Get a compound if you have no shoulder issues or any reason to really use a crossbow. Up to you though, I have killed some deer with my dad's crossbow when I first started hunting really young. I don't know how old you are or your draw weight or anything, but for a compound I'm using a Mission Ballistic as my starter bow and it's worked great for me so far. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Couple things to consider. If you are some one that works a lot and doesn't have time to make for practice i would lean towards a crossbow. After shooting one of them in realistically you don't need to practice as much as a compound. If you are some one that likes to tinker and has time to shoot try out a compound. It is very fun and very addicting. You can also join things like 3D shoots and such which is always great in the off season! Either way welcome aboard!
You would rather be a bowhunter. Buy a bow. You will like bowhunting. I know a person much like you that was in the same boat. He didnt take up bowhunting. Instead he opted to become a crossbower or crossbow hunter or whatever those guys call what they do. He tried it for one year and sold it and then became a bowhunter and has enjoyed it very much. Rise to the challenge of bowhunting. Its very rewarding and satisfying because you need to bring a lot of yourself to the task. Its human powered and requires more of you than stored energy, shoulder discharged weapons. You want to be a bowhunter.
Buy what you like don't let others decide what you use, does not matter what weapon you are hunting and that is what matters.
What are you looking for? Hunting or Archery. If it was just hunting and killing a deer I would have a cross bow. but for me the archery aspect, is more important. I enjoy just shooting my compound, trying to get better and more accurate. If I had the extra money to burn I would get into traditional shooting for the challenge.
First I would ask if you hunt at all and what your goal is? Both choices have pros and cons. If you get a crossbow first, lots of snobs will put you down and make fun of you while they carry their Sissy bows with training wheels. If you do not have some help you will spend a big wad of coin and not be happy either way. You could buy a recurve and for less than $300 be hunting but the learning curve is larger. Lots of people buy crossbows and learn the archery hunting aspect then progress to further the challenge. I hunt with a recurve, compound and a crossbow and have for 4o years.
So does that make you a snob for making fun of their "bows with training wheels"? Kettle meet pot haha Like everyone says, buy what you want -- if you are in the business of harvesting meat and not wanting to learn archery get a crossbow.
Pick the one in which you are most inclined to become proficient. Pick the one whose limitations in the field you can live with. [2016 was my first deer season with a bow and I chose a Mathews No Cam HTR compound.] At the end of the day, the goal is to have fun with your choice!! Keep us posted on your decisions. This is a great message board.
No... not really. I use one as well. But I just wished archers would be a bit more kind. Archery is launching a shaft by the stored energy in the limbs viva a string. Compound bows use a mechanical multiplier to achieve more stored energy. Crossbows added a stock (thousands of years before any gun) and a way to hold the string in the drawn position. No matter which form of launching you choose you must be close and know the range and allow for all the same veritable issues which come with archery hunting. There are pros and cons to each form of launching a shaft. Here someone asks a very simple question (yes in reality it is very complex.) and some guys reply that by choosing a xbow they are less a man and not fit to be a member of the archery group. Why be condescending and snobby about it? But there are those with "bows with training wheels " who think that they are so much better. Heck most of them could not hit the barn wall with a long bow if they were inside with all the doors shut. If it was not for 80% let-off and a fancy release most of them could not draw to shoot. But here in Kansas the KBA looks down on xbows and those who use them and it cost them a lot of members. I soon will no longer be a member because of their stance on the subject. Sad but when the Arkansas Bowhunter's argued over allowing bows with traing wheels in back in the 70's it was the same arguments and snobby attitudes. Maybe the OP starts out with an xbow and some day post a photo of the buck he took with a self-made bow and arrows with knapped points all because they were embraced and encouraged instead of put down and belittled. If I seem snobby I am sorry, but I have taken deer with cedar shafts and shot my bow with fingers just like Fred Bear.
