Please people .............. NEVER EVER USE A TREE TO SUPPORT THE CROSSBOW WHEN SHOOTING .................... MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE

If you do this, you chance your string against the tree or worse yet, have the limb strike something whouch could seriously hurt you. I have known people that have dislocated shoulders, broken collar bones ect but having limbs strike a tree or branch.

Advantages or crossbows are:
- Pre loaded bow
- easier for physically challanged to use
- easier to become compitant
- effective range for deer is 35-40 yards


Advantages or the compound (Vertical)
- More accurate in the hands or compitant shooter
- easier to transport (walk through bush or fields)
- Faster second shot
- More quiet
- Lighter
- easier to find a window to shot through (need vertical window through brush, trees grow vertically, crossbows need a horizontal window)
- effective range is 45-50 yards (reading poists that claim this, as well as from TV shows)

The big thinkg is that most of the advantages the crossbow has can be negligated by the use of hunting equipment. Using a blind would eliminate the advantage of pre-loaded bow because you can move in blind to draw bow when deer is there. You do not need to practice as long as you would with the vertical bows, but you still need to practice. The effective range I believe is the same between compounds and crossbows.

Hope this helps