Originally Posted by
livbucks
When I had two xgunners trespass on me, block the driveway and leave their car doors open, and wound a doe a few years back, I heard the shot from almost 200 yards away. Them things do make a hell of a racket. One shooter on your property will spook all the game off it. The deer scatter like hell when them things go off. They did not follow up on the shot BTW.
The topic was actually if they fit in archery, given the nature of them versus a drawn bow.
I have tried out top end crossbows to see what all the hoopla was about.
I do not own one, never plan on hunting with one, and personally do not understand why physically capable people would want to use them?
They are awkward unless you get a reverse mount design where the limbs are actually mounted backwards on the stock.
They are louder than any decent compound.
It would be nearly impossible to shoot one directly out of the back of your treestand.
The velocity and energy is similar to a top end compound, and effective range is no farther.....despite what this article claims.
They do have an advantage when it comes to drawing in the presence of game. That is a fact. I have successfully drawn in the presence of various big game animals over 200 times now, so that fact does not bother me.
They do have an advantage with beginners accuracy. it is slightly easier for a novice archer to become marginally proficient with a good quality crossbow than with a compound. However, when we are talking about shooting both weapons offhand, in the hands of a skilled archer the vertical compound is vastly superior. This fact is proven by multiple archers every single year at national and world target archery tournaments around the globe.
The point is often made that crossbows are for people who are too lazy to learn how to shoot a vertical bow. Sad as it is to admit the truth, I have seen just how lazy many vertical bow hunters can be. I have been the president of archery at a rather large archery club for many, many years, and have witnessed things on a regular basis that made me shudder. I have donated more time, and even equipment in an effort to help some of the archers who would accept help to get themselves and their equipment right prior to taking to the field than I care to remember.
Crossbow inclusion this year is new to PA. I fully expect to see an increase in hunters, and crossbow usage. I fully expect that increase to diminish rapidly as the previously gun only hunters will soon realize that the crossbow alone does not help with scent control, camouflage, or the knowhow needed to close the distance. That is NOT a knock on gun only hunters, it is simply my opinion as to how this will play out. I think full crossbow inclusion will add to our ranks in the longterm, and I think that is a good thing.
Crossbows are not the devils spawn, and out of the 100 people nationwide that will own a TAC-15, not a single one of them will EVER see a one inch-100 yard group out of their crossbow, not even off of sandbags.