Same as bow, only unique thing is you can crouch using X so you don;t have to stand up to fire.

the reload is a lot longer, I held down the button, not sure if that is actually needed or just let the animation keep going

You only have to click once, unless you are interrupted.

Thanks

The accuracy is super poor from a distance. At least I couldn't yet properly figure out where to aim as it's badly visible. I believe you need to aim at the target, and not above it, as it was with the bows.