rybohunter - If you cannot see the hypocracy in your own views, then you're right, you'll never "get it"

As surely as theres a world of difference between compounds and crossbows, so too it there between compounds and recurves/longbows. You can count the ways, be it the huge influx of hunters numbers thanks to the compound, to the aiming, to the cables and cams, to the speed and power to the letoff to the not having to draw in the presence of game ... its all applicable.

I submit that IF compounds, release aids and all the high tech gadgets that allows for ya'll to virtually not have to practice and still be accurate is legal in archery season, theres absolutely so little difference in the reasons to use a crossbow in archery season that it becomes a mute point. The PBS has brainwashed people into thinking crossbows are bad for archery, too advantageous to shoot, a negative yet they've never proven to be in states where they are legal. If any one "kind" of bow lives up to the fears of the PBS, its compounds, not crossbows.

silentassassin - note the smiley faces in those comments, they were not serious ones. As surely as a guy just coming from gun hunting to crossbows is a huge challenge, so too is the challenge a gun hunter to a compound faces, or a compound hunter going to recurves, or a recurve hunter going to self bows, or a self bow shooter hunting with cane shafts and knapped heads - its all relevant to the hunters - bowhunters - choice so long as the weapons allowed in archery seaon doesn't negatively affect the season, the herds etc. I'd almost be talked into poison pods being legal too - thats how open I am to people hunting with what they want to hunt with.

Now, that doesn't mean theres differences in equipment and challenge, certainly a compound hunter picking off deer at their effective range of 35 yards is "easier" than a guy shooting the same deer at his effective range of 15 yards with a snakey osage and cane shafts - but thats PERSONAL choices and both have equal challenges for the siad hunter.

I know at this point in my bowhunting, a longbow/recurve is PLENTY of challenge ! Spending hours and hours and weeks working on tillering a self bow, making shafts and trade points is beyond me right now.

Double Creek - The above statements are what I believe - parts of if not all the stuff I've posted before this was half true, half false and half to stimulate a good talk about what is and isn't bowhunting and to drive home that eveyone is all about THEIR type of hunting, and how everyone is cool with any types of bows that ya'll want to shoot .... until crossbows are mentioned. Funny how most people are so eager to say they're not elitist ... but turn rabid when crossbows are mentioned. Do you know why silentassassin and myself could care less about crossbow hunters ? We both hunt a state where they're legal and they don't affect our hunting at all man.

BOWFANATIC - I'll only ask you one question that will prove my stance that recurve/longbows are harder than compounds - why do most bowhunters use compounds ?

Do you understand what I'm saying above ? I see your point ... that personal challenge is what makes the hunt, not the equipment, but you must also acknowledge that equipment chose falls into ones challenge in a big way. You won't see many newbie hunters shooting stick bows .... why ? They are not up to that challenge, a compound and killing deer that way is big enough challenge. A GREATER challenge comes with recurve/longbows that they may or may not ever decide to try.

Facts are the highest scores are shot with compounds. P&Y is almost all compound entries. The biggest deer (with the exception of the Mel Johnson buck) were compounds kills. Most all magazines are full of compounds, most all bowhutners shoot compounds, most all archery shops cater to compounds.

Why ?

Uh .... maybe they're THE #1 bow because they makes bowhunting - or rather the ability to shoot and kill animals - much easier and therefore the preferred bow ? Chuck Adams even admits he uses a compound because it gives him a greater chance at killing the game he's after.

But ya'll hunt with what you want to. I say until the point where archery season becomes threatened with shorter season, less bag limits etc then technology isn't a bad thing, or cannot be proven to be. When the day comes that it DOES begin to affect archery season, I would hope ya'll would be in favor of restricting technology and the advances made that we'll see that makes killing deer that much easier. until then, I welcome all compounds, recurves, crossbows etc