Usually I write about handguns, but in this article I will change my specialization a little and try to make the material in a slightly different way. We will talk about throwing weapons, namely a crossbow, but a crossbow with a design that is somewhat different from the already widespread options, which has a higher rate of fire, albeit with its own nuances. This sample interested me primarily in that it has a fairly compact dimensions during transportation and a relatively easy way to recharge, although this affects the maximum possible stiffness of the shoulders. Well, besides this, I think that the topic will be quite relevant in the context of the widespread use of bows and crossbows by the main movie heroes of foreign fighters. At the same time I will try and dispel a couple of myths about bows and crossbows, since there are a lot of misconceptions about them.
First of all, it should be noted that the crossbow weapon is far from silent, however, it depends on what kind of crossbow it is. In any case, those options that can compete in their effectiveness with firearms, when fired, create a noise level comparable to the bang of a car door when closing, so, alas, it will not work silently. As well as it will not come out to shoot for many hundreds of meters. Even the most advanced models cannot provide the same firing range as the inferior rifle. In general, samples that are not intended for room shooting cannot compete with firearms, as much as the scriptwriters would like it. Although I do not argue that many of the hunting crossbows-bows are capable of hitting a target no worse than a rifle at relatively short distances, to be honest, I would not have the courage to hunt a wild boar with such a weapon, although this is practiced in those countries, where such hunting is permitted.
But let's return to the main topic of the article, namely the multiply charged crossbow of increased rate of fire. Of course, such a weapon does not know how to shoot with a queue, so you can not dream of the model with which the Catholic Church armed Van Helsing in one of the films, but still the idea is interesting in its own way and has obvious advantages over other design options. Rotating shoulders became the basis of this crossbow. So, to cocking the weapon, you need to take one of the shoulders and pull it towards you until it stops, so that the bowstring engages with the trigger rod, at the same time the hollow drum of the weapon turns on the surface of which arrows are installed. After that, already with considerable effort, the shoulders of the crossbow return to their original position and a shot can be fired. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of this sample will depend directly on the physical strength of the shooter, since here you can no longer pull the string with your back or weight, but purely with the handles, so that, despite the significantly increasing rate of fire, the effectiveness of such a weapon will be very, very small.
The second feature of this sample is that these same shoulders have the ability to fold. Each shoulder is rotated in such a way that both shoulders are parallel to each other upwards, and after that they are simply placed on the base of the crossbow. In addition, the crossbow has a retractable stock, which can also be pushed all the way, making the weapon really compact and easy to transport, especially in comparison with the classic versions of crossbows.
Well, in fact, he told the main idea, and you can sum up some kind of a conclusion. In general, I personally liked the design of such a crossbow, first of all, by the originality of the solution to the main problem of this weapon. On the other hand, the low efficiency of the crossbow due to weak shoulders, increased wear of the bowstring due to friction make it a weapon adapted only for recreational shooting, well, maybe also for hunting birds, but it is very unlikely that something then it will come out worthwhile. It is also upsetting that in fact such a structure is devoid of further development. However, after thinking a little, the following idea of modernization came to my mind. And it consists in introducing a separate lever into the crossbow device, for a platoon, which would partially compensate due to its length the cocking force, but the question of implementation and how much compactness will suffer from this remains open. In general, here's a little about one of the original ideas for a weapon that is many hundreds of years old.
