See I don't agree with this either simply because just because a xbow hunter can accurately shoot 50 yards doesn't mean the deer will be in the same place by the time the bolt gets there.
I don't look at a crossbow kill any different than a vertical archery kill. I do however look at a gun kill differently.
This is a great post. I have no problems with crossbows being used by able bodied hunters during archery season. That being said I agree with this post 100%. I personally would be more proud of a deer I killed with a compound than II would be of one I killed with a crossbow. If I could manage to kill one with my recurve I'd be even more proud of that. I guess I don't view the kills as being the same. At least not my kills. That doesn't, however, mean that my buck with a compound is better than your buck with a crossbow.
So considering the original intent of the thread, I'd asterisk a kill with a xbow. I'll also have to asterisk all my kills due to the fact they were all made with a compound, not a traditional bow. Dangit, here I thought I was doing so well.
After hunting with a vertical bow for 38 seasons , I had to switch to an X-bow last year . I honestly believe that hunting with a compound was easier . It was easier to pack in , shoot behind the tree , and having not hunted with a rifle in years I had to relearn that jerking the trigger is not good . I had always thought a little less of X-boiw hunters ..... until now . The X-bow has not changed my hunting that much but in no way has made it easier for me to kill big bucks . I still find the same satisfaction in kills with the X-bow as I did with the kills from my compound . Being able to kill mature bucks comes from a skill that is learned over time .... it is not delivered in a box containing an X-bow and I truly believe that if they were made legal for all that there would be a lot sold to people that didn't understand that there really isn't that much difference between the X-bow and vertical bow . Of coarse the next year , after discovering that the vertical bow is easier to hunt with , Craigslist would be flooded with slightly used X-bows for people like me (who need then) to pick and chose from some pretty sweet deals .
Opinions are like a holes, everyone has one and they always stink to some others. That said I'll bare mine too, couldn't care less what someone uses to harvest a deer. I'll utilize whatever method I prefer and everyone else can do the same. Where I depart from that thought is in method. Running deer with dogs, spotlighting and shooting at night an in many cases...deer drives, I do not feel are ethical methods. Weapons however I couldn't give a flip one way or another and I find it petty and absurd for anyone else to disrespect gun or x-bow hunters.
I think it's easier to shoot a deer with a crossbow than a vertical bow, but I don't have a problem with it at all. I'm using a crossbow myself right now until I can afford a decent compound which might be a while.
At the end of the day or season, being able to put any deer down is memorable and an accomplishment to me. So if its with a gun or a crossbow so be it, but my passion is bowhunting and I find it much more rewarding and exciting compared to anything else. The extra effort in the off season, and having to be that much closer to nature is what makes it worth it in the end
The tool you use to harvest/take/kill an animal is of no importance to me. As long as its legal in the area you hunt and its clean, its the same to me. Everyone has a right to their point of view but in the end we all have to stick together, else it will not end well and the only meat you can get will be from the grocery store, if that. I had a good buddy of mine say its a shame you are still using training wheels. He is a traditionalist but I just don't have the confidence to make an clean kill with stick bow all of time.
I don't care what method anyone uses as long as it is legal. That being said, I also acknowledge the fact that someone killing a herd bull with traditional gear is a tougher task than killing it with a rifle. I just respect the fact that some methods of harvest require different sets of skills.
Doesn't bother me like it used too.... The same could be said about everyone using compound bows vs traditional gear. Stick and string vs. 300+fps with sights, release, ect, vs. crossbow (gun like bow), its all about making an ethical shot and being legal at the end of the day IMO
Just reading through the first two pages, I noticed that many are really saying that anyone else using a crossbow for any reason doesn't bother them. Most of the replies I see reflect on what I would say to this question. If it were 'me', yeah, I feel that there is a big difference. I personally really love the compound. Don't have anything against the crossbow. I know that someday in the future (sooner than I would like) I will have to use a crossbow. But, yeah, any kills that "I" would make with a crossbow would in my mind be different than taking one with a vertical bow. I can't express this enough though, this would only be the animals I harvest. It's more on a personal level. If my buddy or my neighbor shoots a really nice buck with a crossbow, congrats to him. Way to go. Fist bump.
