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[Proudnerd]

So it seems no matter how high my speed I always freeze for a LONG time (3-4 turns) before I can act again after I fire an arrow. This renders bows nearly useless unless I'm in sneak mode as the enemies can close in quickly while I stand there, dumbfounded as to how to remove the next arrow from my quiver. Does high speed ever negate this, or is it just a hardcoded penalty?

[Dozus]

I skip the middle man and just throw the arrows/bolts directly at my foes. You lose some range, but the archer skill works just as well with any ranged attack.

[Larix]

Shot ammo is much more powerful and accurate than thrown arrows/bolts.

The interval emulates having to cock your crossbow/draw the bow again. High skill (and speed) helps somewhat but yes, for PCs, archery works very poorly if you don't sneak and snipe.

[Rumrusher]

Shot ammo is much more powerful and accurate than thrown arrows/bolts.

The interval emulates having to cock your crossbow/draw the bow again. High skill (and speed) helps somewhat but yes, for PCs, archery works very poorly if you don't sneak and snipe.

I say it's due to the firing of an arrow is a Fort mode job(first) than say emulates reloading since the NPC could shoot out bolts with a wicked speed.
though bows are powerful up to the point where you max out throwing then you just don't need to wait for each shot to randomly hit a target also you might lose a bolt/arrow if you fire than say throw them which is still one of the better reasons why you go Throw.

[Sarrak]

Bows are not optimal weapon for PCs at all (for now at last)... The gap before you can draw a string one more time is just too big. I compared bow use in full-blown battles and can guarantee that more experienced archers tend to fire more quickly. Like, once every three or four steps (and I have a really fast adventurer). Yet, if you swap in their place (with DFHack), things get nastier. Firstly, encumbrance. NPC negate it. PC would get delayed even further. Secondly, a gap seem much wider for PC. And lastly, close with second point, is that you stop following the flow of battle. "Twang! ... Uh-oh. Why are there piles of dead bodies all around me?!". You can't predict some outcomes and, while you will react fairly quickly to the arrow in your knee with melee weapon, you would just fall, still clinging to drawing your bow (and losing few additional turns because of a speed drop) if ranged.

Solution? Be a melee fighter. With a big bunch of archer friends.