How many of the people commenting that the crossbow gets an asterisk have actually shot a crossbow in the woods? Contrary to popular belief, a 50 yard shot with a crossbow is not a "chip shot" and crossbows are not the same as guns. I would absolutely rank the crossbow the same as compound kills. Someone said crossbows are easily tuned. I shot a 3 inch group at 40 yards with my compound after 10 minutes..... Vertical bows aren't that much harder to tune...
I do view crossbow kills differently than vertical bows. Its similar to how I look at a public land kill, it's a greater accomplishment getting it done on public vs private, and it's a bigger accomplishment getting it done on private than a guided hunts. I don't care what people use, or what the do, and I support them but I'm not going to lie and say everything is equal in my eyes and similar accomplishments because they aren't to me. Just my opinion.
I view compound bow kills differently than traditional...this topic cracks me up....it takes way more skill to kill with traditional gear than a compound....the gap is way bigger than the gap between a compound and a crossbow
True. Point being Xbows are easier to shoot than a compound bow so I don't think an Xbow hunter has to work as hard to kill something. Also Xbow are much more powerful than what most hunters could pull on a compound bow. Same story with compound vs recurve. Kilboars Hunt Club
They are in no way equal. That said last night I hunted with my bow, tomorrow morning I'll have the xbow & not sure yet what I'll be carrying tomorrow evening. But in my eyes a xbow kill =\= a bow kill
I promise you if you shot an old-time open sighted muzzleloader, you would move them up to just above a compound. Them SOBs are finicky!
Yes I feel the kills are equal. I don't care what anyone else thinks, if it's legal and it's what I want to use no one will change my mind.
I personally find more respect for people who kill animals with a bow. Shooting a bow is an art form. You need patience, practice, and determination. Where with xbows it's not different than shooting a gun. And you can hit animals lethally over 75yds away, where with a bow you have to either get lucky or be skilled in getting animals close to you. That's just my opinion.
It takes true skill for a traditional archer to successfully take game. Something I have not yet became comfortable with to take it to the woods with me. My old man shot purely recurves for his entire hunting life. Even when he had his stroke in '09 it was like pulling teeth to get him to pick up a crossbow. I've played around with it a little. The gap between a recurve and compound isn't even close to the gap between a compound and crossbow. A recurve is without a doubt completely more difficult by far. I will say this, if I ever get to where I feel confident with a recurve, I will throw any standards for antler size out the window. That's how difficult I feel it is to accomplish for me at this point.
Not the same... no. Neither is a compound equal to a recurve. I still have respect for the kill itself and the hunter's accomplishment.
I've been reading this post all day and have put much thought into it. Not much what the OP asks because my answer is simple and something I learned while in a Military Advanced Shooting school taught by the USAMU (United States Army Marksmanship Unit) that "shooting is shooting". With that being said. I utilize all available assest and could careless about the manner in which it happened I would take up throwing stars if they made them legal. As long as the end results is achieved that was sought after. Most of my thought has gone to the discussion on people's opinions. Some are saying that it's more difficult to shoot a compound, or xbows are a form of "laziness". Who cares? Shooting a projectile at any rate is difficult, and takes a different form of practice and learning, but to say it's lazy while displaying selfies from a treestand, c'mon, let's not be a hypocryte. I don't intend to cause hurt feelings, or call people out or "troll". Just expressing my opinion is all, carry on. edit. sorry for the rambling, coming close to the end of my 24hour shift tonight.
I was going to stop posting on this thread; but I could not let this one go. Most people need every bit of the same amount or patience, practice and determination to ethically and competently use a crossbow as they would with a vertical compound bow. I know- I've used both. And I am way more confident and deadly with a vertical compound bow at 75 yards as I am with my crossbow at 50. That's just a fact. FOR ME. A compound feels natural to me...so much so that I switched from RH to LH 2 years ago and had no adjustment issues whatsoever. I was completely dialed in less than 2 hours after making the change. A crossbow does not feel natural. It's neither a bow nor a rifle. It's a different animal altogether. Growing up shooting compounds and long guns my whole life, picking up a crossbow was a PITA. I can do it, but unless I have a good rest there's no way I'd shoot at anything over 45-50 yards. And even that would be iffy. Now, to someone who has never shot a rifle, a compound, or a crossbow, it might be easier to become an adequate shot with a crossbow vs. a vertical compound. And by adequate; I mean capable of hitting a paper plate sized group offhand (no rest) at 30 yards. The point is; every individual is different. But the guys I know who shoot crossbows are not taking any more deer than the guys I know who use compounds, and they're also not doing it at any discernably greater distances, either. BTW, the Michigan DNR did a great study on crossbow usage/success rates where they provided many different and sometimes surprising results (things I had never considered.) It's worth googling.
I simply couldn't care less what someone kills a deer with because that rarely tells a complete story. HOW someone kills a deer is WAY more important to me. I have killed deer with open sight smooth bore shot guns, rifles, and compounds.......none of that factors into my memories when I recall the hunts fondly in my head. It's always about what went into the hunt and a hundred other factors that are more important to me then a imaginary "skill" scale people always want to apply. I have killed deer with my bow that were flat out easy and I have killed a bunch of deer with a gun in slam dunk bow range..........what difference did the weapon make in those cases?? It just doesn't matter. Is it more "skill" to kill a deer with a long bow then a rifle?? Maybe. What if the long bow guy is sitting over a pile of corn in the suburbs on a nuisance permit and the rifle guy is packing in 4 miles a day on deep mountain trails of public land that has a very low deer pop? Is one guy in a honey hole family farm with no pressure hunting from stands that have been there for 15 years on proven deer lanes? Bait, dogs, drives, etc all play a MUCH bigger role in my assessment of a good solid kill over what weapon was used any day.
I agree with you completely, who cares about another's opinion on a hunter's choice of manner in the taking. As long as the kill was safe and humanely.
I don't have anything against them and don't mind them in our bow season, but no as far as the skill goes its not the same. Doesn't require the same practice, doesn't require the same amount of movement in stand, can shoot farther with less practice, and most have a scope which makes things even easier. I am proud of every hunter I see who happily shoots a deer with one, honestly happy for them. But its not the same accomplishment.
Agreed. Its not the same. I shoot traditional as well as modern archery equipment and a xbow is just not the same as a vertical bow. A bow kill with traditional gear is about as tough as it gets, IMO. Comparing the xbow to a vertical bow is like comparing a flintlock to an inline muzzleloader.....just not the same skill involved
I strongly believe that any youth that get into hunting should start on a vertical bow. When I see a kid with a crossbow I see a kid with a gun, you're not learning patience or strategy poking a deer at 50 yards with a xbow. A crossbow to me is a weapon you retire too when your body just can't handle the strain of a vertical bow anymore. Obviously the Xbow is the perfect way for most handicap to hunt, and I really wish thats the way it was in MI still, over 60 or handicap! I wont hunt with one yet but, that doesn't mean I cant own one!
I don't mean to offend anyone by my post by the way, and it seems like this opinionated question is causing some mild argument. He asked for an opinion, and for me I would be a little more proud of an archery kill than one with a gun. I realize the circumstance is more important, but simply for me it's harder to shoot a bow and accomplishing a kill with one is more successful.
