The difference between Tods 40 mps crossbows and Andreas Bichlers 70 mps crossbows is that Bichler spent most of his time researching ancient techniques and antique weapons, while Tod has just made what he could make and started having fun with it. It is not a difference between steel prod crossbows and horn prod. There is no historical evidence (at least that I’ve been able to find to date, and I have looked) to suggest that there was any substantial difference between the two types, in fact the steel prod weapons largely took over and they wouldn’t have adopted them if they had been inferior weapons.
Nothing wrong with making things and playing around with them, but we should not use that as the basis to close the door on learning about actual history or the performance of historical artifacts.
