Was your speed low? This effects reload time.
I switched my hero to a crossbow after getting to the citadel, and used a bow or crossbow before that for tougher fights. In the beginning I had few arrows, and once on the pit level a club or fighting stick was quite effective against skeletons. Even at the start I found the melee/archer combination much better than melee/melee in tougher fights, especially against opponents which used ranged attacks.
