as its older brother, the compound bow. Movies like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Chronicles of Narnia, and TV series like A Game of Thrones have all exposed a whole new generation to the use of these ancient weapons we call crossbows. This has created a renewed interest in these ancient medieval tools of war and hunting. Crossbows evoke a certain sense of oneness with our ancestors who have used them not just to hunt for food but to protect his fellow men and country.