Are Crossbows Hurting Deer Numbers?

A crossbow is a crutch for those too lazy to bow hunt, but whom desperately want to hunt the rut (in Ohio). I'll see and treat them as equals the day they start "drawing" their "bows" as a deer approaches. Until then, they remain slackers & bums.
Exceptions: Women, children, elderly & injured/disabled.

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Did you feel awkward carrying it to your stand? Did anyone see you?

 

Here is some data.



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Numbers do not lie and the crossbow marketing claims will prohibit further expansion in states where crossbows are not allowed during regular archery.

 

2nd best post on this thread.

I’m surprised in some of the responses, stereotyping, and selfishness. I’ve come to expect more from people on this forum from my past experiences on here, But I guess it’s different when it comes to “your” deer.

It’s beyond comical, that some of you modern day “bow hunters” are against crossbows, you are being hypocrites.




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So this data clearly shows that hunters are killing more deer with a crossbow than a vertical bow. Which, after nearly 40 years of legalized crossbows and a severely aging deer hunting population, makes sense. Those numbers have been pretty consistent for decades now if I'm not mistaken.

The bigger question here is how have crossbows specifically effected the quality of the deer hunting and the quality of the deer herd in Ohio? From my understanding the deer population in Ohio is significantly lower today than it was 10 or 15 years ago. Which oddly enough is a common trend throughout most Midwestern states, crossbow-friendly or not. That's certainly the case here in IL and throughout most of Wisconsin where crossbows have only been legal during archery season for a very short amount of time.

To be clear - I have zero problem with crossbows being regulated differently than vertical bows if and when there is evidence supporting the idea this needs to be done. If success rates are increasing and harvest numbers are increasing to the point of adversely effecting the opportunity for other hunters then it may be necessary.

 

I personally just don't like crossbows. I think that they are great for small children, handicapped hunters, and old men that can no longer draw enough weight to hunt ethically. I live in Pennsylvania where crossbows could be used during regular firearms season for as long as I can remember, but until they were legalized for archery season I never personally witnessed anyone hunting with one. From this I can deduce that not many people are hunting with crossbows to make hunting more challenging, and that they are used to make archery hunting less challenging. I have heard the argument that not everyone has time to become proficient with archery tackle, so they are justified in their use of crossbows. I think that maybe they do not have the time to be an archer.
As far as compounds being too modern in many ways, that is a hard point to argue, but It also makes me less sympathetic to anyone that can't take the minuscule amount time necessary to build the muscle and skill required to shoot one of these 40-45 pound marvels of modern engineering. A modern 40 or 45 pound bow is more than capable of killing whitetails in an ethical manner.
I'm sure I have offended someone, and if you're an aging hunter, handicapped, or a young girl I apologize. If your just a crossbow fan.........This is a bowhunting forum.

 

I have stated this many times, I do not have any issues with the crossbow it's self. So, you are going down the wrong path accusing me of being a crossbow hater. In fact my brother, stepdad and one of my oldest friends hunt with them. I know some other crossbow hunters here who aren't slobs as well.

The issue is here where I live (not speaking for you guys who are new to them in your state, as I have no idea what is going on there) it attracts a lot of the wrong crowd. Nothing more nothing less. To me it isn't the weapon, but the person behind it.

I spend a good amount of time at my local shop. I see who buys what, I hear the stories everyone tells. I know what I speak of in my area.

 

You have me all wrong, you are the one making assumptions here. I am not a selfish hunter, nor do I consider any deer my deer or ever dwell on or complain about any deer anyone takes. I never sweat a deer being killed, it's part of the game we all play. I support every ethical hunter to shoot what ever they want.

I have sent gps coordinates to members of this forum to hunt my public land spots... And they shot bucks, yes that's plural. I have hosted people from this forum on my own hunting land and I could not have cared less what weapon they used, I helped / hosted them because they are good people.

 

To even have a discussion on crossbows the two sides have to stop being stupid and admit the following:

Crossbow supporters must admit the clear advantage crossbows are over vertical bows of any nature...to say they are purely the same is choice naivety and just makes the person look unintelligent. This person should be avoided as headaches will occur if attempting discussion with them.

Anti-Crossbow folks must admit that UNLESS they feel the same between long/recurve bows vs compound vertical bows, their complaints of another string driven weapon just makes them look naive and unintelligent. This person should also be avoided as their illogical approach will also cause headaches.

PERSONALLY speaking I'd support regulation changes in my own state to limit their use (other than elderly or handicapped of course) to smaller time frame...as I would support traditional archery equipment getting a special season as well.....

Discussion truly parallels my concerns over our muzzleloader season is ridiculously long now with modern inline and smokeless muzzleloaders not being the percussion cap or flintlock types the season was originally created for.+

 

That chart I posted above doesn't tell the whole stroy. The average crossbow hunter here is probably less successful at killing deer than the average compound hunter is and thats because of the overall different crowds the two weapons attract.

