BigJ12, Good post. I don't have a problem with crossbows at all. I may even try one someday. At least here in Texas they are legal to use during general season which is a month longer than archery season so there is no need to lobby to get them a season or legalized. Yes, its pretty obvious a crossbow is similar in some of its parts to a bow. However, its use is more similar to a rifle or shotgun. And whether a compound is soooooo easy to master or not, one still has the challenge of pulling the bow at the right time, holding steady with no aid (and I know of nobody that would use the "STEADY READY" contraption), making the shot without a high powered scope. There may be a few more differences but those alone are enough for me to be content with them in gun season. Would I stop hunting if they were allowed in archery season? Hell no. Do I believe there could be adverse effects? Yes. What are some of the things most of us like about archery season? Less people in the woods. No noisy guns. Less sloppy hunters. Yeah, yeah, there are sloppy bowhunters and we all know anyone shooting a compound is obviouly a lazy slob. But the truth is alot of gun hunters do not bowhunt even with a compound because they do not want to put forth the effort, an effort not required to shoot a crossbow. So I believe yes, there would be more hunters in the woods making noise and other distracting things making is less enjoyable for those bowhunting. If they want to hunt archery season then get a recurve, longbow, or compound. I think crossbows should be legal but should be allowed during gun season. I wonder why some states don't allow them even during gun season.