ĔṀĔŔĨĨČĶ

I didn't let it sit somewhere I had it in my hand. I wasn't aware crossbows had a 30 second timer before they burst into flames and become unusable.

"Pre-loading a crossbow and letting it sit out for awhile, even two minutes, when, if you think about it, is a long time, then it would be a weakened shot, not piercing armor."

How, exactly? The elastic potential energy doesn't go anywhere.

Preloading: This keeps constant tension on the string, eventually weakening the weapon, or causing failures.

This is taken from Temp’s Crossbow 101. Read.