ORIGINAL: sproulman
i dont use crossbow but i do sight them in for others they are having problems and no time to correct them..
here is what i see on crossbows..
most of the shooters at our archery club use a compound or ,like me, recurve..
when i take those crossbows to shoot, many hate me..
why, becasue its easier to shoot for person that does not practice with compound or have time..
notice i said EASIER..it is with scope and how accurate they are..
now, i was surprised on the HATE for crossbow user, so, ole sproul had to INTERVIEW,you know me,ha to get at TRUTH..
well, TRUTH is, those archery hunters DONT WANT more hunters in woods in ARCHERY SEASON..by using crossbow, many new hunters will be out after same buck they are after..do to lack of deer here in pa, this is their worry..
now, when we get like 60 or so, most dont hunt anymore with bow..with CROSSBOW us older farts will be out in woods hunting archery..
MOST i talk to dont want crossbows because thats MORE hunters in archery..that is TRUE..
now, i will tell you why i dont like CROSSBOW..most i see using them DONT PRACTICE..they make shots at 50 yds,take them out 1 time a year to practice..i saw gang last year with all crossbows..they were DRIVING deer too, you believe that..
these misguided hunters think crossbow is rifle..i am finding bolts laying in woods ..
then you hear stories of park ranger picking up 18 bolts in the park in no hunting areas..
are they being used for POACHING..you BET they are!!
now, all this taken inton consideration,hunters that dont want MORE hunters in woods and poachers new weapon..
croosbows were always used to POACH..heck, i heard stories at work 25 years ago of 1 guy who got 100 deer with crossbow, they finally caught him..his answer was, well, i shot 100 and only pinched for 1,cost him 100 dollars..
sorry got off track..most of hate i hear is because BUBBA is now going out archery hunting and has new toy..ARCHERY HUNTERS dont want more BUBBAS out trying to get their buck..
i said this would happen when deer became less..my fear is that you are going to see MORE hunters at each others throats in near future..
it happened to me this year and i expect more of it in future..
Sproulman, I have to take offence to some of your comments. I also agree with some of them like that it is easier to learn to shoot. In otherwords, you get efficent quicker, but you still need to practice. I have actually seen hunters going into a local sporting goods store, purchase a compound to go hunting the next day. From his questions to the salesman, got me to wondering how knowledgable this individual was so I asked a few questions. This hunter had neverr shot a compound before, but he was going hunting the next day.
I guess what I am saying is to hold the hunter, not the hunting tool acountable for the actions. Yes you might get a hunter go out the day before, or maybe the week before and purchase a crossbow to dtart hunting with. But they can and will do the same thing with the compound.
Your comments about 50-60 yard shots with crossbows, that they think that they are rifles, well I have for over 5 years tried to teach responsibility in the use of crossbows. The ANTI-CROSSBOW groups have for years claimed that crossbows are effective out to 100 yards and shoot like a rifle, so why would the people not believe that. Crossbow users are not making those claims, they have for years tried to correct the incorrect statements mad by the ANIT's.
Again, I have had salesmen tell me that they, on a regular basis take deerr out to 60-70 yards with their compounds. Again, hold the user, not the hunting tool acountable for the users actions.
As for using crossbows as a POACHING TOOL, yes some probually will use it, but these users are not the smart ones and will get caught. Crossbows are not even a good choice for poaching. They are difficult to get a second shot, make most noise of the archery family and have the same range as the compound. It was a few years ago I read a report (sory, but I forget were it was from, but it was a State Agency) about poaching and they listed the 22 rifle as the weapon of choice for the poachers. I believe that it was an extreemly high precentage of poachers which choose the 22 rifle.
As I stated in that posted you quoted,
that crossbows Do Not Give Any More Of An Advantage To The Hunter Then The Compound Does Over the Longbow or Recurve
yes crossbws do have some advantages over the compound, but the compound does have some advantages over the crossbows when compared to the longbow or recurve. You comments on triggers, scopes ectera ......... well do they not sell scopes, range finders, triggers, laser sights, holo sites, for the ccompound. In fact, is there not a compound bow on the market which is 99% letoff, which when at full draw, just the weight of the bow (when hanging down) will keep it at full draw with no strength needed fro the shooter.
Come on ........ trash hunters will always be trash hunters no matter what hunting tool that they choose to use.
Hold people acountable for their actions, not the hunting tool.