Personal experience with crossbows destroys any notion of "wrong vs right"

Funny thing is, I was quoting you

Oh yeah...I don't have a crossbow ... nice try tho.

 

I am making the point that we all have a limit to what we would agree with including. You appear to draw the line at including firearms where some of us draw the line at crossbows, just like I am sure there are people who would draw the line at compounds.

 

I wonder if cave men had this same debate when hunters switched from sharp sticks and stones to an atlatl?

 

Probably a bigger debate was what to name the darn thing....who could have imagined they'd allow the village idiot to name the weapon of cutting edge technology.

 

A crossbow is not a firearm...

 

This is what I don't understand. As far as how they're built crossbows have one thing that is similiar to a firearm(stock). As far as comparisons in bolts & arrows(trajectory) out of high end bows & cb's they're very similiar and both nowhere near average hunting firearms.

Is the main hang up with those that are not cb fans the fact that it doesn't have to be drawn while game is present? The fact that you can draw it and lock it in I mean?

 

Im actually in favor of a limited crossbow season. It is not a firearm but it is also not a bow that has to be drawn while game are present, therefore, easier to use than a vertical bow.(especially with shooting rails on your stand) Ky does it about right imo. A few weeks in October and then from November 8 through December 31.

I would also be in favor of traditional archery equipment having a couple extra weeks over compounds. So to not be hypocritical.

Why is compromise so difficult to understand?

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While I don't agree with separate seasons, I give you props for a very balanced post.

Boy, wouldn't THAT piss off the compound elitists! :D

 

The traditional archers were having the same discussion when compounds came along.

As the equipment gerts more efficient and effective, we need to shorten the seasons to match the management needs.(or lengthen if need be)

I think most forget that is the main reason for the hunting seasons in the first place.

It really isn't about the hunters, it's about the game.

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Just to be clear. In ky, we can use compounds and traditional equipment the whole season, xbows and compounds as well as traditional can be used during firearm seasons. ML can be used during rifle and so forth.

No separate tags for each.


When the xbow was proposed they were talking about adding it to the whole season. I was at a show and talked to several wardens there. I confirmed their intentions and stated my opinion that xbows were not the same as vertical bows and should not have the same season. Pissed some of them off, then I simply asked, why not just give them their own season? Seems more logical to me.

I don't know if I had anything to do with it but that is exactly what they did and everyone was happy.




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I follow you but at the same time that logic could be used for traditional guys. "Well it's harder to shoot a recurve/longbow than it is to shoot and 80% let off compound and they are not the same so archery season should just be for traditional archery and then compounds & x-bows should get a couple of weeks after that for their own seasons." The folks making the game laws could never do that because not enough people are into traditional archery and in essence they would be making the woods off limits to a lot of hunters and losing a ton of $$.

I'm biased here but I like VA's system. Bow season is open to all using archery equipment (traditional, compound, x-bow) but if you want to hunt with a x-bow then you just buy the x-bow license rather than a regular archery license if you use both you have to buy both.

I feel like when we start saying this way is easier or harder than that way we're opening a can of worms that is highly subjective. Having hunted with a x-bow out of a hang on treestand, I can't for the life of me figure out why some think it's easier than a vertical bow, I absolutely hated mine in a stand. Now a big climber or ladder stand or ground blind I can see the advantage but I just don't see it as that big of a deal. One of my goals whenever I get a chance to actually start filming some hunts is to kill a couple deer with my crossbow but the kicker will be I will draw the x-bow with the deer in range and then shoot the deer within 1 minute, mainly because I don't feel drawing a vert bow on a deer is as difficult as folks make it out to be in these discussions and often the not drawing of the x-bow is a lot of folks main hang up.

 

First off, to read about it on here, it is almost impossible to draw a bow when game is near giving the crossbow such a huge advantage. In my personal experience, it is not all that hard to draw a bow on a deer. If you have some patience, the deer almost always gives you an opportunity where you can draw undetected. Like when it's head goes behind a tree, it lowers its head to feed and tall weeds obscure it's vision, or when it reaches back to scratch an itch and it's head goes behind it's body. I have drawn on deer in those situations form the ground and not in a ground blind undetected. It's just not that hard to draw on a deer. If you are 20 feet up in a tree or in a ground blind it is even easier. So I believe that the advantage of not having to draw with a crossbow is vastly overstated. The much more difficult issue with either weapon is range estimation. Not everyone has a rangefinder nor is it always practical to use one even if you have it. In that regard, crossbows and compound bows are very similar.