My local shop (big shop with three locations) sells crossbows between 8 and 10 to 1 of compound bows! (They are a Hoyt, Mathews, Elite, PSE and Prime dealer so that's not because they have low end bow lines) That's fact on those numbers, not an assumption. My guess (as there is no data published on this) is that 75% of people in bow season use crossbows here.

How crossbows negatively affect our season is they put a lot of people in the woods that have no business being there. I have seen hundreds of dudes buy their crossbow, have a shop tech sight it in for them at 20 yards with field tips and they grab a pack of random broadheads on the way out the door on their way to the woods that same day.

Like I said, it isn't the weapon but rather the type of person they attract overall.

 

There are two main advantages of a crossbow. 1. You don't have to draw it back at the time you want to shoot. 2. They are easier to set up and be accurate with in a shorter period of time than a compound.

Having hunted with both I will say that I prefer the vertical bow in almost all situations. It's easier to carry, easier to maneuver in a treestand, quieter, and easier to reload and shoot again if needed. The crossbow is nice in certain controlled environments put presents it's own set of unique challenges.

These clear advantages, in my opinion, don't make it all that much easier to kill. Let's face it - killing a deer (any deer) with modern archery tackle isn't the accomplishment it once was. I've personally witnessed people pick up a compound bow for the first time in their life and be hitting bulls eyes at 20 yards within 30 minutes. Sometimes we act like shooting a compound bow is some sort of skill that takes decades to master when it really isn't.

IMO the argument here isn't really about one weapon's effectiveness compared to another - it's about the perception that crossbows are easier and that people aren't working as hard to kill animals with them. The argument gets framed as trad bows versus compounds is the same as compounds versus crossbows but that's not really what we're talking about here.

For some reason a lot of hunters have this odd mental block where they really, really care about how hard someone works to kill an animal and if it's perceived in any way that someone didn't work as hard as them, they get mad about it. This argument isn't exclusive to crossbows either. It spans all aspects of hunting. If someone used bait or minerals, if they planted too many food plots, hunted private land versus public land, sat in a heated blind versus a cold treestand, etc. It's one big dong-measuring contest to see who the most badass, hard core deer hunter is. Hunters will use any excuse they can to rip on someone else's method of hunting when they deem it to be lesser than their own.

I'm not entirely against this - the big issue is that most state governments simply don't have the time, personnel or budgets to effectively handle this. In a perfect world where we have accurate deer population estimates, harvest data, success rates and more time and money to plan for these things then it would work. But government is far from perfect so you take what you can get.

True, but in this case that discussion really does parallel the trad bow/compound comparison. And muzzleloader seasons typically account for something like 10% of all deer killed in most states. It's a drop in the bucket.

 

Don't get me started on inlines! LOL.

That's a great post Tynimiller, and I agree that the traditional guys deserve to look down their nose at compound hunters. I would rather see archery season go back to recurve/longbow only than watch the current trend continue. 3 inch groups at 100 yards with no practice........airbows..........UGH

 

Assuming that crossbow is sighted in properly why would the person not belong in the woods that same day? What exactly would be the appropriate amount of time to wait and number of shots to take before you go hunting? At what point does someone "belong" in the woods?

DeCroo took my crossbow the other day - we shot a couple arrows in our garage to make sure it was dead on since I sighted it in back in October - then he went out and made a perfect shot on a doe at 35 yards. It was probably the 4th shot he put through the bow.

 

Oh I don't know, probably enough to make sure the broadheads hit the same as the field points.

 

The traditional guys look down at everyone. Heck I could buy a recurve and trad guys would say awesome, if I put a d loop on the string and used a release I would be no better than the scum that have training wheels on their bows.

 

Great post Justin, as always we seem to align more than we don't (not sure to be scared or happy about this LOL). Personally watching my father switch over to his crossbow more and more changed my whole perspective of them somewhat in recent years. I personally have no desire to use one, but that shouldn't be held against someone else for sure...and I also know for a fact someday I'll use one without a doubt.

 

And Decroo could kill a deer with his bare hands, he isn't your average Ohio crossbow hunter.

 

So what is that? 2-3 shots? Crossbows don't suffer from the same tuning issues that compounds do. They're much simpler, mechanical devices with much of the human error element removed from them. I've shot all types of broadheads through my crossbow - both fixed and mechanical - and never had one not fly like my field points. Should people shoot broadheads to make sure they're accurate with them before hunting? Absolutely. But a couple quick shots in the back yard will tell you as much. You don't need to put hundreds of shots down range to figure that out.

Most of us on here who have been bowhunting for a considerable amount of time came up in an age where compound archery equipment was suspect at best, and the amount of knowledge we had on tuning and accurately shooting our bows was pretty slim. The old adage of a paper plate at 20 yards was what we lived by. And it took a lot of practice and monkeying with our equipment to get to that point. Now we're trying to apply that same methodology to modern crossbows and they're two totally separate beasts. I get it that change is hard and we don't always like it. But that's just the story of life. You either adapt or get left behind.