Superman i too am from alabama. I bought one last year and little noisy but there are ways to quiet 1 down but will never be as quiet as the compound. i have a bow also and i like shooting both altho the compound is easier to carry in the woods and i think its more fun to shott. There are a lot of snooty hunters in this state who slam the crossbow so dont listen to them, get what u want and hunt with what you want as long as its ethical. Whats funny is the people who slam the crossbow hunt private land here and say "aint nobody coming on my land with one", thats pretty snooty. The sad thing is the bowhunters in my state, not all of them, but most of them are known as being snooty due to this attitude which i think is sad and gives the bowhunters a bad name.

My advice to all who get one: Sight it in, not at 50 yards. I have a ten point red dot scope and have it sighted in at 20/30/40 yards but prob wouldnt talk over a 30 yard shot 99.9% of the time. Shoot it and practice a lot just like you would with a bow so when the time comes you can make a good and clean shot. Also dont buy a cheapone, get one with anti-dry fire and one with a good size stock to hide your hand when you shoot. Only ignorance will get someone fingers cut-off with a broadhead, no excuses for someone doing that.