Does Kentucky let compound bow hunters hunt during the crossbow season? If the answer is yes, then the crossbow hunters do not have their own season to the exclusion of everyone else the way that compound hunters want it for themselves. To be truly fair, there would be a season only for vertical bows and a season only for crossbows. Or we could just do away with all the nonsense and let all archers hunt at the same time whether they use longbow, recurve, compound, or crossbow. That is the way it is in Ohio where my Dad lives and they seem to be doing fine with that setup.

 

You guys can deny facts all you want but the xbow is easier. Easier will draw more in an increase the number of hunters, especially at first, game laws are to regulate harvest numbers and hunting pressure. Each state will need to regulate differently.

I clearly stated I was for giving traditional a few extra weeks over compounds.

I also clearly stated seasons overlap in ky.

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Good points, as far as I know, the drawlock systems are still illegal in KS but a crossbow is now legal? What kind of sense does that make?

I bought a crossbow for my folks to use and I'd 100x rather use my compound....honestly I don't think the crossbow even shoots that much faster.

 

Yes, I do that with a release and I am well aware of what happens when you dry fire a bow. There are plenty of YouTube videos out there that show this. I keep my finger well away from the trigger and draw letting my wrist strap hold the weight. If I have a mechanical failure of the release then I guess I will suffer the consequences. But being able to draw and aim and visualize the shot is an important part of my routine since I can’t seem to do it correctly when shooting at a target. It takes the place of actually shooting arrows. If I try and shoot a lot of arrows, the target panic gets worse and worse and bad habits are practiced instead of what is supposed to happen.

 

True words have never been written. At least not in this thread.

 

I should start this with to me this is just a discussion and I am not saying you are wrong in your thoughts I just believe this topic is often oversimplified. I'm aware each state is different and VA has not changed their seasons at all due to x-bows being legalized but I'm also aware that's probably because we are highly overpopulated on deer in many areas. Trad guys can't have their own season because of $$, there are not enough of them. Game Dept's want to manage the herd but they also need hunter dollars and license sales are a big part of that and when you start limiting time in the woods to certain groups you are also limiting potential money.

I've never hunted in KY so admittedly I'm ignorant on how it works there but I do like the simplicity of VA season. 1 bow season as far as time and you can either buy an archery license or a x-bow license or both, hell if they added a trad license I wouldn't really want to spen the $ but I'd buy it. One season but multiple ways to generate $ off of license sales without limiting time in the woods.

I do not think it easier to kill a deer with a x-bow than a vertical bow mainly because I think they are both pretty easy to kill with. Now my recurve...that's a different story, I would have probably had to been a fisherman to survive if I was Native American.

 

It's very simple in ky. 1 set of tags for everything. 1 buck only, regardless of equipment.

Bow season comes in in september, then xbows are allowed for a few weeks in October, then it goes out (this is silly to me, once it comes in, I see no reason for the stoppage) then they are allowed again in november and December.

Archery gear is allowed in gun seasons.

I would be fine with allowing traditional to start earlier and continue later than compounds. It is extremely difficult to take a deer with traditional gear. Much more difficult than compounds. A few extra weeks and less pressure would be advantageous.

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I agree that it isn't that difficult to draw a bow when an animal presents the opportunity. I disagree with saying the crossbow and compound are similar in that area. Having a weapon that is already loaded has an advantage over one you have to load by drawing back. Yes, I know the bows these days are pretty easy to draw but you also have to factor in cold and other weather conditions. Also, less movement is required when using the crossbow compared to the compound.

We preach about controlling every detail that we can but then we try to shrug off a detail that can easily change a hunt.

 

Hunting pressure will also come into play when drawing on deer.

It may not be all that difficult in some areas but can be in other areas.

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