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Smoothbore muskets and Chinese style repeating crossbows had relatively similar range (120 yards effective range versus 60 yards effective range). While repeating crossbows have less power than non-repeaters, the adoption of firearms resulted in armor being largely abandoned anyways, making it less of an issue. It seems that a repeating crossbow would have been an excellent support weapon for an army equipped with firearms, allowing a single soldier to fire up to 10 shots before being forced to reload. What would it take for the repeating crossbow to have become one of the classical weapons of post-medieval Western warfare, alongside the pike, musket, and bayonet?
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