About the Study Guide


Learn More Register for the Course

As the bow is shot, the string on a conventional compound bow pushes the arrow more than twice the distance as when a crossbow is shot. Therefore, to produce the same arrow speeds, a crossbow must have more than twice the draw weight of a compound bow.

Because of this much shorter “power stroke” (draw) on the crossbow, it must have much heavier limbs. The powerful limbs move a short distance and stop quickly when an arrow is shot. Therefore, the crossbow must have more physical mass than a compound bow to absorb the shock. This short, heavy power stroke means the crossbow will create more noise when discharged than the conventional compound bow.

Comparison between bow and crossbow
In range and power, a crossbow is equivalent to a longbow or compound bow that is about half the crossbow's draw weight.