The reload delay seems to be happening when I kill a Zed and hit R to reload the Crossbow - it fails to do so in these instances.
Almost seems like it might be making the reload wait until the death animation is playing.
Can't be sure, but it's quite distracting.
I don't think it's zombie animation. There is a delay before you can reload again even if you shoot the air. I wouldn't say 2 seconds, but it's a noticeable pause, where you're hitting the reload key and nothing happens. I checked in 2.6 and the delay does seem less. I had equivalent agility perks. What I did notice is that the time after the reload before you can pull the trigger seemed longer in 2.6 then in 3. Maybe the delay was moved from the back end to the front. I normally mod crossbows so they auto-reload, just like bows, and with that there is no delay, like there is a delay before it will accept the R reload input.