Ok, I have a feeling this may be a can of worms, but here it goes.

I greatly prefer gun hunting. Coming from South Carolina where there is a 5 month gun season, 2 weeks of rifle season in VA is simply not enough to keep me interested in the sport. I live in a very urban area and I drive over 3 hours to hunt. Given these constraints, Virginia's laws have basically limited me to 2 or 3 rifle hunting days per year.

So this year I looked to archery to extend my season. I had a great time last weekend, and I have definitely gained a new respect for bow hunters, but I have to say I don't think this is for me. I hunt on different pieces of land nearly every time I go hunting, and I typically don't know where I will be hunting until a few weeks before. Basically my Grandfather gets permission to hunt private land from his friends in the small town he lives in, but some fall through in different years, some have relatives in town hunting when I will be there, etc. So it seems impractical for me to walk into a piece of land that I may have never seen before, find a location, set up a climbing stand, and then get lucky enough to have a shooter come within 35 yards.

Hunting this weekend, I realized that I can't hunt from the ground with a bow unless I stand for hours at a time. Standing up from sitting on the ground with an animal within 60 yards is a great way to alert the deer of your presence. Even if you are standing, drawing the bow while standing on the ground while the animal is within range is also difficult to do without the deer seeing you. Obviously these aren't big issues if you are in a tree stand. With a cross bow I think my range would be extended (correct?), and I could hunt from the ground. I can shoot while sitting on the ground and leaning against a tree. I wouldn't be constrained to finding a tree that I can get up with a climbing stand, so my possible locations greatly increase. Also, because I'm not constrained to a stand, I can move around if I notice deer are traveling through a particular area without having to worry about whether there is a climbing tree over there.

I saw more deer this weekend than I've ever seen while hunting before, but I only really had an opportunity at one small doe given the range constraints and other constraints. This doe walked up from an angle that allowed me to stand up behind a tree without her seeing me, and I also drew my bow without her seeing me. I ended up not taking the shot because it was still early (5:30) and I wanted to see if a buck would come by (one deer per day limit in VA). Many other does passed by me just out of range, or they came from a direction in which I was completely visually exposed thus there was no way I could draw my bow without them sprinting off. I have to say it is pretty frustrating to be closer to a deer than I've ever been before, close enough to hit them in the head with a football, and not have any chance because I need a great deal of movement before I can shoot. I had tried to set up in a way that would give me natural cover from the direction I thought the deer would be coming from, but it turns out that all the deer except one came from another direction. This is why it seems to me that a tree stand or blind is a big necessity for bow hunting.

Anyway, like I said I definitely have a new respect for bow hunters. But given that I have to take time off work, devote an entire weekend anytime I'd like to hunt, drive over 3 hours in each direction, and given the land and situational constraints discussed above, I think I'd prefer to move to something that gives me a better chance.

Has anyone else considered going to a crossbow? Anyone use a crossbow to deal with situations like those above? Any suggestions on models or brands?