I don't have a problem with crossbow hunting. There may come a time when that's the only bow I can shoot myself. A friend of mine took part in a study in Texas where some of the hunters used compound bows and others used crossbows in a controlled hunting area. So far in the study there is no difference in success or lost animals. They figure that the movement made in positioning a crossbow for the shot is equal to drawing a bow so there is no real advantage. In 2010 Oklahoma and Texas made crossbows legal. The bow shops I talked to said they sold all the crossbows they could get and I was concerned that the areas I bow hunt would be overrun with crossbow hunters who just took up the sport. As it turned out, I never saw a single crossbow hunter on the public land I hunted in 2010 or 2011. The folks I met at bow shops or sporting goods stores that bought crossbows were hunters already and just wanted to try something different. What they found was that the effective range of the crossbow was about the same as their compound bow and the hunt still took all the preparation it did before. Crossbows didn't make their hunt any easier. I recall this debate taking place in hunting stores when compound bows got popular. Stick and string shooters were feeling the same way and most of them are shooting compounds now. Never say never... you might be shooting a crossbow before you know it! My $.02 worth.
So what are those slight inherent advantages, pretty similar to the advantages a compound holds over a recurve, you are talking about, besides yardage??? I'm very interested......
+1. I'm looking for any advantage with my compound that I can get. Also, guys that get a crossbow and aren't that serious about hunting won't be out in the woods that much. Having a bow doesn't magically make you a more serious hunter. I welcome my crossbo brothers and sisters. Strength in numbers.
Everyone seems to think it's so much easier to hunt with a crossbow than a compound, so they think it's 'cheating'. Try hunting with one from a treestand before using that 'logic'. They're heavier, and very few are balanced well. It's harder to keep steady for a good shot than a compound bow. There's quite a bit of skill involved to become proficient with a crossbow. Granted, I understand that as they gain in popularity there are going to be a percent of the hunters that think 'it's just like my gun, I don't need to practice', but they will soon find out different.
So I've read all the post and have seen many debates on this subject. At first I was so against crossbows I didn't even wan to look at one much less hold one. Now that I have made it to shooting one, I actually enjoy it!! Do I own one? Nope. Do I hunt with one? Nope. Why? I don't want to. If I wanted to would I? You bet! As long as its legal, I see nothing wrong with it. Do they have their advantages? Yep. Does a compound have advantages over the crossbow? Sure does. How many times have any of you anti crossbow guys missed a deer to have to mock another arrow? Try that with a cumbersome crossbow. Have fun with that cock rope in a stand 20' up. What about yd judging? Still have to do it! Then there is the whole speed thing. Sure the new PSE Tach15 shoots 405fps+ but, how many of the average high selling really shoot a bolt that much faster than the average compound? Not very many!! Does it take less practice? To most probably. Is that a bad thing? Not for the average American family man that works but still wants to enjoy the hunt. Then there is the guy who gets severe buck fever. Any of you ever take this guy into consideration? Probably not. You probably just think he should stay out of the woods all together don't you?? You know, the guy who gets all shaken up over any animal in front of him. I commend This guy or gal for being responsible enough to realize they have this issue and goes and buys a crossbow to help be more accurate. I personally think its responsible decision. Should they be stripped of an American right to archery hunt? No more than any of the rest of us should. Let me ask this one more question in this post. How many I you anti crossbow guys have actually shot one and really gotten to know one for more than one shot?? If you haven't, maybe you should before forming what many would call an uneducated opinion. If its legal why be so one sided??
I have never fired a crossbow, but I am reading that many who have find it cumbersome to use. From what I understand though, traditional bows were developed as hunting weapons while crossbows were developed as military weapons. Sitting behind a battlement or pavise seems like a completely different situation than sitting in a blind, which would explain a lot of this (or so it seems). That being said, I have always thought crossbows were neat but I have never really even thought about hunting with one (although I couldn't care less if someone wanted to).
Pretty sure you already know them, but I'll play along regardless. They can be propped up on a rest when shot to be rock solid. They DON'T have to be drawn or even moved in the presence of the animal They have a scope for "easier" accuracy They are faster, thus have a slightly farther effective range but that is minimal as many guys use compounds out past 100 yards out west I would welcome crossbows in all archery seasons. Just don't try selling me that they aren't a slightly easier weapon to use than a compound. I was born at night, but it certainly wasn't last night.
I concur completely. I have no issue with crossbows, but drawing bow undetectecd can be very challenging, especially on mature deer and late season when the leaves are gone and deer been under lots of hunting pressure. Also, I can shoot rifle accurately from either shoulder...I would assume this would be true of xbow as well...I cant do that with compound.
Thank you. That's just how I feel about it. I have had more than one person on here tell me to hold my opinions to myself if I had only held a bow. Case in point would be before I had shot the Helim. I saw then I should shoot it then form an opinion. That's just one example. I could tell of more but, I won't. We as hunters need to band together. I mean we do have enough against us as it is right??
Anyone who thinks its cheating to use a crossbow better be hunting from the ground and not from a treestand. Nothing has ever given us hunters as big of an advantage as a treestand.
I wouldn't use one myself. Even with most injuries there are ways to hunt with my bow. That being said I don't care if someone else uses a xbow. As long as it is legal in the area by the person using it. I just like the challenge of real bowhunting. set from my electronic carrier pigeon
I know guys that hunt with crossbows without sights, shoots it instinctive and another one will not draw his crossbow back until he is certain he's going shoot the deer! To me a sight on a compound is a "sight/scope" in itself for easier accuracy. How can you not move a crossbow to shoot it?? I mean you have to move it to aim right?? A compound is much lighter and easier to move around with while on stand or still hunting them a crossbow by far! I'm not trying to sell anyone anything...just stating the facts!
I used to be anti crossbow but now that many of my close friends use them I've had to back off voicing my opinion, thus leading me to rethink my position. Now honestly I just don't really have an opinion one way or another.
