Greater concealment. Easier to get under your coat when you get rid of that foot long hunk of wood from the end.
Which is usually why you chop off the barrel, too.
This, except crossbows don't have barrels or stocks so really dunno why this is being beaten to death.
Edit: They were designated as vanguard and set in box formation.
Box formation turns even the mightiest of lions into mewling kittens. Vanguard does not change combat behavior at all.
Edit: When I get my Range 1 unit into melee again I'll post some averages and see how they stack up with some earlier battles where they didn't have range.
