this post was submitted on 19 Nov 2024
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I love the ingenuity of using a simple metal hook and leather strap instead of fairly complex leather gloves for soldiers to ease the process of reloading.
The belt hook is efficient! Early accounts of crossbow loading by hand, before the stirrup, involve the poor fellow sitting down and having to pull with both hands. Even after the stirrup, pulling a crossbow back with just your hands is hard work. The belt hook is much easier, letting the crossbowman use less energy and pull back greater draw-weights, and is faster too, for that matter.