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[Ihtomyt]

I have a squad that has crossbows, quivers, and bolts. I am certain they are in their inventory. There are some giant monarch butterflies that I want them to shoot. If it were something more dangerous, I'd just burrow for now, but I would like them to shoot these down. I give the order to kill, and it says no valid reachable target. The soldiers also have melee weapons. I'm still very new to all this, in play time, so... can a dwarf not have both a crossbow and a melee weapon? If so, how do I fix that (it's annoying because they are also civilians most of the time and are miners or woodcutters...). I'm not sure if that's what is wrong or not thought. The butterflies are up in the air, but that's why I want to use the crossbows... can dwarves not shoot up?

[Ihtomyt]

Update: I was able to get them to shoot, but I'm not sure if it's because I took away their axes, or if it's because I didn't explicitly tell them to kill, but just stationed them near where the butterflies were. They shot them then. I'd still like to understand what the best way to control/handle archers is regarding melee weapons, kill orders, etc. if anyone has any thoughts. It's hard to grasp just from the wiki.

[PatrikLundell]

The AI is rather uneven. If there isn't a path to the target missile units just refuse to fire if out of range, rather than move into range and then shoot. Thus stationing them within range and then ordering them to fire, or just stationing them and relying on them firing anyway are probably the best alternatives. I don't use missile units at all, because of how they (don't) work...

[KevinM]

Miners and Woodcutters also are somewhat sporadic about their military outfits.  I tend to set my miners and woodcutters not to be in a military group (or rather, one with only armor worn over clothing).

As for non-miner/woodcutter ranged units, they won't be able to fire if more than 20 squares away from the target.

I use archers but I stick them behind solid fortifications (which are usually in the air, has a floor and a ceiling and are 2 units wide with one of those being all statues.  I then station my archers at that spot where they'll just stand and fire at enemies.

I only tell them to kill something if it's a food animal, since half the time they decide not to shoot their bolts and will instead run up to the target and try to hit them with the crossbow itself and not with any secondary melee weapon.  Particularly a bad idea if I've made featherwood crossbows, but amusing to watch when it's against something harmless.

The wiki has some guides about defenses, ranged weapons, miners/woodcutters and secondary weapons somewhere and if you can't find them, I can look later.

[Ihtomyt]

Ah, so it's just a typical finicky DF function then?

It sounds like being equipped with melee weapons does not preclude them from using their ranged weapons and vice versa, but it can be unreliable.

I wish I had archer towers, but I am still building things up, and it is taking a while to finish projects... particularly when the builders are constantly getting interrupted by the very things I am needing to shoot! Even if I had archer towers, they may not have been in the right place to fix the issue. I had little choice but to use missiles on mobile squads, as my entire above ground operation was being disrupted by giant butterflies who would not come down and fight my melee dwarves, but were interrupting everyone else constantly for days. Finally got the buggers though but it was awkward. If the beasts were more aggressive, it would have been more dangerous, but perhaps less frustrating. The issue was they are not hostile, but interrupting dwarves as if they are. If they had been hostile, I would have burrowed the citizens, and axes would have found easier purchase when they came down towards us.

Anyway, I will take it under advisement to create archer towers with the fortifications and statues, and not have miners and woodcutters in the military unless they use that same weapon... for now beggers can't be choosers, I'm still early in this fort (for me anyway, maybe someone better could be farther along by now, not sure, it's only the 2nd year).

[KevinM]

I think having them as archers is fine, but it gets impossible if you try to have them wear only their uniform in a military as they run around changing between outfits a lot.
Also, their tool isn't a weapon https://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2014:Weapon http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/mantisbt/view.php?id=1451  But having a miner with a bow should work. 

[Ihtomyt]

Thanks, yes, I noticed they started carrying multiple axes and picks when on duty. They also refused to dig a staircase that might have saved a dwarf's life while they walked away putting their equipment away no matter what I forbade and reclaimed and rejiggered in labors :/

[knutor]

Hunters make excellent above ground flyer exterminaters. Except vs those ravens! Raven AI is too smart!

For simplicity, the customized skillset I use in Dwarf Therapist combines.. Animal Hauler, Weaver and Log Hauler.

I do this, because other than Fishing and Woodcuting, these 3 skills take a dorf into very scary locations. Locations a crossbow and shield comes in handy for. I also just observed in 47.04,  the hidden hunter uniform will equip a metal mask! Sweet that is.

I have not investigated the hidden miner and woodchopper, to see if they wear any metal exotic clothing. Metal masks! woohoo. Head gear is very important to survivability.

Tip, to buy yourself more time to get a fortress built, tower built, in biomes with thieving animals.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Chaining/roping 1 dog by embark cart, this will stop a bunch of wild animal theft, and keep dog alive a lil longer, as he wont chase it and get swarmed.