Thoughts on crossbows?

I do not use one and dont plan to (other then maybe in gun season or the January season where its to cold to draw a bow haha) but I do support them. As much as I wish there was less guys in the woods, I see the more hunters as a good thing. It brings a lot more revenue to the sport and more people into it, insuring a longer lasting sport. Theres always times I wonder if Ill be able to hunt when im old, because its in many ways a dying sport, at least out where I grew up. So, if this helps get a few more people into the sport, then Im all for it.

 

I would like to address more of this.

If they hit where they aim and kill the deer what, exactly, makes them unethical?

I practice at 50 yds daily and all I do is draw, aim and shoot. What more coordination am I missing?

I can hold my 12 lbs let-off at full draw all day (14 if I use my 70# bow).

 

I'll never claim bowhunting to be hard (accuracy wise). A compound can be dialed in in mere minutes and be hitting the bullseye with every shot. I shoot my bow 4-5 times a year realistically. I won't argue the difficulty of becoming proficient with the weapon.

And while crossbows are easier to shoot at longer archery distances than compounds, the effective distances are about the same, so again I won't go there...even though there is a difference. Compound bows at 20-40 yards are easy. at 80 yards, is VERY difficult for most. In my personal experience, with a crossbow the yardage didn't matter much as you had a rest to become rock solid on.

The only real difference I see between the two is a rather big one in how I define archery. You don't have to draw back the bow when the animal is approaching or already in range. The crossbow is drawn back hours before, loaded, and ready for the squeeze of a trigger. No additional movement necessary. THIS, and this alone, makes it more like a very short ranged gun to me.

I do view it differently as a normal bow, but on the flip side....I'm not the chest thumping type that wants them banned from use during season....mainly because I don't care. They don't shoot any farther really, they aren't any easier to become proficient with (both are amazingly simple)... I wouldn't mind if all states allowed them during archery season even though I personally don't see them the same.

I think seasons divided by weapons should be based on weapon range more than the inherent degree of difficulty to become proficient with said weapon. I think Kentucky breaks down there season awesome. 5 months continuous for archery. several months including most all of november for crossbow. 2 weeks for centerfire rifle. a week and a half extra added for muzzleloaders...several youth weekends sprinkled in to boot. NO ONE no matter the weapon can complain about lack of time afield...and yet they allow more and more time out there, the smaller and smaller the range of the weapon becomes. Makes sense to me (selfishly I'd like the rifle season to shrink even more though )

 

I agree with most of your points except this one...no, no you can't. Can we hold it for what would be realistically expected (a few minutes) easily? Sure.

Can we hold it back and ready for the entire 8 hour sit as we do a crossbow? No.

 

Sorry, I exaggerated a little. I can hold it back for much more than a few minutes though. Certainly long enough to draw way before the animal is close enough to detect movement and hold until it gets there. But really, there is no point. None of us seems to have any difficulty whatsoever in drawing while the animal is close enough to shoot. Heck, last year I drew and let down four times before shooting a deer. If I get tired of just holding my bow I put it on a bow hook and, even if it is on the hook, I have still gotten it off of the hook, drew it and killed deer. My point is that the crossbow is "loaded" and ready to shoot really is no advantage.

 

I'm all for anything that gets people interested in hunting, and no one should judge someone else for what they choose do hunt with. Just because someone chooses to hunt with a crossbow doesn't mean they'er an unskilled hunter. We should all embrace any type of hunter, because the money they spend on hunting license and other things all go back to the wildlife, and for conservation.

 

To each there own i guess, it's just not for me. the way i see x-bows is... what's the point, might as well use a gun. Last ime i shot a x-bow was also the first time. I picked it up peered through the sight and loosed an arrow that hit bullseye. the first time I shot a compound i picked it up drew back loosed the arrow and watched it sail low and right, tried again.. same, till someone tought me about form.

 

point proven right there same thing with me. like i said again and agin not bashing people that use crossbows, just have my own opinion like every one else. And bruce i gotta ask this if u can do all that stuff and shoot just fine with a compound why must you defend (or use one,i dont know if you do) a crossbow so much??

 

I see it as defending other hunters not a hunter's weapon. Perhaps that is the difference between us. When hunters want to limit or deny other hunters we, as hunters, are playing into the hands of those that want to eliminate hunting all together.

 

Damn crossbow hunters. There are ruining our sport! I bet they use treestands and camo too! Always trying to take the easy way out. Why even hunt?

 

point taken, but here in michigan it is one of the most pressured hunting states so when it comes to bowhunting season is ur time to be able to kill mature bucks before they get pressured into night time movement only, and crossbows giving ur typical orange army fire arm season people the advantage to come out during bow season and pressure the deer that much more your time window gets real small to try and get that buck before he turns nocturnal, must just be the greedy in me

 

Yeah what happened to the good old days where you had 50 native Americans with no shirts and 30 lb recurves surround a thicket and keep shooting till they put enough arrows in one to bring it down and stick a knife in its neck. Sportsman these days...

 

b



I agree with you...........NOT!

Hell ....... I use a wood bow and wood arrows to kill deer....everyone else is inferior and shouldn't be allowed in the woods unless they do the same......

 

haha hey me and another guy pointed that out that you traditional archers problably think that about people using compounds

 

I know a guy who is out in Utah trying to kill an elk with a slingshot right now. Anything less is taking the easy way out.

Personally, I think this is an incredibly weak argument. So what that you have to draw the compound? Unless you're hunting from the ground without a blind... that's no big deal at all. Because of my shoulder problems, I cannot draw and hold my bow for more than a minute. I have to wait until the animal is close (25 yards or less) and in position before I draw. Anyone who has seen me draw my bow will testify that I do it in a completely flailing-about, sky-pulling manner. If deer really cared, I'd never kill any..... but I kill plenty. Even the occasional ones that see me draw still give me a shot. So the people who can draw a bow normally, and hold it... shouldn't have any problem at all.



I also find the 'anybody can pick up a crossbow and shoot it accurately because it's like a gun' is silly. Being a rifle instructor... I can you tell a lot people can't even shoot real guns accurately -with consistency- without using a bench. Just sit out in the woods during Wisconsin's rifle season (or here on public land during shotgun season) and listen to all the shots ringing out... I'd be surprised if there is one deer taken for every five shots you hear.

 

In Colorado, crossbows are illegal for big game during archery season. I hope it stays that way. The primary reason I switched from rifle to bow was so that I wouldn't be in the woods at the same time as the meathead, non-resident trophy hunting type of hunter. The guy with one hand around a beer, the other hand wrapped around the throttle of a Quad and shooting at anything that moves. That and I like the challenge of getting inside 45-50 yards to make a shot. The triggered, ratchet-drawn, stock braced crossbow is more gun than bow and it belongs where it currently is...rifle season.

To my mind, the crossbow is a weapon (at least used for hunting) that appeals to the person who wants to take advantage of the access that the projectile provides without the bother and required skill of the method.

 

Thats a challenge???? LOL!

 

Agreed on all accounts. I have no qualms with crossbows in archery season. I just find it funny those that defend it refuse to admit it has a few, slight inherent advantages over a compound....pretty similar to the advantages a compound holds over a recurve....and the recurve over your friends slingshot. I'm not in denial of the advantages and i'd STILL vote for their inclusion in an archery season. Life is too short to worry about what others use.

The scary part about your rifle season scenario, is that guns ARE easier to master than bows...so think if we could hear arrows flying through the air and the season was only a week or so with hundreds of thousands taking to the woods....It'd be even worse than our current orange army.

 

By yourself, pre-rut, in the Rockies, on elk...yeah, it's a challenge.