That my friend can be applied to every aspect of ones life. Yet only the older people seem to understand it. Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk
You’re missing the point Sota. You are supposed to feel threatened by all of those crossbow toting hunters being allowed to be in the woods hunting during the LONG season set aside for decent folks who limit their weaponry to primitive 80% let off, 340 fps IBO compound bows with multi-pin or adjustable sights, high-quality drop away rests and $250-$300 releases for killing deer after they’ve ranged it with a $450 laser rangefinder. I don’t know how we even manage to kill a single deer with all the disadvantages we hit the woods with every year. Not having to draw when the deer is coming in? Now that’s just not fair.
Crossbows don't bother me one bit. Even if hunting evolved into a 3 month gun season I'd still hunt with a bow. I don't care what a person uses.
Let's not pretend sitting in a tree waiting for a deer to come by and then shooting is some monumental accomplishment. Bow hunting today is nothing like even 20 years ago.
I don’t harvest deer. I kill deer, and I like killing deer regardless of how I do it. Well, except for when I kill one with my car or truck. Bow, crossbow, 30/30, 30.06, 7mm, 10mm, 45-70 - I like using them all.
What is with all the reasonable conversation doing being brought into this dumpster fire? @Justin quit defusing things with sensible logic and respectfully delivered reasoning. Bring back the spammers to burn this thread down. As for killing deer with whatever is legal; since squirrel season is open and coincides with bow season when it is open; I am now going to kill a deer with my bow and a pop a squirrel with my side arm in the same hunt. Then, when the gun season is open, I going to go back out, plunk a doe between the eyes with a 9mm and shoot a squirrel with my bow in the same hunt. And if that dang beaver that cut down the tree in front the tree I hunt from, clearing a better shooting lane for me but ridding me of some cover, shows up I am going to shoot him with both. Just because its legal. Heck, maybe I take the crossbow out for the beaver instead my compound. I' m going all in.
I think a lot of the resistance to crossbows comes from people who have bowhunted a long time and have been there and done that. The idea of going "backward" in terms of difficulty makes the hunt seem not as challenging, fun, or rewarding. It's the same reason a lot of bowhunters give up on firearms hunting. But it's also being looked at through the lens of someone with years of experience under their belt, who is usually looking to increase the level of difficulty, and thus the gratitude of success, as they age. We purposely want to make it harder on ourselves. Whether it's trying only to hunt mature deer, a specific buck, public land, or possibly going to traditional archery equipment. The goal remains the same - up the ante, make it harder, and increase that rush we get when we are successful. For a lot of us, that feeling of "I did it!" is what it's all about. I get that and completely understand it. Personally speaking, I would much rather take my compound most of the time. When I do take the crossbow and shoot something, the feeling of reward isn't as great. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy it at all, but it's certainly not the same. But that's only because of my past experiences and understanding of what I'm capable of and what I take away from bowhunting. I'm looking at it through a filter. And I don't think my experiences and what I get out of bowhunting should dictate how others bowhunt or what they get out of it. Not wanting to participate in something is fine. Stopping others from doing it just because you don't want to is where I draw the line.
For me I don't personally hunt because I have no time but I do 3D and use a hunting bow. Crossbow is not challenging enough for me so I don't use it at all. It is more effective and it could be more accurate so if the goal is to make killing an animal easier it would do a better job. But if you would like to experience the challenge then it will be simply boring. I have to say that crossbow should not be in the same season as bow hunting because it is always loaded and you shoot it as a gun so it is not a bow. It is a gun that uses mechanically stored energy instead of chemicaly like in the gun powder. It is not a bow and it is not the strength and skill of the archer that makes the shot. This is why in archery events nobody is shooting a crossbow side by side with a bow. This is why we have recurved and compound on separate competitions because they are not the same they are close but not the same. If you are good recurved archer you can transition to compound . Once with compound you might become even more accurate.
Don't forget Ozonics and trail cam photos to your phone in realtime I know these are available to all hunters but I couldn't resist.
I couldnt care less about anyone else or what they do. I still manage to kill deer every year. Havent noticed any difference as far as negative impact. I too used a xbow during a shoulder injury but i hated it. It was cumbersome to carry, a pain in the butt to cock and decock. Not as much fun or rewarding at all. I havent checked lately but it seems harvest numbers havent seen any exponential increase since they were legalized. I did see a truck load of hill billys piling out of the back of a truck all armed with xbows getting dropped off at a public spot. It made me laugh. Was quite the sight. But I didnt perceive them as a threat to my chances of killing deer. I just avoided them. I passed a couple deer that day.
