A crossbow is provided which has one or more of the following improvements: a bolt retainer which downwardly biases a bolt in position forward of a forward rest position of a bowstring; a mounting rail associated with a lower surface of a frame rearward of a finger-pull mechanism, where the mounting rail is configured to allow one or more accessories to be mounted thereto; a finger-pull mechanism positioned at, or forward of, a midway point of the frame; a string latch positioned more than six inches rearward of the finger-pull mechanism; a sighting device having an eyepiece, where the eyepiece is positioned in alignment with, or forward of, the string latch; a ratio of length of pull distance of the crossbow to bull-pup distance of the crossbow being two-to-one or less; and a foot stirrup configured to stabilize the crossbow during cocking, and to provide a bipod during aiming/shooting.