Hunting & Crossbows
- Thread starter cnelk
- Start date
Bob Frapples
Member
- Mar 10, 2014
- 367
I would if I couldn\'t pull my bow back anymore. I find crossbows bulky and heavy.
Buglemaster
New member
- Aug 25, 2017
- 334
As much as I\'m against cross bows in an archery season, I\'ve always been intrigued with them. Given the chance to hunt with one in a cross bow season only, I\'d try it. It\'s a weapon just as a rifle, shotgun, pistol or bow. But read my lips! Not in the archery season :agg:
I can honestly say that I wouldnt ever hunt with a crossbow.
I have shot one before and had a \'ho hum\' reaction.
The biggest thing I noticed is that they would be a PITA carrying in the woods as they are horizontal and not vertical.
A person would be tilting them to get between trees all the time
I have shot one before and had a \'ho hum\' reaction.
The biggest thing I noticed is that they would be a PITA carrying in the woods as they are horizontal and not vertical.
A person would be tilting them to get between trees all the time
Buglemaster
New member
- Aug 25, 2017
- 334
I can certainly agree with them being a pain to carry, but out of a blind or setting water or food source...I\'d try it .....mabe only once but I\'d try it.
Colorado_Lew
New member
- Mar 4, 2014
- 189
It doesn\'t appeal to me, so no.
\"cnelk\" said:
I\'ve had the same thought. I\'ve never shot one, and don\'t have the desire to. They seem very awkward. I\'m sure that at first compounds seemed that way, too ... but a crossbow really is strange.
Additionally, I\'m not familiar with their ballistics, but I\'m skeptical of penetration with a bolt. My bet is that a lot of them are not \"tuned\" like a good compound, and are not \"tunable\", either, leaving the hunter with a machine that sends bolts out with poor ballistics and built-in poor penetration. (That\'s all speculation, and I\'m open to hear the other side.)
Now, I\'m all for getting more people into hunting. If x-bows do that, fine. I\'m skeptical of that, though. Really ... a non-hunter who decides to enter the sport because now they can use x-bows? What\'s wrong with rifles?
I think x-bows are mostly a well-played marketing gimmick. That sounds negative, and I don\'t mean it that way, but it\'s true.
Of course, this is a western perspective.
If I lived in a suburban area in the east, I may have a different opinion. There, crossbows have some real advantages in the area of hunter recruitment, though I suspect they are overstated.
And finally ... as above, if injured and unable to shoot a bow, I\'d pick one up. I once met a one-armed guy who used one, and I\'m sure he was glad to see the new technology available.
timberland
New member
- Aug 27, 2015
- 471
Never say never. I own an archery shop and this question comes up a lot. WI just legalized crossbows for everyone, it used to be only for older than 65 or handicapped or short term disability that prevented drawing a hand bow. Perfect example, a good friend of mine donated a kidney to his sister, and as a result could not use his bow for the upcoming archery season. He didn\'t want to drop the coin on a crossbow he would probably only use one year, so I lent him one from the shop. He shot his largest WT (about 150\") that year, and it didn\'t mean any less because he used the crossbow.
I will do whatever it takes to keep me hunting as long as I can, for its not the weapon, but the hunt.
I will do whatever it takes to keep me hunting as long as I can, for its not the weapon, but the hunt.
timberland
New member
- Aug 27, 2015
- 471
But I can hunt with a crossbow for almost four months in WI and only 2 weeks with a ML.
elky McElkerson
New member
- Mar 13, 2014
- 2,038
i\'m all for it. but not during the archery season. the biggest advantage of Xbow is you dont have to get drawn back while the animal is close..that missign movement is HUGE! other than that, you pretty much have the same distance restraints.
we can use them during this hog population reduction hunt in my area. side by side with archery tools. my friend hunts with one..they are really cool.
me? one game at a time..it will take a lifetime for me to consider myself succesful enough to change tools from my compound..and when that happens, ill go traditional.
we can use them during this hog population reduction hunt in my area. side by side with archery tools. my friend hunts with one..they are really cool.
me? one game at a time..it will take a lifetime for me to consider myself succesful enough to change tools from my compound..and when that happens, ill go traditional.
sojourner65
New member
- Mar 24, 2014
- 122
They went through this a few years ago back here in PA. Crossbows are now statewide legal in archery season. I went to one because I ground hunt, and holding a compound at full draw while waiting for a deer to present a good shot is impossible. Yeah, they are a little more awkward to carry but you get used to it. Studies here have not shown the x-bow to have a detrimental impact on archery hunting or the deer herd. In my opinion, those archers who cry about maintaining the \"purity\" of the sport forget how the compound has evolved from the recurve (I hunted with one of those - shows you how old I am!). In my opinion, the easiest way to shoot a deer is from a tree stand, no matter what bow you use, but nobody is making hunters give those up.
\"rudyc\" said:
A lot of insurance companies see it the same way, and that\'s something to consider if you don\'t have your own space to shoot it for practice. Our local archery range cannot allow Xbows because most insurance companies consider them \"firearms.\" Allowing Xbows would almost triple our annual insurance rates, and we would have to pass that cost on to the 99% of members who don\'t shoot Xbows.
I\'ve only shot an Xbow once. It definitely felt like shooting a rifle rather than a bow, for what it\'s worth.
