Are Crossbows Hurting Deer Numbers?

I use a compound but my dad has a crossbow, I would have to say that effective range isn't much different if you practice with your compound. Most shots are still 35 and in. That being said if you don't practice advantage crossbow imo. I think the greatest advantage is the drawing advantage that a crossbow has since there really isn't a draw in the heat of the moment. One challenge to archery hunting is getting that bow pulled back with deer nearby and then acquiring the target and executing the shot, crossbows allow a hunter to move very little and allowing for more shot opportunities. Crossbows are here to stay and I am not against them, however I will use my compound as long as I am able. I would not be opposed to using one during firearms season, I think that would be a good challenge.

 

With all due respect, not trying to brag, I can reply to your questioning me about my experience . Having been a repeat provincial and national archery champion back in the 1990's, I have a great amount of experience with crossguns....and my 30 + yrs experience in archery and bow hunting. I saw first hand a few years ago in my own back yard, my neighbour( Who has an upper body injury) plunk 3 shots inside 2 " at 40 yds with a crossgun ......having never shot one before. I practiced hard for many years to become a champion archer.
It's the words and actions of others that made it easy to come to a conclusion about them. At the rate things are going, rifles will soon be allowed in archery season.....heck, did a few states just recently approve the air "bow" as legal for archery season ??
As for your question about "all other things being equal", that's exactly what I meant by the antis using that flawed argument for years.
Best Regards and hope you had a great Christmas.

 

Anecdotally for sure; but my experience is x-bows get more people in the woods earlier but that translates to less hunters out later during gun season. Sure that means more pressure for me earlier but about the same overall numbers of deer killed.

Folks, at the end of the day more hunters is better for our sport. Period. X-bow people aren't any worse slobs than any other type of hunter.

 

I’d take a “cross gunner” any day over some of the “real bow hunters” with piss poor ethics. I’ve heard and seen what some people do. The shots choices they make, the zero effort put into tracking or recovering. Morals and ethics are what we should be worried about. Not someones preferred legal method. And to answer the OP question. No crossbows aren’t hurting deer numbers. That’s asinine. At least not in my neck of the woods


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I saw first hand..... my wife who had never shot a bow in her life...shoot a modern compound bow and was getting 1-2” groupings at twenty yards within ten minutes of picking it up.

I understand the “traditional vs compound” arguments, because there IS a huge difference.

But seriously, anybody can pick up a modern compound and be an effective archer within an hour of first picking it up.

A lot of archers really need to get over themselves, and take a long look in the mirror.


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I love hearing the hypocritical response "we need more hunters in the woods. and whatever it takes to get guys in the woods." but the same guys saying this are the ones that either have posted property all to themselves or pay for outfitters. these same guys get all set up on a good buck then when someone hunts by them they get all mad and complain about someone in their spot. if they were truly proud to get all of these guys in the woods they would have no problem letting other hunters hunt 10yds away from them trying to kill the same buck they've worked so hard to get. I don't personally don't know of any hunters that are jumping up and down with joy every time they have other hunters screw them up. we don't need more hunters in the woods. actually lower hunter numbers in my area have helped the herd get older. less hunters equal better hunting!

 

FWIW, I hunt over 30 days a season on public land in one of the most-heavily pressured states in the country- Michigan.
More hunters is a good thing. Where do you think the DNR gets its money to maintain said lands? Not to mention that if hunting ranks were restricted to vertical bowhunters only your hunting seasons would end tomorrow; voted out of existence by anti- and non-hunters who outnumber bowhunters by about 100-1.

Honestly can't believe how short sighted and selfish the rest of that post was.

 

I can't tell if you are being serious with this post...

 

Congratulations on your accomplishments, you certainly have a great deal to be proud of. It sounds like you are frustrated by the ease at which accuracy comes with the crossbow compared to a compound. No doubt you have worked very hard to achieve the highest level of accuracy and to see someone buy that level of accuracy and put virtually no time into the sport and be granted equal access to the same hunting privileges you have earned would put a bad taste in anyones mouth.
I'm glad to hear you are receptive to the words and actions of others and are not blinded by conformation bias. There are a growing number of people like me who have recently found enjoyment carrying a crossbow afield during archery season. The reasons are as varied as the individual stories themselves. For me my introduction was the result of a shoulder injury that robbed me of my ability to practice sufficiently to feel comfortable hunting with a compound. My shoulder was surgically repaired and my reliance on the crossbow only last two seasons. I will continue to hunt with my compound and crossbow. This season I was fortunate to take a pronghorn antelope in WY and a good buck here in OH with my compound. I also shot a doe with my crossbow during our last weekend of firearm season and mentored my girlfriend to her first buck with a crossbow.
There are plenty of people like you that have paid our dues who have solid ethics and work hard for our time afield. The simple fact that some people carry a crossbow shouldn't cause a major riff when there is so much we have in common.
Thanks for the well wishes, I hope you have a relaxing Boxing day.

 

Long live the hunt!

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I didn't realize you had a shoulder injury. Sorry to hear that. It's great that there is a site like this that provides the opportunity for fellow hunters to respectfully disagree on issue. It's also great that it's rare to find a loud mouth hiding behind their keyboard on this forum.
May you some day find the chance to hunt some of the big bodied and racked bucks of Ontario. Congrats on all your harvests and I think it's great we are getting more women into the woods.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

 

haha! just having fun getting a rise out of you guys.lol

 

I hunted with my crossbow last night and amazingly enough did not take any 80 yard shots at running deer. I also did not walk 100 yards from my truck and pop a squat next to a tree while I smoked a cigarette. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

 

But Thats how us cross gunners hunt... so you did it wrong


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so far Wisconsin dnr claims deer kill down approximately 1 percent again this year, same as last year ??????? OVERKILL ???

 

I'm not sure how it is in most states that are allowing crossbows, but in Missouri they have just been added to the acceptable weapons during our nearly 4 month archery season. This is a pretty new rule(maybe 2 or 3 seasons) so there's not a lot of data to support either side of the argument. I feel like the crossbow should fall under our 10 day alternative method's season instead of archery season, but that's just my opinion. What I do know is that crossbow's allow more people to experience hunting outside of the rifle slaughter and perhaps that's a good thing. Maybe it will pull people away from the rifle and to the bow, which is what the compound bow did for me. The negative's I see are that there are higher numbers of hunters in the woods for a much longer portion of the overall season. Most of which practice very little and treat a crossbow in a similar manner to how they rifle hunt, sight it in the night before and head to the woods on opening morning ready to kill.

 

AMEN!!!!!!!!!! Well said, best post on this thread.


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Sorry, but if you are not from Ohio you truly do not know what the typical crossbower is. You guys in these new crossbow states mostly have converted bowhunters who now crossbow hunt with a slob here or there.

Check back in when your state has bred 3 generations worth of crossbowers. We have had them in our archery season since 1976... 41 years. Here in Ohio the typical crossbow hunter is a slob. We have a number of slob bowhunters as well but the ratio of slobs heavily favors crossbowers here.

The politicians here breed this type of hunter with their **** show regulations.