arrowsmit - I went over that very thread today. As I have said, my opinions have changed and I think I was wrong before. I have been wrong many times before, aint afraid to admit it. I've had a lot of discussions on crossbows with a lot of people lately. My arguments on the above thead consisted of two things I think - #1 that crossbows are easier to use which is undoubtably true and #2 that a lot of slob and careless hunters use them. I realize its been difficult for me to get this across, but I'll try again - as a crossbow is easier to use vs a compound, so a compound is as easy to use vs a longbow/recurve. Here is the first post I made on that thread ...
<font size=1>Dawg - Is a crossbow not a tradional weapon in the sense that its history goes way, way back ? A compoud was born what, 60 years ago ? A crossbow was born hundreds of years ago.
For all ya'll calling it a cross-gun, it is not. A crossgun is not in Websters. A crossbow is NOT more efficient at casting an arrow either, as some of ya'll believe. I can shoot a compound, and did, much more accurately than a crossbow has ever shot for me.
Feret - Well said
As for my take on this issue, I live in Arkansas. Crossbows are legal. Its been my experience that crossbow hunters pick their crossbows up the day before they go hunting, shoot a few shot and then they're off. They don't know their weapons, they don't practice. Thats what crossbows do - they enable a person with little or no experience or practice to be able to hit that pie plate at 20 yards consistantly, much like a gun but a shorter range.
That brings us to the one point crossbow hunters try to make their argument on - its the distance of the shot, not the weapons used that matters. I'll challenge that too, by saying that an iron sighted hangun, 4 inch barrel, is not any more accurate than a crossbow at 20-30 yards. Therefore, using the pro-crossbow argument, iron sighted handguns with 4 inch barrels should be allowed in archery season, after all, it about distance, not weaponry, right ??
Crossbows have their place. My 67 year old Dad is getting close to having to use one - his shoulders just aint what they use to be. I wouldn't take away his love of mid-October whitetail hunting for something that he cannot help. But other than handi-cap licenseing for archery season, crossbows should be put into the muzzleloader season. If that happened, people wouldn't use them. As a contrast, if archery season and muzzleload were combined, many if not all of us here would still go to the woods carrying a longbow or recurve, wouldn't we ? Boys, that says volumes IMO. </font id=size1>
My opinon has changed now that its not for me to say how or why someone chooses to shoot a crossbow, a compound, a recurve or a longbow. Look at the example reylamb posted - compound shooters are just as apt to be careless and "slobby" as crossbows shooters. In that I believe now I was wrong.
" I'm not gonna debate this w/you here any longer. Besides, you will undoubtedly have changed your mind (?) yet again by next week anyhow..."
Yeah, I might if I am wrong and if the arguments against me prove it - I got no problem doing that.
JRW - I did take a compound to KS with me and am glad I did so. I took a bow I had never held and in a couple of hours was shooting damn good with it. Challenge ? Hardly. Heck my coworker can shoot the same compound AND DOES almost as good as I do. Anyway, after waiting for 2 years for a tag and missing two animals this fall and spending the $$ on the hunt I make no apologies for wanting it to be a successful hunt that ended in a filled tag with one of those huge KS bucks. I think I hunted 3 days with the compound, then hunted the rest with my longbow. I wouldn't change a thing in how I did that hunt. I also bought a new carbon High Country Triple S bow off EBAY at a very good price and it arrived while I was in KS. When I got home I sold it. So I don't have a compound and aint currently using one. I may again in the future, who knows ? I might also hunt with a crossbow, who knows ?
" No, I think it's called have enough respect for the animals you hunt, and the image of your sport, to learn what the heck you're doing...or don't hunt at all. "
That I will agree with, however its something that cannot be legislated or dictated or controlled.
I too would have jumped bandwagon on the guy shooting 1 for 12 a few months ago - look up past threads and you'll see some of my posts doing the same. But knowing him now, knowing he's a dang good shot, an accomplished hunter who DOES know what the heck he's doing I think differently ... he had a very bad run and missed a lot of animals for whatever reasons he did. Heck, that guy on the LW missed a grizzly, missed again, shot and hit one low the hit it again in the chest before recovering it, then hits a whitetail twice and losing it before connecting on another - thats a string of 5 shots out of the last 7 that went bad. Is he a poor hunter for that ? Doesn't know what he's doing maybe ? Certainly not, I suspect hes a great shot and a fine hunter and I respect the hell out of him for posting those hunts and taking the slack he did for what he did. But IF he were a rookie, if you didn't know him from Jack, ya'll would be questioning his skills, maybe his dedication and maybe the "respect" and "image" to not even be hunting with a recurve at all ??? If he's another 0 for 2 on his next hunt maybe even call for his license ?
Just more to think about.
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