Are bows worthwhile? It's the start of a new game (new version) and I already have musket rifles and shotguns, makes me wonder what a bow can bring to the table when it's a more primitive tech
The smallest bow (not the others, but they're much more powerful in exchange) can also launch fire arrows, which have a good chance of setting targets on fire. This tends to panic them, and illuminating an area at range is really useful at night.
Plus some of your people will have naturally high throwing skill and poor shooting skill, so bows help make them useful. Bows are also quick to fire and don't need you to kneel to get decent accuracy, so they're very mobile units who can often fire at a large area of the map. And even once bows lose some of their edge, they remain useful against some weaker targets, and having a few people who can chuck grenades well is always handy.