My two cents....
Crossbows VS Compound Bows Hunting
In 1968 BC (before compounds) I took up bowhunting. I used an Indian Mohawk that pulled 45 pounds at 28" draw. I had some fiberglass arrows that were tipped with Bear Razorheads. No sight.. That was the only bow that I never killed a deer with. I soon put it down and picked up a Carrol Gentleman Jim take down recurve and started killing deer. It was a much smoother and easier to shoot recurve.
When Carrol came out with a compound I thought I'd give it a try. I was amazed at how well it shot - but it sure required a lot of tinkering.
Over the next 31 years I hunted with compounds and recurves bouncing back and forth as I so felt up to it. It was nice to have a CHOICE in archery hunting equipment.
Fast forward to the year 2000 and I am 61 years old. My body can't quite do what it used to and to make a long story shorter my shoulders were giving out. A rough life and shooting too high of a poundage bow finally caught up with me. Cortisone shots and therapy didn't seem to be of much use.
I was told, " Get a crossbow permit."
Nope, I wouldn't shoot one of those things.
I put target limbs on my XI Legacy, cranked it down to 45 pounds, took a Tylenol 3 in order to shoot a dozen arrows to practice. I then hunted under the same thing. A Tylenol 3 and a hope that adrenalin would see me through on a buck. I never killed a deer that year as I passed up a 140” ten pointer because he was out of my self-imposed range of 25 yards with that light of poundage.
The next year was worse. It was a no go no matter how low the bow went. If I shot half dozen arrows the next day my arm was limp. I swallowed my big pride and bought a crossbow. Its was that or quit bowhunting. Quitting was not an option.
Much to my surprise and delight I found that the crossbow was not a whole lot different than shooting or hunting with my Legacy. In fact I was a better shot with my Legacy. My bowhunting set-ups were exactly the same. I wasn’t doing anything any different. I was still killing deer at the same yardages with some cut down 2213s.
I've now got 10 seasons and 8 deer and 3 turkeys under my belt with a crossbow and I enjoy every minute of it. The only thing that really bothers me is that I was so gullible to believe what I was spoon-fed about crossbows by some other bowhunters and bowhunter organizations. They were either very mis-informed or flat out lied about crossbows.
To me the crossbow is about having another choice in an archery-hunting tool just like when I used to hunt with a recurve one day and a compound the next.
It should be a choice for every hunter to be able to make.
Each year more and more states are looking towards a new tool in recruiting new hunters and as a help to manage the ever growing deer herds. That one tool is the crossbow.
After many years of bowhunting with recurves, compounds and now crossbows I would like to give you my opinion on hunting with each.
There are numerous pros and cons for any type of archery equipment.
AccuracyShooting off hand the compound wins hands down. That is proven out at any archery event where the compounds and crossbows shoot the same targets. If the crossbower can use a rest (not always possible in a deer hunting situation) then the tables are reversed.
Although a hunting tool’s good accuracy is a positive and not a negative desire.
TrajectoryIn most bow hunting conditions (less than 25 yards) there is no difference as both the compound bow and crossbow will generate approximately the same feet per second and kinetic energy. Downrange the compound will win hands down as the shorter arrow of a crossbow does not stabilize as well and will lose feet per second in speed and KE faster than a compound bow shot (longer) arrow as it attempts to correct itself in flight.
WeightMost crossbows weigh in at right around 6 pounds. That is close to the weight of a lot of rifles and shotguns. The compound bows weigh in much less at 3 to 3 ½ pounds. Not a big deal unless one is also packing in a stand, ladder or other equipment. Or hot footing it up and down mountains chasing elk/mule deer out West.
Clearances Because of the horizontal limbs a crossbow is much harder to pack into the woods on the way to the stand or still hunting. When hunting from a treestand the horizontal limbs have a major conflict with the vertical tree we are in. It is extremely difficult to shoot behind the treestand as the limbs and string will not allow the crossbow to be up against the tree like a compound bow would.
Drawing/Shooting in the Presence of GameThe crossbow has a slight advantage in this area. The string is back in a firing position before game is approaching. How much of an advantage is debatable as several things come into play.
1) Being 20 to 25 foot up a tree when attempting to draw a compound bow will lessen a deer’s ability to see you.
2) Bows are usually 75 to 90 percent let off so one can draw on a deer much sooner and hold longer to make a killing shot with less worry about the deer seeing you. Mike Beatty drew and held on the new world record non-typical buck for a full 3 minute before making the shot. That bow was a 85% let off. There is a bow on the market that is 99% let off where one can draw the bow as soon as game is spotted and they can wait for however long it takes for that animal to approach the shooting area.
3) A number of hunters that use ground blinds are using a blind called Double Bull, “Doghouse”, etc that allows one to draw and shoot through a curtain and never be seen by the animal.
4) Most bowhunters learn when and when not to draw on a deer. IE – when it’s head is behind a bush or tree or allowing the deer to walk past them and shoot them quartering away.
Both pieces of equipment have to be raised into a shooting position. Only the compound has to be drawn. That draw should be straight back and covered somewhat by the bow and bow quiver (if one is on the bow). That is unless the person drawing the bow seriously over-bowed and has to horse it back with great exaggerated movements..
Regardless of the perceived advantage of “not having to draw back a crossbow” the kill percentages are identical for compounds and crossbows. THAT is where the rubber meets the road.
Ease of MasteryThe crossbow would have an edge here. More so if the individual had some previous rifle shooting experience. Irregardless, a “newbie” just starting out with either piece of equipment can be shooting hunting accuracy (all arrows in a 6 inch circle) within two hours *IF* properly instructed. Maintaining proficiency would also go to the crossbow.
Ease of mastery is irrelevant to the hunting aspect. Being a master of your equipment has nothing to do with how good a hunter you are. It only has to do with what kind of shot you are with the equipment at hand should that shot present itself.
There is very little difference in mastering a crossbow and a compound. There is a MAJOR difference in mastering a stickbow as opposed to either a crossbow or a compound. If the difficulty mastering the hunting tool is used a yardstick for archery hunting then the season would have to be limited to traditional only.
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