The Crossbow and the Bow in Modern Warfare

Arms & armour, Vol. 7 No. 1, 2010, 53–103.The crossbow was abandoned in Europe as a military weapon during the course of the 16th century and its place taken by the caliver and musket. It persisted, however, as a hunting weapon and in the form of a bow trap down to the last century. In the Low Countries and parts of France there has been a long tradition of target shooting with the crossbow at both the popinjay and conventional marks. Many of the forms of target weapons which appeared in the 16th and 17th centuries have survived relatively unchanged and may be observed at the Kings shoots held periodically in Western Europe.