Get both and use which one fits the situation best. Using a bow isn't any more challenging than a crossbow. If you like shooting targets get a bow you can shoot it faster. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I have shot archery and bowhunted for 40 years.......the majority with a recurve bow until my draw shoulder began to give me issues. A visit to my Dr in the early fall of 2010 resulted in a referral to a specialist and something called an "arthrogram" along with an MRI. Not the most enjoyable afternoon of my life, but the prognosis was two partial tears of the rotator cuff along with fraying of my biceps tendon......the results of a lot of wear and tear in my active life. I was offered a crossbow to hunt that fall, but the specialist told me I could rehab with PT and just to be smart with my draw weight. I never seriously considered the crossbow because it just doesn't fill my definition of a bowhunter. My first deer kill was with a rifle at aged 15 and from there I gravitated towards archery. I own firearms and shoot occasionally, but have no burning desire to kill deer with a gun either. There is something special about working hard on archery shooting skills, needing to get close to game, having to draw in proximity to the animal and following up a shot. If you don't see it that way, an xbow will be a lot easier and more convenient.....but from this perspective....a great deal less satisfying. Killing a buck with a stickbow and hand made arrows with a hand-tied string is the ultimate, but I am enjoying my Prime Rival compound nearly as much.
Yes but he might be talking about bowhunting. So he may be asking about human powered bowhunting vs stored energy, shoulder discharged weapons. He may be wanting to know about pulling back in the presence of game and the related noise and motion and timing bowhunters are faced with vs crossbowing or crossbow hunting or whatever those guys call what they do. If the shot does not present itself at that moment a bowhunter has to let down that peak weight with the related noise and motion and then draw again (no fatigued from the first attempt) and the effects of the elements (cold) and doing things a bowhunter has to do to attempt a shot on game vs a crossbower. While both are forms of archery when shooting at a paper target, there are very real differences that need to be considered when talking about hunting and the level of dedication to practice and form a bowhunter must accept vs a crossbower. A bowhunter is limited by his own strength which limits his shot distance and selection. If he is only strong enough to hoist back 50 pounds peak weight, his shot choices will be different than if he hits the easy button and his weapon is cranked in advance and using 175 to 200 lbs and a scope. From a hunting standpoint there is a very real diff which is why many states allowed the elderly and disabled to use a crossbow while bowhunters use a bow and arrow.
New to hunting and/or new to Bow hunting? My GF and daughter are new to hunting so they are starting out with the crossbow. It is easier to draw (i will be drawing it) and is very accurate and easier to make a good clean killing shot than with a compound bow. Neither of them has the time to practice enough to become proficient enough for me to put them in a hunting scenario with a compound bow. My daughter also lacks the strength to draw a compound with enough power to kill a deer. I want this experience to be positive for both of them so accuracy and shot selection/placement are top priority. Nothing ruins the experience more than not being able to recover an animal because of a poor hit whatever the reason. Only you know your level of dedication and your ethics. Let that be your guide. Good luck.
I use both and there is not enough difference to talk about. Sure you can blow those small things out of proportion and make it seem so hard to let down your bow and redraw. It's not that big of a deal. Sure you spook game while performing this action but you could also spook game while swinging a crossbow around to get a shot. I usually carry my crossbow when I'm going to be walking and scouting mostly because It slings on shoulder more comfortably. If I'm trying to be quiet getting to my stand or stalk hunting I prefer my bow because I hold it and move it through the thick stuff more quietly. Crossbows don't have an easy button. I wish they did I would have more deer in my freezer. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The "easy button" Came from a friend of mine who wanted to take up hunting and saw what my Dad and I do and said "no way is he going to do all that. Its too hard so he got a crossbow and then said its ways easier and dubed it the "easy button". I have heard that term used regarding crossbows many times since. The post before you explains it as he talks about his GF and daughter a crossbow. Its the same reason my grandfather and uncle went the easy route rather that sticking with bowhunting. They switched to the crossbow because it was easier. Its not a slam, its just a reality and why states allowed the elderly and disabled the use of a crossbow because certain people cant take up bowhunting. Its easier to become a proficient killer with, its requires less practice, Its greater in power than a bow and you dont have to draw it back and hold it until the shot presents itself. It takes less of the user to make a kill. The OP might want to hear these things as he considers whether he wants to take up bowhunting or if he wants to become a crossbower.
I used to be anti crossbow but you know what don't get worked up about what another person does where they hunt, if you don't like it don't use it but live and let live.
